colleague

Just thought I would have some food for thought. I like the idea of asking people in your area what agencies are paying. I know here in Arizona some can be tight lipped about what they get. I traveled approx 120 miles and was put up in a hotel on my 13 week assignments. My reimbursement was $38.00/hour and this included my hotel if I found it on my own. Another contract I had was for $34/hour and they put me up at an apartment. I worked Med Surg in both cases. I know this probably doesn't help since I am on the opposite side of the country. The agency I worked for did pay higher for telemetry and ICU nurses. I am now a telemetry nurse in a Charge/Staff position and drive 3 miles to work!:) Colleague

Interesting! I see you are a fairly new nurse. Is this the only unit you've worked in? What kind of charting are you required to do and what type of charting -- paper or computer? Do you all take turns as charge or do you have a designated charge? Can I ask what state you are in? colleage

Adrienne, I can not tell you how excited I am for you. I was a pack/day smoker from 14 yrs to 24 years. I met a man who didn't smoke and fell in love. I knew he hated it but he was so kind. I wanted to quit and when I found out I was pregnant, that gave me more reason to quit. It has now been 28 years and I thank God for helping me quit. I do not look 52 and get compliments about my skin. I take care of women younger than me who look like their skin is the desert and are younger than me!:) As nurses, I really think we should not be smokers. It's about the worse thing we can do to our bodies, AND I don't want to look 52! I can keep up with the 25 year old "spinners" in my bike class (okay, maybe with a little extra wind) and get lots of compliments from the man I fell in love with and am still married to! Keep up and be strong. You will never regret it! Colleague:cheers:

Thanks for responding! I work on a floor which only has 10 beds due to size limitations. I realize this is a small unit and may not be "norm;" hence, the reason for my posting. The drips I am talking about are Cardizem, Insulin, and Nitroglycerin. We can take these as long as we are not "titrating up." These all have to be closely monitored and require frequent interventions. I honestly don't know how I could take more than 2 patients. Since I am new in this unit and have never taken patients as Charge (usually on a 24-28 bed unit) before, I would like to know how other units organize their units. Are all your 7 patients monitored with comorbidites. Do you take post-cath patients? I'd love to hear some of your experiences. Colleague

Hello, I recently took a job as charge nurse in a small 10 bed telemetry unit. As charge, I take 2 patients and 2 other nurses take 4 patients each. We have a unit secretary and a pct on the floor most times. I would like to talk with other charge nurses who have to take patients. Can you give me some help on how to manage your day? I am finding I spend more time on the floor with other nurses' patients than taking care of my own and I am not doing the charge "paperwork" responsibilities well. Any help you could give would be appreciated. Colleague:innerconf

I worked at Kindred/Phoenix and would only suggest you have either step-down experience, telemetry, or ICU experience. This was very scary nursing for me and I would prefer never to work there again. I did not like the exposure of caring for 10-11 VERY sick patients. Some of the LPN's would dole out medicinces without looking at why they were giving them. Some wanted to "do their own thing" and not communicate since I was a traveler.