skypilot

Show Low and the White Mountains did indeed have a huge fire, summer of 2002, in the area. The fire did take some homes and other buildings, none in the town of Show Low. The towns hit by the fire included Heber and Overgaard. The fire was stopped before it burned into Show Low or Pinetop/Lakeside. Snowflake was not hit by the fire either, could have been, but was still outside the path the fire took. In the Show Low area there are fewer options for internet connections - the fastest being DSL, no cable connection available there so far. The White Mountains enjoys MUCH cooler summers than Phoenix, Tucson a bit cooler than Phoenix (hardly noticeable in my opinion), Flagstaff is cooler also. The elevation at the cooler spots is about 5000 ft higher than Phoenix, thus the cooler temperatures, year round. I moved to Show Low back in 1996 - first move on my own, away from an ex also! I do not live there at this time. Regretably, but there are down sides of living there as well as the good things. It is a SMALL RURAL town - WalMart is the biggest store in town! Good place to raise children. Below average income and education levels among adults there I would guess. Few jobs, few industries to support jobs... but it is beautiful there! It is a service community, by that I mean it relies on tourism for most of its income. I think it is growing though, so the future is wide open up there. Lots of good people there! It is about 3 to 4 hours from Phoenix, and from Tucson too, about 2 to 3 hours to Flagstaff, and about 3 to 4 hours from Albuquerque (about an hour or less to the NM border). Good luck in your plans! Karen

Mike, I quoted your note because you stated that you had not seen any STs as assistants in SoCal... since I know the reason you would not, should not, see any STs assisting in CA - I chose to reply to your post. I am Karen, not sure who the Karen is that you are referring to... I guess I am just confused - I am new to this site and perhaps I missed something I was to do or not do... I will follow this as the days pass. thanks for the comment - skypilot Karen

In CA it is "against the law" for a surgical tech to assist - that is why you should not see any STs assisting, in CA. That is not to say you won't see them of course - it happens still (heard about the cover-ups that were told to the state on inspection) - if RN's want to keep the advanced roles in the OR they must work for it - lobby, work with the legislative issues people - in AORN, in state nursing associations - make your voice heard. And yes, I am an RNFA, and yes - one of the best surgical assistants I have ever worked with was a CSA - but even so - I still believe RNs should be in that role! I have also worked with many PAs that are not worth a darn as assistants and never will be - they had no training in the OR. And I will also add I have watched doctors assist with little assisting skills that are next to worthless in the role also. OR nurses that become RNFAs have the experience and knowledge to apply to the role. My 20 cents worth... Karen

Kimberly, Becoming a surgical technition will be a path into the operating room. And a path to a job in a hospital that might also have a program that will give you tuition assistance or even fully paid tuition reimbursement. A job as a phlebotamist might also do that for you! I am sorry that you are unable to get into a nursing program - we need you! The shortage exists among instructors of nursing as well as practitioners of nursing. Good luck to you! Karen

here are some sites you can use to investigate these issues: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp http://www.city-data.com/ The majority of the population of AZ lives in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, Prescott... but there are a lot more folks living in rural areas of AZ. There is a lot of rural in AZ - lots of mountains in addition to the deserts that we are known for. The major cities have shopping malls just like any other large cities. RNFAs are for the most part self employed here in AZ. I am not sure what the bill rates are, but I do know that most of them stay very busy and are enjoying a nice income. Personal trainers I have no idea about - but I bet that he would have no trouble finding clients here as well! The weather varies in this state - mostly known for our dry and hot summers, as well as mild winters - also dry. In Phoenix - there are a ton of people - tons of things to do - tons of things to do and see in all of AZ! It really is a great place to live - - as are many places. You can email me privately if you like - [email protected] Karen

there is another place in AZ to consider - that is the White Mountains, north eastern AZ. It is at a bit lower elevation than Flagstaff, the winters are not as cold, not as much snow, and the summers are nicer than Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma and Payson! There is a nice hospital there - Navapache Regional Medical Center - the town there is Show Low. There are also many other communities there that are served by that hospital - such as Pinetop, Lakeside, Snowflake and more. It is a beautiful area! I lived there for several years. It costs less to live there than in Flagstaff - way less. Pay rates are comprable (did I spell that right??). On the other hand, Payson is a nice community - nice hospital - cost to live there is not much below Phoenix, but the pay rate is way below Phoenix. And by the way - Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson, Show Low all seem to be about the same pay wise, but not Payson (I applied there - wanted to go there to live, but could not accept $4.00 / hr less than in Phoenix!) And a ticbit about AZ snow... it does not last! It is hear today - gone in a day, or if lucky, maybe a week! It is definitely not like snow in the midwest or the east. Just as the sunshine is different here - and so is the heat and humidity! We need you here - as you are needed everywhere - we need more RN's! welcome to the profession! Karen:balloons: