vroe83

Congrats!! Sounds like it will be a great position, and you'll learn a lot. I'd say with some experience in a busy city ED (even without trauma) you would be able to get a position in a trauma hospital without too much trouble. Good luck!!

Congrats!! I hope you end up loving the ER, I definitely do. Just be prepared to feel overwhelmed at first, and don't be afraid to ask questions/ask for help from your co-workers! ER nurses are usually great at teamwork. :) Best of luck!!

There are plenty of nursing jobs in the Chattanooga area, but pay is not great. Of course, living costs are not horrible. I have my BSN, have been a nurse for 6+ yrs, and am making $21 an hr. Pay at other private hospitals in the area is a little better, but not great. PRN pay is okay. Good luck with the move!

You only have to be 50 miles from home to get the living stipend...

When are you wanting to travel? I might be interested in something like that. I'm doing a travel assignment in Boston right now...

I've only been a traveler for 6 weeks, so obviously my experience is limited...but at this hospital my assignment is no different than anyone else's, and the staff RNs have been great about making sure I have/know everything I need to know to do my job. In all reality, it's been easier than my staff job at home.

I use ClinicalOne, and have had a great time so far!

Sand, I do agree with you that age is definitely a dynamic that needs to be considered wherever precepting is concerned. This goes both ways, however. Us younger people have things to learn, while many older people often seem to feel that they couldn't possibly learn anything from someone half their age....so it's not always a good mix. I do understand that. My concern was with the fact that in that one particular post, you seemed to feel that young nurses are very unlikely to have critical thinking skills at all, let alone their ability to precept. "Show me a 23 y/o with "critical thinking" skills and I'll show you an anomaly." I was just trying to say that there are indeed a lot of excellent young nurses, who do have critical thinking skills. As far as this particular preceptor, she may continue to stay on her "power trip" ten years from now...it may have nothing to do with age. But obviously, if she is going to continue precepting, she needs to somehow be brought to the realization that precepting's purpose is to help a new nurse succeed.....not to show them how little they know, or how much you know. Just my thoughts. I understand that precepting is a very touchy issue, believe me, I know...being on my side of things is not always easy either. Being barely 27 and having seniority in our department can be very intimidating. I look young for my age...I get asked probably at least once a day "are you even old enough to work here?" New employees or employees from other departments often think I'm a tech if I don't get a chance to introduce myself or they don't get to see my badge. It's just part of life though...age is and always will be a dynamic in things that we have to deal with, and you do exactly that...you deal with it. That's just me.

I'm with you on this. I'm 27, have my BSN, and have worked in a Level 1 trauma center for 5 yrs now. I function as relief charge nurse, and only one or two nurses on night shift have worked here longer than I have. In fact, of our night shift staff, I would say the majority of us are in our twenties. I know that some young people are immature, but many of us have been out on our own for quite awhile now. I left home at 17, bought my own car, and put myself through private college. So yea, I'm still young...but I'm not a kid anymore. No matter how old I am, I love my job, and I dare say I'm pretty good at it. As are many of my other young counter-parts!

I'm also a relief charge nurse in a Level 1 trauma center. Our facility does go on "lockdown" during those types of instances. If the waiting room becomes too chaotic, security will clear the waiting room of everyone except for patients. During that time, we aren't allowed in or out of the ER, and any patients that are discharged are escorted out by security or else we just wait to discharge them. We also do not allow visitors back during lockdown procedures.