Mayo Clinic and Rochester Area Questions!!

lycialee508 · Oct 14, 2007

I too am interested in Mayo. I'll be graduating in May 08 from Northern Michigan University and I'm wondering about new grad programs. Also, what are some of the details...pay, benefits, patient ratio, cost of living, etc. Any info would help. Thanks in advance.

nursetmj · Oct 15, 2007

Hello, My wife has an Interview on the 22nd and we will be coming up on the 21st so we can look around a little. We have been doing much research and everything looks good, actually if all goes well with the interview can't wait to move there. My wife applied on Sunday night, and got a call on tuesday morning to set up the interview. It will be with the Cardiac Progressive Care Unit.
Just have a few questions for anyone that works there or who has worked there about the the nurse to patient ratio, what type of charting that you do and just an overall outlook of the clinic. Right now we live in Pennsylvania and she works on the cardiac stepdown unit. Patient ratios are 4 for daylight, and 5 or 6 for nightshift. Half of the staff is ready to leave because of the staffing problems and the workload with the higher acuity. There are call offs everyday and mandation almost everyday. Half of the floor is on medication for thier nerves and high blood pressure. This is why we are looking to get out of this stinking state. Well there are many other reasons but that is for someother post.
Also any tidbits of information on Rochester and the surrounding towns that would be recommended for rasing 2 children would greatly be appreciated.
thank you in advance

Let me start by telling you I used to work for Mayo for 4 years and am in the process of trying to get back there - I moved to Chicago for a bit and decided home (Rochester) is where I need to be. If you are raising two children, Rochester is DEFINITELY the place to do that! (As a side note, that's actually a complaint for the many young singles that end up there - a great place for a family, but not so exciting when you're young and looking Seems all the night life is up in the Twin Cities.)

As for surrounding towns, MANY people make the short commutes in to Rochester from Byron, Stewartville, Kasson, Chatfield, etc. All nice communities. Byron seems to be really up-and-coming w/lots of new construction and a nationally famous newer golf course, Somerby.

I can't say too much for pt. ratios other than what my fellow nurses have told me so far: Days usually 1:4, evenings and nights more. But I think Mayo has a very low turnover and that nurses are for the most part, satisfied. Charting is all electronic; in fact, everything is electronic. Mayo is at the forefront of technology. It is also a teaching institution, meaning the nurses interact with many residents and fellows regularly (some of the brightest in the world). The culture there has been said to be a bit on the conservative side.

Some other unique tidbits: The nurses do NURSING. They also focus a lot on patient education. They do not start IVs (there is an IV team for that), they do not start catheters (there is a Cath team for that), they do not draw labs (there are phlebotomists that do that), they do not do 12-lead EKGs (there is an EKG team for that). Some nurses have a problem with that. Now all of these "nurses do not's" apply to general floors, not some of the ICUs, ER, and PACU, mind you. The place functions like a very efficient machine. It has to for all the many people that it serves. There are politics and some very strict rules, but you have that any where you go. I can't say enough good about the place Best of luck! Hope this helps - Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll try to help!

Oh, and one last thing: It gets VERY cold there in Winter, but then coming from PA you can probably deal with that :lol2:

FrootLoop · Oct 17, 2007

I work at mayo, in a cardiac PCU- PM me if you want to know more about the specific PCU she is interviewing for (there are 5 cardiac PCUs plus a vascular PCU).

Ratios are generally pretty good. Depends on which PCU, but mine for example is usually 2 or 3 pts on days (never more except under crazy circumstances) and 3 or 4 on nights. Can be more on other PCUs- depending if they are medical cardiac, surgical card, or interventional.

We use all computerized charting, with PCUs having computers at the bedside which makes things easier.

I honestly think I have one of the best jobs with one of the best employers in nursing. I feel like I'm given a good shot at really practicing the profession of nursing. Like anyone, I can have gripes about my job, but I really think we have it pretty good at Mayo, and in the cardiac areas in particular.

Rochester is... well, it's a larger city in the state (around 90,000) but with a small town feeling in many ways. That can be good or bad, depending on what you are wanting! There are many small towns within easy commuting distance. Cost of living is not too bad, especially when considering what nurses here make compared to many of our counterparts in neighboring states.

Good luck with the interview- does she know to expect a behavioral-style interview?

bigbee13 · Oct 17, 2007

Frootloop, thanks for the info,

yes she is ready for the behavioral interview, all we know is it is a 17 bed unit and I believe it is medical PCU. Considering right now she is on a cardiac telemetry unit with a 5 patient ratio on almost every night and 6 on more than a few, many many call offs. With this she starts IV's, does ECG's, Pulls Sheaths, draws blood if from a pic or central line. plus the teaching and other Nursing duties. Right now she makes 26.52 on Night shift and that is with the .80 shift differential, no shift diffs on the weekend either.

When passing meds do you guys use a veriscan or similar device to to keep med errors down. Is the computer on wheels or is there one in each room? what about uniforms, are there only solids or what can be worn. what about shoes and earings, rings, watches and my wife does have a small nose ring.

We have 2 children and the big city life is not the most important thing for us. We want good schools for the children and we want to opportunity to make our careers flourish. The cold will not bother us, in fact I think the weather is much better overall up there than here in Pennsylvania.

thank you for helping us out with information

FrootLoop · Oct 17, 2007

I'll PM you with answers as best I can- this isn't the PCU I work on though I have floated there several times.

Frootloop, thanks for the info,
yes she is ready for the behavioral interview, all we know is it is a 17 bed unit and I believe it is medical PCU. Considering right now she is on a cardiac telemetry unit with a 5 patient ratio on almost every night and 6 on more than a few, many many call offs. With this she starts IV's, does ECG's, Pulls Sheaths, draws blood if from a pic or central line. plus the teaching and other Nursing duties. Right now she makes 26.52 on Night shift and that is with the .80 shift differential, no shift diffs on the weekend either.
Uniforms for that PCU are navy blue. Not supposed to have any contrast trim/prints/etc on the scrubs, but some nurse managers are more lenient than others. Rings can be worn, and other jewelry but mayo is very conservative and wants jewelry kept as so. Not sure about the nose ring- in the past they said you couldn't wear them while working but perhaps that's changed?
When passing meds do you guys use a veriscan or similar device to to keep med errors down. Is the computer on wheels or is there one in each room? what about uniforms, are there only solids or what can be worn. what about shoes and earings, rings, watches and my wife does have a small nose ring.
We have 2 children and the big city life is not the most important thing for us. We want good schools for the children and we want to opportunity to make our careers flourish. The cold will not bother us, in fact I think the weather is much better overall up there than here in Pennsylvania.
thank you for helping us out with information