Jay Levan

Atlanta is a great place to work, they have many hospital chains, some of which are Emory University Hospitals, Piedmont, Wellstar, and the least inviting (In my opinion) is Columbia Hospitals. I work strictly for agencies (6) and am able to schedule any shift I want. I also "Travel" to Atlanta for 4-13 week assignments. It is somewhat expensive to live in Metro Atlanta but you can find reasonable rents for appartments, and mortgage rates for homes 20 minutes from town. Overall cost of living is about half of what you are experiencing in Pittsburg. Salaries depend on your qualifications, and your ability to negotiate. The good situation you are in, is that you may do your negotiations on-line Before ever leaving your present local address. Negotiating is a tricky business, especially here in the DEEP SOUTH :uhoh21: It is considered for anyone, let alone Yankees, to make statements, so always try to ask questions I moved to the area in 1984, to southerners I was a Damn Yankee then, and I am still in the same catagory today :angryfire If I were in your shoes, I would explore through agencies, to see if you can obtain a contract, short term,(4) weeks or longer (8-13) weeks, that way you can explore the many avenues available to you, and get your own take on COL, salaries, etc. etc. without giving anything up in your area. Travel Agencies provide housing, travel pay, utilities, Sign-on, and completion bonuses, renewal of contract bonuses, as well as other perc's, however again you must have the ability to negotiate with them, because if you do not ask the proper questions about benefits, they will not mention them. Suggest you sit down one day and dome some math on just what you would need, so that you are not left holding the bag, on expenses you might incur. Certainly I would be happy to coorespond with you and answer any querstions you might have on this endeavor. They (Agencies) might ask what area of town you would like to be housed? If they do, try to pick something close to the hospital, but not downtown. Traffic patterns in Atlanta are very clearly defined, and if you get stuck in one trffic jam you will see that to travel metro-Atlanta you must be inside the I-285 Loop before 6:15am and not be scheduled to leave before 7:15pm. When I go to Atlanta for work I prefer 11am-11pm it allows you to miss most major traffic. Gangbangers consider this good enouigh reason to shoot at you :angryfire Not trying to scare you just giving you a tip. I'm sure you have your own particular problems in Pittsburg, no different from Atlanta.

I am an R.N. with 32 years experience. I am a Diploma R.N. (3 year program) I have applied several times in my career, for a reserch position, to no avail. I do not remember the details, but was told once that I was not qualified for a position in research. Of course, I find that hard to believe. However I am not someone to try to convince anyone of my qualifications for a particular position, that I have been turned down on. Also, I've never had the time to research, Research Nursing beyond filing those several applications. So I guess I just lost interest. I was at the beginning of my career, chasing Physician Assistant Programs, the first school I applied to lied to me, they told me that if I received a Face to Face interview from their Director that it meant that I was virtually accepted to the program. I received that face to face interview, only to be told that I would have to re-apply the following year as the class was full. I asked why I had to go through the entire process again, and was told that a) I had scored a 98% on the written exam, and b) that they were looking for candidates that indigenous: (having originated in and being produced, growing, living, or occurring naturally in a particular region or environment.) The Hospital, Harlem Hospital in Manhattan New York. Since I am caucassion, I felt I had a very good case to file for race discrimination. I thought about that for awhile, but decided it was not worth the aggravation. That one episode, changed my view as to convincing anyone of my qualifications Now for my question? If the need is so great for research positions, are you aware of any resources pertinent to qualifications needed to fill these positions? If so please forward them to me. I hope this information serves you well.

Just two of the thoughts that come to mind. That is why I asked the question, "Where in the heck are you when these acts of discrimination occur? If by telling the truth is considered by you as Slamming then I suppose I should keep my mouth shut, and my thoughts on this particular subject to myself

Once again, I'm sorry, but I don't believe I understand. Did I, anywhere in my reply to you, state that my distaff members should not have an opinion??? I do not believe I did. However as you may well see more than one female decided to jump on my back, seeing the juicy opportunity My question, to those of you that admit being aware of the obvious problem, where the heck are you ladies when your male staff member(s) need you to watch their backs for them?? :uhoh21:

:chuckle Thanx, I think?

Sorry MattsMom, but as I see the original thread was as stated above, and as usual, from my experience, the female finds a way to deflect or redirect the issue that was the original debate. I give you that, females often devour their own gender as well as the opposite gender. For what reason do you suppose? Weeding out the "Weak" Hmmm? I do not feel that I am weak, on the contrary I am a very strong personality. As I wrote earlier in this thread, I have tried all the suggestions. I have been confrontational at times, when I felt it was the necessary path to follow. I have been the class clown, to try to lighten things up on the unit, when I felt that was necessary, I have been the "Cook" for the unit, and dished up some scrumptious meals in my time as a nurse. I have ignored those that I thought were superfluous, only to have the "Enlistment" of others to her cause :angryfire I believe that I am responding to the original thread not trying to make a new one, are you??JOMO

As above, 1) Solve it straight out, considered Aggressive by females. What you are writing about is confrontational according to female nurses (I have been told this by Nurse Managers!) 2) Ignore it, considered weakness by females (I have been told this by Nurse Managers) 3) Move away from it, to this suggestion I ask "How many times must I MOVE?? Once, twice, twenty, one-hundred???? If discrimination were solved by ignorance and Nomadic behavior, we would have a country full of Nomads! :angryfire

:chuckle Thanx Angie O'Plasty, been there done that, and as I am sure you noticed, I am very near retirement, have roots and chains on me which may be a good thing. Jay

Sad but true, I have been dealing with this problem for thirty two years, fortunately for me, I was trained very well and learned very early to pick my battles and stand my ground when necessary. But the cost has been tremendous. I haven't seen in this thread, the obvious yet covert truth of the matter. What I mean is that, a male may win a battle or two or twenty, but eventually if one female begins the discriminatory behavior against any male, sooner or later she will "enlist" as many cohorts as she feels necessary, to win the "WAR" and be rid of the pesky male. I have both witnessed this behavior and been a victim of it many times. There were several times that I considered legal action against individuals that were particularly venemous. I am sure that I could have won cases of slander and liable aganst those individuals. Consider this, I have been an R.N. for thirty two years, I have never once been repremanded by any state licensing board, have never been accused of any malpractice issues, or any other issues concerning patient care, and yet as I approach retirement, I am still BLS, ACLS, and PALS, certified, yet having trouble finding work in E.R. There are those who will say that, "He is not the nurse he used to be." or "He must have burnt too many bridges." or "He must have peed off the wrong person." To those I say, you are wrong, standing up for one's self is not the answer, because when you do, you make your enemies more determined, this is where the "enlisting" of help to scuttle your ship begins. Giving exceptional nursing care is not the answer, it is a threat to those who would sit on their duffs and gab about anything but patient care. To those who might say he's not the nurse he was once, I say, "then why am I still able to do evrything an E.R. nurse does?? :angryfire The answer to discrimination of anykind is to confront it and erradicate it. Unfortunately there are to few males in the nursing profession to accomplish this. Females know this and I suspect, that this (Keeping males on the defensive) contributes greatly to the reason there is so much widespread discrimination against males in our profession, and that my fellow professionals S--ks!

Here we have the opportunity to discuss things openly. However also here we are at risk of our comments being seen by those that would keep us divided for their own reasons. I find myself more and more fearless when it comes to speaking plainly, but that is due, at least in part, to my closeness to retirement age. I will have the opportunity to work tirelessly, for my profession, and I intend to do just that in 21 months. Your perception of our problems seems Right on the Money. We do need a Peer Review Board, just as Physicians have. However, when it comes to constructive critisizm, we males, are like Sitting Ducks on the pond. This is not to say that sheilas, can't be ostrasised, but we are the primary targets of females in our profession. All you have to do is listen to the Male Bashing utterances of females as they gripe about their lovers/husbands/boyfriends etc. :uhoh21: to see that any time they get the chance to get even with those listed, through us vicariously, they will avail themselves of that opportunity. I have been a victim of "Bad Hair Days" to often to dismiss it as coincidence. Yes we all make mistakes, those of us that are Human that is. However we also live in a very litigenous society. This makes being honest and forthright, a very risky endeavor. I carry my own malpractice insurance because at one time the "Hospital" covered you with theirs(Malpractice Insurance) but that is no longer the case in reality. In reality they say you are covered, but the Physician comes first under their policies. The Physician is sued for the max leaving no wiggle room for the Nurse. If the nurse does not have adequate coverage they are left holding the bag :angryfire If the nurse has any savings or holdings, Real Estate, Stocks, Bonds, IRA's and they do not have coverage the attornies go after those holdings. Thank God, I have never had to avail myself of this protection :stone, but I am covered should this plague visit my doorstep. There is another area of concern to me and that is, a retirement fund(National) for nurses with twenty or more years of experince, our national nursing organizations has never addressed this problem. For me it is a moot subject, I have done the best I was able to, to prepare for this eventuality, but there are many I know who have not done so. I fear that they will finish their lives in a nursing home without the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of their labor of love. I would discuss the logistics of a plan that I have in mind to great extent, but I don't wish to be a bore. Let me just say that were the ANA mine to administer, Retirement Funding would be my first concern, and order of business.

I have worked Agency Nursing for the majority of my career, primarily because I hate cat fights, and I'm not good at it. I thought that I had found the solution, to that problem, only to have this type bias to rear it's UUUGLY head. In case there are people out there, that do not understand UUUGLY, the definition of UUUGLY= 12 different kinds of ugly.! I have found by asking questions, that most if not all these type people are biased against everything they consider a threat. If you do not believe this, think about it, here comes a nurse that in all probability, is better at taking care of sick people than they are or choose to be. Agency Nurses, they know full well have not had anywhere near the Orientation they've had. Their attitude about this ranges from "Oh, they think they are better than we are", to "They make the big bucks, let them have the toughest assignments!" :angryfire :angryfire Of course, one can only generalize others opinions without eliciting data from the individuals in question (Regular Staff Nurses), however if there are enough responses here, we may be able to see the true pattern that does exist. These nurses will do anything they can to a. take some of the "HEAT" off themselves, and b. trip up the Agency Nurse to make the point that they are better than any Agency Nurse! They sit down with policy manuals, while we are to busy to notice and look for things in them to call us on, or even worse yet they report us without giving us any chance to correct our "by the book" mistakes. Even in the rare instances where we are mistake free, (I don't know anyone mortal, that does not make mistakes) they will eventually blame us for something like "Team Cohesiveness, or the lack thereof while we are on duty. Once again they (Staff Nurses) know if "Push comes to Shove" they can scuttle us out by continuing to complain about us whether they are honest or not, simply because they are "ON STAFF" and we are not! :angryfire

:uhoh21:

I predict that we will see many more of these same stories over the next five to ten years. Although it is happenening to a lesser degree now, I have personally seen several nurses with the same story to tell. Basicly that story is, "that they feel as though they are being thrown to the wolves." Hosp. Admin. could not care less about your license to practice! :angryfire

:chuckle O.K. here goes, can we as Male Members of an elite society, while being greatly outnumbered, help in any way to stamp out this separatism, amongst our profession's leaders? Will we be able, in my lifetime, to stop all the fuss over Diploma/ADN/BSN and who makes the better nurse? I personally feel that this type divisionism, only helps to keep us nurses from accomplishing any major campaign, to unite our profession, and thereby uplift it to it's proper station. You ask what is our proper station? I'm not sure, but I would like to see the profession advance somewhere above "Handmaiden/set dressing/crybabies etc. etc. :angryfire I really think our profession has lagged behind mostly because of the divisive propaganda handed out by our nursing organizations, ANA etc. I have witnessed nothing positive coming from them, they have beat the "educaton horse" to death, and we have not advanced our reputations one iota. They have continued in follies that divide us and do nothing in the area of unity. Teachers are unified, pharmacists are unified, oh hell, truckdrivers are unified, baseball players are unified, doctors are unified, hmmmmm? sounds like I'm preaching unionism, doesn't it? Well, let us visit that subject, has or does anyone here know of any studies that have been done or are ongoing, as to the benefits of the Union Nurse vs. the Non-Unionized Nurse? I believe that the professions mentioned here may not be united on everything they individually believe in, however when it comes to what is better for their profession is concerned, THEY ARE UNITED! Sounds very simplistic, but think about it, they put aside "What is best for the One" to push for "What is better for All" I also believe that we will never advance our profession, until we can show the type unity these other professions do. What say you?

I understand completely your rancor. I am a thirty+ year experienced R.N. in the U.S. and I have to literally fight for every pennie I make. Part of the Nursing salary inequities, are indeed caused by our Nursing representative organizations which have done very little in this area to boost the Nursing Profession. They have always, as far as I'm concerned, helped to divide us into catagories Diploma Nurse, ADN Nurse, BSN Nurse, etc. etc. of course the leaders of these organizations are mostly BSN and beyond. So they have a vested interest in promoting their agendas to have these many lettered nurses salaries be higher, and promoting the differences between our training experiences. I have always thought how Bogus an idealization this was and is. I took the same State Board Exams as any other nurse, had to pass with the exact same score as any other nurse, and do the same job as any other nurse. As a matter of fact, I do not believe that Grad Nurses taking boards today could not pass the board exams we took thirty years ago. Where staffing shortages are concerned, Hospital Administrators continue to bury their heads in the sand and deny there is any such thing as a nursing shortage :angryfire while putting out memo's (oral not written) that staff is not allowed to say, "We are very short staffed today." as a reason for not answering call lights in a timely fashion. I also feel I would not encourage my son to be a nurse. That is the REAL SHAME of our profession, that we cannot allow pride in what we have accomplished, to sway us into recommending to others, this noble profession. Another aspect of our professions demise seems to be the media's love affair with nurse bashing. If you are informed about Mr. Schwarzeneger's comments alone, you may see how we are being portrayed to the public by him as well as other public figures. I find this interesting in light of how corrupt most politicians are in this country. These are just a few of the factors known to me, it would take to long for me to post the other inequities here as I do not type well enough.

As stated, this problem has been going on and on and on, for the entire length of my career, that is for thirty two years come June. It will never stop because males are males, and females are females. You know females are from Venus and males are from Mars. Sometimes I must say I enjoy it, the battle that is. Of course the times I enjoy it are mostly with my friends, (Male and Female) These are the times that the discussions are light and maybe even frivolous. We, my friends and I have fun with these gender based issues, but I'm sure we both gain insight into the heart of the issues we discuss, I know I do. It is when these issues become R-E-A-L in the workplace that I do not enjoy one moment of being stereo-typed, or flat out accused of any wrong doing. Comments such as, "He's just a male he wouldn't or couldn't understand our position." coming from females simply knocks me out. That statement assumes that all males are alike in every aspect of there lives, including but not limited to, gender relations with the opposite sex. It also assumes that we(males) are the horny toads, which flies in the face of my own personal experience. In my youth both as a male and as a nurse, it was more often than not that females, were piching my Butt, even grabbing my genitalia, thrusting there breasts in my face, and some of my bosses even went so far as to try to lure me to their homes for a little tryst, with the provision that if I didn't go there that they would cancel my assignment (I spent most of my career being an Agency Nurse) Just so you do not get the impression I'm crying here, I took advantage of many of those offers, both verbal and kinetic. Should I have repulsed all these offers of sexual delight? If I did I probably would have had to become a Monk. To give an example of my personality, when I met my wife, it took me six months to get up the nerve to ask her out on a date, in this day and age I believe that would have been covered under "If ya snooze, ya lose" In any case I am aware that many of us males, have had some of the same experiences. Being sixty and married happily is a very nice thing to be, because it allows me to be able to dismiss any accusations that have gender overtones, simply because I know in my heart that they are not true. You younger males will still have to deal with these issues awhile longer, but there is light at the end of the tunnel :Melody:

I believe I took the same Board exams (I am a Diploma R.N.) as the degreed candidates for licensure. I also believe My board exams would NOT be passed by the majority of the nurses graduating today. I have thirty two years experience, should I be paid less than a nurse with a degree?? Nursing is not about degrees, it's about taking very good care of people. Will you make it for thirty years? Only God knows the answer to that.

The Only Quote that comes to mind is "Female Sexist Pig" Women wear provocative clothing and then get upset if a male leers at them, makes me go Hmmmmm? :rotfl:

If you were to see me, I am going to be sixty in 3 weeks, have been at this profession for over 31 years and have had every coceivable epithet and inuendo hurled in my direction. I am married to a wonderful, loving ,and caring wife, and when I come home from work everything negative that has happened that day, just simply mealts away. Also when you consider the behavior of those people who may be putting you down, just remember from your psych training that people often,use transference to relieve there own miserable existances, to make themselves feel smarter, more good looking, better qualified to judge others etc. etc. Let nothing desuade you in your honorable attempt to help those in need. Jay Levan :)

I am very surprised that anyone would think that their hospital would cover them in the event of a lawsuit, after all the horror stories that I have read(Not Heard) Case in point; lawsuits are directed at Hospitals first, Doctors second, and Nurses third, there is a pool of funds for lawsuits held sort of in escrow and guess who gets the benefit of the least amount of that account?? That's right the Nurse, and often if there isn't enough to go around the nurse has to fend for themselves, do some research and you will see of what I speak

:angryfire This unfortunate circumstance has been evident since 1973 when I joined the profession, and will continue as long as nursing exists, unless We nurses begin to realize as some have that, Hospital Administration can do anything they please, especially in "No Cause" states. Also as long as Nurses do not band together to form unions. Yes, there are also pitfalls to unions, however the alternatives we've been living with, are attrocious. Nurses are paralyzed into believing they have no alternatives primarily because they will not put aside their petty differences for the good of the Whole, by electing representatives to fight for better pay better benefits, and yes pay increases that reward the loyalty they have shown the company by years, as the companies find they must pay new grads more then the experienced nurses should have their salaries adjusted accordingly. That is the primary reason I have continued to work for Agencies, better pay and they are now offering benefits, raises as the need for nurses rises. Add to that, that if you find the hospital not to your liking you can request to be assigned elswhere as needed. :) May all who read this fair well and be prosperous. THINK!

Sorry to disagree, but I'm Afraid you are Overlooking some very glaring circumstances. First let me say that I do agree with your statistical information, and that I have felt the abuse you are explaining for thirty one years. However in that period of time a lot has happened to not only promote this abuse but to also expand it. The #1 influence has been our federal government. In the year 2003 there were approximately 40,000,000 people with no health insurance at all. There are those statisticians that believe that number will double this year to 80,000,000 people, leaving this vast amount of people with nowhere to go but the emergency room to see a doctor :angryfire Yet this same government finds ways to spend our money to cure the Ills of the entire world. I won't get on my soap box here, but some people are illiterate and cannot figure out how to take proper care of their children However that has been an E.R. problem since I've been doing it. My associate, this problem will not fade, in fact I believe it will continue to increase until Gabrial blows his horn, I further believe that time is very close. The best advise I may offer is to stop beating those people down, they are already in dire circumstances, and these type feelings on our parts, only makes things worse for them. I truly hope that your experiences as an E.R. Nurse will help you gain more knowledge of your fellow human beings plights and that your understanding will grow with the years ahead of you. If you feel the need to discuss this interesting discussion, please feel free to PM me any time or answer here, whichever is to your liking. Thanx for reading this.

Does your facility have an Nursing Education Department? If not Check with AHA.com :) Jay

That question has been asked for as long as I"ve been in nursing(31) years

Gee, I remember the very beginnings where we we arguing whether or not there was a "Nursing Shortage." What an adventure watching the truth unfold and become undeniable. Hospital Boards that were in the beginning holding the line so as not to have, the truth come out, it was sort of these skinny little geeks, holding this closeline around the burgeoning, truth as it was bursting out the doors of the Hospitals, while propagandizing that there was no such thing as a Nursing Shortage :rotfl: Now there are a few persons out there that there ain't no shortage, just alack of available licensed personell willing to fill the void for their vacant positions without offering so much as a sign on bonus, or better "Paid Benefits" or anything for that matter. Those with their heads lodged in the sand, are going to be the big Losers, and very soon because no matter what the do in two or three years wont help them then as all thr available nurse will have been lured to those facilities that are willing to "Up the ANTE" so to speak. The Greatest triumphs for our profession are still to come