an6el177

juan de la cruz, Thank you for posting this as I've been reading your reply's to many other forums and they've been very insightful. I will be following this merger as I am a (first time) Travel RN from SoCal and recently relocated to R.O. and am interested in applying to many hospitals around me. I wonder what effect this would have on jobs both new and current. Would the "Do you have a Beaumont Physician" model extend to the HF system?

what is the pay for an experienced RN in the ER? And for travel RNs? Yikes...

christineBdriscoll, Crazy girl, what made you leave SoCAL? (j/p...I left too b/c DF now works for GM) where did you finally decide to work? I'm from Newport Beach, CA working in the ER for 2.5 years. It was not a level 1 Trauma just b/c of the location of the hospital in the beach communities made it difficult to navigate too (despite have a helipad). We were a stroke receiving center and a saw a lot of cardiac/stroke patients. I'm taking a travel assignment while living in R.O. and have been trying to decide where to work. Henry Ford? Beaumont (R.o./Troy/whichever), St John's, Mc Laren, etc? I would love to stay in/around R.O. and getting my feet wet at a Level 1 Trauma is something I'd like to get into and get my TNCC and CEN. Anyone know anything about these hospitals? I'm on my first travel assignment w/ Oakwood Annapolis ER and it's ok and they already offered me a job but I declined. Meeting other RN's (both staff and travel), they've told me that Beaumont is "crazy right now" b/c of the acuity in the ER can be 8:1 w/ 3-4 Level 3s and 2-3 Level 2's and maybe a level 1. That's just not safe to me. I heard Detroit Receiving has a "team nursing" approach which seems interesting to me. St. John's I've heard lots of nice things about, especially in Pontiac. Henry Ford and Mc Laren I haven't heard many things. Anything you can contribute would be appreciated! P.s. I'm posting this question to another forum as well. Thanks!

Thanks NedRN and jay.td for your info! NedRN, yes, the contract is 36hrs/wk. I'm currently on a month to month lease for the duration of the 13 wk assignment. I've already moved and signed the contract so its finalized. I was working w/ Nightingale Nurses who was also working on getting me a contract at the same hospital. (Weird how so many agencies can be competing for the same hospitals!) However, in the end, AMN got me an interview even before my license was endorsed in MI. Jay.td, I already expected to be making less in MI than in CA. This is definitely a lifestyle choice as my fiance is in MI and I thought I'd start working in MI as a travel RN while applying for something permanent. With that said, anyone know what the job market is like in the Detroit Metro area in the ED??

sylvoxz1 , did you take the assignment? I'm currently w/ AMN too! How do you like it? Its my first travel assignment.

Oh this make makes me so sad...I just signed on w/ AMN w/ a 13 wk contract MI. (I'm originally from CA) working in the ED. They're giving me: Regular Rate $23.59 Call Back Rate $23.59 Holiday Rate: $23.59 Per diem Rate: $35.00 Missed Shift Adj: $18.00/hr Subsidy $1600 monthly calculated as per-day amount paid in each pay check Travel reimbursement: Arrival amount $0.40/mi up to $250; ending amount $0.40/mi up to $250. Permanent Tax home: CA (this is the home I still pay rent and receive bills to right?) Current home for this 13 wk assignment: Royal Oak, MI. Per my recruiter, that works out to $33/hr roughly and honestly, I don't know how she got that figure. It's $7 less than what I got in CA and I should've asked for more but I'm new to the travel gig. Can anyone help me calculate the hourly rate? Is these #'s decent? Thanks for all your info!

@resilientnurse, is this a travel assignment? I just signed on in the ER too! I don't know much about the hospital except that they're rated #21 according to U.S. News and they have 32 ER beds and 259 hospital beds. There's ~41k ER visits annually. I heard there's a lot of travel nurses working there now b/c they're training to go live w/ EPIC in Nov. If anyone else has any info, please post! Thanks!

Did you sign up w/ Nightingale Nurses? I did online and received an email and phone call back w/ a recruiter who saiys they contract w/ Oakwood Medical Center in Dearborn and Annapolis. I filled out their skills checklist and online app but haven't heard back yet. Are you a Michigan native? I'm a CA ER RN and moving to MI. I'm waiting for my endorsement to be completed so I can start applying for jobs. I figured I would sign up w/ a travel agency in the mean time.

Wow RN-Cardiac, thank you for that advice. I definitely will mention it to my preceptor if she can help me hone in on my critical thinking skills by asking me questions in various case scenarios. Thanks!

Perbd, Glad things worked out for you in ICU. I declined the small hospital b/c there was not orientation/training but rather thrown in. Even though it's a small 150 bed hospital, 5 bed ED, I still wanted formal training as I had not med/surg experience. I was hired into another major hospital (500 bed, 60 bed ED, non-trauma, magnet) with a new grad ED program. It's 16 wks with 16 hr clinical days and 2 x 12 hr shifts that we work with our preceptor each wk. It's a great program with 90% retention of new grads. My question is to those who have had preceptors or been a preceptor themselves. How were you "trained" to be a preceptor and what are you looking for in your preceptee. What should a preceptee do if its not a good fit? What are your expectations? I ask b/c I have worked 3 days with 3 different preceptors. The first day with one was easy going and he "didn't do things by the book" so I learned a lot of bad habits as he is a seasoned, long-timer in the ED. However he always prefaced it with, "you don't have to learn it this way" or "you'll find the technique that works for you but this is how I do it." Like I said, easy going but fudged a little in terms of technique. I can go into specifics but you know what I mean. The 2nd preceptor day was easy-going, meshed well with the preceptor but more legit. The 3rd preceptor was the one I wanted to focus working on skills/techniques with b/c she is the one I'll be with the rest of the 16 wks. She's been in the ED for twenty some years and has precepted many new grads. However, I couldn't get a good read on her if she liked me or not. My 3rd day I had my own patient but that just means 4-5 patients throughout the shift. The last patient was a resp arrest whom needed a level of care that I had never done (i.e, hang propofol, insert corticore foley, In the end, I went home feeling down on myself and told myself I should not have gotten flustered after each failed IV attempt and that my RN educator said we need to give ourselves room to learn and make mistakes, and grow. I know this but I feel like some preceptors have forgotten this. I have worked as a EMT in ED and am familiar with the settings but we weren't allowed to start IV's, mainly do ECGs, wound care, restock, etc. I talked to my fellow new grads and they love their preceptors and say its a good fit. I don't want to be the only one where it doesn't work out. Our RN educator told us if it doesn't let them know ASAP and they'll find someone better suited. I am a "make with what you have", "adapt and overcome", don't complain type of person. However, I know in this case I should probably speak up as it may ruin my ED nursing career (I believe I'm met for the ED and don't have tunnel vision or "deer in headlights" new grad syndrome. I react well, ask tons of q's and am eager to learn but please excuse me if I don't know where all the supplies/forms are. However, my preceptor has told me she's fired new grads that didn't work out). I worry about the appearance of what other ED RN's would say as word gets around that my preceptor and I didn't work out (new grads/new transfers gossip) on top of the fact that she's been there 20 yrs and I'd have to work with her in the future. How awkward right?:uhoh21: In the end I know I should B-R-E-A-T-H and get over it and do what's best for me first. I appreciate any comments/advice from former preceptees and preceptors. Just wanted to generate some discussion and your thoughts on the preceptorship experience. Thanks! -an6el177

NorthBay, When I provided my portfolio, I just asked my volunteer clinic director to provide a letter stating how many hours of service I worked. It was on their letterhead and came with a nice few sentences of recommendation. They also have generic "Certificate of Excellence" awards that they can print out for you. Is there someone you can ask to provide this for you?

hi fellow nurses! i had my first day of hospital orientation at hoag hospital and it truly is a fabulous place to work. everyone was so kind and seemed absolutely happy working there. there were a lot of new hires going to the new hoag hospital in irvine. they are scheduled to open 9/1/10 and you can read more about it here: hoag hospital irvine i also wanted to let those searching for job opportunities know that there is a job fair on 5/25/10 tuesday, may 25 from 4:30pm-6:30pm at the newport beach location. you do need to register for the event!!! you can read more here: http://sfnet.ehoag.org/sections.asp?servlink=74&classlink=850&servtitle=human%20resources&classtitle=hoag%20hospital%20irvine%20career%20fair i am honored to be offered a position as a new grad and just wanted to extend this information to others searching for jobs as well. good luck! -an6el177

WHoo hoo! I just got selected for round 2! However, I must politely decline. I was offered a new grad position at Hoag since my first interview. Good luck to you all! =)

Thanks gtoko. The hospital gave us ECG powerpoints and a study guide. I also practiced rhythms from: Six Second ECG Simulator I passed the exam. Orientation starts May 17th! So excited!

Hi! Can't wait to officially join the ER Nursing forum! I'm starting a 12 wk new grad ED Program and there are 3 tests that we will need to take pre-hire; 1) Pharmacology Exam 2) Basic Knowledge Assessment Test 3) basic ECG/Pacemaker Test. The ECG is an 6hr online course (offered through AACN) we need to complete before taking the hospital's ECG test. I'm taking the tests Monday and all 3 exams should take 3-4 hrs. I was wondering if anyone has any advice, tips, experience with taking these exams? I get anxious around exams and just want to be prepared as much as possible. So far I'm reviewing my Silvestri NCLEX Comprehensive review, practicing Med calculations, and Med-Surg II. I appreciate any input. Thanks!