Need your Feedback/Advice

Med-Surg nurses are beginning to realize their value, so for starters you may want to pay them what they are worth.

Of course the chances of that are slim to nil, the only other thing that I would be concerned with that would encourage me to make a move is nurse-patient ratio. Most nurses that left the hospital settings in the past will site that as a big problem. Good Luck

I'm a MED/Surg RN of 24 years with most of the time spent in ONCOLOGY.

I'm always looking for that PERFECT job.

Number 1. MONEY

If it's quality and experience you want you must be able to match or offer sl more than other facilities in the area for an experienced RN.

Second priority is user friendly! By this I mean adequate benefits,straight shifts,possibility of creative shifts. Many RN's are trying to go to school and still work full time or have smaller kids whose care doesn't fit the regular nursing hours.

Last but not least word of mouth really works the best. In this way nurses get the inside tract they are looking for that can't be found in an ad/interview/.

Hope this helps!

Arlene Cowen RN

[email protected]

Dear, dtoolbox,

I am a medical nurse in Australia, and have been in a position to recruit nurses in the medical field (nurse educator)It has been my experience that med nr want adequate education such as upskilling on a continuing basis, bring in the old and the new levels of knowledge, increasing professional development is what is needed, that is what has kept me in the practice of medical nursing for so many years. Donna

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1. Survey surrounding hospitals to find out what they are paying med/surg nurses and pay comparable or above.

2. Staff according to acuity.

3. Affordable medical benefits.

4. A retirement plan comparable to that of any other business of your hospital size.

5. A chance for advancement at the bedside or into management.

6. Tuition reimbursement

7. And last but not least. A caring environment to work in. IE: Nurses helping nurses and good communication between nursing and management.

Just some thoughts,

CaronRN58

Safe and reasonable staffing is the ticket in my opinion. Med-surg units are notoriously understaffed all over the country.

Good staffing and a good salary...that would be ideal.

Funny you should ask. I am a Med/Surg nurse with 13 years at the same hospital. Last four as an RN and previously as LPN. I have been looking for a med/surg job since end of January. No luck. I don't know where the nursing shortage is. I call people to interview and they never return my call. I.E. any time tomorrow I'll be there. No luck. If I have an interview they don't get back to me. Also, offer for less than I am making now, and they know what I am making... Respect for the nurse interviewing goes a long way. You are her first impression and if you don't make a good one she won't be interested in any job you might have for her. I might have to take a job in PACU because it is the best offer I have had. Money wise and shift wise. Too bad I have to leave med/surg. I really love it....

Just my two cents worth..... Also,I went to interview for CCU and had filled in app and sent resume and the nurse manager asked me if I had any critical care experience. Now don't you think that if I had experience I would have stated that. A waste of my time because they had no training program and didn't have a position for me. At my old hosptial I was asked by the director of the Quality Management team to apply for a Nursing Home Placement Specialist position and interviewed and they gave it to someone with less experience than me.Disconcerting. Thinking of going to the travel companies....

I would not say that money would be the most important factor but it would it would be a great add to the happyness of nurses. I workrd for 4 years in a Trauma Center in Germany and I absolutly loved it. After that I went to ICU in USA cardiac surgery and also loved it I stayed there 7 years and changed my job to patient education. My Tip for you is to build a great team and make your nurses happy. Let them do together what they started out wanting to do "CARE FOR THE ONES IN NEED!!!!"

good question:

1) staffing according to acuity of level of care not just #'s.....

2) option of weekend program.....

3) benefits-----insurances, etc.

4) earned time off and being able to use it.........

5) self scheduling

6) sign on bonus always good......

7) a good mentoring/preceptorship program that is geared to the nurse's experience level.....not just across the board here you are....

8) incentive to continue education........

9) teamwork.....don't know how to quantify that as an applicant but it is a maker or a breaker.....

10) $$ and benefits=$$$

does $$$ make me sound cold hearted.....

well i would probably be out picniking and then in florist shop arranging if i had my druthers right now.........but hey.....

gotta love nursing.........and I do.....

I look for a job everywhere, papers, magazines, on-line, and from contacts at old/other jobs. I would love to see acuity based staffing, more money, free ceu's and a paid day to take them every 3 months, one long weekend a month off, unit awards[if you do a good job and don't miss work in 3 months, a gift certificate to the gift shop, a free lunch from a nice place in town, or a special notice in the hospital news. But what I wants above and beyond this is a CNM who has some REAL bedside knowledge and experience. I want someone to rollup their sleeves and help when there is a code, an emergency with a fresh post-op, a unusual problems that needs the doc called and I need to be with the patient. In other words a REAL NURSE, not just a manager. Hope this helps.

recently went job-hunting: few responses to my calls. I also wondered where the shortage was. One hospital recruiter lost my resume and wanted another faxed and then was 45 minutes late to the interview. (She was at a job fair). I had had to drive an hour to get to the place! I wouldn't work there for anything after that. I was moving from one region of the country to another and had a week to interview. I looked at the papers, on the internet, from family members living in the region,from packets that were sent to me on my request. $, benefits,eductional offerings, and pt to nurse ratios were the draw for me. Lots of things were misrepresented in the interviews though. So don't lie or deceive because hospital reputations travel in the nursing "underground".

DToolBox...This is a good thread. Why not post it in the "poll" section? You can select parameters for better responses.

I for one...do not look for money as my first concern! I prefer to have good working conditions, and a management that listens, and hears! Going for the money is great, as long as you don't have to work where all that is keeping you there is the money, and even then you're questioning your sanity for staying!

I've seen just how bad it can get, and I will take less money, for a better work setting...any day! Too many hospitals give the feeling, that because they pay well....they should be able to use you like a slave...and treat you like you have no intelligent thought in your head, except for the ones they give you! In that case, they can keep their money! I want to be treated well, and respected for the work I do!