[suzanne in hawaii]

Hi North Shore-
How do you like living in Hawaii so far?

[northshore08]

Hi Suzanne! Work is better; I belong to a couple of agencies now, and things are looking up. I've worked in several places, and am getting the feel of fitting in quickly. Home life is getting better. I had a bout of severe homesickness there for a while, and I think it was worse because of the multiple places I was working and not feeling like I belonged anywhere. But church and family helped, and I met several agency nurses that helped me feel at home.

[kauainurse]

Hi my name is veronica from Kauai, HI. I am an RN in a small ER (state facility). My background has been home health, clinic, LTC, Hospice and now ER. i have been a nurse for 7 years; 3 as an RN.

Are any of you Blackberry users? If so please contact me via the pm system so we can stay in touch! i also have the PTT feature if anyone cares to chat like that as well!

[northshore08]

Hey kauainurse! Nice to meet you, and thanks for posting. I was getting tired of seeing my name as the last poster! I found a job in a local ED here on Oahu and like it a lot.

[Pualehuanani]

Hi. I just discovered this forum. I'm a critical care nurse, working at Queens for almost twenty years. These posts are interesting! I hope I can add something of interest to the threads here!

[suzanne in hawaii]

Hi Northshore-
The ER job sounds great! I'm sure you will be making lots of new friends at the hospital. Our coworkers become like family. Take care- Suzanne

[aloha551]

Hi to all of you who love the islands as much as I do. Born in Pa and always thought it was pretty nice till I came to "Paradise" It entered my soul like a breath from God. I'm an RN in the latter part of my practice. As soon as My Hubby retires, only a few more years, My butt is on the first plane out. Aloha to all of you and Mahalo

[MissIda]

Hi Ida nurse for 3 years working in Socal right now but going back to Oahu in June 09. I can't wait! Hubby and I are both nurses looking for work soon.

[KarangRN]

Howzit everyone.

I'm Carl. I was born on Oahu, raised in Waianae and moved to Hilo before high school. I attended Hilo High School (GO VIKS GO). I joined the Army National Guard right after high school to pay for college because my parents didn't have enough money to send me to school themselves. My mother is diagnosed with severe Schizo-affective disorder, which is why I guess I was interested in going into some kind of medical field.

I'm a 31 year old RN that works at Hale Anuenue Restorative Care Center (a 120 bed skilled nursing facility) in Hilo on the Big Island.

I started my ADN at HCC in 2000 but withdrew on my last semester due to family problems. I did take my NCLEX-PN and worked at Hale Anuenue as an LPN from 2003 until I finished my ADN-RN in 2006. Moved up to Eve Shift Supervisor after that but I had a chance to work in the ER at Hilo Medical Center in 2007 so I took it. After 6 months of stress and a crappy preceptor, I decided that particular ER wasn't for me. My heart has always been in critical care but I love geriatric and long term care nursing too.

I came back to Hale Anuenue in October 2007 and worked back as Evening Shift Supervisor. I feel that even though I only spent half a year in ER, the experience I've gained there benefited me on the unit. Three weeks ago I was offered to do MDS.

So right now I'm doing MDS, and since the hours are compatible with me going back to school I am seriously thinking about finishing up my BSN online next year. Perhaps even moving on to grad school hehe.

Nice to meet all of you and big aloha to all you nurses no matter where you are from. We are all colleagues and the main focus is our patients.

[mo-mo]

Aloha Carl,
Glad to see someone else from the Big Island! What is MDS anyway?