SCGreywolf

Lovelace Westside is advertising a new OB/Birthing Center. Have no idea now what the staffing will be like or the pay. I left Lovelace last fall and went to Santa Fe at St Vincents in the ER and I love the crew. Management was very undirected until a new /Director took over in Feb. going pretty good now.

Try Halliburton first, then Blackwater. If you are BSN, you should try the Department of State for an embassy assignment. DOD has occasional contracts in some VERY remote places as well as some civilian contracts for bases in the ME. They don't pay like they used to but it's still good money when you consider the tax advantages. I'm actually considering an offered contract right now thru DOD for the Pacific islands (Marianas). It will only pay about 85K a year but travel, food and housing are taken care of in the contract. Might be good to lay on a beach for awhile. Being ex-military, you might try joining the VFW post in Washington called 'China in exile". It's used as kind of a clearing house for military type positions (NOT as a mercenary hiring joint) such as bodyguards and medical personnel. Good luck. Look at every opportunity (and behind every door) You also can try civiliancontractorjobs.com The Wolf

In the grand scheme of things, it's probably good. I (unlike most of you) remember when the Medicare bill was rammed thru the Congress and the near riots that ensued. This is no different. We WILL learn to live with the law of the land. What I resent is the secrecy and deliberate fog which the legislators used to pass this bill. Unlike the days of the 60's most of our voting citizens are not afraid to use the web to research bills such as this. Consequently as a result of the legislative tactics that were used, I am no longer either a Republican or a Democrat......I now am an activist in our local chapter of the Tea Party. The Wolf

Sorry, Don't get on here much lately. You have the answer to your question about IHS in the post immediately following yours. As far as travel nursing is concerned, you really have to ask yourself a few questions. 1. Can you handle being away from everything you know including people for at least 4 months at a time? I know they promise that you can 'get away' but do you realize that you will be totally alone in a strange city for most likely 4 months? No resources, no late night burger runs with your bud, not even a quick beer. Think about it...that does in more travel nurses than you realize. 2. How well do you adapt to new rules? Every hospital has different rules and you will only have a day or two to learn them and be ready to change. How well do you adapt to change in yout personal environment? There's very little satisfaction in money itself if you don't enjoy something that you are doing. That being said, the most money for travelers (as far as I know) is being paid in the California and New York markets. I repeat that if you are willing to work and you are primarily after money, take a contract in California for 36 hours or 48 if you can get it then sign up for the daily agencies for your OT. That way, if you're totally whipped after 48 hours you just don't answer the phone. You can do it.....I made 187K in 2009, worked my butt off for 9 months now sitting back and working 3 nights a week and snowboarding and skiing a lot. Planning on spending some of the money on a trip to Madagascar and spending a month there then coming back thru Algiers, Casablanca and Corsica. Frankly I am at the age where money just flat isn't the motivator it used to be. Can't really speak to the Arizona market except to say that usually (Lord, I hate using that word) Pheonix needs all the nurses it can get. I don't think I would take a contract there unless I was getting at least 33-36 per hour plus housing. If you want to make money, go with Fastaff or Nurse Choice and be ready to move out within a week or two. Their contracts are usually (there I go again) 8-10 weeks and the housing is Extended Stay Hotels, not apartments. If you take a contract that supplies an apartment, be prepared to be disappointed. It will be the cheapest they can find on the market....budget, don't you know,,,,,,,,,,,, The Wolf:paw:

[ Are you speculating or have you actually done an assignment there or something similar in that area? I would rather have actual facts than heresay. No, I never spent any time in the sandbox. I have taken contracts for DOD and the State Department and ALL of them put me in situations that I would rather have avoided. I have been in Columbia, Indonesia, a backwater part of Thailand and a short (thank goodness) stint in Pakistan. In every one of those, I have had situations that made me wonder if I would ever see the US again. Pick and choose wisely, my friend. :paw:

Sorry, haven't posted in awhile. Travel nursing is going thru the same contractions as the rest of the economy. As soon as you get some experience under your belt start inquiring. The best salaries come from the 'emergent' staffing agencies such as Nurse Choice (my preference) and Fastaff. Usually the assignments paying the most are in the non-compact states because of the limited supply of nurses. You can view hourly pay on Nurse Choice's website but Fastaff doesn't offer this option. Both agencies usually contract for 48 hours a week and 8-13 weeks. Many of the travel agencies brag about their high pay but when all is said and done, they include your housing cost and travel, etc. Best thing I can tell you is LOOK AT THE BOTTOM LINE. Be careful of Strike nursing as the promises do not meet the talk. As far as the overseas assignments are concerned, there are a few things to consider: 1. If you are female, stay OUT of the middle East except for Quatar and UAE. Even Saudi is getting rough. 2. Male or Female......if you are not ex-combat military, do not take assignments in Iraq or Afganistan. You have a high likelihood of not coming back. Blackwater is the company that offered me the assignment in Iraq and the only reason I considered it is because I spent 10 years in the Army as a A-team medic in combat situations. My stint in Columbia for DOD was for one year and I averaged lead flying around me about every 10-12 days. Believe me, that is not a sound I ever want to hear again. There is no dollars high enough.....I'm too old and no longer consider myself immortal. My wife would not like this old bod full of holes or additional scars. Good luck. Travel nursing can be heaven or hell....it's what you make of it. :paw:The Wolf

Sorry, hit the button too quick. That should be 160K, not 260. Just for those with the $$$ stars in your eyes, YOU EARN EVERY DOLLAR. There's no going out for a pizza and beer, there's no "I'm sick". There's just a BIG bunch of sick and injured folks you can't even talk to. If you go, you will find out that it is the most intense time of your life. I DO guarantee that you will never, ever be the same and not always for the better. The Wolf

Yes, I work a bunch of OT. Now on staff at a hospital in the SW and working 5 nights a week. I am just about maxed on SS deductions for the year and will max in the next two paychecks. I made in excess of 150K last year as a traveler. Yes I worked a lot.....but at least I had the right to refuse. Do you really think that option exists for the nursing staff in Iraq? I did a contract for DOD in Columbia years ago and was not ever off duty. Granted I was at a FOB and not in a hospital but when I wasn't actively taking care of patients, I was on call. I had an offer for a stint in Iraq/Afganistan last year. 260K for 8 months. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it? Trouble was, I would have been out in the warlord camps as a "Community Action Nurse". Yeah. right. Just me and my two buddies....Mr. Colt and Mr. Hechler and not a whole lot else. If you are looking for a place to make a lot of money (and be able to enjoy it), stay in the States and work travel Pick and choose your contracts wisely and you can make a bundle....and most likely not get shot or abducted. Granted you can get in a lot of trouble in most of the big cities but at least you won't be a target because of your religion. Trust me, if I thought I would make it back in one chunk, I would have gone. The public is not hearing about a lot of stuff outside the Iraqi cities and the sandbox is NOT a game. The Wolf:paw:

Why are they requiring you to BUY the uniforms? If it has the hospital logo and this is a new rule, they should provide the uniforms (OK, maybe 2 or 3) for the current employees. Usually you can't change the work rules for current employees without some type of compensations. You CAN require new employees to purchase appropriate attire as that's one condition of the job. Not sure but I think this is covered under one of the Fed statutes in that if an employer changes working conditions, they cannot compel a current employee without some type of compensation. Actually where I'm at now requires royal blue scrubs and a VERY large RN badge that is noted on both sides. Don't have a problem with this or requiring certain colors....as long as the colors are chosen wisely. Worked at one hospital that had teal green for the RN.....after three or four washings, it looked like they had been soaked in bile. The Wolf

Oh, yeah. I heard that Nye County Regional got closed or something like that. Somehow I doubt that......where would the girls go for their tests? The wolf:chuckle

On a travel assignment specifically to provide more manpower during a Meditech startup. This new Meditech is the beta they are testing..and it seems to be a WHOLE lot better than 2.7. The info flows pretty well and yep, there's still a lot of F11 and F12 but bedside notes and assessments go well and everybody in the house including ED started at the same time. I really don't see much trouble with this one and if you have any computer skills at all, it's easy. If you want a headache.....try Last Word or the old Cerner system before they upgraded. The wolf:paw:

I had the 'privilege' of working in a 14 bed hospital in the middle of Nowhere, NV. Two ER beds and NO backup. Next closest hospital was in Sparks....162 miles. Talk about stressors...... Had one heck of a doc to back me up in the ER though. Ex cruise ship doc. Would this place qualify as a Level II?

I don't know about that. There's two female docs here that seem to take forever when it's my patient.....and 30 seconds when the nurse is female. "Course, one of them is married to Gargantua and the other one LOOKS like Gargantua. Oh, well. The wolf:o

After 25 years in this business, I can usually distance myself from the grief of the families enough that I can help them. Can I cry? You bet. And for those of you that cry 'wimp', I am 6'3", 210, 10 years worth of army combat medic, SF trained, ex-cop.....and straight. And my 5 y/o granddaughter can put tears in my eyes without even trying. The Wolf

They actually are pretty reputable. And No, they are not part of the Evil Empire (either one of them)......at least not yet. The one thing I would make sure of with Onward is that you insist that they not submit you to a facility until you are sure you might want to go there. They got over exuberant and submitted me to three facilities that I had no intention of attending. Made me look bad when the HR called me for an interview and I told the truth. The recruiter was properly chastened when he called me back to apologize. However, the couple of contracts I had with them went ok, pay is marginal but the housing usually is awesome. The Wolf