Cali

Hi there! I see this post is from February, but going forward, please report incidents like this to the department of public health. The fact that the CNA refused to provide care is neglect. It's also very concerning another resident had to remain in bed due to a lack of hoyer slings. This is NOT okay. You can report these incidents anonymously (if you choose) online or by phone. Please do your due diligence as a mandated reporter if you see incidents like this again.

Hi Duchess, Sorry for the late rely. I haven't been on the site in awhile. I interviewed with L.A. Care and received a position in their UM Dept. At the time of my interview with L.A. Care, I also had an interview pending with Aetna. Both companies hire without experience. Negotiate your rate, as long as you know your worth, you should be fine. I requested $97,000 up front, then did more research. They offered $98,000 and I requested more based on years of experience and education. (never accept the initial offer with any job) I requested $106,000. In the end, I was able to get $101,000 and a $5000 sign on bonus. My co-worker shared he received $90,000. After a year, I'm now up to $103,000. Altamed also has UM positions, but I don't think they hire without experience. I initially applied with them, and they responded so quickly with an email stating they were moving on to more qualified applicants.

I'm hoping someone can provide a little insight on Utilization Management pay rates. I'm currently interviewing for UM positions and want to make sure I'm getting paid appropriately. I can't find consistent information when searching online. I have 13 years experience as an RN but I don't have UM experience. Is anyone currently working in this area who could give advice on salary? Thank you.

I've taken 2 Rapid Response contracts. The first contract was 4 weeks in Palm Springs. It wasn't high acuity or a bad place to work, just a typical assignment. The 2nd contract was a 6 week EPIC conversion. We worked 48 hours a week with both contracts. Whenever there's a Rapid Response contract, definitely ask around to find out the good and bad about the hospital.

Are you applying for licensure by endorsement? If so, I doubt if they would check into something like that.

I used to work with FlexCare and I did a SNF contract with them. The SNF was within the hospital. I have also been offered LTC positions with this agency. Like NedRN said, check with American Mobile. American Mobile has ALOT of hospital contracts and if you need to go to a specific location, they most likely can get you there.

I worked there a few years ago as a Registry Nurse. I never encountered any significant problems. I think the computer system they're using now is Medi-Tech (the updated version) It's a VERY nice location, the people are nice and I felt safe. (I actually used to live 5 minutes down the street from the hospital) It's only about 20 minutes from L.A. so you're able to get out and do things.

I worked in Palm Springs last year and I had the same problem with housing. Thankfully, my assignment was only 4 weeks so I just stayed at a hotel. As the above posted stated, post your own ad on Craig's List. I posted my own ad (as recommended at the Travel Nurse Conference) and I got BETTER results. I've also met travelers who used http://www.airbnb.com to find temporary housing.

I was just about to post this same question, but decided to do a search first to see if there was already info on here. I'm just about to tell my recruiter to send my profile over. I've had assignments in Bakersfield twice. I just left Kern Medical Center in June, and I worked at Mercy (Truxtun and Southwest) 2 years ago. L.A. is 1 1/2 hours away and Vegas is about 4 1/2. The area has a small town type of feeling and the people were nice. I felt safe in the area over all. The second time I went, I was able to rent a furnished room for $425/month so I was able to save alot of my stipend money. As someone else posted, there are ALOT of travelers there. It seems like most locations that aren't close to the big cities have lots of travelers.

DingoRN, FlexCare does not set up housing, but you still get your tax free housing stipend. The fact that they don't set up housing is a deal breaker for alot of people. They also pay travel pay. (I've been paid for mine) I've worked with 4 companies and I find the pay at FlexCare competitive, BUT pay also depends alot on location.

I've worked for FlexCare Medical Staffing for 2 years and I absolutely LOVE them. I've worked with 3 other travel companies and FlexCare is the best so far. I use FlexCare as my primary agency but if they don't have an assignment in my desired location, I use one of the other agencies. FlexCare seems to have majority of their work in Northern California. I've had a few Southern California (my preferred location) assignments with them. The pay is competitive and always on time. I like that I have one point of contact if I have any questions. (I recently did an assignment with Century Health Services and I had SO many different people calling me about various things. My recruiter is extremely nice. I was actually able to meet her at the Travel Nurse Conference in Las Vegas last year. FlexCare is one agency that won't call you time after time with harassing phone calls. (I have an agency that I haven't worked with since 2009 and they STILL call me repeatedly) I also like getting my pay stubs and W-2 online instead of waiting for them to come in the mail as most other agencies do.

I was trying to get a travel nursing job in Chicago before I moved there a few years ago. The only thing I could get was a Per-Diem/Registry type travel position through Aya Healthcare, which I would NOT recommend. The first week of my contract, I only worked 16 hours so I ended up having to cancel the contract because it didn't seem like I would be getting my hours...ever. I got cancelled just about every night. Chicago doesn't use a lot of travel nurses because they use their local agencies to fill contracts.

Okay, so I just saw someone post that Nurse Choice does 2-8 week assignments. Would 2 weeks work for you?

I've never come across a one week travel assignment. Usually the first week of your assignment is for orientation so one week would be too short. I just applied with FastStaff and they have 4, 8 and 13 week assignments. Currently I work with FlexCare and I've done a 4, 6 and 7 week assignment. These short assignments aren't typical but if you need a short assignment your best bet might be to try FastStaff but I'm pretty sure they won't have a one week assignment.

I am currently looking to go to Loma Linda. My current agency doesn't have a contract there. What agency are you guys using?

What exactly would you like to know? I'm a travel nurse (Tele) and I just did my first strike in November with Healthsource Global. I liked the ease of the application process for them. You can nominate yourself for a strike with just one 'click'. I nominated myself for the strike and about 2 days later they emailed me the flight itinerary. They arrange everything, all you have to do is show up. I only use them for strikes. I do my travel nursing with another company. I called them once to check out possible travel opportunities but they didn't seem to have much going on. I had a great experience doing the strike with them though. Do you have any specific question or were you just looking for general info? Oh, I will say...one of the ICU nurses was asking about specialty pay but she was told everyone would be getting the same rate. We all got paid $50/hr no matter where we worked.

I've always traveled alone and I do get lonely. I got VERY lonely while in Bakersfield because there's absolutely nothing to do there. I would spend my days off just laying around at my hotel. I took an assignment in Sonoma and there's lots to do in Northern California but I just wanted to have someone to do things with. I did alot of things alone and when my friend visited, we were able to do a few things together. I'm just starting an assignment in Southern California and I met a traveler in orientation and we've become great friends. We met and then decided to rent a apartment together to save money. If I bond with anyone, it seems to be the other travelers I meet on the unit or during orientation and not the permanent staff. You're there for such a short time so it's never really been a big deal to me as long as there's exciting things to do in the area.

ShuShu, I

I'm currently on an assignment with Flexcare. I've been working with them for the past year and I LOVE them. I've taken assignments with 2 other agencies before them and I think they're the best agency for me. The bulk of their assignments are in California but they're starting to branch out. There are SO many travel agencies out there so shop around. With every assignment you take, network with the other travelers and ask about their agencies/recruiters. Recruiters are another thing.....your recruiter can make or break your entire experience and/or your view of the agency. I almost left Flexcare last year because my recruiter all of a sudden started to suck but after they changed my recruiter things changed dramatically. Oh, and most travelers think whatever agency they use is the best agency, so just be careful and make sure you get with a company that works for YOU.

I currently work for FlexCare Medical Staffing and I love them. In the past, I worked with Aya Healthcare (formerly known as Access Nurses) and ATC.

I'm actually glad no one answered the question "what company is the best". Majority of the people you talk to will think their company is the best. I think my company is the best and every time I meet a new traveler at a new assignment, they try to talk me into signing with their company because they think their company is the best. I just met a travel nurse at my hotel and all I asked her was what company she worked for and she gave me the name, number, recruiter and then said "you should sign up with them". So anyway...There is no best agency but I will say a lot of travelers don't really care for American Mobile. It's SO competitive, there's SO many agencies out there to choose from. I've worked with 3 different travel companies since 2008 and right now I think I have the right one for me. It all depends on what YOU need. For instance, my current company doesn't find you housing, you just get the stipend and that's just fine with me because I like to do my own thing. Another traveler didn't like it because she didn't want to try to find housing in an unfamiliar area. The typical requirement is one year experience but once you have your phone interview with the director, they may be looking for experience as a traveler as well. More and more of my interviews are asking me how many years I've been traveling. Phone interviews aren't usually too extensive though. I've gotten most of my jobs without even having an interview.

E.R., ICU and Labor & Delivery are in high demand. There's SO many Med-Surg and Tele nurses out there, which is my specialty, but I'm still able to find work. Sometimes I do wish I had E.R. or ICU experience though.

No, I don't think it's the nursing culture in L.A. I've worked in a few L.A. hospitals and none compare to Kaiser. Kaiser is just SO extreme.

I lived in Chicago for 3 years. Right before I moved there, I was looking for a travel assignment but there's not alot out there. I've been told that most hospitals just use agency nurses and the local nurses do contracts through their agency. I was an agency nurse and I did a few local contracts while I lived there. I did meet 2 travel nurses at Mercy Hospital, not sure who they were traveling with though. Travel work is there, just not much.

It varies from place to place. For the most part, I've had good experiences. The most traveler friendly place I've been was Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, CA. The people were SO nice and helpful, it was unreal. The least traveler friendly was LAC/USC County hospital in Los Angeles.