NurseJacqui

I would turn it down, as you are not qualified for it. I am rather curious as to why you would be offered a position like that with no experience in the first place. Not trying to sound harsh but I am presenting to you the reality of the situation. You will be eaten alive.

While I agree with you that it is a management issue ...it is easier said than done. Especially in a very large, very busy ER with maybe one charge nurse. I see it all the time. Nurses will come up with excuse after excuse to keep the pt there. I have seen often in more than one hospital. I was constantly moving my pts and therefore getting slammed while other nurses would have the same 4 pts all night. I am not opposed to ratios on principle...but knowing a nurse can never have more than 4 pts removes the incentive to get the pt out of the ER. Doctors do it too. Take their time to dispo pts cuz they know there are 20 in the waiting room.

I am not a total fan of staffing ratios. At least not in the ER. In my experience...in order to adhere to ratio, pts waiting to be seen are sitting in waiting room for hours. And inside the nurses don't turn over their pts because they know they will immediately get slammed with the ones in the waiting room. I find nurses tend to move their pts a lot faster when they know there is not really a limit to the amount of pts assigned to them. In the end ratios benefits the nurses, but not the pts who may be waiting 6-7 hours in waiting room, some of them a lot sicker then they look.

I quote them warmly and accurately.

I would also say " Don't believe the hype" about Baptist...

IN my experience the insurance pretty much sucks. High copay, high deductible, high coinsurance, usually HMO. That's even if they offer major medical. And half the time its some weird company that no one accepts. Better off having your own.

Agreed. I am only with them because I need to work in South Florida and they are the only agency who got me a job

I got in trouble for doing that to a drunk pt who kicked me in the stomach .(security wasn't holding her down well enough) Charge nurse scolded me for not using sterile technique. Give me an effin break. I would do it again if I had to.

I usually do it for kids. Its harder for them to get away from me and the muscle pops out quite nicely.

True dat. I was told they provide rental cars, license reimbursement and certification reimbursement. Guess what? None of that happened. I was also charged a move-in fee and upgrade fee when they put me in their extended stay housing. The health insurance is not even insurance. It's like a discount card. The housing was disgusting. I would not recommend them.

Don't expect fancy apartment overlooking the ocean. They will only put you in extended stay for first contract. They put me in one near the airport in one of the worst parts of Miami and charged me a bunch of fees.

I work for Nightingale. They are VERY cheap. Will only put you in crappy extended stay for first contract. Those are usually near airport and not in good area. If you take the stipend its only $1200 a month. If you take the housing you get charged a security deposit and fees, which they don't tell you about. The health insurance is a joke. It is not comprehensive and does not include major medical and is worthless. So you better not get sick or hurt. The only reason I am working for them is that ER jobs in south florida are scarce and they were the only ones who got me a job.

You are getting paid less because the housing is so expensive. So that sounds about right. A decent 1 bedroom NYC apt in doorman building goes for about $2500 or more. I was making almost $45 an hour as a staff ER nurse in NYC. But I didn't get free housing so it kinda evens out.

What are the emergency rooms like?