NICU_Nurse

I recently applied at Baylor for a NICU position in Dallas. I received an email saying that they were going with someone who had qualifications that more closely fit their needs. I have almost a decade of high-acuity NICU experience and was a sought-after preceptor at my last facility. Not to sound haughty, but what kind of qualifications could they possibly be seeking that I don't posess? I didn't even get to speak to anyone. (shrugs) Good luck to you! Hopefully you'll find something soon!

Hi, I posted recently about travel agencies and contracts in Dallas, etc., but tonight I was specifically wondering about Per Diem work available in these areas? I do NICU, and was just wondering, for those of you working at any number of hospitals (there are so many!) if there is much of a market for this type of agency work these days? I'm not seeing a lot of NICU travel jobs available, and I've been to the individual facility web sites and seen some ads for PRN/Pool nurses, but I was curious about third-party agencies? Are you working with many agency nurses these days? This is definitely a possibility for me, but it would require me to actually physically (permanantly) move to Texas, and I don't know how to estimate what the market might be for work. Does your unit use agency nurses only occasionally? Do they only use in-house pool? Any help would be awesome. The problem I'm having is I have a 'brief' window of time that I need to remain a resident in my home state, approximately 6 months or so, before I could permanently move to Texas. Travel contracts that provide housing would be ideal, but like I said, there don't seem to be too many of those available right now. My second option is local agency nursing, but I would need enough work weekly to bridge me until I could get a Texas driver's license and register my car and all of that. I would need at least 3 shifts/week for a few months, even if they were split amongst various hospitals. Thank you!

Thank you!

Wow! Thank you for that list! I really appreciate that. It's so difficult, sorting through random websites when you're not living there yet! THANK YOU. :)

Hello, all. :) I am looking for more information on agencies that may either be based in Texas or have Texas NICU assignments available, particularly in the Dallas/Austin/Houston areas? I've been told All About Staffing, Pulse, MAXIM, and cctc may be helpful. Any others that you know of? Any information is greatly appreciated and shall perhaps earn you a margarita on me should we ever cross paths. ;P Thanks!

Hello! :) I was wondering if anyone has any input about Dallas area NICU's? I am looking for travel contracts currently, but am aiming to ATTEMPT to move to Dallas permanantly within the next year or so. ANY information would be tremendously appreciated! Specifically, I'm wondering about the higher-acuity, Level III+ Neonatal Intensive Care units at the various hospitals, moreso than Stepdown/Well-Baby units. Have you worked there? Have friends there? If they have a referral program, I'd be thrilled to mention someone by name when the time comes. Know of anyone who's received relocation assistance? Bonuses? (I can hear you laughing now...stop that!) Etc.

Hello, I was wondering if anyone had any information on Texas-based or Texas-heavy nursing agencies, particularly in the Dallas/Austin/Houston areas? I was told that All About Staffing, MAXIM, Pulse, and CCTC were possibilities. Are there any others? Thank you!

Hello! I saw a CD-ROM with optional CEU's SOMEWHERE online last year, and forgot to bookmark it. I could have SWORN it was on the Academy website, but I looked tonight and didn't see it. Does anyone know if this is still available online somewhere? I don't necessarily need the CEU's, but I wanted a refresher. If someone has a copy that they no longer want, I would be willing to purchase it via paypal, etc. Please let me know! I'm so disappointed that I didn't buy this when I had the chance. Thank you. :)

There's no such thing as TOO excited! you have every right to be excited. I gradated a year and a half ago and I'm STILL excited! LOL Every now and then I lok at my husband and say, "Do you realize that I am a licensed and certified NURSE responsible for the lives and safety of my patients?" and he rolls his eyes and says, "Get over it already! That's OLD news!" Of course, I should probably stop saying it when he asks me to make him dinner, but still... In our first semester, we got all the tools, but you'll get the most use out of your stethoscope for sure. We had our uniforms, an we began clinicals right away, but our first half was entirely in a LTC facility and we did more assessment and talking than actual care (though there was certainly care involved). We were split between street clothed with lab jackets and our horriblyo utdated ruffly uniforms (I'm SO glad that's over! Yay! for scrubs.) Basically you'll be focusing on disease pathology, so you can understand what's happening to them, as well as learning to identify what's normal. It may sound simple, but knowing what's considered normal is very important. You'll have patients with slightly off vital signs or other physical signs or symptoms, and though you may not be able to pinpoint exactly what is happening (out of a myriad of choices or problems), you will definitely be able to say, "Hey, this isn't regular; something's not right here." and that's the first step to determining what IS going on. Congratulations! Have fun! This kind of sums up your first semester: