city2rural

Hi everyone...my hospital is proposing I take a position in Nursing Informatics. I would be assisting in implementation of Paragon with my emphasis being peri-operative services (I have an OR nursing background). This was a surprise/new prospect for me. I am very interested in pursuing this field, but have reservations about the long term likelihood of sustaining this type of employment. Beyond the implementation stages surrounding EMR systems, what types of projects can this type of nurse participate in? Thank you for any contributions.

$9 an hour for RN's, $7 an hour for techs; time and a half with a 2 hour minimum when called in. We generally take an overnight during the week and 1-2 weekend days a month. This is in semi rural town about 45 minutes from Sacramento, CA

Hello everyone. I am new to the OR and to nursing in general. I graduated with an RN/BSN in May, began orientation in mid July, and have been "fast tracked" so it seems. I have been working rooms virtually solo since mid to late October. Though we are a small facility we do have varied specialties (general, vascular, neuro, ENT, ortho, urology, gyn, etc) and an ER. Sometimes I don't know how I manage but that is a whole other story. I will be starting to take call on my own in January. I have been taking shadow call for a few weeks now so I am somewhat familiar with it. Typically our rooms run until 1530; after that the call crew comes in, a nurse and a scrub tech (sometimes 2 if we run 2 rooms; we are a small facility with only 6 OR's). But at the end of the day you are essentially alone. You have a cordless phone and must pick for all the add on cases that have come up after hours, print papers, set up, send for the patients, field calls, call in the PACU nurses as it gets closer to end time, etc. without any backup. Fortunately we have a cleanup crew until 2330. It just seems like so much! I guess I am looking for others who are in a similar situation, or, some reassurance if this is not the norm, and can give me a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. Also, when you were new, what did you do for your nerves? I fret away half the night when I am on call. My management has told me that if there is a trauma or true emergency after hours I can always call the backup call crew to assist me, but I am more concerned with a "routine" case going bad in the middle of the night and being alone. I have been told that I will "learn as I go" and they seem unconcerned by my limited experience. I know that I am picking things up quickly as I have received very good feedback from multiple team members, but I am certainly not to a level where I feel confident yet. Hopefully that comes with time. This has turned into more of a ramble than I expected, sorry for the lapse in direction! Thank you for reading and any input.