GJS0221

where are you looking? BSN is preferred but not required. that is pretty standard. We encourage our ADN's to purse BSN's and offer tuition assistance to do so. We definitely hire ADNs. I checked our website and there are several RN openings posted across our system. And, not sure where you are seeing 800 cases per year. However, your 7000 cases per year (!) definitely exceeds our volumes by orders of magnitude. Again, I'm not sure you are looking at our careers website... the posting date for our openings is not published on the website. You are welcome to pm me with your personal email so we can continue this conversation. With your background and your ability to train, we may have an opportunity that could work for you. Thanks

where are you moving from?

Thanks Argo, I got your PM too. We do offer 10 or 12 hour shifts. I am limited on what I can share about pay in this public forum. I've probably already said too much about the base rate for CV OR. Suffice it to say, we have developed an enhanced rate for CV OR nurses that is exclusive to them. We are located on the west side of town. Quick jump onto I-70. Winter Park is about an hour and ten away. No call housing currently - that is an interesting idea. Thanks

hi all, thanks for your responses and your questions. i have answered most of them below. after reading this, let me know your insight about what is most and least appealing. also, what else could we do to make the opportunity more appealing to the cv or nurse (outside of compensation). colorado has a great outdoor lifestyle. are ski season passes compelling? season tix to sporting events, museum, theatre, etc...? argo - if you don't mind me asking, where are you making $15.00/hr call pay? relocation allowance = $3000.00 + up to 90 days temp housing (or cash equivalent of $4500.00). 5% of base pay retention bonus after 12 months of services. 24 month service commitment in exchange for the relocation and temp housing (sorry about the "nonsense.") thanks again. are your nurses scrubbing? the rn’s circulate only. we use scrub tech’s for scrubbing what kind of call schedule do you have? on call every third week – 7 days on call, 3p-7a. on weekends 24/7. do they cover cath lab also? no what is the base pay in the rest or the or? that is dependent upon experience and internal equity. are they straight cv, go home when cv cases are done or work regular or rooms? currently, the cv nurses float to the main or. we are exploring other models where the cv team would not need to do that. is this just hearts? or also vascular? lungs? is it busy enough enough to keep them working so they get their hours? cv includes thoracotomies, thorascopies, vascular access. how many cases a day does each cvor do. one room around 2 cases per week. how many people are rotating the call/how many teams are on call at the same time. 8 people take call, every 3rd week. 1 team of 3 people on call. what is the call pay rate? 4.50 hour how many scrubs and circulators are assigned to each case? is there a second circulator there at the start and finish of the cases, cabg/valve/transplant in particular? do they cover transplants and transplant call? 1 scrub tech/nurse, 1 anesthesia line nurse, 1 circulating nurse (line nurse takes on additional circulating role after line completed) is the place a center of excellence for chest pain? yes, we are an accredited chest pain center what type of ancillary staffing do you have in the heart rooms? anesthesia techs, surgical attendants? operating room aides only.

Hi all, I am here seeking advice on how to appeal to CV OR nurses from a recruitment/work environment perspective. What is a compelling package to you? And, what are you seeking in the work environment (technology, physician engagement, team work, management support, etc) that would cause you to consider accepting an offer? I know money is important. I'm also seeking wisdom on some of the intangibles that are important to you. And, when you interview with a hospital, how do you know that those intangibles are present? My hospital has several openings for CV OR nurses. We have developed an enhanced compensation package that includes a base of $42.00/hr, relocation assistance, temporary housing and a 5% retention bonus after one year of full time work. Rather than guess about what else is appealing to an experienced CV OR nurse, I wanted to ask you all for specifics on what is compelling. Is this package attractive to you? What else would you like to see? This will help in my conversation with my CNO and my CEO. Thanks all for your counsel. Gillian Denver, CO

Actually, we have a very good reputation. I hear this consistently from candidates and new hires. Primarily we pay at market. In a specialty area such as this we pay as much as internal equity allows. One thing I heard yesterday about Denver in general is that the city pays less than many other metro areas around the country ( and more than some, of course).

We are in Denver. Not sure how to PM you..

Hi all, Thought I would go to the source here. I am having a heckuva time finding CV OR nurses to fill our openings (we have three). Any leads that you could offer would be great. We have advertised in AORN, contacted former employees asking them back, asked for referrals from current employees, hired someone to source for us. This has generated some activity but not enough yet. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Please, please, please do not enroll in one of those private, for-profit colleges. I am the recruitment manager at a Denver hospital and I always re-direct folks to the community colleges or the well known/respected 4 year degree programs. I agree with the earlier posts that the private colleges are very expensive and you don't graduate with the equivalent quality of education. Good for you for asking - and definitely, explore other options.

Hi PeggyCA10RN, I can tell you a lot about making the transition from the bedside to an EPIC application analyst. The company I work for is ramping up for a big EPIC implementation. If you want to talk to someone about that, you can email me at Gilian posting private e-mail addresses on the forum is not allowed. Peggy please private message Gillian instead Thanks Angela