LiberatedRN

OMG, you read my mind with this posting! I am moving back to GA in the next several months and I don't know how I'm going to get around that employment verification form. My circumstance is a little different because I was originally licensed by endorsement there in 2001 and the process wasn't this tedious. I did not renew my license in 2010 and now plan to move back there this year. I am not working right now and I am extremely frustrated. They require reinstatements to verify employment as an RN (500 hrs) within the past 4 years. Out of the four employers I've had since 2008 (two here in FL, two in GA) none of them will fill out the form. When I mailed my packet in, I wrote them a lengthy letter asking why I need to verify employment within 4 years, when I actually was working in GA as an RN in 2008 & 2009 before I left. I have called the GA BON and actually made contact with someone on two different occasions who basically said...the form must be filled out. I explained that all my employers use The Work Number for verification and I was told on the other end that "your application stays on file for a year". Of course, had I known I would consider moving back there, I wouldn't have let my license lapsed. It wasn't this difficult to get my license by endorsement 11 years ago! I also gave them my W2's for the past 4 years with my application, plus the employer codes for the Work Number. Have you had any luck with contacting anyone? Or were you able to get your HR to fill the form out for you?

I lived in Atlanta for almost 8 years and I experience almost the opposite. The cost of living and wages in GA is lower, but my car insurance and registration went up a lot when I moved to Florida 3 years ago. Yes the pay is great in Florida, but for me, finding a job in FL is much more difficult than in Atlanta. I live in South FL and have been out of work several months because I haven't been able to find anything. Even signing up with the agencies is like pulling teeth down here! I am moving back to GA by the end of this year because I have more success with jobs there in Atlanta. As far as where to live, I would stay north of interstate 20 and closer to the city if you can afford it. Atlanta has undergone a transformation of its city and they have moved a lot of the 'inner city riffraff' out to the southern, eastern, and western suburbs. Also, I worked at Grady for 6 years and despite all the madness you may hear, it is a great place to work. Congrats to you if you land a job there. I have worked in 4 different states and there has been no place like Grady. If you can make it there, you can work anywhere!!

Actually sailornurse, you are incorrect. I am working towards the nurse clinician educator and I had to take the same three core courses you listed right along with the NP students. I can still be an NP in the future with these courses, I would just have to do a post-masters certificate with a couple of more courses plus clinical hours.

The core courses were not that easy for me but I still do maintain a 4.0 after taking 18 credits. It's really a lot of research and APA format paper writing. If you have that down, you will be fine. Good luck!

Some of this may be behavior that she has learned as a nurse due to some of her insecurities about her nursing care. I've run across many nurse bullies in my time and they only do it to those who welcome the bullish behavior...usually new nurses. Stand your ground with her. I feel sorry for people like this because many times, they have no control over their home life...some are even victims of domestic abuse and they reversely bring it into the workplace and project their anger onto some innocent victim. Next time she does it just say 'I feel sorry for you' or ask 'is everything alright at home'? Watch her blow up at either one of those questions and you'll know you hit a sore spot!

I started my program at UTEP spring 2011 (nurse clinician educator) and was working full-time, taking 2 classes at a time. With a back injury I sustained last year, working full-time, and with school, I decided to take some time off. So I've been off work for the past 6 months. Going to school and working full time is very exhausting whether or not you have a family to maintain. Especially if you are like me and not just wanting to be satisfied with a "passing grade" but graduate with some type of honors (I do have a 4.0 and that was an expectation I placed on myself). So really it is up to you and how much stress you can handle with school and work balance. To answer 'yvfair'...I like UTEP. I enjoy the distant learning moreso than I think I would've enjoyed going to a campus. Most of the instructors have been very fair and I've only had one so far that has been MIA during our class sessions and we had to report her to the dean. Online classes are very taxing with the paper writing so you definitely need to get ready for that. Us nurses didn't do much formal writing in undergrad, so it was a challenge for me in the beginning, but I'm getting better at it!

I am currently a student in UTEPs nurse clinical educator track and I am scheduled to graduate in May 2013. We have to take similar core courses with NP students also. What type of information are you looking for or what questions do you have?

I agree with sofl98, you probably need to be a little more assertive as a charge nurse. I became charge after only being a nurse for 1 year and it can be a scary thing. But now, 13 years later (and after having supervisor experience), I look back knowing that I should've been a little more assertive but didn't know how to. After you start to be in charge, you start to notice things about your fellow co-workers that you didn't realize just working on the floor with them. You start to understand their weaknesses, their strengths, and realize who's doing their work & vice versa. Maybe your experiences with this person has given you insight on what kind of nurse this person is. The next time you have an emergency, just TAKE CHARGE, tell him what you want him to do....make sure it is in front of other people. If he talks to you crazy or challenges you, others are around to be witnesses that you gave him orders and he didn't follow them. It'll be a long time coming, but you'll learn tricks of the nursing trade. It's just sad we have to be that way to some co-workers, but this is a dog-eat-dog world! Other professions have to deal with the same type of issues.

I work in Cardiac Telemetry in South Florida. We get 1:5 or 1:6 on day shift and 1:6 or 1:7 max on nights. I work days and 1:5 on some days is way too much for heart failure patients with average age of 75!

I am in total agreement with this! Staffing is not our job and we should not be made to feel guilty about not working when we are over-stressed. I am currently on a leave of absence right now because I have a bulging disc at C3-C4. Just came out of the blue while I was at work before I had even touched a patient! I am told by my docs that I am severely stressed and need to de-stress myself. I have been a nurse for 13 years in various specialties from bedside to insurance companies and I have yet to find an area that I absolutely love. I told myself if I go back & get my MSN in education, that it will allow me to do something greater than just bedside work. So as a result of taking 2 classes at a time and working full-time, I am highly stressed and anxious. For the younger nurses out there, don't work so much to earn extra money...it's not work sacrificing your body in the long run. I have a connective tissue disorder and shouldn't be this stressed so now I'm looking for something per diem...or better yet, I may just QUIT my job!

I am interested in info on the program also at Benedictine. I am in the process of applying and getting all my requirements in. I am interested in the Nurse Educator track. I have spoken to someone in admissions there and she was EXTREMELY nice and full of information. My only concern is that their Master's level programs are not accredited with CCNE, but their BSN is! That is a concern for me and I don't want to graduate from there and run into problems later with graduating from a non-accredited school. Lending your advice and experience from there would be helpful!! Thanks.

I currently work in the Atlanta are and I'm not sure about the areas you are thinking about moving to. I can attest to some other nurses who will tell you that GA nursing isn't as prosperous as some other states. There is an article (matter of fact a whole edition) in Advance for nurses magazine (southern issue for Jan or Feb 07) that compare salaries for nurses working in GA. Suprisingly, we get payed higher than nurses working in the neighboring states. But nurses with higher educational degrees, get payed less than the other states. I couldn't believe that nurses in GA with BSN, on average, get paid less than nurses with AA or 2-yr diploma degrees! As far as Forensics, I'm not sure what type of facility you would like to work. I am interested in that field also & legal nursing as well. I have considered moving out of the state to further my nursing career, thinking GA isn't doing it for nurses. Just food for thought!