Lub-Dub

This is such great information. Thank you for taking the time to respond! I didn't know that the green line was so painfully slow, and I hadn't really thought about taking the bus before. I looked up the 39 bus and it really is a straight shot from JP. It sounds like the orange line is a way more reliable option than the green line as well. Walking from Roxbury crossing is only 14 min or so according to the map. It's also great to know about the commuter line which I haven't paid any attention to (the Needham line, it looks like). Rooms for rent in March are slowly but surely starting to pop up, so I'll know which neighborhoods to focus my search on. Thank you so much!

Can I ask where you commuted from? And how long it took you? That's awesome-- I like busy! (as long as it's well-staffed..) Unfortunately if I pick up any extra shifts, above my 3/week, I'll only make $20/hour, so it probably won't be worth it for me to pick up any extra :/

Thanks so much for the comments. After considering everything I'm really rethinking the East Boston situation. People are saying bad things about the traffic, and I called the BWH parking office (they say you have to park off-site and then take a shuttle, which can be up to 2 miles away from the hospital, so who knows how much time that would add in traffic plus the waiting... Also it's $138 or something a month for days, and my shift is technically rotating, although I'll probably be mostly nights, but what about that 1 day they want me on days...) All in all it seems like I really should have the T as a backup. So, I'm starting my search again, and this time acquiescing to having a roommate, since I'm really not finding any 1 bedrooms along the T in my price range, but that's ok! I'll have a roommate and it'll be fine. Something in Mission Hill or Brookline would be amazingly close, but I'll definitely expand my search to further along the green line, and if necessary the Red and Orange. I have no nurse friends in Boston so I might be hitting you up after a particularly hard day :) Any other advice about this issue would be totally welcome! Anyone tried to look for roommates in a random month like March? There are tons of postings for January, and I'm hoping come February, people will be looking for March roommates.

Thank you for your response and the ideas! I'm really excited to start at Brigham. It also seems like they're very "traveler friendly" since they hire travelers all the time. A nurse I work with used to work in the NICU there, and absolutely loved it. I've done a lot of searching for apartments, on Airbnb, craigslist, other apartment sites, etc. I actually found an Airbnb apartment in East Boston that I'm leaning towards (great price, safe neighborhood, big, and nicely furnished w/ all utilities, parking) and I'm wondering what you think about the idea of driving from East Boston to B&W every evening (I'll be night shift). Google maps calls it 17 min, but with traffic I'd make sure to leave at LEAST a half hour. I'm going to have a car with me anyway, so any thoughts on driving? Thank you!

Hi All, I'm starting a 4 month travel assignment in March 2015 at Brighman and Women's (Boston). I've heard that they were hiring on a good number of nurses for this assignment, so I was just wondering if anyone out there is starting with me. Also wondering whether anyone starting as a traveler in Boston has found any good housing situations (all the furnished 1-bedroom month-to-month options cost way more than my housing stipend, so I'm probably just going to sublet as a roommate)... just wanted to hear what others are doing. Take care!

Thank you so much for all the guidance... it was really helpful for giving me a real feel for the job. Had the interview today and I definitely felt like it went well. Then again, they were just really nice people, so maybe everyone leaves that office thinking that! (I did see another applicant there.) I'm sure there are some very qualified applicants, but we'll see. Should find out more in a week or so. Thanks for all the help and I'm so glad you have a job that you love :)

Thanks for this thoughtful response! It sounds like you really love your job and are completely devoted to your clients. It's so nice to hear how supportive NFP is of their employees, and how willing the supervisors are to guide you. I know from experience, both good and bad, this makes ALL the difference. It's also good to hear that you have weekly meetings with your supervisor, and a case conference. I'm sure these are helpful if you have any concerns you need to raise, and to get a glimpse of other nurses' methods. I know all the issues are interconnected, but how much of what you do is psychosocial and education-based (counseling on nutrition or quitting smoking, or encouraging a mom to go back to school) and how much is physiological, like physical assessments of mom & baby? Do you feel like there's a good balance between these? I know there's a reason they send nurses out to do the visits rather than a case manager or social worker, so I imagine you're using your nursing knowledge constantly? Also, do you think time management is an important part of fitting all of your clients in during your work day? I have a habit of spending a lot of time with patients during intakes at the clinic or during a visit (which I do once in a while for the agency), which can be a nice thing, but not good if you're on a tight schedule!

Hi everyone, I have an interview for NFP in New Jersey in 2 days, and was hoping for some insight. My experience: I'm pretty new to nursing, but have about 3 months of experience in Pediatric home care (private duty)-- where one of the patients I care for is a baby in a very low income household with a bunch of social issues-- similar to the type of family NFP addresses. My other job is in a community clinic for the poor/uninsured population. I really love the people we help and the kind people I work with. So, I do have some experience with young children as well as patients with psychosocial/economic issues. However, I really don't have any mother/baby, med-surg, or hospital experience. I know that as a nurse home visitor you're working very independently, and I'm not sure how I feel about being completely on my own, having to make decisions without someone to turn to immediately for a second opinion. Does anyone have an opinion on this? Do you think that extensive experience is necessary before doing this type of work? Those who have worked for NFP, if you’re unsure of something (part of your assessment, or who to refer the patient to, or what steps to take), who have you turned to? Have you called your patients’ doctors, arranged for a consult, etc? Basically, do you have a safety net? A couple other questions: -- What is the training like? Is it very extensive? (Online it says there’s distance learning and face-to-face, but it’s not very specific) -- Any idea of what the hourly rate is in NJ? Do they reimburse for mileage? -- Do you feel that you’re given all the resources you need to be successful? Like education on OBGYN/ nutrition/ where you can refer your patients to for any given issue? -- How much contact do you have with your supervisors and the other nurses? I’m guessing it’s like most other visiting nursing jobs, where you see patients all day but not too much of your co-workers, is that right? It said something online about “regular meetings” to discuss cases—how often do those happen and are they useful? Any information would be very helpful :) Thanks so much.

Hey, I was just wondering what you decided to do about PSA? Did you end up bargaining/ taking the position, or did you decide it was just too little? I just got an email back from PSA (5 weeks after interviewing with them), inviting me to their 4-hour orientation where they teach you about home care, documentation and their policies... It's only $23/hr so I'm not exactly sure what to do. If they're able to give me cases with a short commute, it might be worth it.. and it is per diem, but they basically expect you to commit to a certain day. I'd love to hear what you decided!

Hi werkinit, i looked back at my emails from allnurses notifying me about replies to this post. i didn't see anything from Professor-anything... are you thinking of shanthern, or blackshinycar? i think they are the only other 2 who replied, besides the posts that you can still see above. Strange that so many posts just disappeared! I hope you find what you're looking for.

You are wonderful... thank you. I'm going to research tunneled lines vs. ports and familiarize myself better with tumor lysis syndrome so I understand the big issues. This is so helpful!

Thank you Jan, this is really helpful. I think this fits into the whole model of the nurse as the case manager of the patient-- coordinating not just this childs meds but also education, etc. As you seem to know peds oncology well, are there any questions you'd recommend I ask about the unit? I'll definitely ask if they have a classroom. Are there other things specific to peds onc that are important to ask about? Thanks for your help!

Hi everyone.. I'm a new nursing school grad, and I have an interview in a couple days for a pediatric oncology position. It's at a hospital where I did many of my clinicals, including pediatrics, and think it would be a great place to start my nursing career. I absolutely love working with children and just know it's what I want to do. However, I don't have much oncology experience, besides the little that we covered it in school/clinicals. I'm wondering if anybody could give me some advice/ words of wisdom for the interview. Some questions I figure they could ask are: - why do you want to work in pediatric oncology? - how do you think you'll be able to handle the emotional aspect of a unit like this? - general q's (strengths/weaknesses/a time you went above and beyond in helping someone/evidence-based practice, etc.) If anyone has any other questions they think might pop up for a peds onc job, any help would be very much appreciated! Or ANY advice whatsoever. It's only my second interview :) Thanks in advance

Thanks for the help =)

Hi, I know this was a few years ago, but would anyone be able to tell me if Anastasia Jacobs is still the nurse recruiter of RWJUH? I'm trying to find out how to address the cover letter, and want to be sure before I send it. Thanks!