Multimedia Journalist A steep learning curve and a mix of emotions . That s how graduate nurses and junior doctors have been describing their first year of work during a major health crisis.
Last year the HSE increased the number of doctors it recruited to over 1,100 and for them to start work in hospitals several months early. At the same time in emergency departments, intensive care units and trauma wards, hundreds of nurses were only starting out in their first year, and having to adapt their training to new work practices.
David Fitzgerald, a graduate nurse in Cork describes the additional pressures on new recruits during the pandemic as a tough process .