Iqbal Bhatti

Iqbal Bhatti Nurse | Educator | Mum
Nursing lessons they don’t teach you 💛
Skills • mindset • life behind the scrubs
Helping nurses grow — on shift and beyond

15/02/2026

"She is a nurse.”
That’s the headline.
The story is everything in between.

What’s one thing people don’t see behind the uniform?

10/02/2026

Not the nurse who stays back every shift.
Not the one who never says no.
Not the one everyone relies on to just handle it.
You are not stuck because you are not capable.
You are stuck because you have been doing what healthcare trained you to do.
Put your head down. Get through the shift. Be reliable.
Healthcare does not promote the most exhausted person in the room.
It promotes the person who is visible.
The one who speaks up.
The one who already sounds like leadership before they have the title.
You were trained to be helpful and safe.
No one taught you how promotions actually work.
So while you are picking up extra shifts, someone else is learning how to talk in meetings.
While you are coping, someone else is making their impact clear.
While you are waiting to be noticed, someone else is quietly positioning themselves for the next role.
Working harder will not move you up.
Working differently will.
At some point, you have to stop proving how much you can carry
and start showing how you think.
Share ideas.
Put your hand up before you feel ready.
Start acting like the role you want, not the one that is draining you.
Promotions do not come from being indispensable where you are.
They come when people can see you somewhere else.
If this hit a nerve, it is because you are closer than you think.
You just need a different approach.

Follow for honest healthcare career growth and real conversations about moving up without burning out.

07/02/2026

Grad year is a whole new world with terms you have never come across before
So when people mention things like salary packaging, it can be confusing
But this is one admin thing that’s simpler than it sounds.
Salary packaging lets you use part of your pay before tax for everyday expenses.
Which means less tax and more take-home pay.
For many nurses, that’s around $60 extra each fortnight
without extra shifts
without extra stress.
You don’t have to do everything at once.
This is just one thing that doesn’t have to be hard.
Comment PAY if you want a simple explanation.

05/02/2026

One of the smallest things you can do in a new workplace is also one of the most powerful.
Remember names. Use them.
It tells people: I see you.
Dale Carnegie said it best, “A person’s name is to them the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
In fast-paced healthcare settings, that small effort builds instant connection, respect, and trust.

Save this as your reminder ❤️

30/01/2026

Send this to your favourite nurse ❤️ Remind them how good they actually are.

I wish someone had told me this during grad year. Because the truth is, grad year is not what you expect.You walk in wit...
26/01/2026

I wish someone had told me this during grad year. Because the truth is, grad year is not what you expect.You walk in with your graduation photo, your badge, your confidence… and then reality hits.

1. For the first 2 months, you will feel completely out of place.

Like you’re standing in a room where everyone speaks a language you don’t understand yet.
And it’s not because you’re not capable, it’s because you’re new. You’re still learning the flow, the pace, the culture, the unspoken rules.
You will feel slow.

2. You will feel like everyone else is moving at a speed you can’t catch up to.

And even when you try your hardest, you will still go home replaying your shift, wondering what you missed.

3. You will have shifts where you think you chose the wrong career.

You will question yourself.
You will doubt your decision.
And that feeling is real, but it doesn’t mean you’re failing.

4. You will make mistakes.
Not because you’re careless, but because you’re human.
And the difference between a good nurse and a great nurse isn’t that they never make mistakes...it’s that they own them, escalate early, and learn quickly.

5. Not every senior nurse will be kind or supportive.
Some will be patient and teach you.
Some will be distant.
Some will be harsh.
And that’s reality.
So learn from everyone, but trust only a few.

Grad year isn’t about proving you’re good enough. It’s about surviving long enough to become confident.
And it takes time.
So if you’re in grad year and you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or like you don’t belong…
I’m telling you this now:
You are not alone.
You are not failing.
You are not behind.
You are simply in the process of becoming the nurse you were meant to be.

If this resonates, save it for the hard days.
And if you’re a senior nurse, please share this with a new grad who needs to hear it.
If you want more real, raw nursing advice (no sugar-coating), follow me.
I post support for new grads, working mums, and nurses who want to stay strong and succeed.

21/01/2026

There is no ‘perfect nurse’ to look like.
There is just you... and that’s enough.

18/01/2026

Nursing isn’t just physically exhausting.
It’s emotionally relentless.
We move from crisis to compassion to conflict in minutes.
One room sends your nervous system into fight-or-flight.
The next asks you to be gentle, present, human.
Then guilt.
Then abuse.
Then back to work like none of it touched you.
But it did.
The problem isn’t that nurses are “too sensitive” or “can’t cope.”
The problem is that there is no space to process what we carry.
No pause to regulate.
No moment to breathe.
No permission to feel.
So the emotions don’t disappear.
They stack.
They stay in the body.
And when the shift ends, the uniform comes off…
but the nervous system doesn’t switch off with it.
That’s why everything feels too loud at home.
That’s why small things feel overwhelming.
That’s why you feel irritable, numb, guilty, exhausted all at once.
It’s not a personal failing.
It’s what happens when humans are asked to function like machines.
If this resonated, I want you to know this:
You’re not broken.
You’re overstimulated, overextended, and under-supported.
And you’re not alone.
🤍 If you’re a nurse reading this, you don’t need to explain yourself here.
A simple “me too” is enough.

13/01/2026

These are approximate base hourly rates for Registered Nurses across Australia.

They’re calculated from full-time salaries (38 hrs/week) and don’t include penalties, overtime or casual loading.

Base hourly pay by state:
NSW: ~$35 – $56/hr
VIC: ~$30 – $68/hr
QLD: ~$40 – $56/hr
WA: ~$38 – $55/hr
SA: ~$35 – $50/hr
TAS: ~$36 – $51/hr
ACT: ~$41 – $56/hr
NT: ~$43 – $57/hr

What the range means:

Lower end = new grads / early-career nurses

Upper end = senior, experienced or specialist roles with higher responsibility

Who pays less?
Victoria has one of the lowest entry-level rates, and SA & TAS have lower overall ceilings.

Who pays more?
Victoria and the NT tend to have the highest top-end pay for senior roles.

This is base pay only, nights, weekends, public holidays and casual loading can push hourly pay much higher.

Which state are you in? Does this match your experience? 💸💰🏥

10/01/2026

There’s a long shift that needed unpacking.Find someone who lets you vent without fixing.

Who’s your trauma-dump partner? 😩🫠

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Melbourne, VIC

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