madore57

They were not monitoring any of the staff who cared for this patient. When we went through SARS in Canada, we were never monitored either - except for the temperature checks every person including all staff had to go through before entering any hospital in Toronto. We self monitored. You do that when you watch your friends die.

Does that mean that Canada and Mexico should close our borders with YOU now that the U.S.A. not only has ebola but has shown it cannot control its' spread?

I don't trust any news outlet but I do trust the CDC. I cannot imagine anyone telling her this. I simply do not believe it.

That's going to be expensive when you have 100 and more ebola patients.

re: Workmans compensation fight It's going to be a tough fight when there is a picture of Nurse in a paper gown ready to accept an Ebola patient. No way would I care for one of these patients in that gown. I hope people took more pictures.

Yes, that seems to be common these days. Most places only require you to write vitals on the that transfusion form at the beginning and at the end of the transfusion. They don't want you standing there taking vitals q5 for 15 minutes anymore. Having seen a patient die during a blood transfusion from the blood transfusion - and it was horrible - I still tend to keep a close eye on any patient receiving blood.

WOW - are they doing this in Texas?

Well you've learned not to burn bridges but at least you learned it young (basing that on when you graduated). Is there any reason you have to stay in the community you now live and work? Agency/Travel Nursing is good because it gives you a taste of what's out there. You can experience what a facility is like before you have to commit to it. And they can see that you are a good employee and not judge you on the past.

If you have no experience, you will be able to get a job in the GTA. It's toughest on senior staff because the salary is much higher than they have to pay new RN's.

It's even worse for experienced Nurses because we are too expensive.

I used to live and work in Texas 1994-2003. I came home to Canada when my Mom got sick and kind of got stuck here. I worked ICU/ER/Cath Lab in Dallas, Houston and the border cities. So tell me, has much changed in the past 10 years? Thanks, Eilleen

Nurses here (Ontario, Canada) are grandfathered in. Where is that not the case in the U.S.?

I've worked in both Unionized hospitals and non-unionized hospitals and I prefer the Union. The only bad thing about the Union is when you're low on the totem pole because seniority means something when you have a Union. Hospitals in Texas don't want Unions. If they had them, they couldn't just fire you for stupid reasons like they can now. They'd have to pay you more and provide better benefits. That's bad for business and let's face it - that's all hospitals are to administrators and the $$ people - a business. A Union protects you. You are the person on the front line and the Union stands with you. I would think seriously about the recruiter who was rude to you. There's something wrong in that facility. Go with Baylor if you're stuck on moving to Dallas. Eilleen.

If you're travelling with animals ... beware. Anchorage is not an animal friendly town. I took a job in the ER @ Providence and moved there in June. I couldn't even find a hotel (except one really filthy, dank place) that would allow dogs. Couldn't find a decent place to live in either. My boss suggested that I sleep in a tent on the outskirts of town until I found a place! OK - well - I'm a city girl - a tent in the woods just wasn't going to do it for me! Also - beware of the bloody mosquitoes! They really are big! On the plus side - summer in Alaska is like being on Prozac for 3 months! I loved it! And the people outside of Anchorage are incredibly nice. I loved the people there and the scenery and the animals...lots of great hiking! Eilleen.

One of the things that happens is that the Docs usually change shift at about 6pm and at that point they're moving all their patients. The new Docs coming in want the rooms cleared so they can see patients (most still get paid per patient seen). We do a lot of waiting for Docs to sign off their charts so we can move patients upstairs before change of shift. I always loved the Nurses like "LPNtoRN Student" who called me for report! And I loved it more when the Doc was actually ready to release the patient! Eilleen.

Although I work in the Cath Lab now (and have the same problem) - I worked in the ER for years. It seems half the staff on the floors seem to go to break at the same time. I must tell you however, my favourite memory of the ER vs the floors. I was working in Dallas at a major hospital ER and I had called report and was transporting the patient upstairs myself. This was a big guy. I pushed the stretcher off the elevator with great effort and found 6 Nurses sitting at the desk doing their charting. I placed my chart on the desk and asked "can I speak to the Nurse for room xxx please?" Nobody responded or even looked up. This time I said "could one of you please help me get this patient to room xxx?" Still no response - not even a peak. The CEO was standing behind them and nobody saw him, including me. He asked me in a quiet voice "can I help you with that stretcher?" I said "yes please - thank you so much". He grabbed the end of the stretcher and I've never seen Nurses jump so high so fast in all my life! I had lots of help then! Eilleen.

I agree - go to Big Baylor! I worked in several of the Dallas hospitals and Baylor is the way to go. Professional and excellent ongoing education. I've been an RN for 25 years and I have a lot of respect for Baylor. Eilleen.

I've been an RN for 24 years and I still remember that first job. I was also new in the city and not familiar with even the type of IV bags they had. I also had almost 0 orientation. My preceptor was more interested in flirting with the Interns than working with me. I remember day 1 on the floor - the RN who took over my assignment grabbed me by the arm and took me from room to room and in front of God and everyone told me in a very loud voice - every mistake I made. Yup - that's cold! My advice. 1. OK - I think straight out of school it is easier to work in a non-specialty - lower acuity floor. Give yourself 1 year to get your feet wet. Then move on to those areas you've dreamed of working in. They are not going away! 2. Those nasty boys and girls we have to work with from time to time - well, unfortunately, in this life - we're stuck with them. They seem to be EVERYWHERE!!! Try to let their comments roll off your back. 3. You don't have to stay where you are. Find something better. Try to find the new job before you quit the present job - if you possibly can. 4. Remember how those nasty people made you feel. You will be the experienced Nurse soon and new people will be coming to you. Give better than they gave to you. Be the kind Nurse you wish you had in your corner at work right now. Good Luck! Eilleen.

When I was very young I wanted to be a Surgeon. My father (he was an HR Manager) loved medicine and he used to bring home films (those huge reels) of surgical procedures. I still love Anatomy & Physiology. Then I became a teenager and decided I wanted to be a Stewardess - I lived in a tiny town at the time and I used to lie on the grass and watch the jets overhead and think "one day I'm getting the hell out of here". Now, after 24 + years of Nursing, I'd like to study Anthropology - specifically linguistics, languages and communication. I also love studying about the great apes & monkeys. When I look at that list - they're all kind of linked aren't they? I also love to write. Just another note - I've read all the messages on this thread and so many people think they're too old or their dream job would take too long. I used to think that way too. I thought to myself "I'll just do this for 4 more years, then I'll do something else". But then one day I thought "what if you only live 5 more years?" I always promised myself that I would never end my life saying "I should have ..." or "I wish I would have ...".

You can still live and work in Texas - just stay out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. madore57

What is the "Group One list"? madore57 I still don't know what "group one" is but I did leave a job once (and only once) in Dallas without giving proper notice and it's true that it followed me. I had a hell of a time explaining that one when I got other jobs in Dallas. Once I left Dallas however, I had no problem at all. madore57

I thought it was considered assault if you shaved off a patient's moustache, cut their hair ect. Of course you can shave a man who normally shaves but to remove a fully grown moustache, beard or hair is considered assault - or so I thought. That's why we take the patient's hair after surgery and give it back to him if he/she wants it - in some hospitals - whether they want it or not. madore57

Too funny!:rotfl: Eilleen.