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EVERYTHING! Unfortunately I was dx w/ MS and can no longer do patient care. So the place I wk has us with 22-25 pts doing utilization reviews, discharge plans, and coordination of care. I turn my phone off to get some referrals done, 10 min later I have 15 voicemails! It is the most stressful job and I truly believe it is the company & admin. I wk in So.Cal & this particular hospital pays very well, I make over 60/hr, BUT its because they work you to death! I have friends on the East Coast that love it, so everyone has a different experience... mine is horrific & Im just trying to hang in there...

I just started PMHNP school, first semester at Azusa Pacific University in CA. The first year is all core courses. Right now Im taking Advanced Nursing Theory and Research. I have dreaded this course since my undergrad course in this lol. I took an RN-BSN program online that mimicked grad school purposely to prepare students pursuing their MSN, particularly NP school. One assignment at a time..one week at a time.. it can be done! I encourage you to apply if its something you really want! Even though I despise nursing research and writing papers, I am so humbled I was accepted! slowly but surely working on becoming a future PMHNP :) I believe it can be done..

Im from NC and went to school there and of course worked there. I graduated in 2009, when CA had that awful recession. We had CA new grads coming in packs to get a job and gain experience. My particular hospital typically hires about 100 new grads each year. Its a 920 bed level 3 trauma hospital. Cape Fear Valley in Fayetteville,NC. Anyway just throwing it out there for any new grads willing to relocate just for that 1 yr. exp. Its a military town and we know nurses use the hospital as a stepping stone. Also after 6months-1 yr. its soo easy to transfer to a specialty there. I got into Interventional Radiology then cardiac cath. I moved to CA last yr. & with my 8 yrs of exp & IR background I was offered multiple jobs with a solid 6 figure. At one interview I was talking casually with the manager and she said " you see that stack of papers" and points to a HUGE stack the size of a phone book, she says " those are my new grad apps" I said oh man! Glad Im not a new grad here!! She laughed and said we choose about 27.. CRAZY! Not in NC, no way. Just FYI to new grads.. NC is VERY new grad friendly :)

Im not a NP, but my best friend is a ANP and when she transferred states, it took like 3 months. I dont know if the process is different depending on the scope of state you will be in as well. Like she lived in a red state and transferred to a green state. I know California is a red state. Just transferring from NC to CA as a staff RN was crazy for me, so I would assume getting the DEA# and all that situated takes a good minute. Good Luck! ( btw she transferred from NC to NM then to CO & each time it was about 3 months for her)

Ok these posts are extremely old, but I feel the need to post LOL. I am from NC and as a RN I made very little until I went to an Army medical center. So graduated in 2009 making 21/hr on med/tele. Moved up to Interventional radiology ending in 77,900/yr. Moved to CA in 2017 and my base salary is 118k. Noe I switched to Case management and make 64.93/hr. I will be starting MHPNP school this fall. There is a HUGE need and avg pay is 70-90/hr and a definite solid 6 figure. That being said, the south is infamous for underpaying nurses on any educational level. My friends that are ANPs,FNPs,etc do not make what I make as a staff nurse here in CA. Cost of living? Well, Im in SoCal & pay 2400/ month for rent. To buy Im looking at 470k homes, but my pay compensates for the cost of living. Now, with all that being said, I chose MHPNP because it is my dream, my goal, my passion. Do I have unrealistic expectations. Um No.. My point is the south sux with pay. Always have & most likely always will. Shall that defer you from your goals? No, not in my opinion. Do what you want and let the rest follow... :)

Congratulations!

I just finished my application last week for the fall 2018 FNP at USC. I live near LA so it will be really nice to be close to campus if I am accepted. USC has a great reputation & is well respected, so Im not worried about them not obtaining the CCNE accreditation :) Good Luck! I hope to hear something by the end of June. Keep us posted!

So I've been a RN for 9 years now. I have worked Med/Tele, Float Pool, IR, Cath Lab.. I have my ADN & BSN. I was DX with MS this past yr. I had just finished my 90 day probationary period at the hospital when I was hit with an exacerbation and hospitalized. Long story short, DX RRMS. I had specific work restrictions thereafter. Since then my employer has consistently ignored all my requests for reasonable accommodation and refuses to engage in the interactive process. I retained a lawyer ( I contacted 5 and all agreed to take my case) and its turning into a ugly disability discrimination suit. Heres the thing about being a Nurse, I documented EVERYTHING and kept copies of letters, emails, names, phones calls, etc. Anytime I had a in person or phone conversation, I would follow-up with an email reiterating what was said via the conversation. I stated exact names, dates, and times in all emails and always ended with " If you disagree or feel these statements need clarification, please contact me." They always chose to ignore me! For months!! I have been told I do not qualify for anything cause all my experience is bedside care. So they have been served with a phone book sized complaint to the state & they are being sued. Im like an ex that refuses to give up and go away LOL. My point in this is.. if you have a disability, PLEASE keep accurate detailed documentation like we were taught in NS. " If its not documented it was never done" I truly hope this isn't how things are for most disabled nurses.. Im fighting this health system to ensure they never do this again to another Nurse or employee! We have 7 counts against them. Its sad because you would think a hospital out of all places would have compassion and abide by the law. On a side note, I recently applied to grad school & Im awaiting the results! I applied to FNP school :) and what shall I specialize in? MS of course!

I previously worked at a 916 bed level II trauma center, 2 IR rooms, 10 nurses, one call night per wk and we rotated weekends. We covered all modalities including recovery. Our call was specific to special procedures/angio. Im starting a new angio job that is at a 345 bed hospital, 2 IR suites, 5 IR nurses and 3 call nights/wk. Moved to a different state..

You should NEVER accept an assignment to an area that you have not been oriented to. I am a float nurse and would not take on med-surg patients in the ED without orientation there first. In fact a very similar experience happened to my good friend. She had 7yrs med-surg experience and was also a float nurse. She was on her last year of her masters in nursing with a ANP, so she was no new grad by any means. She was told she had to float to the hospitals ED gateway, which is med-surg within the ED. She refused the assignment. She called the house supervisor and her manager and said she did not know the system down there and where anything was located. They sent her home. She felt it would have been unsafe for her and her patients. I also refused to take an assignment one time when I felt my license and patient safety was at risk. I also spoke with nursing administration and the house supervisor and voiced my concerns. You have to be an advocate for not only your patients, but for YOURSELF. Don't ever feel intimidated to voice your concerns and NEVER allow them to place you in a situation that has the potential for a negative outcome. 8 months of experience is still a VERY new grad. Just my little advice :) I wish you the best!

I live in NC, I started at 20.20/hr (med/tele) 3.50 evenings, 4.00 nights and 3.50 wend diff. in 2009.after 3 yrs I went up to 22.80 and went to a different position in radiology nursing.Right now Im making 38/hr 3.50 evening diff ( i don't work nights buts 4 diff for nights) and$10 wkend diff doing a float pool position.

Hello! So my husband and I are from southern california and ALL of our family lives there, mine since the day of dawn lol. My husband and I have been living in NC for 8 years d/t military ties.We are thinking of moving back to Cali but more of the San Diego area. He's from Ontario and my family is from West Covina. We're thinking of SD b/c he's prior military and has been working on Ft.Bragg the past 8 yrs. My daughter is deaf and has a cochlear implant & SD has an awesome school there for her so one of the reasons why we are considering SD.We wouldn't make the move until next yr or so.I have been a nurse for 3 years and have worked med/tele & interventional radiology.Im just curious about nursing there as far as the job market for experienced nurses? My moms family is from SD but they have no clue about nursing! Im prob. going to contact a couple recruiters and see what they say, but just wanted to hear from some fellow nurses : ) thanx!

I just recently started working prn in the float pool. I worked at a facility that treated their nurses poorly & would have never worked float pool there. The hospital I work at now treats the nursing staff very well and the nursing culture is completely different. The staff is very grateful when the float nurses work on their unit because that lightens their patient load. Before becoming float pool I never saw the prn nurses any different. I got to know them and saw them as part of the team! In fact, I would be upset if we didn't get a prn nurse and we were understaffed. If one came to our rescue I was more than grateful!! I don't expect to be treated any different being a float nurse. I hope they like me & know they can count on me to provide good patient care & ask me to come back! there are plenty of hours to pick up. I would say if your being treated poorly its time to move on to better things. I left the hospital that treated me poorly, I worked hard for my license and I sure will take this RN license somewhere its appreciated!

Hey Pilot, I am not a travel nurse, but several of my friends are.From what they tell me it goes in cycles with the demand of travel nurses.Some people are willing to locate anywhere, where others just stay within their state or region. If you can believe it, my good friend has been working at the same facility for 3 yrs as a travel nurse. She lives an hr away from the hospital! The hospital keeps renewing the contract with her agency.I talked to several of the travel nurses and they said sometimes its really hard to get a contract and other times they have a nice pick of where they want to go. Per diem is as needed. I just accepted a per diem position and I am only required to do 2 shifts/wk and make my own schedule, choose which unit I go to,etc. My friend is making good money doing it, but there are no benefits with this type of position. Both travel nursing and per diem require you to have experience. You are filling in the gaps for the staff that is not there so they need you to hit the floor running. I would say at least 2 yrs of full-time experience.The facility I used to work at pays their new grads $15/hr till they are trained and then it ges up to 20. Just telling you cause not everywhere pays great. After you gain experience and move on you will be compensated much better.Best of luck to you!

I am currently starting a RN-BSN program, but it does not require me to take a higher level chemistry.I just had to take basic chemistry for my ADN. The college is accredited (Winston-Salem State University in NC). I plan on applying to grad school spring 2013, but Im just worried that not having a higher chemistry will affect my chances. I called UAB (one of the schools I plan on applying to) and they said they just look at GPA and if the BSN program is accredited. I am preparing for a large number of applicants to apply for fall 2013 admission because of the DNP stipulation for 2015.To me there will probably be a lot of qualified applicants so they may have to look at individual courses. Im really considering taking biochemistry, but I don't want to overwhelm myself. I will be working per diem, taking BSN classes & still have to complete 2 prereqs. Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated!