Spongecake

I agree, this will change everything. It looks like travel nurses won't be able to deduct travel, meals, job expenses... everything your recruiter sells as a job perk! What's really surprising is that one recruiter I talked to didn't seem to be aware of the implications for nurses. I would trust the tax professionals over the recruiters though. I am watching the TravelTax website for updates. It looks like traveling staff will be paying more in taxes than they used to, and that the more money you make, the bigger the tax cut you get. I wonder if I should be asking for a higher taxable income.

It all depends on the EMR your hospital uses. There are some out there that allow you to chart traumas, codes, procedural sedation etc easily. Talk to the IT or informatics people (and the people holding the purse strings) to find out what you can do to chart everything electronically. I've worked at a few facilities, which have all done things differently, and it seems to be easier in the long run when you can chart everything electronically.

In my opinion, it sounds like inadequate staffing (or some other organizational issue) played a big part in the negative patient outcomes, not a lack of skill or caring on your part. One of the ways we can advocate for our patients is by advocating for ourselves. What resources are available to you when you need help? Did the nurse watching your patients have their own assignment as well? Do you get full coverage for your lunch and rest breaks (not a nurse with their own assignment watching your patients) so you can stay at the top of your game? The patients in your assignment already were pretty sick, needed frequent reassments, and had the potential to decline. Is it reasonable for them to expect you to take trauma patients with that assignment? I suggest talking to your leadership. Maybe they will actually be responsive and you can come up with a way to prevent situations like this from happening again. I know getting more staff and changing hospital policy and culture is hard, and that not everyone is willing to listen, but it's not right if you were made to feel inadequate because you didn't have the resources you needed to take care of your patients when you needed them. Keep on giving exemplary care to your patients and try and change whatever is standing in your way of doing that. Don't forget to take care of yourself. You matter too.