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Thanks for your responses! I have been in med/surg/tele for close to a decade. Looking forward to finding a good fit at FMC. A good group of hospitalists seems to be a major perk. Is it really a teaching hospital - or does it just have a handful of residents? Thanks again

I'm new to Northern Arizona & was having trouble finding recent info on Flagstaff Medical Center. There sure are a lot of negative reviews on this place, but I love this town so I really want to give it an honest try. Can anyone tell me what the job rate is for an experienced telemetry RN? Any advice/tips/comments about your experience at FMC would be much appreciated. Thank you

Thanks to all that have given their input. I've finally achieved a coveted position in this fine institution, it only took months of research, phone calls and a dozen or so applications. I have to say I'm very impressed w/ the bennies pkg and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the HNA and all HI RN's for their hard work achieving fair wages. Props to you all! Thanks again everyone!

Thanks, I heard parking @ several of the downtown hospitals was around $60/mo. Does that sound accurate? My Fiancee and I have jobs, but are trying to make the long move as smooth as possible. Thanks for your advice!

Thanks, that was most helpful! I put Union fees on there assuming that I would have to pay them as I've heard many hospitals in HI have unionized nsg staff. The State tax is separate from the General Excise tax? Many thanks.

Demographic and previous career details: how long have you been a nurse? Age? 27 gender? m What was your previous career? Construction worker/ engineering/CADD Did you receive a college degree in that specialty? yes How long did you work in your previous career? 5 yrs What was the hardest part about changing careers? being a nurse What was your motivation in changing from your previous career? career opportunities/stability/helping others did you make more or less money in your previous career compared to nursing? less What qualities do you possess (if any) from your previous career that help you in the nursing field? technical skills Was your first career in the healthcare field? no Is there anything you would change, in regards to your career choices if you could go back in time? maybe, not sure Do you regret choosing the Nursing field as your second career option? Not yet Rate your previous career, 1-10, or, how happy were you with your previous career vs how happy are you with nursing? 3 vs. 7 what prevented you from becoming a nurse earlier? never thought about it On being a nurse: Why the nursing field as opposed to another discipline? it seemed a good fit for me Are you worried about 'burning out' on being a nurse? Becoming too reliant alcohol or drugs for coping/escape? yes, worried about burnout; no, not worried about addictions, vacations are my drug of choice How do you feel about the glorious American healthcare system? [rate it 1-10, or RANT!] It's in shambles and unsustainable, however - the current legislation being pushed through will only make things worse for the patient, doctors, hospitals and of course nursing staff. Do I have a better idea? Not really, but I'll be thinking about that one. On being a nursing student: Did you have another job while in nursing school? yes What obstacles do you/did you face being a student? being a dude Which class is most important for student nurses? assessment & pharm Which is the least? bedmaking What other classes do you feel student nurses should be required to take? more assessment & pharm

Hi, if anyone can help me out on breaking down the avg costs of living in the HNL area are I would greatly appreciate it. I will be living on 2 RN salaries w/ no kids/pets in a 1-bed apt downtown. I'm just looking to see ballpark figures for planning purposes. Of most interest to me are: 1.) Food 2.) Utilities 3.) Gasoline 4.) Insurance (auto) 5.) Taxes (state, city) 6.) Union fees Thanks again

thanks for the honesty - i do truly appreciate it. i guess it was too good to be true. however, i might just keep trying for the heck of it. thanks again.

hi, i was just curious if anyone else noticed Queens posting new jobs (even some "new grad ok" jobs) which evaporate in less than 23hrs? i've been interested in their institution for some time - yes i've read many of the numerous posts regarding the nursing market in HNL (very disheartening), but i continue to apply... yes, i'm not a local and yes, i'm med/surg - so i know my opportunities will be even more limited. i was just wondering if anyone can confirm these jobs are being filled just that scary fast. thanks in advance for any ideas.

Hi, I'm a med/surg RN w/ a couple yrs experience moving out West w/ an OR RN here soon, and have much interest in No. AZ. Can anyone tell me how the nursing is @ Flagstaff Medical Center or Verde Valley Medical Center? Ratios for med/surg floors; do they have techs/cna's? How's the pay, mgmt, call-time for OR? Thanks in advance!

Hi, after searching for any info on the "taking call" requirement of the OR RN in TX, I was unable to find much of anything. My fiancee is an OR nurse of 2.75 yrs and getting scared away from a potential move to the Austin area due to hearing that there are ridiculous call requirements in TX (from travelers). We would be moving together as staff - not travelers (I'm med/surg), and she currently has to take about x5 8hr call shifts per 8wk schedule. I've heard so many great things about the city that I might have to try it out. Can anybody shed some light on how much on-call time you must take, and in which locale you reside? Thanks in advance for your help!

Props to you! I wish I could say I've passed it, but I've just sent in my (heavy) check and am hoping to take it within a couple months. I've got the "Springhouse Review for Medical-Surgical Certification" - the Lippincott book, and it's pretty thorough but I feel like my old nsg text & nclex review books are much better. I just took a nice review course offered by my hospital and was truly impressed w/ the presentation - as it merely outlined & showed me my weaknesses (which appear to be plentiful). I've heard that this test has ~64% pass rate, compared to the CMSRN test which is in the 80's%, but I've not been able to substantiate these numbers. I would highly recommend a review class if you have that option in your area. I wish you the best of luck.

Does anybody know if any of these liability ins. co's are better than the other? I'm in need of signing up asap, mainly because the ginormous healthcare entity under which I'm employed would drop me without any second thought if a case was brought against me. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Years in nursing: 0.8 What type of institution do you work at? Teaching institution, Level I Trauma Hospital What 5 things are important to you as a nurse from most important to least: 1. Nice, knowledgable & helpful coworkers 2. Competitive Pay 3. Appropriate level of acuity per Pt:RN 4. Location 5. Benefits & bonus' How long have you worked at your current place of employment? 0.8 yrs Are you happy working there? Not really, Pt acuity is far too high per RN (7-8 fairly sick Pt's - most are more appropriate for a 3-4:1 floor/IMC). Let's just say nursing isn't what I expected it to be. What about your employer makes you stay? Contract & the feeling that I should give this job at least a year before moving on. good luck on the degree

No real regrets on choosing nursing (a 2nd career and 7th decided major in college), but I am questioning my following of the traditional idea of "getting your med-surg first." I've only been working as an RN for 5 mo's on an insanely busy surgical unit at a D.C. area hospital, but I'm thinking about moving to emergency care d/t the horrid amount of paperwork I do. All the moments that I feel rewarded in nursing make up for the "Murse Chastizing," difficult Pt's & MD's. I know I'm brand-spanking new, but it appears that attitude is everything in this field. Stay positive and you burnout, well, not quite as quickly.

Hi, I'm trying to weigh my options between the following prospective employers: Washington Hospital Center Georgetown University Hospital George Washington University Hospital Sibley Memorial Hospital INOVA Fairfax Hospital I currently live in No. VA & work as a tech in another INOVA facility's ICU. Any information that you can give me regarding salary, benefits (esp. loan payoff), contract requirements or otherwise, would be extremely appreciated. I'm graduating in May and am looking for the best all around package (no I didn't get into nursing to make $, but I do have some monstrous student loans and you all know the cost of living here...). Thanks in advance!

Traffic here is hellacious... I lie in Fairfax, VA - right outside of D.C. and the traffic gets worse every year.

I am - for sure! See you there... Does anyone know how much $ they're starting new grads at (in med/surg or icu)?

I'm a BSN student graduating in 5 months, and have a good friend who just graduated from a comm. college 6 months ago: he was hired in the ER with start base-pay of 54k + bennies, the same that BSN students are being hired at. He has already been accepted & enrolled into a MSN program at my university - skipped the bachelor's. he started back when i did, graduated me, is making money while i'm struggling through these seemingly pointless theory classes and is now starting his master's before i even graduate with a BSN. Overall, I believe it depends on the area your in (whether they care about type of degree). Personally, if I was to do it over, i would skip the BS. :smackingf :smackingf :smackingf

I know that the OP requested seasoned nurses to respond - but this is the same exact issue that has my mind all tangled. I have worked as a clin tech in a small ICU since July, and just finished a 250hr preceptorship in the ED. I definitely respect the opinions of all experienced nurses when they say 1-2 yrs of med-surg helps the new grad get their organizational skills/time management down and allows them to learn to detect more "subtle changes." Personally, I think I would grow faster if I was just immersed in the worst of it. I am leaning toward critical care because I feel something special in the ICU. Experienced nurses: wouldn't it be better to go from ICU to ED rather than the other way around? I can't rationalize this without bias from my ICU experience (ie. "ED nurses always send our pt's up with IV's in the AC" and "Emergency nurses know a little about a lot of things"- a frustrated, burnt-out ICU nurse) I admire emergency nurses and hope to work in that field at some point, as I love the speed/adrenalin & generally positive turnaround. I want to do both ICU & Emergency at some point - but I'm leaning toward skipping the whole med-surg thing. Sorry if this isn't making any sense - just switched to nights.

I'm not trying to bash on women. Lord knows I love the ladies - all of them. Nothing but respect and admiration for them (although I've lost respect for the one mentioned in the above post). I just wanted to make that clear. :)

I just started my first rotation (LTC) 3 weeks ago, and from the beginning I've been getting seriously bad vibes from one young woman in particular. I don't understand why she has to hate. Is it because she feels that men are encroaching in on one of the last female-dominated fields and trying to take that away from her? I try to make it known that I have a girlfriend and am not in the program just to meet girls. I am here for one reason alone: to learn as much as possible to be the absolute best nurse that I can be. Normally I wouldn't let this get to me, but I swear she's trying to set me up all the time. Trying to point out my flaws and weaknesses in front of the instructors, spreading rumors to other students - and other stupid high-school things of that nature. Does anyone else experience this crap? I know that I have to just be bigger than that, but it's really distracting me from learning at my best. I'm just looking for some wisdom... Sorry to nag, but I've got to vent somewhere... :angryfire

I'm one of about 10 guys in a class size of about 150 at GMU in VA (numbers are approx.).