lindzrae

Hi, I am an RN with almost 4 years of experience, half of that in the ER (which is where I intend to stay for now). I am seriously considering travel assignments, looking to start in Huntington Beach (I just love it there). I already have a basic understanding of what the prices for rent go there and the fact that with these assignments you can take a stipend or the agency finds housing for you. Does anyone have any recommendations on which agencies to use for the southern california/Orange county area? Any recommendations on hospitals? Additionally, I would like to know what I should expect in weekly pay (including or exclusing housing). Basically, if I could make the same I make now or a little more PLUS my housing, I would be just set. But I am totally clueless and I need unbiased information! I know lots of travelers and I know that the agents work for themselves and have to make money, so YOU are not always their "top" priority. ANY input would be appreciated! Thank you. Lindsey

Exactly! She is only cheating herself. It will catch up to her and she will regret not paying attention in the core classes.

I worked med/surg for 2 years before diving into the ER. I honestly think going to the ER as a new grad would be super tough and I would never want to do it. However, you are already there. Taking a step backwards would be having little faith in yourself. ER is a LOT to know. You will have days where you are scared to death, you will have traumas, you will have codes, you will have things you have never seen. It is part of the environment. You will learn every day, and remember, YOU ARE NEVER ALONE! Keep the senior nurses on your good side, DO NOT be afraid to ASK questions, even to the docs! Have faith in yourself and work hard. It is a tough road but it is possible Good luck!

This is a tough one-- ONLY because of your contract. I totally agree, I would hate to be stuck in post-partum. Not my cup of tea. I did med/surg/peds and telemetry for 2 years before I transferred to ER over a year ago and it was the best decision I ever made! I did appreciate my time on the floor though. I learned a heck of a lot about time management and basic patient care which benefits me to this day. Why don't you have a sit down with your director and tell her how you are feeling? I am telling you, no manager wants to have someone working for them who hates their job. It leads to poorer patient care and decreased patient satisfaction, and we all know how important that is nowadays! I say, if it is a huge issue, stick it out for another year and then go to where you will be happy. If not, go for it! Obviously the financial deal is not an issue since the new hospital is willing to pay your contract off. I wish you the best of luck and let me know what you decide!

Hi! I actually live in bullhead City, Arizona. Valley View is located in Mohave Valley, AZ which is about 20 miles south of my house. I work at Kingman Regional Medical Center, which is around 40 miles northeast of my house. The area out here is OK. It is very hot in the Summer (115-120), but kingman is about 15 degrees cooler. In bullhead, you are right on the colorado river, with laughlin nevada across the river. It is like a mini-Vegas. KRMC is, in my opinion, an awesome hospital to work for. It is not-for-profit, and I just feel like you are treated right. I have spoken to several travel nurses who say it is one of the best they work for. It is fairly small, I think a max of 150 beds. I work in the ER, which is a level 4 trauma center with 22 beds, capable of having around 48 patients if we try hard. Good luck to you, and feel free to ask me any more questions! -Lindsey

I would suggest buying an NCLEX book at the very beginning of school, and using it as a secondary resource when studying for tests. It gives you different styles of learning and different questions, plus it prepares you for the types of questions you will see on the NCLEX. I used a book called "Complete Review for NCLEX-RN" by Donna Gauwitz, published by Thompson-Delmar Learning. It is really good in content. It has a review section before each set of 20-30 questions. It has adult med-surg, pre and post-op, pharmacology, pediatrics, maternal, and a lot more. I used this book (plus some others that fellow students had) all throughout my nursing school, and also before every test. I just passed my NCLEX on the first try, along with the help of Kaplan. Just do questions all the time, it is the best way to learn. When you get a question wrong, read the section about it. The questions you get wrong are better tools to learn from than anything else. Good luck!

Hey I think I know what the problem is... I was sort of having the same problem. If the question is asking "How many cc's" or "how many mL", simply put your answer as "1.5" not "1.5 cc" or "1.5 mL". It will not register that you have entered an answer if there is any other information other than the number. It is the same in the NCLEX. I just took mine on Friday and found out this morning that I passed with the help of Kaplan! Keep doing questions, I did about 300+ a day for a week before my test. Good luck!