The mysteries of the Milton Tank!

In today's health care environment, one is often confronted with arguments for and against the casualisation of nursing staff in our hospitals. The question is, can one nurse really so easily replace another? What do we really know about the experienced nurse changing jobs? The author uses her personal experience-her transition from adult to paediatric nursing-to describe the difficulties associated with nursing in vastly different areas. Supported by nurse theorist Patricia Benner's ideas on skill and competence levels (1984), the author recounts the crisis in confidence she experienced when confronted with the paediatric "culture". Also discussed are the ways in which paediatric nursing knowledge develops (in this country it develops very much on the job) and the implications this has for staffing.