azerrn

You stepped on toes when yu assumed that no one had done anything with the forms in that cabinet for the past 12 years ... We have unit meetings and a unit director. New ideas, like form packets, are presented to one or the other. As any good marketing person can tell you, 95% of the sale is presentation and 5% is the product. Presented differently, I bet most of your co-workers would have jumped on board with the form packet idea, as it is a good idea. Better luck with your next good idea!

That's funny, I just had to explain what I do as an ER RN to my sister. I told her that I'm the kind of nurse that you want when you feel as if you're really sick and possiblely going to die...I will do everything within my power to keep you alive and help you get medically stable. I also explained that I'm not the best "fluffer" for people that are capable of taking care of themselves. Overall, I told her that I love my job and look forward to seeing what new adventure every:pumpiron: shift brings.

mom2three, MCRis a beautiful new hospital that is already late in the hiring process. They have been orienting staff to the Poudre way of doing things for the past few months and hope to be open in Feb 2007. If you live in the area, check them out. Good luck either way.

Interviewed in Loveland. Houses costs are comparable to where I am now. They offered me $5/hr less than I am making now. I explained that I couldn't afford to go to work for them.

Hi BeccaRN, I understand your frustration. I love the SW corner of Colorado, but the hospital there has a top hourly pay of $25/hr. Wow. Depressing. And the cost of real estate there is high in comparison. Have you considered travel nursing in the same general area?

Thanks, RNURSE49, I loved the Highway hypodermics website and the info they gave on the top ten travel agencies to work with. I took a few minutes out and read the travel RNs storeis and that was extremely enlightening...a few companies came up over and over as not good to work for and a few came up consistently as good to work for. Everyone's suggestions in response to this question have been very helpful.

Anybody out there currently or recently working for IHS - Indian Health Services? Especially in some of the rural areas of the Southwest...I was wondering how or if it differs from working for a mainstream rural hospital? Did you experience culture shock? Did you have any problems fitting in or being accepted by the native population? Any information at all would be appreciated.

Thanks K Cole 21 for the information. The only thing you didn't say was who you were with and, if possible, whom would you avoid, based on what you've heard while traveling or thru experience. I am also curious if anyone out there has ever worked for IHS - Indian Health Services...

Who are some good travel companies? And, who should you stay away from? Thanks!

I'm considering travel nursing also. Any recommendations on agencies to work with and who to avoid?

I have a question though... when you look up meds on your drug guide...do you mark them as favorites and save them for later use like when your giving the med, or do you write it down on paper? Just wondering which is more time efficient. I could see myself using my pda and marking as favorites and then fumbling throuhg it trying to find what my instructor asks me. I think I'll try using the pda and marking favorites on the drugs im going to be giving, and using the pda and writing down what I need to do... to see which is more time efficient. Writing down the medication info that you find on your PDA will help you remember it, so that when your instructor asks you questions re the drug, you may be able to answer from memory rather than shuffling thru the PDA or loose paper. I use the PDA mostly to reassure myself regarding uncommon drugs, that I am giving the right medication for the right problem at the right rate of speed. Good luck with nursing school. Remember that you need to know the basics of the medications for your examinations and will not be able to use the PDA during examinatiions.

I love my PDA. I have my schedule on it, so that I can tell months in advance if "that is my weekend on or not". I agree with above that Taber's and a drug guide are wonderful to have. I can look up stuff faster on my PDA than most can find things in a drug book or Taber's book. I find a dictionary handy in my PDA. Epocrates is a nice free drug software but it doesn't give nursing considerations. The Mereck Manual is another free software program that is comparable with Harrison's for quality and depth of information. Plug both into your search engine and the websites should pop up.

The catch 22 on this is, hospitals still have to treat them, so they are going to start losing a horrendous amount of money if they do not get compensated. You are right on! HospitalsERs will still have to treat "illegals" that come in for health care. We have a notice posted in our ER that no one will be turned away because of an inability to pay for health care. I think though that the new law is designed to reduce the number of "illegals" that apply for welfare and medicaid type programs. At my hospital, many illegals that come to the ER give fake names and fake dates of birth. One guy showed up twice in the same day with different names and birth dates...his bad luck to get the same triage RN. Either way, the hospital won't get paid...by the patient or the government.

Thanks dgross for two interesting links. I wasn't aware of the good news bad news aspect to Colorado employment before reading this thread. Like many, I have considered moving to Colorado...love the area. Concerned about cost of living and the cold. I sure love to ski, though.:monkeydance:

Good points, Larry.

Has anyone yet counted the number of posts pro 12 hour shifts versus 8 hour shifts? Speaking for myself, 12 hour shifts in the ER are the way to go. I tried 8hour shifts after doing 12's at my husband's suggestion. We both wound up hating it. I missed having more than 2 days off a week and, as mentioned, there was no time available to pick up an extra shift unless you wanted to work constantly. I am looking to move and one of my requests is a minimum of a 10 hour shift, day or night. 8hour shifts, five days a week left me no time for a home life and I was always tired.:paw:

As stated previously, Arizona law limits an EDRN to 2 ICU patients and no other patients. This can cause quite a backup out in the ER waiting room. We push the ED doc's for orders when we have a room assignment. The good experienced ED doc's give you orders for the floor as soon as they decide that the patient is being admitted. We have a unit secretary that puts the orders into the computer. We ship a copy of the med orders to pharmacy and we have a decent turnaround. Also, many of the meds are in our Pyxis system in the ER already. I do agree with the EDRN who said that she's going to treat the trauma code before giving the floor patient their 2100 ambein. We call that TRIAGE...you take care of the person who needs urgent care first.

Going the community college route is a great idea as a way to get started in nursing. Keep in mind that at most hospitals in AZ, the pay is the same whether you are a BSN or an ADN. It is also easier to get into a BSN program as an ADN rather then 'off the streets'. There is still huge competition to get into the maricopa community colleges' nursing programs, so don't get discouraged. Have you also considered working as a CNA or EMT? The experience helps you be sure this is what you want to do and it gives you experiences to write about. Good luck!

Re: FB in dark places, pt came into triage, I heard this weird hum, like someone's hearing aid turned up too high or a cell phone on vibrate. The FB had been in a dark place AND vibrating for more than 12 hours. He went to surgery in less than an hour....Ouch!

Amen on that! I've spoken to doctors privately after they have been rude and called them on their actions. Their reaction was more along the lines of they didn't realize they were sounding that way. Most important, they haven't been rude to me again. It was hard the first time I spoke up for myself...it gets easier.

The most ridiculous thing a patient ever came into our ER for was an itchy butt at 3AM. His wife must have been driven nuts to bring the patient in at that hour for that. Hmm, ever hear of Prep H?

Interesting re Maine. I'm looking at a hospital in Waterville, Maine. Can anyone tell me anything about Waterville and/or the Maine General Hospital? Thanks!

At my level 2 hospital, new grads get 6 months, nine if needed.We haven't been orienting med-surg RNs the past few years. When I came to the ER from the ICU, I got about 3 shifts of orientation. Good luck and welcome to the funny farm!

I am sorry for the treatment you received while trying to help out on day shift. Whenever I work an extra day, I clarify ahead of time as much as possible where I'll be working and what my load will be like, or, I don't work the extra shift. I also have learned to be direct and ask for help...ah, no, insist on it if others are sitting around and I'm drowning in work. In return, I offer to help if I see others drowning rather than waiting for them to ask. It was hard to learn to be assertive asking for help, but it beat feeling put upon.

Interesting...the best job in nursing? Like the nurse who loves night shift and the nurse who loves working for a managed health corp in a cubicle, the best job in nursing depends on your perspective. If you are in the right job, the hours and days of the week can be worked out. I agree with the responses which recommend that you seek some counseling. It is never appropriate for someone to yell at you. Period. I've been there and it took me time to realize how inappropriate rude behavior in a professional workplace can be. I personally love working in the ED. I love 12 hour days because I love having 4 days off a week. Weekends are less stressful. The only people that yell at me at work are the psyche patients...at least they have an excuse.