srleslie

So ladies and gents, Interviewing at a nice outpatient mental health center. I precepted here. Haven't finalized things yet, but they are going to get me close to my asking salary of 110k. They are only offering one week of paid vacation, in addition to 8 or 9 paid holidays, which she emphasized, will make it about 14 paid days the first year. In my opinion, holidays shouldn't be used as barter for vacation time. I feel 2 to 3 weeks is more reasonable. I feel like I'm getting low balled. Also, 2 to 3 ceu days but not money to pay for training. Any thoughts? Advice? Little Rock, AR market Thanks, Ry

The company says that contract work does not include a shift differential and that day and nights pay the same. Is this the norm for travel nursing?

How many hours a week would you say you spend on each class?

I've been admitted to the psych NP program at Walden. I'm trying to decide whether to take 1 or 2 courses at the same time. I would like to hear from someone who has taken courses there and who can speak to how difficult /easy they are and how many hours a week each course takes. I work 40 hours a week. Thanks.

Friend, You just dug up a 5 year-old thread. You would have better luck sending him a PM if you want a direct response.

I'm interviewing for a position of nursing manager for a 32 bed geriatric psych unit that is part of a hospital, an a large metropolitan area in the mid-south. I have 5 years of RN experience, 2.5 of them in psych. Does anyone know what would be a reasonable salary? I don't want to ask for too much but I don't want to short myself either. Thanks!

I apologize for the title typo. Can the mod correct it? Last word should read "nurse."

Does anyone know anything about this position at Gentiva? It is 7 days on 7 days off. Also, how physically demanding is the job. Do you visit homes or long-term care facilities more often? Are you requires to move or lift patients? Thanks.

Does anyone know what the shift differential for nights is and what type of shifts they have eggs 7p to 7a or 11p to 7a? I'm very interested in making the transition from bedside nursing.

Thanks for your responses. What about renting a room at a friend's house that would be appropriate? Also, what are the contingecies for the power going out. What if it's out for several days due to winter weather? What if the internet goes down? Will an employee be penalized? What if a tornado is coming and I need to run to my closet (I'm serious, this happens a few times a year where I live). I am looking for a night shift job. Thanks.

I am seriously considering applying for a home triage/advice position to get out of bedside nursing due to health issues. The only problem is that I do not have a suitable room in my home that I can dedicate to the job for 8+ hours, and even if I did, there is the baby, the cats, my wife at home talking on the phone, ect. I am thinking the only way I can do this is to rent an office space, which I can do for $250 a month. Would the companies that hire positions for home work be ok with that arrangement? Any other thoughts? Thanks.

Hey folks. After two years of med/surg and telemetry I have been given the opportunity to follow my dream job in psych nursing. The unit is part of an acute care hospital that takes the sickest of the mentally ill and has a largely indigent. I will be working nights with 12 hour shifts. They say I will receive 4-5 weeks of orientation. I would appreciate any advice people have about starting this job. I'm looking forward to it!

Thank you all for your comments. I knew I wanted to leave med/surg and was exploring my options. Today, I was offered my dream job: psych. I'm looking forward to this opportunity!

I never found myself wanting to be an oncology nurse per say, but I'm burned out on regular med/surg and I am looking for something different. There is a position open on the BMT unit at a tertiary academic medical center that I would like to work at. The little I've read about BMT units sounds fascinating. I do have some questions: 1. How is BMT different from an oncology floor? Do they overlap? Are BMT patients frequently getting chemo while on the BMT unit? 2. How much classroom/training/orientation does it take? Is there a large learning curve? Would coming from a heavy surgery floor where many patients have had cancer surgically removed help? I'm already accustomed to interacting with oncologists and familiar with many types of cancer. 3. Can you describe the typical BMT patient? Is the job very physically intensive? Are these patients mostly self sufficient or do they need lots of help? Compared to your typical med/surg population. I want to get an idea of what to expect with these patients before I consider applying. Thanks for your responses!

80 hours per two week pay period

I am in acute care and suffice it to say for may reasons I am sick of it. I feel burned out. I've had exposure to hospice both in nursing homes and acute care, and I think I would enjoy the work. I am ready to make a change. I will be interviewing for an on-call position which would be working every other week, on-call from 5pm to 8am and on weekends. The position would pay 21.41 an hour, with 80 hours paid for every week I'm on call. Does that sound reasonable? I think it would be a nice change of pace, and certainly easier on my body. I have several physical issues that working med/surg does not help. My only concern would be being in NP school for the next 2.5 years and that working well with my clinicals. Any advice is welcome. Thanks!

I have been a med/surg nurse for 18 months and am in school to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner. I just got offered a job on the adult psych unit of a major medical center where I currently work! I initially interviewed for a geri pscy position at the same hospital just to get my foot in the door, but it was a night position which was not ideal for me. Unexpectedly a position came open on the adult psych unit, and the supervisor who is over both units basically handed me the job. This is a coveted position. Hardly anyone ever leaves the psych floor and to get hired directly into a day position is virtually unheard of. So I am stoked and feel very lucky and blessed! The supervisor is a fantastic guy and also a minister and he had a wonderful reputation. I couldn't be happier. I am wondering if there is any advice you could offer for a newbie on the psych floor. Thanks!

Hey folks. I'm currently a RN on a busy med/surg floor. I knew that I didn't want to be a floor nurse for most of my career but came here for the experience. We see a lot of things on my floor and it has built me into a solid nurse. That said, I'm burned out. I also have several physical ailments and this job is taking its toll on my body. I need to make a change for my health and so I will be happier with my job. Acute care just isn't for me. I did inpatient hospice before as a LPN, and found it very meaningful and rewarding. I'm considering applying for an on-call hospice position with Gentiva. Just wondering if any of you know if it is a good company to work fork. Any idea what the pay is in Arkansas? And what does a typical day look like for an on-call nurse? Any advice you have will be greatly appreciated. I'm also returning to school in the fall so I think this would work better with my schedule. Thanks, Ryan

Just wondering if you think one should do a cover letter for a PRN position, and how should it be different than a cover letter for a full-time position? Also, since my LPN license is now expired (I'm a RN), should I still list it on my resume? Thanks!

In my hospital, there is a separate Day Surgery (ambulatory) with a separate staff. The position I am interested in is with the main OR preop area. Most of the patients coming in are going to be post-op admints...could be anything from a thoracotomy, gastric bypass, AAA repair, complex ENT surgeries, gynonc, etc. I work at a major hospital so we see everything. Also, there is normally no transferring done in the preop care unit (POCU) as the bed the patient is on is taken from the POCU to the OR and the patient is transferred there. Additionally, say a patient is admitted the day before, they will still go to the POCU before going to the OR. Sometimes when a surgery on an inpatient is added later in the day, a POCU nurse will come to the floor to preop the patient and then they go straight to the OR. I was under the impression that the PACU required a lot of experience, namely critical care experience, because you are often dealing with ASA 3 and 4 patients with multiple comorbidities with high levels of acuity. Indeed many patients receive ICU level care in the PACU.

No one?

I'm currently on a unit that has both a med/surg side (primarily surgical) and a surgical stepdown unit as well. I am burned out on this. I've been off from work for 2 moths due to surgery and I've taken the time to reflect on my job. I've realized that I do not like inpatient care in general and I want to do something else. I still have two years till I'm done with NP school so I have to do something until then to support myself. I think preop would be a happy medium because I would still get meaningful contact with the patient in an important time but it would eliminate many of the things I don't like about bedside nursing (changing patients, call lights, ADMITS AND DISCHARGES, lifting patients - I have a bad back and knee). Where I work I have 4 to 6 patients primary and we are constantly being asked to do more and more. I do not think that pre-op will be "easy" because I'm sure it's hard work. I just need to get off the floor. Wondering what you think about going to pre-op. I'm most nervous about learning to start IV's because I don't have much experience with that. I have time management and multi-tasking down good. I worry about my reception in pre-op because I'm only 30 but there are some other young pre-op nurses which makes me think at least in my hospital that pre-op is not a place you go to as an old nurse. Thanks guys.

What exactly is research nursing?

Is there such a thing as a desk job for a RN (or a job that is light duty) with flexible scheduling? Acute care has burned me out and I have many health issues that make working three 12-hour shifts a week painful and challenging. I still have two years left to become an APN - this is where acute care helps because my schedule is flexible and my supervisor works around my school schedule. I'm off work due to knee and arm surgery until April, and honestly, I dread going back to work on the floor. I've also had zero back pain (cervical and lumbar degenerative discs) since I've been off work on STD, which tells me that being on my feet for 12 hours and moving heavy patients are contributing to that problem. I can't work a full-time Monday through Friday job because of school so I feel my options are limited. Two years seems like a long time, so if any of you have some ideas, please share. Thanks.

Is there such a thing as a desk job for a RN (or a job that is light duty) with flexible scheduling? Acute care has burned me out and I have many health issues that make working three 12-hour shifts a week painful challenging. I still have two years left to become an APN - this is where acute care helps because my schedule is flexible and my supervisor works around my school schedule. I'm off work due to knee and arm surgery until April, and honestly, I dread going back to work on the floor. I've also had zero back pain (cervical and lumbar degenerative discs) since I've been off work on STD, which tells me that being on my feet for 12 hours and moving heavy patients are contributing to that problem. I can't work a full-time Monday through Friday job because of school so I feel my options are limited. Two years seems like a long time, so if any of you have some ideas, please share. Thanks.