Cqc_Cqb

I appreciate the information that has been posted and would hope more successful crna students post. I am just starting to get my BSN from the UOP and thinking of joining the army afterward to go to CRNA school. Walter

I think Northern California is the best place to start. I am in Southern California now and the people here are kind of stuck up. It seems that people in Northern California are a little more relaxed. Plus I dont know what your specialty is, but for ICU (my specialty) the pay rate can range from 35 - 45 /hr for a travel assignment. The San Jose area is very nice and pricey, but if you are not going to live there it is fun. If you are going to live in Northern CA the Sacramento area is good. It is hot but you can still get to the San Francisco are in about an hour and the housing is more affordable. Hope this help a little. Walter

Malusport I have been working in an Intensive Care Unit for 15+ years. I would say I am an expert nurse, but I would also say that I don't know everything about Intensive Care nursing. There are just too many aspects to nursing that you can never really know everything about a specialty. Some new way of doing a procedure or new clinical information about a treatment option will always be there. However you can make yourself very comfortable in an ICU by going to a critical care course and learning as much as you can from the seasoned nurses around you. You can also join the AACN which has a journal and CEUs you can use to improve you skills and stay up with current trends. You can also get certified in some of the subspecialties in the ICU. Like balloon pump and CVVH. After about 2 years of experience you should start studying for your CCRN. I think it takes about 5 years to have the feel that you need to be an ICU nurse. That instinct to know something is wrong even when you can't put your finger on exactly what it is. One of the biggest things I think that makes a person able to become "an expert nurse" quickly is how much time are you willing to put into your specialty to learn it and adapt to it. I hope I was a little help. Walter

I have just started an assignment at a small hospital. The ICU/CCU staff accepts an order from the physician to "transfer patient to Tele/DOU unit with same orders". Now I have been informed this is an inappropriate order. That the physician needs to write all the orders that they want continued once a patient is transferred out of a unit. What has been the experience of other nurses on this forum? I refuse to rewrite the orders and would like to find out if anyone knows where I can find some legal documentation to use to back up my position. Also the same ICU/CCU unit takes a lot of verbal orders. I was informed that the only time it is acceptable to take verbal orders is in a crisis situation or verbal orders over the phone. I do not take verbal orders from the physician. I will get them the chart and have them write it or ask them to tell one of the staff nurses. I would like some legal information on this also. I know the answer for both of these questions, but would like to have something in writing from an official organization to back me up. Thanks for your time in advance. Walter

Is there such a thing as a dual undergraduate degree? I was wondering if it was possible to get a Bachelors degree in both Nursing and IT at the same time. Yes it may sound silly but I have had it with patient care. I know I am going back to school to get my BSN. I just would like to get some education in IT so I could move into the informatics specialty at the same time. If anyone has anything they would like to add I would appreciate it. Just to note to save some time. I am going to join a local ANIA group to network while in school and contact several area hospitals to contact there IT departments and talk with personnel there. Try and gain some practical experience while in school. I have read most of the post on this forum and this seems to be the best way to move into the informatics specialty. If anyone has any suggestions on what else I might do to help speed me along I would enjoy hearing from you. Thanks everyone in advance for your time on this matter. Walter

Question for those of you who are actively employed as a PICC Line nurse/consultant. What sort of facility or company do you work for? How much experience as a nurse did you have before moving into the field? Did you start as an Infusion Nurse? Any information you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks for your time in advance.

Question for those of you who are actively employed as a PICC Line nurse/consultant. What sort of facility or company do you work for? How much experience as a nurse did you have before moving into the field? Did you start as an Infusion Nurse? Any information you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks for your time in advance.

Man this sounds like something that would be right up my alley. I am trying to change my specialty and do something different in nursing. I have a ton of questions for anyone who is doing this or has information on where I can get more information. Also how long does it take to get certified to insert piccs, who would I contact, any information on this would be helpful. I am in the Atlanta area at the moment but moving out to Southern California at the first of the year. Thanks in advance.

Make sure your apartment has a washer and dryer in the apt. Trust me it is a pain in the butt to have to go out to wash when it is raining and cold. I am doing it now and hate it. I am new to traveling also and thought that a washer and dryer was a standard, but it isnt.

Does anyone know of any good agencies that does international nursing. I have heard that there are companies that will send nurses to Australia, New Zealand, UK and Saudi Arabia. If anyone knows of companies that do this kind of assignments could you please let me know. Also if the comapany goes even futher afield like China, South America or other exotic location please pass there names and contact numbers on. Thanks for your time in advance. Walter

The website is http://www.geocities.com/hobonurse/ if you are still looking for it. What agency do you work for in Hawaii, and what sort of pay and benefits do they offer, what type of hospitals and what types of unit. I am an ICU Nurse and that is what I am looking for at the moment. I am going to go with Aureus at the moment cause they have a few assignments in my immediate area, but if I can find an assignment in Hawaii that would be great. Thanks for your time. Walter

Rhoresmith What is the 800 number to Indiana University that you called for the information packet? Thanks for the information.

Thanks a million Penny that is the one I was looking for, now I can get the information I need and get my travel career start. Once again thanks a million :rotfl:

Webbiedebbie Thanks for the website addresses, however I have only one problem. The http://www.travelnurse.org isnt a good link, I didnt find a site at the end of it. Do you think you may have left out a letter or something in the name. Sounds pretty petty to be asking such a thing but since you went through so much trouble to find it . Well thanks anyway for your time on the matter. Have a good day. Walter

A while ago I was wandering around the internet and came across a website that had a section where travel nurses could rate the travel companies they had traveled with. Now that I am actually interested and ready to travel I cant find that site again. Can anyone help me out, for some reason I think the word "hobo" was either in the title of the page or in the address. I know that isnt a lot to go on but that is all I have Also the main page was brownish in color and the site was run by a travel nurse. Well I am going to thank everyone in advance for what ever help they can give me. Or even if you know of a site that might be just as good as the one I mentioned I would appreciate that site address also. Thanks all