lalarn

My first RN job I quit after a year and a half. Was taking vacation for 2 weeks, handed in my notice and moved back to my hometown without a job. The hospital was awful! Still hear from people I worked there with and its even worse now! I am always grateful I left there because it was so bad! Resigning was the best thing I did ever!

Anyone?

Since it looks like all the posts are directed at the valley... I am an RN with 5 years experience (med-surg, Peds, ICU/PCU, peri-op, endo, ambulatory infusion, pre and post heart caths) at a Regional Hospital. Do to all of my family moving I am planning a move within about 6 months to Tucson. Anyone have advice on good hospitals to work at? Good units? What can be expected pay (broad)? And any chance of relocation or sign on bonuses? I am actually thinking I would like to do more of a NOC shift schedule again doing 12s, is this helpful with getting a job at all? Currently I work in what is pre and post op, also do rotation through our endo suites, and am the lead on our heart caths pre and post. The schedule though is 5 8 hour shifts a week with call, and makes it quite difficult without family here. Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!

I'm not personally a prison nurse but many in my family are, and my understanding is that it depends alot on the nurse and the facility. I have family in all types of facilities from work ethic camps to supermax. What they have in common is that you are dealing with a population that have all the health problems plus many mental and infectious disease issues as seen in the outside population. As one of my cousin's put it "You can never trust one of the prisoners." While they are patients they also are a special patient population with their own issues very similiar to the mentally ill and addicted populations. But you also have to add in depending on the facility gangs and violence. Even with all of the bad I have family and friends that have made working in healthcare in corrections their profession. And who prefer it to private sector work (they are all in state-run facilities). I have a cousin who has worked for about 20 years in the prison system and now is completely in charge of intakes and epidemiology for a large prison system where she tracks all the inmates infectious and communicable diseases. She's has told me numerous times that she would never choose to work anywhere else. Ultimately, I think it depends on what you are most comfortable with. I have known people that burnt out quickly from prison nursing but I think it was their own lack of understanding of their job and expectations.