Liz520

Thanks for the insight. The organization seems great I just wonder if "nonprofit" also means "low pay" Argo, are you headed to another hospital in CO? I could easily see $11 more per hour in another state

Anyone have any insight on Centura? I know they are a large nonprofit faith based hospital system. What's the working environment like? Starting pay? How do they compare to other area hospitals? Thanks for any info!

Thanks for all the info everyone! We wnat better quality of life and think we can get that in CO even with the paycut. I knew it woudl be less, hoping it all washes out with lower costs of living. I have a phone interview with an ER in CO today, wish me luck!

Are there other advantages to living in CO but workign in WY such as tax breaks or anything?

Thanks for the info! Any smaller towns you recommend?

Is there a pay difference between Denver, CO Springs, or Ft Collins? We are selling our house and wanting to relocate to CO, but………I am really surprised by the pay, its much lower than I expected. I am coming from southern California and know I will have a decrease in pay in CO but my friend who has the same number of years experience makes exactly half of what I do in Denver. I would expect maybe a 30% decrease, but half, wow! I just can’t see that even with the cost of living lower that is equivalent to the pay difference. Any insight on pay in other CO cities would be much appreciated!!!

Good luck with your nursing career! My second degree is my BSN and I love that I made the sacrifice to go for nursing I hope you will too. In my experience I have heard that most managers like to hire people with a BSN but I think those people that are able to get as much time on the floor such as with an externship transition better. The BSN might look good on paper but IMHO I think there is too much emphasis on theory and research, but it is a great avenue to get started in nursing if you already have a degree. (I don't mind being too critical of the accelerated BSN since that is where I got mine. It's not all bad, but in hind sight I wish I would have done a traditional 4 year BSN). My first degree actually did help me land my job in the ER. My manager told me one of the reasons he did hire me was because of my degree and experience in Social Work. It has been helpful in the ER Good luck to you!

Congratulations! I am a pregnant ER nurse now on leave; I’m due in 6 days! I planned on taking the last 4 weeks off, but ended up going out at 5 weeks before my EDD, it was getting pretty wearing on my body, back pain and fatigue. Towards the end it’s hard to sleep thru the night and getting off a 12 and trying to get a good night’s rest before my next 12 was getting tough. Up until I went out, I felt great. I’ve always tried to stay active so make sure you do that, snack on healthy stuff often, alternate often between sitting and standing, and get help lifting. In addition to what was stated earlier about staying away from patients with meningitis and X-rays, stay away from combative patients too! Good luck!

really? i called hr kaiser colorado a while back and they told me that members can get care at the affiliated hospitals but they did not hire kaiser nurses at the hospitals. i’d like to follow up on your information…..thanks!

I am looking to relocate to Denver area and currently work at a Kaiser ER in another state. Does CO have a Kaiser hospital? It would be nice to transfer within Kaiser. When I looked to the Kaiser CO website it looked like there were just clinics...??? If there isn't a Kaiser ER in Denver, any recommendations for other hospitals? I have 2 years experience in ER, love it, and want to stay in the ER. Thanks!

Absolutely not, everyone coming to the ER complaining of pain is not considered a drug seeker, its quite the opposite. If that were the case then 99% of the people arriving to the ER would be labeled “drug seekers.” When patients arrive, pain is addressed right away. The “drug seekers” and or “frequent flyers” at my hospital have lots of documentation about their drug seeking behaviors, interventions, and help (i.e. pain management clinic, dependence programs). Wtrbcrna is right about chronic pain not belonging in the ER but that’s where the addicts go in hopes for a quick fix.

Thanks for the insight and advice! In order to prepare for the CEN exam is it similar to preparing for the NCLEX……self study and optional review sessions with private companies? Any book recommendations?

I'm about 9 months into my ED job and am making attempts to keep learning and increasing skills and knowledge. I've attended a few day long seminars/workshops but think my next goals should CEN, CCRN, or TNCC. Any advice on best ways to prepare for CEN or if I should go straight for CCRN? I want to stay in the ED and someday work trauma; my hospital is not a trauma center. I know I could learn a lot in the ICU but I just don't have a desire to work ICU. Will the CCRN still be just as helpful to me?

Great! Thanks for the reply. I would like to got, not sure if I can make this year though. I really like going to these types of things and even though they are tax write-offs they are a bit pricey. I think next year it will be in my city...San Diego.....Yippee!

It is Texas this year

Has anyone gone any of the ENA annual conferences? It is coming up in Sept. There is a general assembly and a scientific assembly. Has anyone gone to either? I am curious what will be presented and if its worth while.

so i have been asking around at work about this. here are some resources that might be helpful i’ve heard good things about the wilderness medicine conferences http://www.wilderness-medicine.com ena has some online courses as well as annual conferences www.ena.org ceu’s on a cruise ship i don’t know anything about this but came across it while searching for educational resources http://www.continuingeducation.net/schedule.php conferences through ucsd. (i am in san diego, a lot of these are in sd but there are other locations too) http://cme.ucsd.edu/events.cfm?cat_id=1

I like this post, thanks! I am a new grad....6 months in the ED. One thing I do miss about nursing school was being able to really examine cases carefully and discuss with others. I'm at a good hospital that pays very well but wonder if I should get a per diem shift at a University hospital just to be in that academic setting again. I've also been searching for some good nursing journals in order to keep learning. At work, I keep a couple of pocket guides in close reach as well as my palm pilot that has Tabers and a Drug guide on it so in the moment I can look stuff up not only for my knowledge but for pt safety and to be able to educate them. My hospital offers free classes every now and then for the ED nurses. I try to take advantage of, such as 12 lead EKG courses and mock code classes. If your hospital doesn't offer them I wonder if you can crash other educational classes at other hospitals. You can try calling the education dept. If you have a union they might have some advice on where to find on going classes

Nursing is a great field, so best of luck to you. As I understand it Kaiser is not offering that scholarship program at APU anymore, at least for the time being. You can call and follow up on that, but that was the last I heard. California did have a loan forgiveness program if you worked at certain hospitals but we are bankrupt now so who knows if that program is still going. There are scholarships out there, it just takes some looking and essay writing. My background was in social work so I think t hat helped me get into the ED. My manager said he liked that I had worked in social work and have dealt with people in crisis before. There is a HUGE learning curve with nursing so there is still a lot I need to learn but I am so glad to be able to start in ED The program is so fast paced that you will not have time to do an externship. If you want extra experience I would suggest going on a medical mission trip or volunteering in a hospital during the Christmas or summer break. When you are in your clinicals, ask for the difficult/complicated patients, ask for opportunities to start IV’s, pass meds, help with chest tubes, lines, drains, etc. Put yourself out there while you have the mentors and the opportunity. It will be scary but you will be so glad that you did it! Good luck!

I am sorry to hear about your daughter’s situation; that is terrible. If her scholarship program was like ours, we signed a promissory note that spelled out the details of being hired, obligation to work for them for 2 years, etc. Kaiser, not only the students who signed it, is bound by that promissory note. I hope the situation will get remedied for your daughter!

I’m a scholarship recipient and am very happy with my placement; I got my first choice dept and am full time. We are paid the going rate, actually a step up on the pay scale because of our BSN. But, not all have been placed in a full time position yet. Some are part time and were told as soon as full time positions open up it will be theirs. If they can snag some OT (what’s considered OT when your part time) they could be sitting pretty. Times have really changed with the economy and yes, even in nursing. There are number of non-Kaiser scholarship recipients still looking for positions, some hospitals are not hiring at all and the positions are not as plentiful as they were 6 months to a year ago. I don’t have any doubts that they will not find positions its just not as easy anymore. I’m not trying to discourage anyone. I just wanted to clear up the Kaiser info. Nursing is still a great field to be in for a lot of reasons and there are jobs, its just going to take more interviews and applying than it had before the economy took a dive.

I had a 3.5 I think. Don't get too hung up on the GPA, apply anyways Contact Jeannie Tuckness at the main Azusa Campus, she's the go to person for EENAP Good luck!

Finishing nursing school in about 40 days and one of my last assignments is a "change project" about one of the hospitals I have been assigned. My idea is that there needs to be more assistive personal at one of the hospitals I worked at. On a med-surg floor, the nurse patient ratio is 1:4, total patient care....linens, hygiene, ambulation, meds, everything. Other places I have been the ratio maybe a little higher but there is more help. In my opinion in these types of situations patients get better care because when I am on my own with 4 and I have a more acute patients in room 1, then room 2 may have to sit in his soiled linens a bit longer or get his meds late....just one example. It can does get scarier than this Here are some examples of the ratios I have experienced: Nurse patient ratio= 1:6-8 patients. 1 Corpsman assigned to help just you *Keep in mind Corpsman have a bit more skill....can start IV's, do injections, and do catheters Nurse patient ratio= 1:4 2 CNA's to 25 beds assigned by charge nurse. Nurse patient ratio 1:4-6 2 CNA's for 18 beds. Assigned by charge nurse What do you think.........what works best for a med-surg?!

Does your husband work? I am considering traveling but wouldn't want to leave my husband for a really long time. Currently he is an engineer but is very anxious to leave the industry. Just curious how other couples and families make it work. We want the adventure but want it to be practical too!

Do you know if Kaiser has traveling or job-swap short term opportunities? I start work for them in the late spring/early summer. I was curious is say for example I wanted to go to CO for a few months if I could do that with in the Kaiser systems sine they have Kaiser there.