JMBM

I can roll pretty well with a busy team of 8 or 9 patients. This isn't even a hard question. Eight or nine ER patients is too much for an experienced ER nurse to safely handle. Fifteen for a new grad verges on the criminal. Just think, you have ...

Alaskans get alot of questions on how it is to live up here. The problem with answering that question is that Alaska is as large as the western third of the contiguous United States. Its kind of like asking what its like to live west of the Rockies...

There is a hospital, Mat-Su Regional, located between Wasilla and Palmer. I don't know their pay scale, but I assume you could get that from them easily. Many people, in fact probably a majority of working people in Wasilla and Palmer, make the comm...

According to the Providence labor contract with the Alaska Nurses Association, the hourly rate for new grads in 2007 is $25.21. The rate for an RN with one year's experience is $26.16.. In May of 2008, those rates will increase to $26.35 and $27.34,...

Its wonderful that you are interested in ED work, and I absolutely encourage you. I also agree with the earlier respondent who wrote that you should look for opportunities to volunteer or somehow else become involved in an ER as soon as you can. An...

The labor contract pay at Providence Hospital in Anchorage for a new RN with no experience is about $25/hr. Providence is the largest hospital in the state and its wage scale is probably about average. To get a feel for Anchorage costs of living, c...

Wow, Barrow? from the East Coast? I worked in Barrow for awhile, albeit quite a few years ago. Barrow is a predominately native town in the Arctic. There is quite a bit of money in Barrow, resulting from the local native corporation's royalty pay...

Actually, the reason I work in the ER/shift I do now is because of the feeling of teamwork - don't believe anyone who says all ER situations are like you describe. In fact, I have found ERs in general to have more of an ethic of teamwork than many ot...

The military hospital does employ civilian nurses. I have an RN friend whose in their ICU. His actual employer is the VA.

I was a medic who "came indoors" and was a new grad in the ED. First, your medic experience will be extremely valuable, but perhaps not in the way you think. Sure, the physical skills are great, but its the mental part that will really help - the exp...

To answer the original question - unions are not dependent on state, region, district or even hospital. They exist anywhere a large enough group of employees get together and petition for recognition. Nurses can be union or non-union at hospitals n...

Absolutely.

Given your reasons for wanting to leave your current job, I'm not sure why the ED would be better. Certainly, there will be co-workers you like/dislike. If anything, ED personnel tend to have stronger personalities than most. There will be plenty ...

I was (and still am) a medic and am now an RN in an ED. I agree with earlier writers who say that the medic training will help you alittle (and only alittle) in nursing. The EXPERIENCE of working as a medic will help you immensely if you decide to ...

There are three civilian and one military general hospitals in Anchorage. There is also a civilian hospital 40 miles north in Palmer. In Anchorage, Providence Alaska Medical Center is the largest hospital in the state and part of the Providence ch...

Really? I've always found ER to be extremely realistic. Why, just last week, we had a helicopter crash on our ambulance bay, squishing the director of the department. Good thing it happened on Tuesday, because the day before we had a patient drive...

don't do it. If you are planning on one of the jobs being an ER job right out of school - DON'T DO IT. An ER is a fast-paced, high stress environment. Starting there is never easy. Starting there right out of school is even harder. Starting ther...

As you might have seen in other posts, trying to describe Alaska is kind of a big project. It is as large as the western third of the US. Asking for a favorite place here is like asking what your favorite town is west of the Mississippi. It all de...

I work in an ED. I know its hard, annemarieRN. Almost all of our nurses have worked on the floors and we know precisely how much it sucks to have an admit roll in at 1850. Its really tempting to lash out at the person who handed you the admit - be...

Wouldn't leave it for the world. Here in Los Anchorage, we got about 6 inches of snow for Halloween. We're running single digit temperatures at night under a clear sky. A moose chowed down on our apple trees the other night and another one was h...

I agree with swartzRN, as the years go by, I carry less and less. Of course, our rooms all have supply carts, so stuff is close at hand, usually. I'm down to 2 pens, a few alcohol wipes, a carpujet, a tiny drug guide and trauma shears. If I'm thin...

Way back when, I started with a fanny pack, then went to a smaller fanny pack, then went to multi-pocketed scrubs, now I'm down to carrying 2 pens, a couple alcohol wipes and a tiny drug book in one pocket and trauma shears in the other or tucked int...

Actually, you should be scared, alittle. Any experienced ER nurse will tell you that the day you stop being alittle scared is the day the ER turns around and bites you in the rear. ...... Seriously, if the hospital has a good training program, you...

It seems to me that folks are mixing up several concepts. First, there is the "if we wear white, patients will know who is the nurse" concept. I work in a busy ER. I always introduce myself and show my name tag when I come in and then again when I...