TurannaRN

Hi! I'm in my last nursing class before capstone at UTA. It is very time consuming but it'll be worth it once it's done. I'm at my 2 year mark but that's because I took a few breaks from school for personal things that came up. I have another friend who just started the Rn-bsn online program a few months ago and she likes it so far. The only thing that I didn't like was that I kept having my counselor switched on me almost every semester. My friend said she hasn't experienced that yet. So maybe it was just the luck of the draw for me. Good luck though!

Yes, I know. Unfortunately, when I initially met them both, the wife was never introduced to me as that. Just as the office manager. They have made it progressively uncomfortable for me. I'm hopefully taking another job ASAP and can't just quite before something horrible happens. Do I legally have to report their unsafe behavior to OSHA or Department of Health? Did I mention, this wife, has been working as the nurse for the practice when they didn't have a nurse for 2 months? I also called out of worked on friday because I had a stomach bug, and got the third degree when I returned on monday. Also, the doctor refused to discuss patients with me all day and the wife and doctor have turned the only two other staff members against me. They're like afraid to talk to me. I've never had such a horrible experience anywhere. I really just want to get out of here, but I need some kind of income or I'm going to be in trouble financially.

On top of it today, the doctor said to me and the two other staff people in the office that we have to start working on the ceiling... UM... I didn't realize ceiling repair and water damage was part of my nursing responsibilities... Did we learn that in nursing school and I was out? Mind you, I was just told we have a surgery scheduled for that room in the morning...

Hi everyone! So I just started a new office job (never worked in a medical office before). I work for an endovascular surgeons office and he has a "cath lab" set up in his office where we perform fistulograms/venograms, stents and ballooning and varicose vein procedures 1-2 times a week. My concern is I just started here a few weeks ago and I walked in on Monday to a lot of issues, mainly with their "cath lab". One of my major concerns is there's a lot of water damage from past storms to the ceiling in the cath lab room and over the weekend the doctor and his wife took most of the saturated ceiling tiles down and the sheet rock that they had put up there to help absorb the moisture and the cath lab is literally a mess. Half the ceiling is laying on the ground. They have surgeries scheduled for tomorrow in this room. There's mold growing on the ceiling. How can this be safe for our patients??? One other issue that has come to my attention is their outdated, never checked autoclave machine. They have an autoclave machine that they told me themselves has t been checked in years. When OSHA came on Monday to do our annual competencies I had asked how often that machine should be checked and he said at least monthly. When I initially asked when I first started the office manager (doctors wife) looked at me like I had ten heads and said we don't need to check it. So.. I'm really concerned for our patients safety. And I feel very uncomfortable here because the office manager (wife) is really running the show but has no idea about anything and is not open to suggestions or concerns. Help! What should I do? Thanks

I've worked with American Mobile before who was helpful in maximazing tax-free stipends and they have a lot of contracts on the west coast, specifically Cali (they're based out of San Diego).

Hi JudyO! I'm currently on contract on Boca Raton, FL. I've had an alright experience so far. I've been at this hospital for approximately 7 weeks. I wasn't given a typical hospital orientation and the orientation period was incredibly haphazard, but I was told "Florida is very laidback compared to the northeast". I'm coming from NJ and took this contract in FL for the same reasons as you. I wanted to live in Florida year round. Unfortunately, the pay rates are drastically different from the NJ/NY/PA area, which I've been told is very similar to the DC area. My weekly take home in Florida has been $1100-1200 (even though I was promised $1350). I'm currently working with MedPro for this contract and do not recommend them. I've also worked with Accountable Healthcare, American Mobile, Nurses 24/7 (NJ-based company). I've heard good things about Cross Country though. This is also the time of year to take a contract in Florida, or so I've been told, because it is their busy season (October-Feb) and rates are a little better. I'm seriously not sure I'm going to stay in Florida after this contract is completed. I'm having major issues reconciling doing the same work in NJ, NY, PA, Cali for the pay in Florida. Its a shame nurses aren't paid better down here. If they were, I'd stay. I've also heard that pay rates may be a little bit more in the Miami area but that a lot of the hospitals there prefer bilingual nurses due to the population. So.. if you can speak Spanish you may be able to score a pretty good assignment in that area. As far as housing goes, I have family in the area that I was able to stay with for this contract. If I had to find my own housing or take the housing offered I'm not sure how I would make $19/hr cover all of my bills and living while working down here honestly. The housing subsidy I'm receiving for this contract is approximately $400/week. So.. I guess if you could find housing for $800/month it may be feasible. All depends on your personal finances, I suppose. Hope this info helps! If you end up taking a contract in the area let me know. I'm always up for making new travel buddies!

Thank you WKShadow! Ironically, the next day they rescinded the offer. Kind of upsetting but it was a huge pay cut and they weren't able to work with me on it. Oh well. Everything happens for a reason.

I agree with the others when I say that I've been a travel nurse for the last 6 years and can tell you that if I didn't have a solid foundation befor I started I definitely would not have made it this long traveling. You should really consider getting some experience in Med/Surg, ED, ICU, or whatever you want to specialize in before you start to travel.

Hi everyone! So.. I recently took a travel contract in Boca Raton, FL and decided I liked it so much in Florida that I would look for a regular staff position and settle down somewhere. (This is sort of big for me since I've been a vagabond nurse for the last 5-6 years.) I applied for a ton of jobs and had a few interviews but hadn't found anything I was too interested in until a few weeks ago. I received a phone call from a hospital that I had applied to months ago but never heard anything back. They didn't have the exact position I applied for (which was a PD Peds ER RN position), but they had a FT Peds ER RN position that was a flex shift. I figured I'd go in for the interview and see if it was something I could see myself doing. I interviewed with HR, the unit manager, another unit manager, the ANM, and a staff nurse during my interview process. Everything went really well and I've been offered the position "unofficially". My only issue is that I took a bit of a pay cut (approx. $500/week) taking the travel assignment I'm currently working, if I take this staff position I'll be taking an additional $400/week pay decrease. I expected a bit a of pay decrease since I was coming from NJ, but even compared to the current travel contract I'm doing in Boca Raton, FL, I'll be making $400 less a week. I'm really not sure I can take almost $1000 a week pay difference. I'm back in school, paying for classes as I go, and still have student loans and other bills to pay for regardless of where I live. Everyone I've spoken to also tells me that cost of living is less in Florida than in NJ, but let me tell you... I've been searching for apartments and a one bedroom in any decent area I've looked in has been pretty comparable to southern NJ one bedroom rates. I guess I'm just trying to gauge if Florida staff nursing positions are really this low paying with 6+ years of experience or if the hospital is trying to pull a fast one. Does anyone know how much a staff nurse in the ED for a tenet facility in florida makes? I was also trying to weigh all the pros and cons of taking the position.. I'm just really torn. Anyone have any advice? Anyone familiar with tenet hospitals in WPB area? Thanks

Hey Everyone! I just passed the boards last week and am now focusing on looking for a job. I've applied to a lot of jobs and work in a hospital now, but am having a difficult time getting an interview. I live in north NJ (morris county) but would like to relocate to central NJ (long branch/red bank/little silver). I'd also consider relocating to Colorado, Cali, or MA but I don't think there are many jobs in those areas for new grads. Does anyone know of any hospitals hiring new grads in central NJ or the other states I've mentioned? I'm open to suggestions! Thanks!! Turanna :)