HarryTheCat MSN, RN

Latest Activity

1. What is your minimum base pay on Covid-19 unit???

   HarryTheCat replied to NewRN'16's topic in COVID

   Some of you might want to look at Federal government jobs (usajobs.gov) with the VA or as a civilian RN with one of the branches of the military. Pay rates are usually significantly higher than some mentioned here, and you can't beat the benefits. Jo...

2. Need salary request information before my interview...please help!!

   HarryTheCat replied to esco's topic in General Nursing

   As a new grad in a "buyers market", you really don't have a lot of bargaining power, and not every employer will even ask you what you're looking for. Most will already have a figure or a narrow range in mind, and you can only hurt yourself if you gi...

3. ALL-RN Care model

   HarryTheCat replied to Reds5588's topic in General Nursing

   That "All RN Care" model always sounds like a brilliant idea when some consultant is selling it to the suits in Admin. Then one day some bean counter plugs it all into an Excel spreadsheet and figures out, "Yikes! We're now paying RN rates for work t...

4. The worst job you had before becoming a Nurse?

   HarryTheCat replied to Want2BeeRN's topic in General Nursing

   I think the worst "pre-nursing" job ever may have been my wife's. She was in the Army during the invasion of Iraq (2003 - 2004), and some of her experiences included: * While waiting in Kuwait to invade, they were attacked with Scud missiles, one of ...

5. Where in the US do they need RNs really bad?

   HarryTheCat replied to Nazzerena's topic in General Nursing

   I'd be a bit cautious about moving to the oil patch right now. They're predicting a bottoming out of the price of oil at around 20 bucks a barrel, and a lot of those oil operations may be forced to shut down. It just costs too much to pull it out of ...

6. TAMPA FL - Nursing Schools/R.N. Programs??

   HarryTheCat replied to mm813's topic in General Students

   Be very wary of some of those "for-profit" schools. They seem to be popping up all over the place, especially in Florida. Here's a link to a pdf file showing NCLEX pass rates for all of the Florida schools: http://floridasnursing.gov/forms/rn-pass-ra...

7. Is it ok to ask salary??

   HarryTheCat replied to Julissar04's topic in General Nursing

   It is usually a terrible idea to solicit or even entertain the idea of a counter offer. No employer wants to be placed in a position of, figuratively speaking, being "held up" for more money, and they don't want to set a precedent for others to follo...

8. Where can I get in ADN with dorms?

   HarryTheCat replied to LH0484's topic in Pre-Nursing

   Several four-year universities still offer ADN programs. Western Kentucky University, for example, is one that I believe still offers it, and there are dorms on campus. Although an ADN still has to pass the same NCLEX exam, it can be a bit of a caree...

9. Circumstances it's OK to quit without notice??

   HarryTheCat replied to Cola89's topic in Professionalism

   In general terms, a two-week (or more, depending on circumstances) notice is common courtesy to your employer, and it is almost universally expected from a professional. The only time it would be acceptable to just hand in your badge and walk away wo...

10. What's Your Best Nursing Ghost Story?

    HarryTheCat replied to steffck's topic in General Nursing

    The best ghost story I ever heard was from an LPN who had worked in a LTC facility. One of their oldest residents, a nonagenarian we'll call "John", had been a very evil, violent man in his younger years, and had been in an out of prisons for much of...

11. EtOH Medical Abbreviation

    HarryTheCat replied to allnurses's topic in General Nursing

    It's ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, CH3CH2OH, and in Chem it's abbreviated EtOH, but in Nursing you'll see it as ETOH, typically meaning that the pt is an alcoholic (or intoxicated).

12. Tattoos

    HarryTheCat replied to niico's topic in Canada

    Plus, that beautiful "artistic" tat you get at 25 ("It's my body! It's my life! I gotta be MEEE!") can start to look pretty creepy when things start to sag and wrinkle a bit.

13. could I get in the nursing program

    HarryTheCat replied to natyflores's topic in Pre-Nursing

    There are probably some tech schools that would accept you into an LPN or ASN program, but chose carefully. Many of them are "for-profit" schools where it's easy to get in, but the tuition is substantially higher than in public schools. I have a fri...

14. New Grad RN can't find a job

    HarryTheCat replied to morganv's topic in Job Hunt

    Is North Dakota still a "hot spot"? A lot of the explosive growth of the nursing job market there was tied to an upsurge in hiring in the oil industry. Back in those "boom days", when oil was over $100 per bbl, it made sense to drill there. With the ...

15. Help with starting nursing agency

    HarryTheCat replied to nurse agency's topic in Entrepreneurs

    A few of other things you might want to consider would be: 1. A lawyer, to help you set up a corporation, Sub-S, or LLC. 2. An HR outsourcing company to handle payroll, withholdings, insurance, background checks and all that other nitty-gritty stu...