Holmes Regional in Melbourne

[Cerebrum]

Graduate in May and planning on moving to Melbourne. Holmes Regional any good? I know they are a Magnet hospital, but what is the real scoop? I've been living in Maryland since 2001 after being in Alaska for 3 years (Army) so I haven't been to Florida in a while. What is an entry/new grad (RN) pay in Florida like? What is fair and what is poop? Thanks friends!

[Cerebrum]

be glad to give an objective appraisal of holmes after spending some time there to be totally fair. but then again i'm just a rookie....

just an update folks... finalized the hiring process. will be working (after orientation) 3, 12 hours shifts at night per week... pay is per diem. met my unit manager and she's a really nice person. she told i can get the clog birkenstocks that i want and the uniform is any solid you want but nurses can only wear white scrub tops or lab coats... got my badge, yay! at last! there will be 6 new orientees to the unit. two boys and six girls... they have a nice concierge service (oil change, car wash, dry cleaning, etc...) that i'll indulge in occassionally... overall, i'm pretty happy with the terms. contacted ucf regarding the rn to bsn program and i made arrangements to meet next week... until september 11th i'll be here... lurking... boo hoo...

btw the state acknowledged receipt of my application... next time don't bother overnighting folks... sent it 3rd of august, receipt 8th of august!:smackingf

the beach is great! the water is nice!

[bisayaispisyal]

i am quite ok now. new staff on my floor get sick almost every week, at least thats what the old timers had experienced too. i can only hope that i get used to it right away.

that big parking space is for patients, yes, and for doctors and others. i know that associates can park there on weekends and nights only. otherwise, the florida marketplace is where you should go on day shifts. as for the cafeteria, its cashless; associates may use their badges to pay and we also get a 33% (i think, not sure) discount.

we havent been to any of the beaches yet. how do you get there? im sure it is beautiful....cant wait to go.

once again, welcome to hrmc!

[Cerebrum]

today is a happy day! at least for me... got my temp florida license! called my recruiter with the good news.... they keep hounding you for it like you aren't for real or something... only took 13 days from day of receipt! one less stressor...

got the black clog tatami birkenstocks yesterday! breaking them in... the feel pretty good thus far...

next i'm going to uniform city to get some uniforms today... they tell me they have a hospital employee discount "bring your badge" they say...

to the beaches... i usually go east across eau gallie causeway on 518 and go south on a1a and drive down to the wendy's on the left and park there... they have parking meters so bring change... i would recommend a beach blanket, beach umbrella, a cooler packed with fluids, and good company! i'm not saying this is the best beach but it is the one i go to... it's close... you can try cocoa beach by the pier! lots of places to eat... very "touristy" but it is popular.

"snakes on a plane" was good for the money, too bad the box office receipts weren't spectacular...

later dudes!:sofahider

[rjflyn, ASN, RN]

If you go North on A1A there are beaches you dont have to pay to park. Also by the way there is a space shuttle launch scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Details for that are at http://www.nasa.gov. You might have to stake your claim to a spot to watch on the beach pretty early- i thing the time is around 430PM. Even better is if you can find a WiFi signal is to take your lap top and catch the live feed from NASA TV and watch that as well. Course the best seats are at the KSC visitors center- but they are probably already sold out.

Rj

[Cerebrum]

that's right. i remember the ones around patrick afb don't charge... i'll be there for the launch i guess... what else am i going to do? well got my temp florida license in the mail today, just waiting for fdle fingerprint clearance... my boss said i can start now if i want. i think i will... been amassing lots of debt... got to keep the man happy...

:clown: :clown: :clown: :clown:

august 26th update: they're starting me on monday before the orientation class. great! guess my slumber is over... new scrubs... pant legs too long... drop by walmart and get a sewing kit... why can't alteration shops do on the spot alterations? it's not like it's hard to hem pants... ugh!

august 27th update: shuttle launch scrubbed due to lightning... been raining everyday too... is lou's blues any good? be honest!:behindpc:

[rjflyn, ASN, RN]

Are you ready for the big blow aka Erine, no Bert though. Looks like he is just gonna be some moderate wind and alot of rain if they can make up their minds where its going.

Rj

[bisayaispisyal]

need some quick hurricane orientation tips. considering that this is my first hurricane here in florida. we do have typhoons back in my country but i dont know what to expect with the hurricanes here though. basically, we just did what the news have been advising people to do. some say it'll blow over by the time it gets to us...some say otherwise. well, i think its better to be prepared.

so, cerebrum, u started working already? how was it?

:wink2:

[Cerebrum]

[color=deepskyblue]finally got the energy to write! worked three 12's since monday... it was a mistake... was supposed to work 8's... my preceptors didn't know... i didn't mind i'd do 12's the whole orientation if they want... today had that computer charting, qbx, and vocera orientation from 8am til 3am... the vocera is cool and creepy at the same time! they gave me friday off cause of the 12's i pulled... no problem... me feet were killing me! they felt like they were going to explode! at least i'm breaking them in... the preceptors and staff are really kind and make me feel welcome... the night shift crew tell me they are waiting for me and to get ready for some good times ahead. so far i've been doing what they taught me in school and did at the nursing home as an lpn - hanging blood, ivfs, iv push, med administration, assessments, pyxis, wound care... i am by no means a master but am being guided by the pros... 12 more weeks til i'm on my own... the cafeteria could use some improvement... yech! :barf01: except the cashless part... working on my delegation, using the hospital interdiscipilinary team, and time management. going to get some dr scholl's insoles for sure!

ernesto turned out to be some drizzle and wind.... tropical storm afterall... met some of the people orienting with us september 11th. none were in 6 west though....

[HARRN2b]

Cerebrum,

Just a lurker who enjoys your posts. I am going for my BSN. My mom lives in Melbourne and I was there last week. Had dinner at a great place out at the pier at cocoa beach. Anyway I would like to apply at Holmes when I get done. I am into night shift as well. Not that it is any calmer, but no discharges. Keep posting, I really enjoy reading.

Holly

[Cerebrum]

it's been a while! been a long 3 weeks with orientation classes and work. finally got my permanent florida license via web lookup. the real thing is in the mail. that piece of anxiety is resolved for good. holmes has been good so far. have greater autonomy at work. my preceptors are many due to that fact they work 12's thus 3 day work weeks versus my orientation classes and 5 8's a week... getting more comfortable with the computer charting and iv therapy. worked my first death in a hospital though i'm not new to them from the nursing home experience. really sad. nursing school teaching kicked in and realized the family was now the patient.... yay for fcc! calling docs with lab results, getting orders, transcribing them and following through with pertinent ones. verifying blood products, learned the hospitals cpm, and was introduced to the coude catheter after cathing a gentleman x2 with no output after a bladder scan i did showed 950ml... coude catheters rock! ng tubes, peg tubes, trach care, wound care are a daily norm... my spanish translation skills are in demand and am hopefully serving this community adequately.... doing discharges and had my first admission... learning the many hospital equipment types, where the buttons for this and that are.... what that ringing, buzzing or pinging noise means... getting my gut used to the hospital food.... oh well...

btw the season opener for grey's sucked! i didn't really care for some of the problems some of the characters had... oh well....

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Good to hear from you. You're translations skills would definately come in handy around my unit too. Good luck!

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Grew up in Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach a long time ago. So long ago I actually beat up Ron Jon twice back then.

I still have Fam in Satellite and west palm.

The Nicest thing about the Melbourne area, Is the proliferation of classy quality sublime awesome coolest Golf Courses around.