denicu

CA is very fussy about some classes-I know of nurses that had to take a speech class before they were able to get their license. Another nurse did a accelerated program and didnt take microbiology and she could not get a license.

at one hospital FF was used incorrectly-it was placed being placed on babies chest so now there is reminder that a FF is like an elephant sitting on a baby's chest-should be placed below hips. Its now mainly used for holding in pacifier, holding resp tubes in place

I think its crazy too but as a traveler I have to go along with their plan of care.

The thinking is that if scores have not gone down since last medication was given then there is a possibility that infant may need an increase dose. Didnt make sense to me but this is what they do and it started shortly before I left the assignment.

I am a nicu traveler so I have seen quite a few programs. Most popular seems to be EPIC but others that I have work with are CERNER, SORIAN, CPN(only HCA hosps uses it), MEDITECH and CRIB NOTES.

Something new that was being done at the above unit-if score is above 8, medicate as ordered (morphine is usually q 3hrs) and re-evaluate in 1 hr which means waking baby up to do the score again. If still above 8 call MD.

I think Finnegan scoring system is the universal system that is used. As for the 2nd RN check, I think its a great idea. I just came from a unit that has quite a few withdrawal babies . I usually work nights and I try to keep the environment as quiet as possible and my score tends to be lower. I will come in 12hrs later and the scores are way higher and infants has increase dose of morphine so I dont mind the 2nd RN checking the scores with me. Last wk I attended the ANN conference in Orlando and NAS was one of the most popular seminars. Some units do use the 2 RN check, sending babies home on low dose Morphine, the use of Morphine and Phenobarbital as well as Clonidine to treat these babies.

I did send all paperwork overnight to the CA BON-costly but a better paper trail. As for NURSYs, years ago an agency paid for my DC license to be sent to CA BON. From what I read here I thought it expired at 90 days but whenever I logged into NURSYS to have it sent-i would get message-already sent so I called up the nursys and they also said there are no 90 expiration date-once paid its good. Did not pay again and got my license.

I know of quite a few seasoned nurse who moved to ATL area from high paying areas such as NY, CT etc but cont to fly in and work a weekend program because she just couldnt make it on the salary they were paying in GA.

I think 8 wks is too short a time-more like 12 -16wks and always having a resource person after orientation. On one of my the travel assignments, nurses were being pulled off orientation and given critical babies due to understaffing. The task was completed but you can tell by their report they didnt know why they were doing it. One girl was given a jet ventilator without a preceptor having only taken care of NC and CPAP. About 2 hrs into the shift she came to me to complain- I told her go to the CN and have her change her assignment-which she did. Scary.

I along with many folks paid for a temp license but didnt get one. However, I remember a prev poster writing that someone at CA BON told her that they will issue a temp license to someone who has everything for endorsement but is missing the communication requirement. By issuing the temp which is good for 6 months, it gives the applicant the time to take a class to satisfy the requirement.

a personal check is the best way to go. You will have an idea when it was cashed. No so with a money order.

No I didnt go to the BON-I was thinking about it but couldnt find a cheap enough airfare to justify going there plus I kept extending on my then travel contract so I was ok with the 3 month timeframe that BON was saying it will take me to get the license.

I am sure they need verification from PA. That is also my original state license. I called the PA board of nursing to ask if my verification to CA can be expedited-the person I spoke to said it generally will go out in 10 days. I paid for temp license but only got a perm which took only 6 wks. From all the posts I have read, it seems the only way they will give you a temp is if you go to the CA BON.

If they are nursing students in their last yr they can do VS, po and ng/og feed. Reg CNA that is floated from other areas just do VS and po feed. One place that I worked,the CNA could do lab work because prev they were lab techs that did labs in the unit, then they were cross trained to NICU.

I am use to taping it on the chin but on a recent travel assignment I was floated to peds from the NICU and a new order during handoff was to insert og tube. Well I forgot that at this institution they taped their og tube as described as above and I taped it on the chin. You would have thought I made a med error-the(Peds) charge nurse called down to the NICU to report what I did. Of course follow up x-ray confirmed correct placement but it didnt matter-it was not taped their way.

I have a NICU traveler since 2000 and NICU nurse for 28 yrs. I have had assignments in over 15 hospitals and most travelers typically get the assignments the staff doesnt want for ex withdrawal babies, chronics, babies with difficult parents, isolations, ostomies. The staff is not going to have 3 feeder growers and you have the critical 1:1. Not going to happen. And I have worked at some units where they have MD orders not to assign critical babies to certain staff members as well as travelers. You may be more than capable of taking care of these babies but the doc's like to have nurses that they are familiar with .As for increasing your skills- I dont think thats what NM have in mind when they hire travelers-you are there to fill a need- Often times you are hired soley to be floated to Peds and PICU. But I assure you- You are going to learn different ways of doing things or as we use say at my old hospital" there are many ways to grow a premie" After 28 yrs I have had my fill of critical babies and now i love to take care of feeder growers and teach the parents how to take care of their premie at home. Hopefully, one day you will get the assignment that allows you to maintain your skills. Good luck.

I feel your pain. I was planning to apply for NY,NV and CA license. I was forewarned that its best to get the other license s first(NY and NV) because it will cost $60 for CA verification and it takes for ever for it to be done. I didnt really think my CA license would could in that fast and now I have my NY application and will have to come up with $60 and wait 6-8 wks for verification to come through. I am now thinking to let NY application go.

speaking from a travel nurse perspective -for a first assignment esp in areas like San Diego I would have let the travel agency find my housing because rental cost are ridiculous in SD and difficult to find esp for short term leases. That being said, there is a forum on facebook for travelers-its called Gypsy Caravan and within that forum there is a subforum that has postings about places/rooms to rent in different parts of the country. I have seen some-not a lot for San Diego. Good luck with your assignment.

Thats how my application was listed on Breeze except once missing education history was taken out-pending was changed to open and less than 10 days-license was issued

I initially thought of flying to Sacramento to turn in my application but couldnt find a decent airfare so this is what I did. I was in nearby NV so I drove to Barstow CA in Dec 2014 and did my livescan. Around March 12 I sent all my nursing school transcripts next day-did it via online. All my licenses except one (PA) was sent via NURSYS. My PA license was sent off from PA BON in 3 days. Finally on March 25th I mailed off my application-on April 9th my check was cashed. Received my CA license on May 21st. I paid for a temp license which was a waste of $50 but thats ok.

I am thinking that with a temp license its only good for 6 months-if for whatever reason you run into problems in getting your perm license then the hospital is out of money for orientation etc

congrats-looks like things are moving along at the BON however its still on avg 2-3months for license to be issued.