jhushon

I've been a travelling nurse for a few years (8) and intended to do for 1. My advice for you would be to start looking into companies now. Not because you couldn't do it a month before you're ready to travel, but because it will give you a better idea of what your options are. I strongly recommend talking to multiple companies before you accept an assignment. Some companies seem to bargain more than others. You will probably have to fill out long applications for each company you want any real info from but once you fill out one, you are just repeating the same info for the other. As far as pay rates and OT, it often depends an where you want to travel to. Some areas just pay lower because they sought after assingments. For example, HI and the Virgin Islands traditionally pay low but as long as our accomidations are paid for, who cares, you're not going to make a bunch of money. Other places pay much better because the area may not have much to offer just anybody. Of course some of these are the best assignments if you like what they so have to offer. As far as completion bonuses go, I definately think twice about a place that is offering $3-4,000 for a 13 week contract. Typical is more like $1,000 or less. A lot of places offer this for extended contracts or to fill immediate needs. The places with higher bonuses I assume I'm going to be working really, really hard. If you have the option of a completion bonus or higher hourly rate, just do the math. Make sure you figure if you willing to do overtime or just want to do your 36 hours a week and be done with it. Not all hospitals will allow a traveller to do overtime. I hope this helps. Feel free to PM me for any questions or clarifications. I just got off work and I'm not sure how clear this is. I love the travelling life and encourage people to give it shot if they are interested. You can always go back.

I' ve found that if it seems chunky in the tube, put in the microwave for like 30 secs. Not 2 mins. I did that once and melted the entire tube.

I have been a traveling nurse for 8 years now. I started off to do just a year then go back home and finish my 9 credits for FNP. I was so broke trying to work and pay for grad school at the same time the money just looked so good. Once I was out there, I was learning so much and seeing some incredible places, I just never went back. I have never seen any job at 100/hr. I'm not sure what the hospital is charged for my services however. The main reasons I have seen that a hospital will pay for me: 1. No orientation, other than maybe 2-3 days with a mentor and with the education people to make sure the paperwork is in order for JACHO. 2. This means that on day 3/4 I'll be taking a full assignment without any more support than "Where do you keep your..." or "How can I get this done?" 3. I find that a lot of places simply have seasonal needs. We walk in, do the job and leave. The facilities do not have to pay extra for unemployment insurance b/c we are temp employees. If these places hired extra nurses as employees, they would have to pay if they could no longer use you. (I mean in unemployment benefits) 4. As a traveler, a lot of the places I have worked are unappealing simply because of the politics. I am not required to go to staff meetings, I am simply out of the loop. I just need to know if any changes have been made that will affect my practice. Nothing more. I don't care about your dress code committee, (I always wear the standard ceil blue scrubs which seems to be country wide for ER) I love traveling and I don't think I would have stayed in this profession this long if I did not travel. I had nearly quit nursing twice before I started to travel, and as mundane or whatever it sounds like, I believe this is my calling.

Again, Welcome home and thank you for your service. As far as the PA vs RN, both are very rewarding careers. If you are truly interested in CRNA I would recommend going into a BSN program straight off. All the CRNA programs that I am aware of require this and some years in critical care areas as well. PA is fine but I don't believe you can go on to CRNA without the RN. Plus, I believe an RN is much more portable (meaning more varied work experiences, if you don't like one area, you can easily move into another) Plus, we would love to have you!

When I first started,I worked 8 hour day and night shift rotation. We had 2 kids in the house at the time and I had no trouble with it. First I made sure I would only work clusters of each (2 wks days, 2wks nights). I found that on the night shifts I would acutally get home on time. the kids had to get up early because the school bus came at 7:15 so they would be gone when I got home and I went to bed right away. By the time they got home from school, they pretty much wanted to veg for an hour or so. So I could start my day and get supper on the table, help with the homework and get them to bed , same as I would if I worked dayshift. So it worked out very well for us. Of course, the kids were old enough to get themselves ready for school after DH got them up.

I have been working 12's for so long I can't remember how the other half lives. I like working them because I only have to be there 3 out of 7. That means I'm off more days than I work. It also means I don't need to take a vacation day to hit the slopes on the off days or go to the supermarket when everybody else in world (or so it seems) is there. The 12's can be taxing granted, but I wouldn't so any other way. (it does take some getting used to, but its worth the trip) But I'm single and I don't have to worry about the kids homework, baths etc. I'm just an aunt who comes into town and has the time to go to lunch with my nephews. (and by the way, those lunch ladies are as mean as ever:) I just envy them, when they think it's getting tooo loud they just flick the lights and anybody who doesn't sit down has to go to the "office" . Man I wished that would work in the ED) )

14

I once had a long time diabetic come in at over 1200. She mentioned she had very thirsty lately and had been drinking 2 liter bottles of Coke.

I love my crocs and I found I was also tripping a lot more than normal. I found that if I wear shoe covers over them I glide like the wind. It also helps when you have that unfortunate accident with the bedpan:

I'm an ER nurse who has been traveling for quite some time. I personally don't have issues with vomiting but I worked with a nurse at one facility who could absolutely not deal with it. She was a great nurse and had worked ER for many years, but she could simply not deal with it. When her pts would get sick, one of us would go take care of it. Of course, she got a little teasing. But it brought up the discussion of stuff the rest of us couldn't deal with. (mine is suctioning thick mucous like say out of an ET tube) Everybody has something they can't deal with. In other words, don't let one little thing make you think you can't do it. You will either get used to it enough to deal with it or you will find a way to work around it.

The important thing is you assess the patient as they are. If the pt is "awake and alert and able to follow commands" you document it as such. If s/he is unable to answer questions d/t aphasia, document it. If you give the pt pen and paper and they can write the answers, great. Document how you got the info. But determining a pt is aphasic is part of your assessment findings. Also, finding a way to communicate with that pt is part of your interventions? Yes?

Very well put.

:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire This is still making by blood pressure hit the roof. We had a patient the other night who started spiralling the drain, hard and fast. I went into another room to get a monitor with an a-line port and the patient in that room, {to whom I had pushed diluadid for another nurse bc he was in so much pain he couldn't wait for his nurse} was waiting to be discharged. I said "I'm sorry you have to wait but we have a pt who is trying to die and we are trying hard so he doesn't" (I realize this is not PC but I think sometimes a reality check is in order) As I was leaving the room with equipment I needed he said "What, it takes 12 people to do that?" When I got to the room where we were coding the pt. I accidently blurted out "a--hole" at which point everyone in the room looked at me like I had two heads. I then told the doc who had been taking care of this guy what had happened and man was he jacked. BTW there was nothing wrong with this man after many xrays and ct

If you have the option, schedule a day in outpatient surg. These patients are generally healthy with good veins. A few successful sticks and your cofidence level will increase. I always recommend this to new nurses and medics.

I have to say I'm very glad we took a pen and paper test. I was in the class where they were sure they it would on computer by then. (it turned out that it was the next year) I went into it being told that "80% of the people who took it the first time passed" I looked around the room at the other 199 people and decided I probably wasn't in that 20% percentile. Thank God, because we didn't our results for 10 weeks I feel for all you taking your test now. I thought it was was bad when it was 2 days and the next time you could take was 6 mos. (we all had the same test and finished at the same time) Good Luck!! The point being, we didn't have a choice about when we were ready. Good thing too, because I might never have been ready!