ERjunkie38

Thanks for the feedback and advice. Much appreciated. I had just never heard of this. Area for job is great. Pay is so so. Will call tomorrow and try to speak with NM. Thanks again!

Has anybody ever had your recruiter tell you to call the nurse manager at a hospital you were submitted to in order to get an interview??? One of the recruiters I am working with just told me I needed to call the hospital and ask for the NM, let them know I'm a traveler and I have been submitted for a position there. I guess the point is to try to make myself stand out and hopefully land interview right there? Maybe I'm wrong, but that seems incredibly pushy and seems to me would make me look bad to the facility. Has anyone else ever been asked to do this? Advice needed please....just doesn't feel right.

Thanks for all the info guys. Definitely food for thought.

Just curious to see if anyone does per diem at other hospitals while on travel assigment?

Thanks for the advice. I told them to take a hike. Still can't believe the audacity of some recruiters!!

Has anybody ever been so mad at a recruiter you wanted to reach through the phone and slap them? I just had the most infuriating conversation with one. She went down a list of cities and asked me to let her know which ones I was interested in. Stupid me I was thinking that I would get more info on the city, job, at least which hospital it would be for. No....after a list of about 15 locations I said I was interested in she said "OK, I'll get you submitted out and let's see what happens." WTH????? You want to submit me without any info on the places whatsoever? So I told her hey, wait a minute. You can't just submit me out to places without telling me something about the places. She said something along the lines of "Listen, I don't have time to go through 20 pay packages and all the information on them." So rude. So I said ok, let's narrow it down by xyz criteria which she did, and at the end of that, guess how many hospitals I was actually interested in.....ONE! She wouldn't tell me the pay or anything else. Really???? You're going to wait til after you submit me so that no matter what your pay is I have to take it if I want to work there??? I don't think so. Just lost my future travel with that company. Geez, all the other recruiters I've talked to have been great. But 1 bad experience really can leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. Greatly appreciated.

Rod, Thanks for your answer. Not worried about my job performance in regards to my ex. I can always leave my life outside the work door. Worried that I've had to call police to my house already and I can only see escalation from here. I have no ties to this place. Don't really like the town. Came here for school and ended up staying cause I love my job. But major management changes are on the way so will probably end up not loving my job soon. Was getting restless being in same town anyway so probably a blessing in disguise. Really hope my 2 years ED experience will get my foot in the door.

Hi all, I'm probably repeating questions that have been asked before, so please bear with me. I have been an ED RN for the last 2 years, the last year of which has been spent as a charge nurse. Prior to that I was on m/s/oncology floor for 2 years for a total of 4 yrs RN experience. Before that I was an LPN for 11 years, 5 of which were spent as travel nurse. I am currently in the process of jumping back into travel nursing. A couple of questions... First, is my 2 years ED experience enough to land me an ED job as traveler? I work in a 16 bed (can be increased via beds in the hallways, which has happened on many occasions) level II trauma center and have a quite varied knowledge/skill base. Not looking to jump into a level I center, looking more rural/smaller hospitals. We see a little of everything and ALOT of others. Ideally I would like to have a couple more years under my belt but I have an ex in this town who is making it impossible to stay at the job I love dearly. Staying at my job or in this town is not an option and relocating is not feasible at this time. So figured travel would be the most sensible option. Am I going to have a hard time finding jobs? Should I do m/s instead? It would kill me to leave ED. I'm already having to leave everything I know, really might break me to not be able to work in ED. Second, I have narrowed companies down to 5 I think. Any thoughts on them? I realize everyone has varying experiences with the same companies, I just need to know if anybody has been completely screwed by any of them. They are Flexcare, OnAssignment, TaleMed, Medical Solutions (out of Omaha, Ne), and Cross Country. They all had recruiters that I liked so am having hard time narrowing it down further. Third, as this will be my first travel assignment in over 5 years I'm thinking it would be best to let company provide my housing rather than adding stress of finding my own onto my already very stressed plate. Thoughts??? Sorry this is so long, thank you in advance for any answers, advice, words of wisdom or warning.

I think it's great that you're already thinking of RN. However, if you are doing it online please keep in mind that some states do not recognize online RN degrees. California for example. They want you to have the clinical hours and will not accept your RN license from any state if you did it online. So, depending on what state you are looking to work in, you should do your research before you shell out the money. Just FYI.

Anyone traveled with them? I am with them currently and am having major issues with housing and actually getting my paycheck. :angryfire Anyone else have problems, or am I just having a run of bad luck? Irritated traveler!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for all the replies. Meghan, I will be moving late August, hottest time of the year I assume? Heat doesn't bother me, but I may end up missing the winters, who knows. Zashagalka, thanks for the suggestions. Hadn't even thought about College Station/Bryan. Looks like a nice area, definately considering it. Ree-nee, I had looked into SW Houston, but saw alot of things popping up on different websites about worsening crime rates, people not feeling safe. Do you feel safe in that area, say walking around by yourself, leaving your car out in the open, etc...? Right now I'm living in a very dodgy area and really don't want to repeat the experience. Thanks again for all the info.

Hi all, I have been through the site and cannot find an answer to my question. I am moving to Southeast Texas to finish up my prereqs at one of the schools in the area. Then will be applying to LPN-ADN programs and will take whatever program accepts me. I have been a travel nurse for several years and am finally putting down roots for awhile to finish my RN. I will answer the inevitable question "Why Texas?" Because I can afford the tuition, the waiting lists don't seem to be as long for programs and there seems to be a need for per diem LPN's. Plus I'm sick of winter. Have been on the east coast for the last 4 winters!!! What I need to know is where is a good place to live in southeast Texas. I have researched until my eyes are goo and have come up with either Texas City, Alvin, or southern Houston area. However, not being from there, I am not familiar with the safety of the areas, traffic concerns, etc... I will be working per diem and will need to be in an area where there is need for LTC LPNs. Does anyone live/work in these areas? If not, can anyone suggest somewhere else? I'm not real keen on living IN Houston, too much traffic/too many people. At the end of the day, I need somewhere quiet where I can take a walk and relax. Thanks for all your info!! Looking forward to finally settling down for awhile.

Thanks so much for all the info!!

Hi all, This may be a stupid question, but here goes. I am an LPN that got conned into using the College Network for my ADN. Am almost ready to take my A&P test, and wondering how to do that with CLEP since it is cheaper than through Excelsior. College Network has not been very informative. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!!!