I'm LVN with 3.5 yrs experience...med/surg and home health (about 1/2 and 1/2). I recently quit my med/surg job, because I just need to do something different. I'm just tired of pushing pills down people's throats. I have an interview with Davita, but I'm reluctant after reading so many negative comments on this forum. I also have job possibility at a local prison I've got on the burner.
Both of these options will be completely different to what I am used to doing, which is why they are appealing. I'm put off by the prison, because I just dunno about dealing with those guys on a daily bases....it's gotta be pretty depressing. I've read a lot comments on here, and people seem to love it. I do like the idea of the challenge.
With Davita and the negative comments, I always take what anyone says with a pinch of salt, especially on the internet. Most of the naysayers end up being wrong anyway. For example in college any lecturers people were saying to avoid I found to be the best. It's just there are so many negative comments regarding Davita. My main concern is the description of the work. For one it sounds appealing, as it is definitely not med/surg; but on the other hand it sounds like a stressed out run for 12-16 hrs.
Home Health is always option as is going back to my job I just quit prn.
The other thing is Davita is like 15 mins from my house and will be days, whereas the prison is 45-60+ hours drive, and may be nights.
Just looking for any advice, personal experiences etc. I'm a man BTW...if that makes a difference :)
Wow $ 400 a treatment. That is very enticing, does that break down to $100 an hour for a 4 Hr treatment?? I had heard dialysis pays well but was afraid to " jump down that rabbit hole" to qoute a previous poster.
Not really per hour b/c they have to set up and break down. Also, I notice that when they dialyze my patients for 4 hours, they are magically done in less time....hmmmmm:nurse:
Thanks for all the responses. I've definitely had them going through my head as of late.
So I decided to take the dialysis job. It's about 20 mins from the house, good pay, they will pay 100% tuition and will work my schedule around school. They even have a program where once I get accepted into the RN program they will allow me to work part time hours but will still keep all my benefits active. I'm also excited about the possibility of working over seas on one of their projects they offer now and then. I like the administrator. I just worry about all the bad press they've gotten on this site and it looks like they will be calling a lot for me to pick up extra shifts. She said they mainly do 8 hr shifts but I can do 16 if I want. My role will mostly be to be the med-nurse- 10 hour shifts. I will only have 2 pts to dialyze and will be giving meds on 4 other pts for a tech.
The prison will be an intake unit, so no hospital beds. It will just be sick call and emergencies. This is exactly the role I was looking for in the prison. I was scared at first when I first pulled up at the prison, but I felt good inside. The interview went well. They will pay 100% tuition too, but they seemed concerned about my school being possible with the set schedule they offer there. I told them I planned to study online. I don't, but I didn't wanna blow my chances for a job. That is a concern. The other thing is it's an hour drive from the house. Then of course dealing with prisoners.
The prison is originally what i left my current job to pursue. I was looking for something different. I don't wanna deal with families and patients who think they're in a hotel. I like the idea of all the crazy **** that could go down in the prison. I like the idea of being a first responder. I worry about my safety. i worry about a prisoner finding out where I live and the identity of my family. I worry about a year or so down the road when I go back to school that I will either have to find another job to work around school or go part time and lose the benefits, maybe even the 100% tuition reimbursement.
The dialysis center will be something new and something I genuinely find interesting. It's close to the house. They are flexible with the schedule. 100% tuition reimbursement and being able to work around school schedule. It's safer. I worry about being run into the ground like I've heard so many people complain about, and I will still be dealing with very sick patients. On the plus side though. These patients will not have me pushing 100 pills down their throats. They will be stable too. If they are not, we'll ship them out.
They are both pretty much the same pay. I've been given ball park figures by both so far.
I guess I'm leaning towards the dialysis job, plus I've already told them I'd take the job and wont have to burn that bridge. At the prison, I told them I would call tomorrow to let them know if I'm interested. Like someone said, they will always be hiring in the future too. Hhhmm.....I'm just ready for this to be over. I though I was done earlier this week when I accepted the dialysis job, then the prison called for the interview...lol
glutton4punishment
142 Posts
Not really per hour b/c they have to set up and break down. Also, I notice that when they dialyze my patients for 4 hours, they are magically done in less time....hmmmmm:nurse: