chicagotoots

. Southwest florida..on the Gulf

Southwest florida...a/k/a Paradise Coast

Spent the majority of my career in the midwest, major metro area and agree 100% there is a HUGE difference in nursing in the southern states. It is well known that northern nurses often quit positions in the south due to the working conditions, no support from coworkers. At present, the area i live in (very popular wintering spot for snowbirds) cannot find seasonal nurses who will stay and t I feel sorry for the nurses who have to work in the south..they are overworked, underpaid and stressed out. I live in a very popular wintering spot for snowbirds and the hospitals cannot get or retain seasonal nurses and are relying on travelers who are contractually stuck unless they go through a big hassel to get out of their contract. No more Florida nursing for this nurse.

Dont resent you..just feel you are unprepared for the reality of the profession. You are who will be OUR nurses in the future. I just read an article of a Texas high school/hospital who will grant an associates in nursing out of high school on a pilot program. This is to address the nursing shortage in south Texas, really? High school graduates graduating with an associates in nursing...is this where the profession is headed? There are many areas of the US there are more nurse grads then can be employed.. Nursing isnt the golden goose ... Its hard, physical and mental labor, continuous education, but can be rewarding. Just know what you are getting into.

Remember when Nursing Boards were only administered 2-3 times a year and you had to wait months for results? Now the tests are administered by computer, year around and preliminary results available in a few days. This is how nurses can retake the tests every 45 days. In the old days, it would have taken years to accomplish.

You can appear younger by college graduation dates (second career RN), look 10 years younger (good genes), but you will be expected to move physically and have the energy of someone much younger ... Your body will betray you and you may decide that floor nursing is no longer worth the physical and mental effort. At 64 decided the craziness of the emergency department in a high volume hospital was no longer worth the physical aches and pains let alone the risk of injury doing heavy tasks without assistance. My co-workers were amazed when they learned my age when i resigned and told them i was just "too old to work that hard". My nuse manager was also surprised and said she got out of the bedside 10 years ago and could not see herself staffing even then (she is probably 5-6 years younger). It is pure luxury to be able to walk away when you know you have had enough.

Less money? Really? Why sell yourself short. If you dont place a value on your education, experience and hold yourself to be paid what you are worth, the prospective employer will sense desperation on your part and not hire anyway. There is usually a salary eange based on experience, offering to work for less is not a good idea.

There is no "care" in healthcare. Nursing has changed from a caring, patient care profession to one of producing results..quality monitors, patient satisfaction scores, doing more with less... Working short and sucking it up, using broken equipment, insufficient equipment, working without appropriate supplies, staff.. Watching techs 'fake' vitals, collect lab specimens incorrectly to "save time", we have become assembly line medicine. We may as well be factory workers..at least they dont have patient lives in their hands. I am so disillusioned with nursing.. It has served me well but at 64.. I am done.

You would think so but not. Management can manipulate the contract language, chamge the job posting language to eliminate nurses who wish to change specialties, require certain certifications, use interview scoring systems which are subjective to weigh the "desired" candidate and hire outside nurses for less money. Unions are great but management has gotton very slick in working loopholes and pay less money to newwr nurses. Its sad nurse experience is no longer valuable to hospitals but its all about the cheaper labor. Unionized hospitals are the way to go...IF you can get hired!

Tell it like it is. I have been an RN 30 years and have seen great changes in the profession and it is not good. Older nurses are being nudged out of the profession to make room for new nurses who can be molded to the business model hospitals are projecting. The new ones are so glad to have a job they will go along with anything administration says because they dont know any better. Nursing is not what it was and has been.. I am lucky to be able to walk away from unsafe jobs because the managers really dont care about the nurses..just satisfying their bosses, keep the QA numbers up, the patients happy and the revenue rolling in. Dont spend the time and money going into nursing, pursue something less physical and mentally taxing. I am done.

Not only your patients may suffer if you perfume up, but also your co-workers! I hacpve had to leave an area due to wheezing when a overscented worker arrived. Keep the fragrance for date night and out of the hospital.

Welcome to temporary nursing. Limited orientation/training..dont expect help because you will probably be on your own. You are there to fill a need and they arent going to invest any more time in you then they have to. Trust your nursing skills, do the best you can, be safe, document to protect your license. Take notes when you get report if you are unfamiliar with the computer system and dont expect help. If you get someonevwho will help you, be thankful. Dont expect to form any close relationships because you wont be there very long. Agency nursing is not easy.

Quit a job, with proper notice, this week due to limited help, pushing to do things faster, check all the boxes to document care (generate revenue), seeing shortcuts taken by staff to save time, they offer nurses big incentives to work more shifts (but also ways to justify not paying them), they are willing to burn their staff rather then hire more help. No time for the patients..just pass meds, computer chart, crank them thru the system. This is assembly line healthcare. It is not nursing. The young nurses will do it for the money/experience, as a senior nurse, I chose to walk instead of risk my license. Administration does not care. We older experienced RNs have seen our jobs change and not for the better.

How are your evaluations? Have you done anything on your current unit to set yourself apart from the other nurses on the unit? Consider getting ED required certificiations such as ACLS, PALS on your own. This would show that you are serious about wanting to be an ED nurse. If you hospital allows it, can you arrange to float or shadow to the ED for a shift or two on your own time... see what they do, make some personal contacts. ED is an extremely desirable place to work and competition is keen - find out what they are looking for. You didn't say if you were applying for an in-house transfer or as a new ED employee in another facility. BSN is great but good clinical judgment and skills are highly rated. A reputation as a team player, good communicator and problem solver will serve you well and references/recommendations.

Have worked with LPNs in the past who primarily work in the Urgent Care area. Occasionally they float to the main ED to help out but have to have an RN cover them for IV push meds, they are not assigned cardiac monitored patients since they don't have ACLS or other certifications the main ED RNs are required to have, ENPC, PALS, TNCC, etc. They are, for the most part, great nurses but working the main ED often seems to overwhelm them because the patient acuity is different. Don't let age stop you from aspring to be an ED nurse - it's hard work but I have worked with ED RNs in their early 70's who still do the job well - sometimes working shorter shifts, 4s or 8s rather then the 12 hours. I'm in my 60's and don't plan to go anywhere - ED is my home!