nimbus42

At my hospital we have an RN position that’s a bit unique and our team was wondering if there are any other teams like this out there. As the title implies the position is called Hemodynamics RN. Our team of 4 (trauma and critical care RNs) work closely with the Trauma, Cardio-Thoracic, and Anesthesia teams and work out of the OR. We have many and varying duties. We setup assist the anesthesia side of the open chest cases (drip packages, central lines setup insertion of PA cath etc.) setup and operate balloon pumps in the OR, run cellsaver machines for reprocessing blood, run massive transfusions anywhere in the hospital, place large bore IVs and A-lines with US(or otherwise), and we’re on the OR code team. No doubt I missed some duties but hit the high points. We have regularly scheduled shifts that match weekday OR schedule and one our team is on call 24/7. We come in for OR cases of unstable or potentially unstable patients at the request of anesthesia, CT and Trauma surgeons, and all full trauma activations in which case we’re the trauma and critical care RNs that stay with the patient from the trauma bay through the OR and to the ICU or at least until they’re stable if they don’t ultimately go to the ICU. Does anyone know of a position or have heard of anything similar to this position? Thanks

Late response I know but... I've worked at St. C's for nearly a decade. Prior to that, I'd only worked in a critical care university setting so things are different here, some good some...not so much. People complain about the mid-level management and it seems there are enough director-level positions to staff an entire unit and someone up there recently decided that the hospital should use ICU Medical Plum 360 pumps (they truly SUCK and don't belong in ANY unit beyond Med-Surg -personal gripe). They've never seemed to be able to attract and retain as many CNAs as they need. We're also experiencing a shortage of just about every other position in the hospital as well but from an RN's view, the CNA's have been an issue. The hospital is beautiful and the view from the Western side of the hospital will never get old. We rarely want for any patient care supplies or PPE and floor management genuinely seems to care about their employees and the work environment. There's a strong union and as far as I can tell, for the cost of living and compensation, the pay is solidly decent. At the unit level, things are run mostly well and most staff seem to be mostly happy. St. C's is a growing facility and it seems that most RNs who come here end up staying - including many travelers. They've recently instituted an internship program so moving from one discipline to another isn't as difficult. Housing can be a challenge here in Bend if you want to live in the city proper. I've worked here in the ICU(newly built unit 2 years ago, really nice), and in the ER, Intermediate Care, Progressive Care(as a Critical Care Float), Rapid Response RN, House RN Supervisor, and most recently in the OR. The lifestyle here is unmatched if you're into the outdoors (so bring a gear kitty - my family spent well over 10k in toys the first few months we lived here). We'd like to think we put up with a lot of BS at the hospital but if I'm being honest the grass here is pretty fricking green and I don't bother looking over the fence. I love my job and 98% of the people I work with. If anyone ever moves here you'll understand my final comment. "Bend Sucks! Don't move here."

My advice is to decide where you want to work, be a little flexible, and become the face and voice the manager of unit see's and hears frequently. When I was hired as a new grad in a community that has 3 primary hospitals w total bed #s probably near 2500+, it was during the heart of the hiring freeze a few years ago and there wasn't a new grad opening posted anywhere. I started pounding the pavement. I dressed for an interview and went floor to floor and briefly interviewed probably 25% of the RN mgrs in the area. Thats right, interview them. Tell them you're trying to plan your career and ask them why their unit is the place to be regardless of the fact that they don't have any openings.You may learn that there are some places that you just don't want to work or meet a manager that you wouldn't want to work for. This is actually a great litmus test for both of you. Honestly you wouldn't want to work for a manager that won't take time to speak with a new grad and they get the opportunity to meet a motivated individual. The reality in most areas is that there are people moving and quitting constantly, so it's up to you to sell yourself. Then comes the routine e-mails and phone calls to let those chosen few know you're still available, interested etc. Read some articles about their specialty, refer to them in your posts. This will be refreshing to them considering many of their staff haven't read an article or paper about their specialty in who knows when. After only three weeks there was a n RN1 position posted on a site and I recieved a call asking me to apply. All told there were 50 applicants for that position in 1day but that position was already mine.My wife just graduated in December and it took her 3 mos in a very tough market but used the same technique and landed a job in the exact unit she had always wanted to work in, the nursery.