dayshiftnurse

I wonder about that too, because I took a few courses in this years ago and the injections are painful in many cases and need local. we were lucky in our class we had a dentist who knew all the points in the face where the local would be most effective, so not sure how a nurse is supposed to do this alone?

Hi nurses, Merry Christmas! I had a quick question...I have been an ICU nurse for several years 15+, and have ICU and CCU certificates under my belt. However during my CCU certificate I had a good placement, but I didn't really get much experience with balloon pumps or swan ganz or even temp pacers and definitely no experience with ecmo. And because we don't have a lot of pure cardiac cases in my unit, I'm still lagging in these skills. Does anyone have any recommnedations how I could get those skills. Is there a way to request a paid/unpaid locum at a hospital that could give me that opporutunity to learn? Due to other committments, I can't really commit to going on staff permanently at this time. I want to work more CVICU units with my agency but don't feel well prepared or safe to do so. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi, I am a Cdn nurse (passed NCLEX), and was wanting to get a better sense of how to get started in travel nursing. What agencies are best, most reliable, and also well paid. If I go, I will be travelling with 2 children and so need more of a permanent situation as opposed to just 6-13 week contracts. I can only really consider the state of Florida because I would need family back-up and that is the only state I have family. Also I have 2 specialties - ICU and dialysis - I have heard ICU nsg is very well paid, but wondering if the hours may be too grueling with 2 children to work around. I have seen some dialysis contracts that have better hours but the pay is not as high. Trying to find the best work-life balance to travel and keep children safe and looked after. Was wondering for any other "mothers" who have travelled this way, have you had to look for a sitter/nanny ahead of time and if so was it hard to find people. Also wondering if the agency offers accommodation can you get more of a typical apartment as opposed to a hotel room...can you possibly pay a little more towards the accomodation bonus to get a more family-friendly place to live....a motel with 2 beds wouldn't work well for us. Any suggestions offered would be very, very, appreciated. If we go into lockdown again, I will likely make the decision to travel, partly so my kids can still stay in school and so I'm just trying plan ahead as much as possible.

Hi, I know this is more of a "Travel Nursing" topic, but I haven't posted in a while and just wanted to ask specifically Cdn nurses (passed NCLEX), how to get started in travel nursing. What agencies are best, most reliable, and also well paid. If I go, I will be travelling with 2 children and so need more of a permanent situation as opposed to just 6-13 week contracts. I can only really consider the state of Florida because I would need family back-up and that is the only state I have family. Also I have 2 specialties - ICU and dialysis - I have heard ICU nsg is very well paid, but wondering if the hours may be too grueling with 2 children to work around. I have seen some dialysis contracts that have better hours but the pay is not as high. Trying to find the best work-life balance to travel and keep children safe and looked after. Was wondering for any other "mothers" who have travelled this way, have you had to look for a sitter/nanny ahead of time and if so was it hard to find people. Also wondering if the agency offers accomodation can you get more of a typical apartment as opposed to a hotel room...can you possibly pay a little more towards the accomodation bonus to get a more family-friendly place to live....a motel with 2 beds wouldn't work well for us. Any suggestions offered would be very, very, appreciated. If we go into lockdown again, I will likely make the decision to travel, partly so my kids can still stay in school and so I'm just trying plan ahead as much as possible.

wow that sounds very exciting!! i'm real happy for you... i work with some rpn's in my unit and some stayed, some have moved on for f/t elsewhere or whatever reason, but i think if i was an rpn (i'm an rn) i would always try my best to stay in dialysis somehow, its a great area, very technical and requires skill, very good for the career and for you resume. congrats!

Hi i'm wondering if any cdn. nurses (with us license) have or are working in niagara region/buffalo and if so how are your experiences? I am thinking of working there, it seems as though its competetive to find a job there as well, wondering if ppl. are successful securing work. Im wondering what a travel nurse assignment would be like there? I called a hospital directly hoping for weekend warrior, HR said they dont offer that. thanks.

I actually agree with Mukens (OP) re: the Norquest college program and am very disappointed in this program as well. Years ago when i wanted to retrain to become a nurse i found this program through a long internet search and was so happy to find it! It was home based study, including practical tests using video camera sending in and getting graded that way, the home study material was lovely, very comprehensive and then you could get exams proctored so you never had to leave your city except for placements; you were supposed to go to Alberta to do the placements, i think there was 2 you had to do there, and 3 in total (something very similar to that anyway...). and you could get the whole program done within 10 to 16 months, depending on the timing of courses/placements etc. I had started it and was so pleased, but ended up doing an RN program in the States in a similar format so stopped my lpn program there. A couple years later, I encouraged my aunt to go and do the program, i knew if i could do it she would be successful too. When i inquired the price had jumped from ~ $3k to over $12k and canadian students were now charged the exact same rate as international students...I asked them why the price had sky-rocketed for the exact same program especially considering you are basically teaching yourself from home...and why cdn. students were charged the same rate as international students who dont contribute to the tax base which funds education here, i was basically just told something like 'that's how it is now". so of course, my aunt couldn't do it at that cost. disappointed that an affordable, high-quality and accessible program that met the needs of many women who can only really do a home-based/didactic nursing program is now completely out of reach for most.

hi, just thought i'd respond to you... i was going to do my nephrology certificate through bcit since its online...i couldn't believe how involved it was! i dont know if all their specialty programs are like that, but it seemed a bit much; almost like doing a masters' degree...lol. maybe you could find a school somewhere else, another province that would actually allow you to do the certificate in a reasonable amount of time with a reasonable amount of work...also have to watch the cost of it too. in ontario it used to be very easy to get your money back from RNAO, i pretty much could guarantee if my cont. ed came to less than $1500 i'd get 100% of my money back. now they do a complicated formula based on how much education you have taken this year and also how much you took last year to determine how much you'll get paid for the course...and of course there's always the same ol' line they use "depends on the funding available". so it can be costly if you take a cert with lots of courses and no reimbursement. good luck.

i may be interviewing for a casual pacu position soon aswell...wondering what kind of questions i may be asked...and what i should ask

hi everyone! i am fairly new to dialysis still and woking in in-centre 3:1. i have been an icu nurse, still work there and really want to just do acute dialysis...is there a particular company/agency/recruiter i could work with to only do that type of dialysis? i still want to get more experience in in-centre to get more familiar with fistulas/buttonholes/single needle and everything first. can anyone lend some advice? thank you

agree with "mawheels1" poster...i do per diem icu work and my 'orientation' is arriving to the facility at least 1 hour early to figure things out...where to hang my coat, where to put my lunch, medication cart & code for it or grab a nurse to log me into pixys, where supplies are, write down most important hospital numbers -- lab, pharmacy, dietary, md on call, and how to dial them (yes, some phone systems are that complicated!!!) iv pumps and where to get my piece of paper so i can paper chart (cuz if they required an agency staff to do computer charting then they def. should have oriented you to that). this amount of time is the minimum required to orient yourself to a new place, and in most agency circumstances its expected that you would do that to get familiar...i consider myself lucky at times, that they let me just come in as early as i want and start lurking/poking around to figure things out, so my advice is to use that precious time to help your shift go smoothly. you mention you have icu experience, so you know, many things run similarly from icu unit to unit and having that experience helps. if lower-pay orientation is available i would DEFINITELY take that...in fact i would do it for free to help myself and ensure a smooth shift, especially if there is opportunity for lots of work in that particular department...then its really kind of like paid training, considering i'll be getting lots of work over time. you'll do fine. good luck :)

Wondering if anyone knows an agency I can join to do per diem dialysis nursing in niagara falls or detroit?

my opinion, is its really hard to say. im an icu nurse and now adding dialysis job in in-centre, meaning i have 3 chairs. im glad i did icu first i think because you just learn so, so many skills and to me, hd makes a lot more sense and i understand the patients better...but learning an icu environment is a big committment--lots of years to really "get good" ..imho at least 4-5 years regularly in that area--i do prisma (ccrt), HFO, still never felt confident with swans as i'm not in cvicu. but you get lots of skills, and i think (i hope!!) it will make me a better dialysis nurse. my prob is i never was very good at putting iv's in, i hope that doesnt' work against me as an HD nurse...figure i can get those huge grafts/fistulas, but its hard to say...guess i'll see when i start. you could always start in icu/tele and get dialysis certificate on your own time and that will give you a lot of exposure especially when you have to do your HD clinical placement...and then you could see if its really for you. cuz not everyone can cope with dialysis patient personality and you have to see these people 3x/week, so have to be the right type of personality for the job for longevity...for myself, i guess time will tell if i have that personality...if not, icu is always there for me. good luck.

hi, just offering my opinion...i am an icu nurse and i do ccrt...to me, its not nearly as complicated as traditional HD...all the pump speeds are slower so much less chance of patient crashing. yes, there is a lot of bag preparation, and yes you (or icu nurse) has to run ca chloride infusion to replace the ca lost because of citrate as anticoagulant, but once you get the routine, to me, its not as intimidating as HD. you just keep going with it...you are not responsible to make judgement calls, ie the prescription is remove 2kg, but patient is above dry weight before a weekend so may remove 2.5kg, have to adjust blood flow to get better clearance etc. ccrt, is literally just following the doctors orders, monitoring the bloodwork to make sure you using the correct dialysate/replacement, etc. to me now that i'm training in HD i find ccrt much more straight-forward, less of an art, mainly just pure science.

umm...of course toronto and alberta are two different places! I was offering a general comment about this thread...just giving my point of view and my experience from working on these types of units...of course there may be some differences from unit to unit, but underlying issues are similar wherever you go... and yes, in my unit the RN's were carrying a lot of weight on their shoulders, too much responsibility and generally unsafe.