pjsmom

I think you misunderstand what kind of control managers (or at least I) have on staffing. The department has a predetermined number of FTE's that are approved or budgeted for. I can not schedule more than the number of FTE's that my department has budgeted. I do work shifts; In fact until very recently I spent 20 hrs a week on the floor working as a nurse along with my managerial duties. I am not a manager that just takes my promotion to sit on my duff and enjoy the perks. With as many "perks" as a management job may have, it also has at least that many negatives. It wasn't long ago that we didn't have overnight differentials which is ludicrous. I had to prove my point time and time again, submit market research and finally was able to get differentials approved. Those 20 hours I was working a few months ago, I was able to turn into a full-time position and hire a FT nurse which we needed. This is just the next piece of the pie that I am trying to work on. Your right, money talks! I think a few people have made suggestions that I think I can actually use. (double pay & increasing bonuses). I have actually looked into an online & app based scheduling system where people can "sign-up" for extra shifts. It will probably be too expensive for a small department like ours, but I am open to learning more.

Thanks adventure_RN; offering increasing bonuses to pick up a shift are intriguing as well!!! Would that make me the auctioneer? LOL Mamabear, I am surprised at how many have chimed in to say that their facilities did not have a backup plan and it is the managers responsibility. How can one person have a life if they are always on call? It IS stressful! The scheduling piece is definitely is a nightmare! I hope you have found peace in your new job :) I wish I could have agency nurses here! It would literally save my life! Unfortunately due to the fact that we work with kids our facility licensing requirements are too stringent (background checks, finger prints, trainings, etc.) to have an agency staff on-call.

I do like the idea of signing up for voluntary on-call shifts and then offering double pay if you do get called in. Something I hadn't thought of. I appreciate the allnurse community that I can bounce ideas off of. I know some of you have asked about patient load and safety and while it does not really address the problem I am looking to solve, many of you are curious. I have worked as a floor nurse at this facility in every shift (days, swings, nights) before I took the management position and have always felt safe. There is a 2nd nurse until 9pm which is after med pass and when the residents go to bed. 90% of the time, the residents are in bed by then, of course emergencies can happen at any time but we have never had anything that couldn't be handled by the staff we have on duty. Because the facility I work at is not a hospital with a large float pool, coverage has always been the hardest part of the job. One plus is that we never "down staff" or "low census" our nurses and send them home.

It is a crisis / psych facility for youth. The staff to client ratio is 6/1 not including the nurse and the therapist in the building. The nurse mostly does intakes at night and is the point person for emergencies. The clients must be medically cleared from an ED to be transferred to our facility and have no known medical issues. The only issue with adding more PRN staff is that there just isn't very many call-offs and then I don't have shifts for the PRN's.

I guess that is what I am trying to find a solution for. This is the way the schedule has always been written since before I came on as the nurse manager and I am trying to find creative ways to make things better. I am not the bad guy here - it's about all of us as employees and I am willing to pitch in for the team. Just saying it is the nurse managers job to be on-call 365 nights a year isn't a solution. What happens when I am out of town or on PTO? There surely has to be another facility out there with a plan.

Hello wonderful and wise nurses, I am the nurse manager at a facility that only has one nurse in the building overnight. While we are generally very lucky to have great staff, we occasionally run into situations where the overnight nurse has an emergency or calls in sick. What is your facilities back-up plan for when the only nurse calls out on the overnight shift? We are a small company so having everyone take an "on-call" shift isn't a popular idea since there would likely be about 4 on-call shifts per month required to fill all the shifts. It also is expensive to pay to have an on-call backup 365 nights a year when we don't have that many call offs. I am trying to brainstorm possible options that are fair to staff and to help alleviate the 24/7 on-call this situation puts me in. Thanks a million!

I am working as an RN in pediatric psychiatry, mental health & at-risk youth. I would like to start an aromatherapy program at my facility. I have located a couple of online certificate programs that I am interested in. The tuition reimbursement money at my facility is generally reserved for credited degree programs which these are not. My boss is supportive of my interest in adding anything that could help our population, but she needs me to give her information to take to the big wigs. I need to come up with a proposal on why I think they should pay for my classes, what the program might look like, benefits etc. I think I've found enough information on benefits, but I'm not quite sure exactly how I would set up aromatherapy in practice. I've seen many articles on hospitals and facilities that use aromatherapy, but none go into detail. Does anyone have a program outline or resources they would be willing to share with me? Thanks! Monica

I think you will have pretty good luck getting in somewhere. There are always jobs in your field posted. Just have a great resume and polished interview. As for pay... Cut a pasted from a thread above.... With just under 3 years experience this is what I have recently been quoted. $29 Denver Health $25 Health Once $29 Centura $29 Hospice of Denver No sure where Exempla falls, and I am not sure how Health One can pay SO terrible!

With just under 3 years experience this is what I have recently been quoted. $29 Denver Health $25 Health Once $29 Centura $29 Hospice of Denver No sure where Exempla falls, and I am not sure how Health One can pay SO terrible!

I am in a similar position, except that I live here. Recruiters usually do a short phone interview and then schedule you to interview with the department manager. I imagine that hiring someone from another state is not anything new to hospitals, so I am sure that there is a process for that. The downside to that is that you won't be able to physically see the unit and do a tour. In person candidates may make a stronger impression, but maybe not. Just so you have an idea, it has taken about 5 weeks of having my resume out there for things to start coming together. Also, I think the Centura hospitals are all LDRP's, everyone else is M/B or L&D. I think you will do okay with the experience you have.

I would love to hear more about your experience when/if you take the job. Is it year round? Are you an experienced nurse? Is your family moving with you or are you living in Vail and commuting back to the city on your off days.

Hi everyone, I am a BSN nursing student graduating in June. Just like all soon to be grads in my area, jobs are hard to come by. I have applied to every intern postition and many CNA jobs as well without any luck. I recently had a clinical rotation in a very large urology clinic with a one day surgery center, MRI, rad, PT, etc. I had a really great experience there and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. By the conversations I had with my clinical instructor, I think they would consider hiring me if I applied. Will I get the kind of experience I need as a new grad working in a clinic setting as opposed to acute care? Here are a few of my pros and cons as I see them. Pros: A JOB! Great company Lots of teaching opportunities Returning patients to get to know Cons: Mostly MA's, 2 RN's and only one BSN No acute care 8 x 5 shifts Thanks for any input!

It seems to me that this well respected instructor is quite a gossip. School bashing by any professor at any school is completely unprofessional IMO.

Dr. Spaulding uses Understanding Pathophysiology by Heuther http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/713137/description#description Quarter 1 is definitely very intense!!! It will challenge you in so many ways. You sound like a very motivated student and you should not have any problems as long as you stay on top of things. A&P I&II was difficult material for me and Patho was the same way, but I did the exercises from the book, went in when I needed to and used the Powerpoint slides along with the book to study and did fine (I wasn't easy or without tears though). The library at school has all the books you should be able to go there and study a bit before classes start, although I am not sure how much that would have helped me with out the lecture to go with it. Some students recorded his lectures and really found that useful. Brush up on ATP and some of the other important physiology and I think you will be fine. Good luck!

I was looking for a "Nursing & Family Life" forum (which I didn't find and also think they should have) and ran across your post. I just started school and feel the same way. Right now the baby is playing around me while I do some of my workbook exercises. I wish it was easier (I also wish I had started before kids). My poor husband has a long couple of years ahead of him, lol. I am trying to schedule every single day in 30 minute blocks. Everything gets scheduled in, studying, the kids, laundry, TV, dinner, etc. This will be my first full week trying to do it this way. I hope it enables me to give my undivided attention to my kids when its their turn instead of trying to do the half study / half mom juggling act. Good luck, Monica