pennyg1

I've been a nurse for 26 years and the most valuable team members are the NAs and MAs. I think your age is a plus. You could stress your ability to recognize situations that need immediate attention and since NAs often spend more time at the bedside than the nurses do, your interview is the perfect opportunity to stress this. With age comes the ability to read situations and people and we mature health care workers have more "intuition" than younger ones. This job should have nothing to do with your stamina and more to do with your assessment skills and ability to work well with others. Good luck http://img.an-file.info/smilies/redface.gif

I'm hoping to get a benefited position at my current job. When the benefits department emailed the details I was shocked. Pre-tax, out-of-pocket is almost $750/month for the PPO plan with dental and vision. This is for myself, husband and 2 children. This is almost 2xs what my husbands plan cost right now and his plan is a better, more flexible one. Our local hospital plan is almost 2 1/2 xs cheaper for a better plan. Yikes. Just curious to hear what others are paying.

Thanks for the insight. Seems like our UCC falls within the norm. It's certainly interesting and there is NEVER a dull moment.

Haven't had that situation but we are fully equipped to do all that and more. The facility is highly thought of and has incredibly high standards and the staff is well trained. I wasn't expecting the volume and acuity. It's definitely getting better and my heart palpitations have stopped :) I keep reminding myself that I have to give myself more time.

Thanks for the thoughts. Sounds like you're busy, too. After day 7 of orientation I'm feeling much better. I was just surprised at the acuity of patients. Luckily the existing staff is amazing and very helpful. I know in 6 months I'll feel even better.

I have the perfect hobby for you--knitting. You can do it while you are dog tired and all you want to do is sit. Put a good movie on and knit away. Start with something easy, a scarf, and go from there. There is probably a yarn shop in town that has beginning knitting classes. My knitting is my yoga and something I look forward to every day. It is also easy to bring with you to work so you can knit during your breaks.

My new job in our local urgent care (2 minutes away from a LARGE major medical center) is turning out to be a lot more like an ER. We are calling 911 a few times a day and transporting at least 5 a day. The local (older) community doesn't want to go to the "other" hospital because of the wait so they start with us even though it's clear within 5 minutes that they are going to get transfered. YIKES. It's very stressful. Anyone else have a similar experience and how do I get rid of this sinking feeling in my stomach before I go to work? I've been a nurse for 22 years and have done a little bit of everything. Nothing freaks me out too much but this time it's very different!

Hi there, I've been a nurse at a major Bay Area hospital off and on (more on) since 1988. 1 year ago I took a year off (2008) to look into going back to school for an MSN and decided not to do that. So I thought, I'll just go back. Wow, was I ever surprised. It took me 5 1/2 months of very active looking and contacting EVERYONE I know but I finally got a job. Not back in the hospital but close by. Here's what I learned in the process: There is no shortage of nurses in the Bay Area. It's a highly desirable place to live and the pay is some of the highest in the nation. A lot of nurses who were planning on retiring didn't and part time/per diem nurses picked up more hours and as a result there are few to no positions left. When you see a position posted it's because the hospital is legally required to post any open reqs for a certain period of time but most of these positions are filled by internal candidates. A few suggestions: 1. Cast a wide net 2. Volunteer in a health related area (ie. American Heart Association) and network like crazy! 3. After filling out the online applications, call the recruiting office and get in front of someone and start talking. Do not wait for them to call you--they won't. I promise. For every 1 open position, they are getting 15-30 applications. 4. Drop off a resume and cover letter to the mailbox outside the door of the manager who will have the final say on who gets hired. 5. You may have to take a per diem/on call position but at least it's a foot in the door. 6. You may have to take a position in a unit, on a shift you may never have considered (think nights on Oncology or Head and Neck). 7. Tweek you resume to each individual application. Don't just use the same resume for each one. Different jobs need different skill sets and you need to be able to highlight those skills in your resume. Often, they get so many applications that they are looking for key/trigger words within the document. Good luck!

Hi there, I've been a nurse at a major bay area hospital off and on (more on) since 1988. 1 year ago I took a year off to look into going back to school for an MSN and decided not to do that. So I thought, I'll just go back. Wow, was I ever surprised. It took me 5 1/2 months of very active looking and contacting EVERYONE I know but I finally got a job. Not back in the hospital but close by. Here's what I learned in the process: There is not a shortage of nurses in the Bay Area. A lot of nurses who were planing on retiring didn't and part time/per diem nurses picked up more hours and as a result there are few to no positions left. When you see a position posted it's because the hospital is legally required to post any open reqs for a certain period of time but most of these positions are filled by internal candidates. A few suggestions as a new grad: 1. Cast a wide net 2. Volunteer in a health related area (ie. American Heart Association) and network like crazy! 3. After filling out the online applications, call the recruiting office and get in front of someone and start talking. 4. Drop off a resume and cover letter to the mailbox outside the door of the manager who will have the final say on who gets hired. YOu need to go around the recruiting offices. 5. Start cold calling. Ask people you want to work for if you can take them to lunch or for coffee to pick their brains. People who love their jobs also like talking about it. Good luck!

Hi there, I've been a nurse at a major bay area hospital off and on (more on) since 1988. 1 year ago I took a year off to look into going back to school for an MSN and decided not to do that. So I thought, I'll just go back. Wow, was I ever surprised. It took me 5 1/2 months of very active looking and contacting EVERYONE I know but I finally got a job. Not back in the hospital but close by. Here's what I learned in the process: There is not a shortage of nurses in the Bay Area. A lot of nurses who were planing on retiring didn't and part time/per diem nurses picked up more hours and as a result there are few to no positions left. When you see a position posted it's because the hospital is legally required to post any open reqs for a certain period of time but most of these positions are filled by internal candidates. A few suggestions as a new grad: 1. Cast a wide net 2. Volunteer in a health related area (ie. American Heart Association) 3. After filling out the online applications, call the recruiting office and get in front of someone and start talking. 4. Drop off a resume and cover letter to the mailbox outside the door of the manager who will have the final say on who gets hired. Good luck!