billw

I'm a Maryland resident. It took me almost two and a half moths to get an expired license re-instated. When I called, they told me my application was "not in the sytem", even though I had received my cancelled check and a post card that they mailed saying they had received my application. Be persistant. I've heard of people needing a lawyer to pjone them to get some action.

I agree with Fergus. The nurses at my hospital have taken a very negative view of the recent union proposal, since we work for a hospital that has the brains to realize that if you treat your staff well, they will return the favor. This leads to higher patient satisfaction, which leads to a higher census, which gives the hospital the means to take care of the staff. It is a positive vicious cycle. The only hospitals in my area that have unions are the ones with poor staff morale due to poor management.

There are good and bad hospitals-just because the nurses at one hospital are unhappy shouldn't make you want to quit nursing. I would suggest that you stick with nursing, instead of RT. I think there is a much greater number of career alternatives and opportunities for RNs. I've know two RTs that became RNs, but never the reverse.

There was a recent article in the AARP magazine and also on their website regarding living in Mexico. It was aimed at retirees, but might have some good information. There are several areas of Mexico with a large American population and good infrastructure according the athe article.

I would like some info on ICU nursing in the Caribbean (yeah, I know-everyone's dream!). Working conditions-staffing ratios? Living conditions and cost of living? Acceptance by the residents? Is it easier to go to the US territory islands? Should I settle for Florida instead? Any advice on Florida, especially the Gulf coast?

As someone who has done both for years, stick with the three twelves. It is much less stressful and you get nice long stetches of time off. Sometimes I take 25mg of bendryl when I get home in the morning, especially if I have to go back in that day. I sleep until about 12:30pm, eat a small snack, and try to sleep more before I go to work. When I was single, I stayed up as late as possible on my nights off, but now with a family, I go to bed at a normal time and it seems to work. Yes, I do get obsessed with sleep when I am off. It's a lot nicer in the hospital at night - a much nicer routine.

I'm an experienced ICU RN who worked in ED's many years ago with an agency and enjoyed it. I was thinking of going to work in ED, but what concerns me is that at my hospital and several others in the area, the ICU's have very few openings but the ED's have a lot. Is this a bad sign? Has the ED environment become extremely stressful?