farmerRN

I wouldn't hold my breath on steady work in Wisconsin for travel nursing. Most hospitals have not been hiring for quite some time. As a Wisconsin native, I had to move out of the Wisconsin/midwest to find a decent full time job.

Stay away from Intelistaf! They use to be a decent company when I worked for them several years back, but since they combined with MSN...the company totally went down the drain. I did one assignment earlier this year because the assignment was not far from my home base. Well...come to find out Intelistaf gave a contract that was completely wrong from what I agree with the hopital and my pay was wrong the whole time. When I got "cancelled" on my contract, come to find out my 13 week assignment I signed up for was only meant to be 4 weeks. Pay wasn't that great anyways, crappy benefits. And if you get emails about jobs...half the time they are not true jobs...mostly fishing for nurses. There are alot other great companies out there...keep looking!

As an ER travel nurse who will work his last travel nurse shift tomorrow night...will be "retiring" from travel nursing and going back to staff nursing. I have been a nurse since 2000, ER nurse since 2004, started traveling Jan. 2009. I have ACLS, PALS, TNCC, and my CEN. After almost 2 years, I can say the market is still not turning around, at least for ER. I spent upwards of 4-6 weeks at a time not employed, scraping together per diems shifts either through agency or through a hospital not too far from my home base. I had 2 different contracts cancelled part way through because through some miracle...all my shifts got filled, had 1 contract cancelled 3 days before I was going to leave to travel to my assignment...so there is no steady income anymore doing travel. There does seem to be a few more jobs as of late...but the pay and benefits keep going down. If you are willing to take a cut in pay and benefits to travel, then your luck might be better, but I am not one of those nurses. When I got accepted an assignment several months back, the pay was only going to be 25 dollars an hour!!! I made that as a staff nurse almost 5 years ago and laughed at the recruiter and said bye! Also alot of hospitals have alot of dumb restrictions ... like they will not interview if you do not have experience with their computer system, can only start on a certain day, or will not allow you to request days off!!!?? So starting in January, I will be starting again as an ER staff nurse at a teaching facility. I never worked in one. But I will be making more money after my housing expenses than most travel assignments...better insurance...steady income and vacation pay!! So I guess I wouldn't recommend breaking out in the travel nurse gig if you have a decent job right now. Some specialities are fairing better, like L&D, OR, and ICU...but if you are looking to make money doing it...not really going to happen any time soon as hospitals are in control!

I would say you need some good luck if you want to work at Froedtert. Yes, it does have a good medical/nursing reputation. I have heard many nurses like the 7/70 program. Yes, they do have alot of CVICU positions because last year they opened up a new unit. I applied several times for one of those positions. I don't want to burst your hopes...but unless you have CVICU/ICU experience, you chances are slim that they will consider you. I was an ICU for awhile...but through a nurse that works in the CVICU...the manager did not want to hire me because I did not have the CV experience and my ICU expereince was "so long ago", which was only 6 years ago. It does help if you have a connection at Froedtert. That is one of the biggest issues with Froedtert...because they know everyone wants to work their...they can be snooty about who applies. As for the nursing market as a whole in Wisconsin...its pretty bleak!!

Not too much hiring going on anywhere in the state for new grads or experienced nurses. And the positions that do become open are for part time. There are positions in the Milwaukee area...mostly they are with Aurora Healthcare...which I wouldn't recommend anymore.

I worked for American Mobile only once, on a 6 month assignment in Florida in 2001-02 snowbird season. My information might be a bit dated, but still hopefully helpful. Deciding the best company for each person is different. In my experience, I have found American Mobile average at best with the various companies I have worked with as a med/surg and ER travel Nurse A few perks include the fact they are the largest travel nurse agency out there, so they should have at least a few jobs in your speciality. The travel nurse market is severely depressed right now, and they do have alot of exclusive contracts. The housing I had was decent, had a nice pool and on site fitness center. And they will do more "hand holding", especially if you are new to travel nursing. I was new to med/surg travel nursing when I started. Other than that, American Mobile has more flaws than benefits. Pay rates are particularly low. Recruiters tend to be pushy used car salesmen mentality. Insurance is free, but is crappy insurance. Only provides a couch, table, and bed in their"free" housing...and will charge you all sorts of fees after the fact for anything extra...IE, television or anything extra that is not in the housings rent. And where in Florida actually has a nurse/patient ratio of 1:6!

Don't get me wrong, Travel nursing is alot of fun...but the travel/agency nursing sector has taken a big hit. Not alot of jobs and pay/benefits are seriously depressed. I am coming off the road again and taking a permanent job for awhile. It is quite common to make more right now as a regular staff member than travel nurses.

I would look at Technical Colleges that have nursing programs. They usually have BLS, ACLS, and PALS that are very reasonally priced.

Not too much action in Nursing at any level in the Green Bay area. Things are tight, there area few clinic, home care, and long term jobs here and there, but nothing that great. The hospitals do not LPNs anymore. Might have a little better luck in the Fox Valley area...but not much!

As working the front lines of travel nursing...The travel nurse market continues to be down...(both in pay and locations) most likely will be like that for a long time to come. Of course recruiters will say there are a ton of jobs. That is their job to say that, otherwise no one will apply for travel jobs. I too have looked at Washington state, might be easier to just move there. Unless you are an OR nurse or ICU nurse, good luck...its not that great segment to break into...hence I am thinking of coming off the road for awhile, alot of staff jobs are paying better than travel jobs now.

Do you work at Froedert? If so, I should get to know you! Yes, Froedert puts openings on their website, but unless you know someone who works there, they never will look at your resume! For the past 2 years I have put my name in for ICU/ER jobs...but never get a phone call....even though the postings are on there for months and I have 10 years experience!!

St. Mary's and Meriter have the L&D units in Madison. Both are pretty decent sizes, do not remember the exact numbers. Not to put a damper on your hopes...but nursing in the Madison area is pretty well frozen over! Even the few smaller hospitals like Soughton are not hiring. Just do not have any needs, and it is who you know in the Madison area. The hospitals up to a few years ago had a ton of openings...and now have had hiring freezes for quite sometime. And it is not just in Madison, it is state wide!

Hello all, I am interested to hear about any personal thoughts, opinions, and experiences regarding the University of Chicago Medical Center. Open to all, but anything about the ER and the ICUs would be great! Thanks ahead of time!

At the hospital based oncology clinic, our protocol is 10 ml of saline and 5 ml of Heparin for de-accessing. I never have pulled back when accessing. Heparin itself has a very short half (2-3 hours). So if you flushed it through, it really would not affect anything. It is interesting that the hospital de-accessed your patient when he was coming over for hydration...save the patient a poke!! And that is cool as an LPN you can work with ports...in the clinic I work in, only RNs can work with them, which can be quite a pain!!

It is just the state of affairs of nursing in Wisconsin.....we have a nursing surplus in the state...and hospitals are not hiring...they just keep cutting staff and making the nurses who stay work twice as hard! Not going to be changing for awhile!

I would have to Aurora Healthcare is one crappy employer. They are just a big corporation to make money. Aurora is all about making money, awards on the wall, and getting good PR in the media. The day they come out and care about them employees...I would certainly be worried!!! Alot of managers throughout Aurora do not have experience in the departments they run. Of course, with Aurora being so large, it all depends where the money is!!! If you work at a hospital or a site where it makes money for Aurora....then you get the spoils...but if you don't..then you get the scraps. I tell people...work for Aurora for a year and then jump ship!

Safe Patient / Nurse ratios!?! What are those!?!?!

Agency Nursing does have many positive points...which is why I did it for awhile. Of course, with the economy still in the toilet and hospitals continuing to cut staff, agency nursing continues to suffer big time. Two out of the 3 nursing agencies I used are out of business...and might get a call once a month for a random shift. Of course, I work ER and in my neck of the woods...we have had a nursing surplus for a few years...even before the economy tanked. I would continue to hold onto your regular job in these uncertain times. But if you can pick up a PRN job...that would be great!! Some decent hospitals out there pay their PRN staff better than agency nursing!!

I am of the school that any experience you bring to the ER, the better you will be successful! I have been an ER nurse now for 5 years. I worked for 4 years on a big and busy medical/telemetry/oncology unit. I did medical/surgical travel for a year before I got burned out doing floor nursing. Going to the ER will be a different mindset. It will take a little time to adjust to the pace. But even after a year, you have a basic practice that you have learned. You should at this point have your assessment skills down and things like vents are usually managed by the RTs in ER and vasopressor meds...will take time to learn. I have worked with new grads in the ER...success rate is pretty low unless they have an EMS backround. I certainly enjoy ER nursing...except on the weekend night shifts!!!!!

I have gone to 4 ENA annual conferences and 2 leadership conferences. I do think they are worth it!!! You get to network with nurses from across the US...you realize that you are truly not alone out there. Alot of nurses deal with the same issues that might be going on in your ER. Or you can just drum up a chat with another nurse. I have met some very nice people along the way who I still keep in touch with today. And if you can, have a co-worker go with you. It does help to know someone while you are there! And the educational opportunities are excellent. ENA puts out a program on what educational offerings there are available. Then you can pick and choose what sounds interesting to you. Yes, now and then you go to a session that is a dud...but I have not had many. And the exhibit all is a load of fun! Lots of free stuff! I do feel it does rejuvenate the spirit too! I will be at San Antonio. I think San Antonio is a fun city!

I have worked for Medical Staffing Network (MSN) in the past and still keep in touch with the company. I have not worked out of the Madison office...but the branch manager worked at another MSN office that was close to my home. Never had any issues with pay or hourse and they did back me up when I ended up in a bit of a not so good work situation. With that, the Madison market right now is pretty locked up tight. I am not sure of your speciality, but work as an agency nurse is not very feasible right now. I am an ER nurse, and that is what I am experiencing...might be a bit different for other specialities. UW Hospital has had a freeze on for almost a year and a half, and they always use to have a ton of nursing jobs open. Mertier and St. Mary's have a few openings, but nothing like they use too. There is a nursing glut in the state. If you are looking for agency work, the Milwaukee market would be a better choice, but even that is feast or famine, and it is a bit of a famine out there. Sorry to be a gloomy gus, but that is the reality right now in the state.

Actually you will have to contact both states. Illinois Board of Nursing requires verification of original license ( CA ) and current state license (FL). If you print out the packet from the website, you will have to send in a verification form to both states plus the fees. I believe Florida is 25 dollars. ( I applied for an Illinois license last summer). But just check to make sure they didn't up it after the new year. The fees for California you will have to check out on the website.

I hate to say, the Madison market is pretty much closed! UW hospital has had a freeze for over a year, and the other 2 hospitals will have the occasional opening or two! Not much happening in the whole state. And most likely there won't be a pick of jobs for quite sometime. Like alot of nursing schools...the schools have been pumping out nurses twice a year for quite some time. Way back in 2006, way before the economy turned south...Wisconsin was going to be the only state by 2010 (or somewhere close to that) with a nursing surplus. An with the state heavy in Manufacturing and alot of those jobs gone since the downturn, the state will be one that will take longer to turn around economically.

Ditto!

I would have to agree with DI...Aurora is not that great of a system to work for. Couple of pros...largest healthcare network in Wisconsin, so alot of ability to transfer, electronic medical record which is cool, some decent education opportunities...that is about it. When I started in 2003 with them...they weren't too terrible, for all the bad press they can get. But the past year, with the economy downturn, the true colors of Aurora came through...basically they could care less about nurses especially and all about the money, money, money. Wages and benefits cut, layoffs, hiring freezes, increased patient loads, even though there is all this money to continue to build hospitals and clinics...and this year, premiums for employees almost doubling. Thanks goodness I got out early this year and have been able to find travel nursing. Most of upper management never worked in areas they are managing, so alot of incompetent managers and directors, and if you are there too long or stand up to management....consider your a target and they will get you out. Now of course, all this depends if you work at a site where you make money! And don't get me started on the whole customer service crap and planetree they shove down "caregiver's" throats. Shift differentials...I think 2nd shift is 1.75, and 2.25 for nights. And to have Aurora on your resume in Wisconsin right now is a negative!