fireball78

Hello CA RN's, I am considering accepting an RN position for a SNF in California. Can you please share what some of your main responsibilities are. I am looking for a job that has paperwork paperwork and more paperwork. I am detail oriented, love charting and transcribing orders, and appreciate structure. Also, what is an acceptable starting hourly wage for a facility RN? I currently make $43-$47/hr as a hospice nurse, but am so tired of the driving and the stress. I am okay with making less, but don't want to accept an exceptionally low rate either. Any insight into this specialty, specific to California because of all the differences from other parts of the USA. Thank you!!

Garcherry725, the group interview is only an interview. Usually held in a conference room. There will most likely be 4-6 other nurses with you, a Nurse Interviewier and someone from HR to talk about benefits. They ask everyone the same questions. You will be asked which specialty/unit you are interested in, so be prepared to be asked about your preferences. If you have never done a clinical on a specific unit, they can also set up some observations for you if that is something you are interested in. The more interest you show in working for LVHN, the better off you will be. Good luck :-)

For our metastatic cancer patients with bone pain, we typically use a combination of NSAIDS and Decadron. It seems to work wonders and works better than any narcotic. I say this after only a few months of hospice experience though.

Thanks for your reply Joanirobertson!

Hello fellow hospice nurses!! Just wondering if you can share your current on-call schedule format. At your current agency, do full-time (dayshift) RNCM's have to do on-call at night or on the weekends? Are their designated on-call nurses? How does triage work for your agency? Any information you can offer me would be appreciated!!! Thank you so much.

I FINALLY got a job in hospice!!! I have been working for an agency for almost 2 months now and I absolutely love it....always knew it was the right place for me. I am thriving in the environment and love that I learn new things every single day. My supervisors are supportive to my learning needs and do not push me too far out of my comfort zone without backing me up. It feels so good to finally have a job in nursing that I love. I don't dread going into work. No more digestive issues every day before my shift. Thank you to all you hospice nurses who have encouraged me and provided support these past few years. I have learned a lot from your posts and I strive to better myself every day from learning from experienced nurses.

I have actually heard of this before. I did a required interview while in nursing school at a local county agency on aging. The nurse I spoke with was a director for the agency, and she would go into the home (after receiving a referral) and assess what services a person might need/be eligible for based on a question inventory. Yeah, it's weird, but at the same time you would be able to recognize medical needs that a social worker might not be able to pick up on. Almost like case management....

I am waiting on an answer from the CA Board of Nursing, but wondering if any of you know the answer to my question. I am currently an RN in Pennsylvania, but want to move to California. I have already endorsed my license which is active, but finding a job in CA is going to be difficult with only 2 years of experience. Would I be able to work as a nurse aid or become a CNA in CA until I can find a job as an RN? Any info would be appreciated. Thank you so much!!

Hi! I currently work for Bayada. Not sure of your location, but my interview was not bad. It actually was more of an informational session. They told me about the company and their values and I told them my nursing experience/positions I've held. No questions like "what are your strengths/weaknesses" or anything like that. Then you take a multiple choice test. A clinical nurse manager will review it and then go over any you got incorrect. Bayada is a great company to work for, but their benefits stink. Hopefully you have benefits elsewhere otherwise I would suggest finding a full time position elsewhere and working per diem for Bayada. Their pay scale also varies by location. I currently make $4/hr more in my location than a friend who works at a different office an hour away! Good luck, but you really don't need it. Don't stress you will be fine :-)

Hi Juice! Thanks for your reply! Well, I have been a nurse for almost 2 years now. I've worked in progressive cardiac care for 11 months, LTC for 1 month (ratio too high 60:1!), Med-Surg for 4 months, and these past 4 months I have been working in Pediatric Home Health which I love!! I will definitely never work in a hospital again. I am a complete perfectionist and not being able to provide excellent (or even adequate) care to some of my patients really weighed me down and I took that home every night. Now, I have very little stress working in home care and I work with one patient at a time so I can give all the TLC I want too. It's great!! I would love to work in hospice, but after all my applications over the years, I only got one interview and I didn't get the job. So, maybe it's not meant to be for me. I hope you are enjoying your tenure in acute care and really appreciate the experience. It is definitely different from LTC that's for sure. Thanks again. Take care :)

Hi Travelovingnurse, I can't give you a lot of information. I enrolled at Slippery Rock and started in January, 2 classes. I found that the online environment was not appropriate for me and I've dropped out already. I can tell you that the nursing instructors and everyone I've spoken with at SRU are very nice and helpful! The classes I had consisted of online timed quizzes (not every week), online weekly discussions (1 major discussion post with cited reference plus respond to 2 classmates), several projects (independent and assigned group). Hope this helps!

Thank you for your advice Areensee!

Angels91084 ~ I did not get the job on the inpatient hospice unit, so I cannot answer any of your questions. I can't give you any advice on getting your foot in the door as I haven't been able to get one myself. Good luck in your search though!!

Thank you both for the info!!

I started working for a private duty nursing agency 2 1/2 months ago myself, and I can tell you that if I was presented with the case you mentioned, I would say "no". Is the case a new case to the agency? If not, tell them that you would not be comfortable in the home unless an experienced nurse (who has been on the case orients you). Parents are invaluable in the home setting and can be great teachers, but they are not nurses. Parents can also hinder nursing care based on what they feel is best, but is not what is appropriate for the patient. You need another nurse to orient with to refresh on trachs and suction, when to suction, how to prepare and what to do in an emergency (baby could accidently pull out trach). If the agency is not receptive to your concerns, then this is not the right agency for you!! You worked hard for your nursing license and you need to protect it. This is just my opinion and I wish you the best. Good luck!

Hello PHN's! I currently have my associate degree in nursing and I'm wondering if I would be able to get into public health nursing with a BS in Public Health instead of a BS in nursing? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you!

Terra105, I responded twice to the personal message you sent me and my response won't go through. Maybe you reached your 25 message limit?

Oops! I thought you meant the ATI TEAS test (the entrance exam). For the semester ATI tests, you will need a 68 or above on all ATI and even higher than that on the comprehensive exam at the end of 4th semester. They let you take all the exams over again if you fail, you just don't get any bonus points if you don't pass it the first time.

Kiyasmom, $50 worth of gifts? Wow! That is extremely generous!! That nurse certainly sounded ungrateful which is a shame! I received a lovely Christmas gift from a family I had only been with for 3 nights before, and I was so touched and thankful. I wasn't expecting anything. A card would be nice, but an actual gift should never be "expected" IMHO. Thank you for showing gratitude to your fellow nurses and I'm sorry that one nurse ruined part of the holiday mood. Shame on her.

Hi LPN_2005/RN_10, Mariahas4kids, and Rnis: I know this thread was started a few years ago, but I am hoping that at least one of you will respond. I have an interview coming up for an inpatient hospice unit at a local hospital. My "dream" job has always been hospice ever since taking care of my step father in 2007-2008 before he passed from lung cancer. I've been working in a hospital for 15 months and I also worked in LTC for 1 month. I absolutely hate the hospital environment....not enough time to give proper care to patients, short staffing (sometimes we only have 2 PCA's for 45 patients), and I have a lot of combative demented patients and I am feeling very drained. I am a very compassionate person, but am currently going through sensory overload on my med-surg unit with call bells, bed alarms, and IV pumps constantly beeping. Just wondering if things will be the same on an inpatient hospice unit? I feel that a patient load of 6 patients is not too high, depending on how large the unit is and if there is adequate staffing. I am not afraid of hospice and death is not something that scares me. I felt privileged and honored that I was able to be with my step father when he passed and it is an experience I won't ever forget. I've also had a patient of mine die in the hospital. I am just trying to state that I am emotionally capable of dealing with death on a somewhat frequent basis. Any information or advice you could give would be appreciated!

Hi Skuku1299, I honestly don't know, but LCCC will also never share that information. They are very secretive about how they determine who gets into the program and who doesn't, there appears to be no rhyme or reason. I didn't have the best ATI score myself and was shocked to get in, especially hearing about other students who had better ATI score, higher GPA, and CNA experience and they were rejected.

I finally got an interview with hospice after being a nurse for a year and a half! It's an inpatient hospice unit, not sure of the details yet, but it would be a per diem position. I am excited and nervous. I don't interview well. I just hope my passion and heart for hospice shows through. What makes me a bit nervous is that I am sick of working in a hospital environment...combative patients, restraints, bed alarms. I am going through sensory overload and so stressed that there isn't enough time to give all my patients the proper care they deserve. I believe the inpatient unit will be like a med-surg unit, but I am really really hoping that it is somewhat less stressful and I'll be able to provide more hands-on care to my patients. That is what I am really desiring. My ultimate goal is providing one on one care to patients in a non-hospital setting, but this is definitely a step in the right direction and a step closer to my dream of becoming a hospice nurse! Thank you all for your encouragement these past few years. I so hope I get this job!!

Hi there. First of all, I would say that the fears you have are all legitimate fears and not uncommon. But every nurse makes a mistake at some point, truly. Just because we are nurses does not mean we are perfect. We are all human. I have only been a nurse for a year and a half, but I had a lot of the same fears while in nursing school and I still have fears. Even though I haven't been a nurse for very long and I'm sure more experienced nurses can give you better advice, I would say to start out taking your general ed courses in college...can not go wrong there. Then get your CNA license and start working in a hospital or long term care facility. You will see a lot more and get more comfortable in the healthcare setting. It will be a great experience and it will definitely help you relax a little bit more. You will see if you love it or not. Even though being a nurse is different than being a CNA, it's a good idea to start with the basics and foundation -- patient care and comfort. I wish I would have had a better experience in healthcare before becoming a nurse. I haven't had a code yet or even assisted with one and it scares me to think about. This site is also a great resource! I became a member during nursing school and everyone on this forum is so wonderful and encouraging! Good luck to you :)

Hi NewGN12, Congratulations on getting into the GN program! I didn't orient to Med-Surg, but I would think orientation would be about the same as other units. Not sure of the shift you will eventually be working, but they orient you on days (even after classes). Then once they feel you are progressing enough, they will switch you to your assigned shift to orient. Since your orientation is 12weeks, you will probably be on dayshift orientation for 8-10 of those weeks -- but that is only a guess. If you are working nights, you will have a much shorter night orientation. Just be honest with your education (PCS) about your comfort level. My orientation consisted of 4 months dayshift and 1 month nightshift (5 months on PCU) and things will be a little different on every unit. Good luck to you :)

I am in desperate need for help and advice... I will try to make this as short and condensed as possible. I graduated from nursing school in May 2011 and started on a PCU in June 2011. I received the standard 5 months orientation and really felt the unit wasn't right for me. I tried for 4 months to transfer out. I applied for med-surg, hospice, rehab, GI lab. I couldn't even get an interview with my limited nursing experience. My mother became terminally ill and I ended up quitting my job last May to care for her before she passed away. I had trouble finding a job when I returned and after 2 months of unemployment I took a job in LTC. Wow! What an eye-opening experience. I would have had to care for anywhere from 40-60 patients at night. It was awful to be starting my 7am med pass at 4:30am and have to tell my patients to ring for the aide to help them to the bathroom. With having to crush all the meds and do my blood sugar checks, I barely was able to finish the med pass before day shift came on. I felt like such a horrible nurse! I couldn't stand not being able to help my patients with the care they deserved and it made me so sick! But once the med pass started there was no time to be anything but the med nurse. I love providing personal care to my patients...helps me bond with them and get to know them better. My hat is off for any nurse who can handle that patient load. I really felt like my license would be at risk if I stayed there. I gave my notice after two weeks. Three months ago I started on a medical telemetry unit. It started off okay. I gained a lot more experience during orientation than during my previous stint in the hospital on the PCU unit. More of a variety of patients and putting to use nursing skills. I've had issues with disrespect on my unit though. I was recently reprimanded by a preceptor. I was coming off orientation and I asked for help with a patient. The worst of it was that she reprimanded me out in the open where patients and other staff members heard. It was extremely embarrassing. I was so shocked by the event that I didn't even stick up for myself. I was at least proud of myself for not breaking down and crying. I'm very sensitive and just want to succeed in everything I do. I try hard but there is just so much I don't know!! I spoke with my manager about the incident and she actually gave me kudos for the situation and stated that the other nurse's behavior is not a behavior that is to be tolerated on the unit. I had an awful night at work last night. I had a really difficult assignment including an alcohol withdrawal patient who was transferred to my unit from ICU 15 minutes before my shift. He was in restraints, safety monitor at bedside, and the Ativan I was giving him (he could have it every 15minutes) was not touching him at all. Had to get an order for 4 point restraints and Haldol, not to mention learn how to care for a patient in restraints since he was my first. He was belligerent and vulgar and confused. He was just one of my 5 patients (usually have 6 patients). Then I found out that I was switching a patient with a co-worker and once I got report, I realized that the new patient was too heavy for my already heavy load so I went to the facilitator to discuss and she switched the assignment back. Well, the other nurse then yelled at the facilitator and me...told me I should be able to care for the patient...all nurses should be able to hang blood (which I know how to do but the patient was too time consuming to what I was already dealing with). She was angry that I didn't talk to her about it before going to the facilitator. Why would I talk to her? She didn't change the assignment the first time...the facilitator did. The nurse then refused to speak to me the rest of the night. As a nurse who is unsure of herself and still learning (off orientation for 2 weeks), I had to work next to someone I could not ask for help or run things by and that scared me. I have had enough of working in the hospital!!! I have failed at nursing for 15 months. Hospice nursing is my passion, but I don't have enough experience and I am not getting called for any jobs I've applied to. I am going tomorrow to apply to become a waitress just to get out of the hospital. I hate it and hate that I worked so hard to become a nurse and can't do it. I am so disappointed in myself. I am close to being hired in private duty nursing...one patient per shift. Even that makes me nervous. If I can't function in a hospital how am I going to function in the home? I currently live paycheck to paycheck and loss of money is going to really hurt. I am single and am solely responsible for everything. What are my options? What am I even qualified to do? I've applied for hospice jobs, doctors office, urgent care, home health, case manager for insurance agency... I am hearing nothing back therefore they most likely want more experienced applicants. I feel that I would be good at case management if I am trained properly. I worked for an insurance company for 5 years as a medical underwriter. I reviewed applicant's medical records and determined if they were insurable or not based on the company's guidelines. I didn't like the job since I was helping the company make money instead of helping people. That's when I applied for nursing school. I love people. I love educating patients. I am just not cut out for the stress of hospital nursing and I have nothing else to fall back on. I am currently licensed in PA and CA. If anyone knows of a company that is hiring and willing to train, please respond or PM me!! I have a great work ethic and references. I just don't have the confidence it takes to be a successful nurse in the hospital setting. What a disappointment that is. I feel like if I can't make it in the hospital then I have no where to go.