SWFlorida

Ratings for SW Florida Hospitals that take in travelers Naples Hospital: High marks, treat travelers well, however this year they cut a lot of travelers contracts short by one month which messed a lot of nurses life plans. North Collier Hospital: Treat travelers really well, also cut travlers contracts short with little notice, by one month. Left a lot of nurses scrambling to find another travel spot Lee Memorial: Trauma hospital, pay is lower than other counties in Florida and acuity is high. The area is not as nice as Naples or Charlotte county Peace River: Treat travlers really well and pays better than Naples or Lee Memorial. Nice area to live, lots of opportunities for overtime. They respect travlers enough not to cut short their contract, Sarasota Memorial, Nice area to live, pay is better than naples and Lee Memorial and they try to arrange schedule to meet your needs. Acuity level is high and high pt - nurse ratio. Is a magnet hospital that is loosing its luster, most of the experienced nurses are leaving due to poor management. One to avoid until they work out staffing problems. Tampa- St Josephs; High pay, great working conditions, great schedules to meet your needs, fun city to live in. Management treats nurses well and listens. This is a "10", accept an assignment here and enjoy what Florida has to offer.

There are quite a few small books on ER nursing. These are very helpful to have. There are little pocket manuels which have the IV drips listed, how to calculate meds etc. Very helpful. I was in your exact spot 16 years ago, best move I ever made. Just remind yourself to learn one new thing a day, don't fret the small stuff and gain a thick skin. Don't lose your humanity and keep a sense of humor.

Sounds like trouble and a lawsuit waiting to happen. Before I would go along with this I would ask for formal documentation from the hospital that this is in their policy. Is this person who is writing orders an MD?

If your looking for a job with top wages and extra time at home dont go into nursing. You will be disappointed. Get into it for the love of medicine and helping people. Wages are low and no real increase in the past ten years, and the future isn't looking real promising. Benefits such as health insurance and retirement have been slowly eroded away. There is a nursing shortage for a reason.

Less hospital admins around. Kind of nice! :)

I learned years ago the way to get the hospital admins attention is to write up the unit your working on as "unsafe staffing" and work under protest. This way you are not abandoning your post however you will not be held responsible for care under these conditions. Make a LOT of copies and send to all admins and of course to risk management. Amazing how they can suddenly start staffing better. Hospitals will squeeze nurses as long as they "get away with it" If accidents happen they blame the nurses, saying they werent aware of the problem. This excuse goes away once they are written up.....

Its like stealing from sick hospitalized children! How selfish can someone be???? :angryfire

His amonia level is high so of course he will have bad decision making. Its not like its going to get better. If he is into substance abuse this is where he will turn. This doesnt make him mentally ill, it is his medical condition. Sure he may have brought it on himself from chronic etoh or drug use, but some end up with bad livers from other sources too. Get social services working on this case. Find out if this fellow has any family who could over see his meds. It is a red flag that other avenues need to be addressed if he keeps popping into the ER or being brought in by the cops. While this isnt the most fun scenario or convenient for the staff it is a fact of life, people sometimes develop conditions and illnesses that aren't pleasant.

Day shift spots come at a premium. Its only fair that they go to those who have been with the company longer. It makes the current staff very resentful when the manager will give a day slot to a new grad just to hire them in. There is nothing wrong with starting on night shift. You may find you like it. Once you prove your skills and competence you will find getting a better shift easier.

What do the drug seekers coming into your ER ask for most? In our ER it seems to be Vicodin or oxycontin. What is their usual complaint? In our ER it usually is back pain with pain radiating down the leg. Sometimes they will limp. Do you have ANY ER Doctors with the Balls to order a non Narcotic? We do. Its cut down on our repeat offenders! Can lead to some very entertaining and loud discussions behind those pt curtains.... Ever have a repeat offender that went really bad? We did. Came in as an overdose after a year of weekly visit for refills of Vicodin for uncontrolable back pain and spasms. Died. Found out later his main income was reselling his pills to those in the area and online. Family sued the Dr and facility for allowing him to become addicted..... and won.

We now have to lock up the speculum lights, two have disappeared in the past month. ($180.00 each) People just get light fingered and want to take home toys. Keep an eye on eBay they usually end up there. Years ago someone came in the middle of the night and wheeled out a ventilator. Wheelchairs disappear each week.

I have seen specialty areas that hire new grads in or those without experience and a large percentage don't make it. Its not worth the gamble to them. They will hire in a nurse who has several years in med surg in, they have gained observational skills that aren't reliant upon machines and instruments.

Tasers are good. Leaves those who are out of control incapacitated for a short term without any long term side effects. Most hospitals do have policies regarding loaded guns in ther facility. If this policy is ignored, or the facility isn't diligent about following the policy they are liable for any damages that may occour to staff, visitors or pts.

And the government wonders why there is a Nursing Shortage?

The Health Insurance crisis in this country should not be happening. More and more people are finding themselves without health insurance at no fault of their own. Why is it that our country will extend full health care benefits to illegal aliens who land on our doorstep yet will not help out those who have been paying into the tax system all their lives? :angryfire The health insurance offered by the hospital that I work at covers next to nothing. Our pension plan is being chisled away at each year. I consider myself on the "work till I drop plan"