pjsleepy

Hi, no problem! Texting or a voice interview is fine. Please email me at [email protected] and we can set up a time and I’ll send you my phone number privately via email. Thanks!

This post is a month old, but let me know if I can still help you.

Hi all, Can anyone in the Dallas Metroplex tell me which hospitals in the area still have IV teams? I'm a former ER nurse (7 years pt care, Adult as well as Pedi ER experience) and have spent the last 4 in the ER Clinical Informatics world, but am looking at going back to clinical. I've always LOVED starting IV's and was always a "go-to" nurse for the difficult starts. This would be something I would love to do full time, but I don't know much about any of the hospitals in the area (I've never practiced in a Dallas hospital---moved here from out of state), let alone if they have IV teams or not. I could blindly apply to the hospitals, of course, but I'd like to hear anyone's inside info, if you are willing to share. Thanks so much in advance! ~R

Cross Meditech off your list and don't look back!!! In my opinion it is an ancient system and has NO PLACE even being on the market today with all of the newer, easier to use brands. Basically, a hospital I worked at did not give the staff a choice of what would be implemented. This hospital had used Meditech for years and we were basically informed that the new system that would be implemented would also be Meditech. Well, we had training on it and every staff member pretty much agreed that it was a pretty terrible system. Still administration did not listen to us and went ahead and implemented it. It lasted maybe a month or two. In the end they ended up paying twice as much (for Meditech AND the system that they had to replace Meditech with!) I also have worked some with Eclipsys and Cerner, all as a nurse in the ER. Both are good systems. I tend to prefer Cerner over Eclipsys, but neither are as rotten as Meditech. I hope this helps some. Keep in mind my views are from an ER nurse standpoint. I can not speak for other hospital departments. But if you are implementing the system hospital wide (ER included) PLEASE DO NOT CHOOSE MEDITECH!!! If I can save one more ER nurse the pain and suffering we went through.....Can you tell I have strong feelings on Meditech!?!?! LOL

Can I ask what specialty you are or what you will be looking into? I can answer any questions you might have about Mercy Cedar Rapids.

SANE classes are offered all over the country, but you need to take the class in the state you will be practicing in. The class itself is only about a week long, and then your preceptored experience depends on the facilities guidlines where you will be practicing. I don't think it's difficult to get into SANE nursing, but yes, it is generally more difficult to get into other aspects of forensic nursing (ie. death investigation, trauma center forensic nurse, etc.) The majority of SANE nurses are or have been ER nurses, so you might want to try to get some ER exposure (ER tech, etc) while you are in college. I only had 2 years nursing experience when I started doing SANE, but I'm sure qualifications are different from place to place. I don't think that finishing your psych or social work degree would give you an advantage, but do it if you want to!!! I hope this helps.

Please seek guidance from professionals and do whatever you must to help your son. I lost a family member to a heroin overdose and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Talk to professionals and then talk to him.

Do you have multiple preceptors or just one? Did you have any exposure to the ER scene before you took this job? What is management telling you when you have brought up your concerns? You are probably doing better than you think you are. 2 years of med-surg probably gave you excellent assessment skills. When I first get a new pt I run through differential diagnosis in my head (like dr's do). What could this person possibly have? What do I need to be doing? That can be the tricky part. You'll learn that the ER standard of care is mostly the same with the exception of a few idiosyncrises from doctor to doctor. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS. And I mean ALL THE TIME. Ask everyone (nurses, doctors, techs, unit secretaries, etc). Even something that seems really silly, ASK! I also really like ERNP's post about prioritization. ER nurses, for the most part, help each other out. We've all been the nurse with a critically ill or injured pt and 3 others we just can't get to. My suspicion is that med-surg has made you super organized and methodical. The ER, on the other hand, is semi-organized chaos on it's best day. Would sitting down with all the other preceptees and your nurse manager together to address this issues help?

I can tell you why I am looking to leave ER nursing: *Gross misuse of the emergency room by the general population for problems that are no where close to being classified as an emergency situation because: a.) they either have no doctor or b.) they know that they must be treated by us and that they don't have to pay * Primary care doctors that refuse to attempt to practice medicine for non-emergent symptoms and instead say "go to the ER" * Rude patients and family members who: a.) are so egocentric that they can't recognize that the person who is blue and barely breathing is going to be seen before your hang nail you have had for 30 minutes b.) yell and scream at you, call you every naughty name in the book, name drop supposed "big-wigs" of the hospital (who supposedly exist but I wouldn't know any of them because I've never seen one make it down to my ER to check out the working conditions), and threaten lawsuits, etc. I've been a nurse for 6 years. Just in what seems to me to be a short amount of time, I feel like the work load in the ER has tripled. We used to have some downtimes. After midnight was usually a cake walk with maybe 1-2 pts a piece. Now I come in and the lobby is packed from the time I get there until the time I leave. I got tired of hospital politics and started traveling a little over 2 years ago. It was better for awhile, now I only see it getting worse (and I'm a glass is half full kind of girl!) I hate that we have to hold patients in the ER because the floor is not ready. Nothing against the floors---I know they are dealing with their own problems. I bow down to the med-surg nurses because you do a job I could never do. There are just no easy answers. Hospital administrators only see $$$$ as the bottom line when suggestions are made about hospital improvements. And adding to my fury is JCAHO- an organization whose heart (I'd like to think) is in the right place, but it's recommendations and guidlines are so out of touch with reality that a hospita's JCAHO accreditation means zero in my book. I think one doctor I worked with said it best---"They are just making it impossible to do our jobs." Sorry to vent so long. It's part letting off frustration and part mourning a emergency medical system I used to love....

Would you mind sharing where you are at? Also, if you know of any other hospitals that offer a similar orientation, that would be great! Thanks!!!

Thanks! I did see Monday that it was back up, but over the weekend (when I wanted to do research) it was down, of course! Thanks again!

Can anyone list off some hospitals that offer this class? I prefer mid-west hospitals, but anywhere that you know of will be helpful. I was on the AORN website and they are supposed to have a directory listing but the page is blank and I really want to start doing some research into this. Thanks in advance!!!

I've been a nurse for over 6 years. I have my BSN and I've only worked ER during these past 6 years (4 years staff, 2+ traveling). I am currently to the point that I absolutely hate my job. I am ready to give up the ER and try something else. The problem is I absolutely LOVE traveling. The thought of having to go staff somewhere to gain a years experience in another specialty makes me sick. I think traveling has spoiled me! My second problem is I thought fairly carefully about many other specialties and nothing is that appealing to me. Part of me just wants to move out of the hospital setting and do something else in nursing. I've been doing some research into case management, etc, but I'm not sure thats for me either. Does anyone know of any unusual nursing jobs I might like? I am willing to consider pt care or non-pt care jobs. Anything that would still require a lot of travel I would love. I know it probably would not be for 3 months at a time, but I wouldn't mind shorter periods if I would still get to travel. Also, if any nurses absolutely love their specialty- tell me about it and why you love it. I'm willing to listen to anyone and everyone at this point. I am totally confused.... Thanks so much!

Ask tons of questions of everyone at first. Never assume that a procedure/protocol is standard at your assignment hospital, because everywhere else you have worked has done it that way. You will run into methods that seem completely obsurd, but that may be the way the hospital has "always done it", so you must go with the flow (barring pt safety issues, of course.) Even if you have a better way- don't suggest it unless you are asked your opinion. They brought you in to work at their hospital and 99.9% of the time they don't want to hear about how you did something back home. Also, I found it difficult to use different supplies than what I was used to at first. Introduce yourself straight off to people if you haven't met them yet. ALWAYS befriend your techs or CNA's. They are the ones who will be able to direct you to where a supply is kept if you can't find it; they are also the ones who will be there to help you when chaos is breaking loose. If your tech/CNA doesn't like you, you are in for one miserable assignment!!! If you do have any down time (I'm not sure what specialty you are) ask if any of your fellow nurses need help and be eager to help them. This gains you tons of respect and shows that you are a hardworker. I've used this method on every single travel assignment I've had, and I've never had any problems on any of my assignments. I hope this helps you! By the way, if you are staying in travel company provided housing, go over your apartment with a fine tooth comb before you move anything in. If you see any damages at all in the apartment, make note of it, but also take a picture. It helps later if they try to say you caused the damages. I've never had to use it, but I know others who have. Good luck, you'll be great!!!

I'm looking for more information about jobs helping to implement new computer systems on site in hospitals. Can anyone tell me what the typical salary range for these positions would be? I have no official computer implementation experience, but as a travel nurse I have gone through 4 or 5 different "go-lives" with different computer systems over the past 2 years. I know these positions would mean a lot of traveling; do most companies require you to relocate near the company, or is it possible to stay in my home state? Any information anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!!