callmecrazyRN

I friend of mine did Strike nursing for a week or so. She came back home with $8,000 after taxes were taken out. I would've gone with her if I hadn't been accepted into my dream nursing field (psych) and met my boyfriend, now husband.

Where the heck do YOU work?! A local non-profit hospital here pays $21-$22/hr with differential on weekends and nights as a newbie. The best part is two years ago this hospital gave their nurses a raise for the first time in 4 years, and only because so many of us were leaving.

I've asked that we be given assigned zip codes. My case managers continue to ignore my request. They've now told me "Email your other field nurses and see if they want to be assigned zip codes, too." I drive the most out of all the other nurses. If I got another phone I would be paying for two phones, plus gas, plus maintenance on my car. We're paid 40 cents a mile. Per check I am paid $400-500 a check because all that I drive.

YEAHHHHHHHHHH.....I'm not going move. A lot of people can't just "up and move." I love my state, the culture, and don't want to be far from family. So, thanks for playing.

This summer it will be (6) years as a nurse: 1 year experience on medsurg, 2 years experience for psych, and 3 years experience in home health. I still do part time in the hospital while I do home health. I've noticed that every 2-3 years I get a little stir crazy and find myself wanting to start a new job or something different. I guess I like a challenge? With the hospital I've weighed the pros and cons: +12-hour shifts +days off during the week +when you leave work, you don't take work home with you +Working with others; teamwork +Almost something new everyday -Working with others; lack of teamwork -Understaffed -Dealing with policies that do not make any f'n sense -The pay usually is terrible -12 hour shifts -Having to go to meetings ALL THE TIME With home health I've weighed the pros and cons +Make your own schedule, usually +Better pay. The pay is pretty awesome +Paid per mileage +Sometimes easy patients; in and out visits +Paid for being on call, which is usually easy -Having to use your own car -Having to use your personal phone -Patients not having any boundaries and calling you in the middle of the night on your personal phone. They'll leave a message and will not listen to your voicemail that says "Do not leave a message if you are a patient." -Being on call -Having to drive 1,300 miles every two weeks and seeing 70 (minimum) every 2 weeks -Having to get in touch with MDs for orders or having to inform them of events. -Family calls you constantly instead of your case manager Looking at this list, I see I have a lot of negatives for HH. I've recently applied to the VA medsurg. Any advice? Dream job is to eventually do quality assurance or do something with policies.

Any of y'all work or have worked at Overton Brooks VA in Shreveport?

I'm sure you have a job by now. I am in the Shreveport area as well. All I can say is WK is the worst employer with the worst pay. Ever. In. The. Area. The supervisors are given bonuses for keeping costs down, and if that means keeping staff low then so be it. As of last year, around the time you wrote your post, WK FINALLY gave nurses raises - a first in 4 years. Prior to said raise, we were making $19.55ish an hour; but with nurses leaving to other areas of employment looking for higher wages, Elrod and his greedy partners were begged by supervisors to increase the pay because it was leaving them with a lack of staff, especially qualified staff.

**that I had spit on a psych patient

I was once written up after a letter was written to my supervisor and DON that I spit on her in the middle of the nurses station (I work at an inpatient psych facility). I had 3 nurses and a unit clerk ready to testify that never occurred. Was the situation investigated? Of course not. It's rare for me to find a supervisor willing to have your back.

About to start prn work for a psych home health that'll pay me $32/assesment and $28/visit. My first day is tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes! How extreme is the work? Better than inpatient/hospital setting?

I live and work in Louisiana. Judging by our southern morals and being "set in our ways", we will probably never get a union or at least any time soon. Any suggestions to help increase NURSE safety, a safer nurse/patient ratio, nursing wages (baseline, we make $20/hr), and generally increase nurse well-being? REALLY wanting to make changes in my establishment....

I've been a nurse for 3 years now - (1) year in medsurg, (2) in psych. I'm beginning to despise not just my job, but nursing in itself. I feel that we are the most trampled on in a hospital service. I've never written one of these before, so I don't know where to start... 1) On our unit we have Case Managers/Counselors (who are not RNs/LPNs and have no medical experience whatsoever rounding hospitals, seeing consults, and accepting these patients without any experience or knowledge of their medical background. So, when they accept these patients they come over to our unit sometimes as a complete train wreck. We're a psych unit and our patients are to be medically cleared, but they'll accept them when they're in a coma (not joking....this has been done) because they have a history of anxiety. Another favorite is whenever we're short staffed Case Managers will still require an RN to "monitor" their geriatric group, no matter if we're admitting, discharging, or doing a Code Blue. Case Managers come first before medications and patient care....it has been said. 2) Administration does not back up their nurses. 3) Our admits take 3 hours long. I wish I were kidding, too. After completing the Meditech paperwork, calling to get orders, writing treatment plans, searching and consenting the patient, and filling in the kardex you're left scrambling to find your other patients because you haven't seen them in 3+ hours. Who brought up the bright idea to have all this paperwork? A retired psychiatrist. Do our psychiatrists read our information? Not at all. So why is it necessary for our paperwork to be so lengthy? I really can't list all of my concerns/ pet peeves. I don't even know how to word them. The nurses on my unit feel undermined. We are but numbers who apparently are not worth being paid the effort. This seriously can't be how it is everywhere, is it? Where you're written up for what a psychotic patient said about you withholding medications that the doctor never ordered? I'm rambling. Any suggestions?

No mention of Louisiana?!? I'm pretty sure McNeese State University and Northwestern State University have programs....

I'm interested as well. Good luck!