Kotz

I worked there for 10 years and the pay and bennies are great. But......if you have never worked for a government hospital before it can be a very frustrating experience......there is the old saying "there is the right way then there is the VA way" which is very true, they have their own unique procedures which may or may not be the right way to do something, then you have to put up with the "dead wood", those who come to work and can get away with doing absolutely nothing because it is nearly impossible to be fired from the VA. I loved the time I worked at the VA and have many friends who have worked 20, 30 years there. The only reason I left was because I went there as a new graduate, had never worked as an RN anywhere else, and felt itchy to have new experiences outside the VA. But it is very difficult to leave the VA. Another saying they have there is once you are hired they have you by the golden handcuffs because they pay and benefits are so great it is hard to leave there!!!

I worked travel psych nurse at Hawaii State Psychiatric Hospital on Oahu. I liked working there so much that I have gone on staff there. It is a great place to work. The staff are very friendly and helpful and the hospital is very well staffed. I wouldn't recommend the travel company I went to Hawaii with to my worst enemy!!!! The lied to me about providing me with health insurance and as a result I am now stuck with large medical bills I cannot afford to pay. They do not provide housing or set up housing for you. They give you a couple of recommendations of places you might be able to get housing but you are totally left on your own to find housing. I did stay for a short while at one of the places they recommended but it was dirty, infested with cockroaches and not a safe place to stay. The company I went to Hawaii with is Worldwide Travel Staffing. Avoid them!!!! Most travel nurses at my hospital are there with Supplemental or Altres and I have not heard anything negative about these companies from the nurses who work with them.

I went into psych nursing right after I graduated and in the 24 years I have worked in psych not going into med-surg first has never negatively impacted my career. I have to disagree with this poster. I have worked in hospitals were psych nursing make more than med-surg nurses because they get extra pay for working in a specialty.