sassysteph7

there aren't many nursing jobs in western mass but if you find one they will take an associates degree. The eastern side of the state is hoity toity and want bsn's. most of the hospitals out that way are trying for magnet status and therefore will only consider bsn nurses. good luck.

unless you signed some legal agreement i'm not sure they can legally hold you from applying for a job. I'd review any paperwork you signed with this company.

When I worked LTC I always did meds first. Ask the floor staff, who know the residents well, if there is anybody in particular you should medicate first. Some of the residents have a fit if they get their meds 'late'. By the time my first med pass was done there might have been a little time before lunch so I'd try and get my accuchecks done, help with lunch, 2nd med pass and finally treatments. Oh yeah, and then charting before I left. Sounds like alot but if you frequent some of the same facilities you can get to know the residents and get into a swing. Good luck. LTC can be enjoyable :)

Does anyone know the going rate in Richmond....I've got about 4 1/2 years of experience. I'm thinking of returning to the east coast and richmond is on my list of places I'd consider.....any advice?

I'm so sorry to hear you got laid off. I was once laid off from a museum that I worked for. I was there 5 years and felt very betrayed so I can imagine what you're experiencing. I just wanted to add to the list of jobsites and recommend craigslist. I found my current job there (even found my car lol). Best of luck and always know that God never allows anything to be removed from our lives without replacing it with something BETTER. hugs!

I'd find another job where you are happier and making more $.....your loyalty has to be to your family, yourself and then, maybe, you're employer. There are plenty of nursing jobs out there for ya! Good luck :)

who is your recruiter at AAS? I'm interested in travelling and have worked for an HCA facility before so I'm sure meditech would come back to me quickly......any info is appreciated. Thanks :)

fyi i'd remove your cell phone number from your message.....to send someone a message click on the envelope....good luck in San Antonio...the roads are crazy LOL

This may sound korny but as I age I have really discovered who my true friends are. The people I hung out with in nursing school were cool and we shared an awesome, and tough, experience together - but that's just it....it was a passing phase of my life. I have 1 good friend with whom I still remain close friends with. I'm lucky for her and I pray she feels lucky to have me as her friend. I've also met, and worked with, lots of nurses over the past 4 years and can honestly only count a few as true friends and not mere acquantances (sp?). Like the others said take your time, be a team player and friendships will come your way. Having nurse friends is nice and on the flip side having friends who are not nurses is also nice. My mind needs a break from nursing, and anything related to it, at times. Congrats on the new job :)

Hospice nursing ROCKS!! I did it prn for a while and never had I ever worked with such a supportive bunch of nurses. I truly believe its my passion and hope to get back to doing it soon. My problem is that I found most hospices pay less than hospitals and I need to get out of debt before I can take a pay cut. Good luck and God Bless :)

do tell....what's wrong with LRMC? what kind of unit did you work on?

thanks.....i'm in the process of applying for jobs in the tampa area. I used to live in St Pete and want to get back to FL....San Antonio stinks!!!

I'm blonde LOl LRMC....Lakeland regional medical center?

I had a telephone interview for a burn icu unit and it sounded pretty interesting. I've been working in a MICU/CCU unit for almost a year now and love being challenged and the continual learning. My questions are: 1) the woman I spoke to today said it was a 1:1 patient nurse ratio - does this sound right? and 2) what are the pro's and con's of being in a burn unit? Any advice is appreciated :)

My family thinks i'm "rich" too LOL....and once I had to tell a very good friend that I was not her personal ATM machine. She'd call me several times a month to borrow $20 or $40. It got to the point where I didn't want to answer her calls. I was scared to tell her how I felt but I did and thankfully she understood.

try northside hospital in st petersburg. its only 20 minutes over the howard franklin bridge. they hired me after i had 2 years of nursing home experience and noone else would hire me cuz i didn't have hospital experience. i only stayed there a year but atleast it got me some experience. good luck.

I have a friend who is with Nightingale and his recruiter is Joseph......hmmm I'll have to ask him if he's had any problems. I certainly haven't heard him mention anything. I was recently contacted by Amber from Nightingale but told her I'm not ready to travel yet.

surgenurse2006 thank you very much for the article.....reviewed it and will definately reread it later this year when i'm ready to travel.

Once when I worked at a nursing home we had a resident who was a dnr but the nurse did not know that and did cpr and brought the patient back. the family was mad but did not sue the facility. I'd have done the same thing. chances are more residents are full codes than dnr's anyways. Also, I'm not sure I'd want to work for someone who puts my license in jeopardy.

thank you for all the replies. I guess I didn't say anything to the patient because I felt doing so was futile. why would it be futile you ask? It would have been so because the patient's mother did not want him to be a DNR. In my short ICU experience (only started in August 09) I've seen family members go against their dying loved one's wishes and the dr's go along with it. It makes me scared for the day I'm dying and my wishes are not respected. Oh and how can I be charged with assault if the patient does't want cpr but his mother says for me to do it after he's coding? I know he's 42 but dr's don't listen to their patients alot of times. They are so afraid of being sued that they listen to the families more so than the patient's actual wishes.

Recently I was assigned to care for a 42 year old male who came in with CHF exacerbation. Upon calling the EMS he made himself a DNR and arrived to my facility with the golden ticket to heaven. Well the next morning the young doctor arrives and revokes his DNR. I was upset and told the dr that he had no right to do that as it was the patient's wishes. He said I was overreacting and that if the patient was vented this admission he'd recover and go home. I still did not agree and went about my shift. Well the very same patient, after caring for him for 4 days, required being vented on Sunday. I'm very upset with this and still do not feel that the dr had a right to revoke the DNR thus requiring me to call the dr and get him intubated. I'm new to the ICU and pray this doesn't happen often. Has this happened to any of you and if so, how did you handle it?

I love it when patient's think we nurses are keeping them in the hospital longer than they need to and holding up their discharges. I've told a few patients that I do NOT work on commission and as soon as the MD signs the discharge order I'll have them out ASAP.

I was talking to a friend of mine who lives in Brandon, FL and she told me that at her hospital if you don't 'volunteer' to get the flu shot that they are threatening to make people wear a mask until flu season is over....LMAO I'd wear a mask and when people ask me why I'd tell them the truth. Then I'd probably get fired for having a bad attitude.

I'm considering moving to San Antonio in the fall and was wondering if anyone has advise on which hospital to work at....what are the pay rates/nursing patient ratios? Places to AVOID? Any help is much appreciated. Oh wait...I've been nursing for 3 years and I currently work on a neuro/tele unit and I'm ACLS certified.

Don't smoke but perhaps you could eat your lunch in the car. I have done that in the past and it works. Its a good change of scenery and you're sure to be left alone.