pocovan

I have been a locum NP in AZ, NM and CA. My assignments have been one after another. I have my NP license in Florida and I want to stay here. There is a healthcare clinic on every corner. The locum companies tell me that it is tough to find locum jobs here. I have tried all the job hunting apps such as Glassdoor, indeed etc. Has anyone else had an issue in Southwest Florida? Any suggestions?

Can anyone share their experiences and thoughts about being a FNP contractor with Indian Health Services? I am presently on an assignment and I would appreciative your input.

I work as a FNP contractor and I enjoy the travel aspect. I go to areas that I may not have ever visited on my own. My kids are grown and my husband works remotely so he is able to travel with me. Things to consider: 1. We do not own a house and live in the provided housing. This requires some flexibility on how much you can own. We are minimalists so it lends itself well to this life style. 2. You work for 3 months or more at a time and then start a new assignment or extend. If you like the area it is great! If you don't like it you are there for 3 months. í ¾í´¨ 3. You can incorporate a rental car which is nice to have. If you fly across the country you may be living out of suitcases. 4. It is like starting a new job every 3 months. This takes flexibility, not belly aching about it and not being a regular team member. This sometimes makes you not feel connected. However, it also helps to avoid staying out of work personality conflicts. During every assignment you have to keep your eyes open for the next one. This takes planning ahead to prepare. Best wishes to you!

This is an older post, but I am wondering about this same topic. I am a FNP-C and would like to get my DNP just for my own personal goal. I would like an accelerated program that is from a bricks and mortar university. If anyone has a variety of options that are also reasonably priced I would really appreciate it. I also was wondering if the cost is higher for online out of state students? Thank you for your help!

I am always impressed with clinicians that ask questions rather than fearing what others think of them. You are very wise and I am sure an excellent clinician. I appreciate the tips as well.

What NP staffing agencies would any of you travelers recommend? Which ones should I avoid? Any tips you have are greatly appreciated!

Hi! I am a FNP student. Are we going to be required to get a DNP? I will graduate by the end of 2016. Will I be grandfathered in with the NP?

Has anyone else found the stats class for NP school very challenging? I have it as an online class. I'm spending countless hours on this... Any tips?

I have whittled down my FNP Onljne Program choices to Indiana State and Purdue Calumet. My only draw back with Purdue Cal is they only do full time if you begin in the Fall Semester, and I would be starting in the Spring. I would really like to go full time, and be done in 2 years. Any opinions regarding either program? Thank you!

Does anyone have any information or tips on going to FNP grad school online with Indiana State University? Please share your good and bad experiences with me. Thank you! PocoVan

What did you get into when you left Home health?

I've been working full time and my day usually started around 8 AM. With faxing, travel to, from and in between clients, chart work (paper) and at home processing of admits for the next day, my days ran about 12 hours at least. I've done this full time for 3 months and my body finally said "Enough!" :sfxpld: I was healthy for 2 weeks, and off sick for 2 weeks - a never ending cycle and something had to give. I like my clients and I like this kind of nursing so......I've dropped back to 3 days a week. I'll do my every other weekend, but then I only have 2 days during the week. I haven't had time to try this as I'm home, again, with a chest infection, on two kinds of inhalation treatment, Clarithromycin and Hydrocodone cough syrup. It must be my body's way of dealing with an untenable situation. Is anyone else full time having this problem, or is it just me? Hackingly, Sue I have to agree with you Sue. I was so much healthier before I was a visiting RN. I have respiratory issues and the stress can be so heavy sometimes. I too love the patients and what we do, just not the paper work and the bureaucratic stuff. I cut back but I still feel stressed out.

Five SOC and 7 regular visits in one day? That makes me tired just thinking about it! That is too much work for 2 nurses! I think we should send the administrators out one day to do our job. I would also like to organize their schedule so they are spread all over town! I had a patient that only spoke Lithuanian and her medications were all mixed up! It was a dangerous mess and I had sort them all and call the Dr. It took me 80 minutes. I had another young child with a traumatic amputation w/ a wound vac and it took me 2 1/2 hours and it was an emergency call.

I would rather be hourly than pay for visit. We are pay for visit and they have this complicated formula they use that never works out in our favor. I also prefer to spend more time with my patients and not drop in like a UPS man in a big fat hurry. I love the patients so that is where my focus is at. I don't like the time I have to spend in the office. It is a beautiful building but the administration has no clue what we do so they think it is really easy. They are always trying to get ways for you to see more patients in less time. Anyone else have this issue? They are always talking about how broke they are too.

I try to bust a move and not stop the entire day unless I have to pee. I eat while I drive so that I can get done earlier. Does anyone else do this?

I look at my time card and the hours I spend driving can sometimes be just as much as the time with patients. I get car butt and a sore back sometimes. I try to bring my lunch. I actually can suck yogurt out of the container while I drive so I don't need a spoon. I have it down to a science:)

That was a good summary of what visiting RNs do. We also draw all blood labs. (Which I enjoy the most). Our agency does IV therapy in the home. I do pediatric nursing for babies that come home after open heart or maybe with an NG tube or a new G tube. We use KCI wound vacs a lot. There is a lot of patient teaching too. We have call over night a few times a month. Which means if someone's foley catheter is blocked you have to go insert a new one, or you have to adust a wound vac etc. We also have to work one to two weekends a month.

I work as a visiting RN. I am going to do some Float nursing at the hospital i am affiliated with on some med surg floors part time. Most hospital RNs have no clue what home health RNs do. They do the same skills just without a back up and sometimes in some rough places. I love my job and I feel I make a difference, but I also want to maintain the ability to work in a hospital setting if I so choose. Home Health nurses keep people out of the hospital by catching problems early or they get them into the hospital in the nick of time.

There is a difference between being a nurse that is intermittent (visiting) vs. being "staffed" in the home. An intermittent visiting nurse may see a patient for 1 hour a day for things such as vac dressing changes or IV infusion or IV dressing changes or flushes. The pay is based on the type of visit whether it be a start of care visit which takes longer vs. a regular visit for 1 hour. My organization pays travel time, visit time, and paper work time . The nurses can either use the company cars or be paid mileage using their own car. Home visiting nurses can face dangers, driving in bad weather, and the lack of back up if a patient is not doing well. There is also overnight call and weekend work. I find this type of nursing very rewarding and challenging. :wink2:

Hi I love being a visiting nurse, but I really miss IVs. We have an IV team, but I need more experience w/ ports etc and IV dressing changes. Can anyone suggest where I can get certification in these areas? Thank you!

Undermining looks like a Michigan basement. A basement that has a ledge all the way around the open area. That is a the best description I can think of.

It sounds like working with handicapped adults is your gift. I bet you could find a nursing job working in the area you are most gifted. You will learn all the skills you need if you are doing the job you love.:balloons:

:welcome:Maybe you would like being a visiting nurse. I love it. You do many of the same nursing skills, but outside the hospital setting. You organize your day/route and patient schedule. You also do a lot of patient teaching.

I have a BSN yet still feel that school left me ill prepared for real life nursing. I was a dental hygienist before going to nursing school so I have 8 years of college. I don't ever mention it on the field because otherwise people expect you to know everything and I surely do not! I ask questions and try to absorb as much knowledge as I can. I find that the nurses that have different levels of education treat one another differently and that saddens me. I think we should all work as a team.

Wow just reading this thread made me feel so much better knowing that others have felt the way I have. I left the CCU and felt such a relief on my last day. I went from CCU to Home health care and it has been better, but still having some rough times. I am tender hearted and I am not use to people being so mean to one another. I guess I have to toughen my exterior or let it roll off my back more. Another thing that I am not use to is the long hours. I love my husband and sons and I only work part time, but I still don't like the long days I work. Anyone else feel that way?