tryingtolearn

We do not see that trend yet here in the south (Arkansas). The hospitals around here only distinguish AASN from BSN when it comes to management.....and even then it matters more who you are/know, what you have done, and whether you are in school or not.

Has anyone else had any experience with Christus Santa Rosa in San Antonio? Not the childrens facitlity. Is it a good place to work? Do they like travelers?

Hi Dee_RN. I am new to travel nursing. My agent is having me consider an assignment in San Antonio that will also be an 8wk job. It is with NurseChoice as well. I would be interested to know how your experience is going and where you are? My offer is at Christus Santa Rosa. I wont be traveling with anyone or know anybody there. It would be nice to connect with someone before going. Thanks!! Good luck with your assignment!

I started traveling after working at a facility for two years with no computer charting. It was truly horrible. I consider myself to be a good nurse but what I walked into was impossible without SOME computer charting experience. Like the other response said, you are expected to be able to work with usually a one day orientation. I was on a med-surg floor and while the care itself was fine, the computer system was not. I am very good at picking up on computer stuff so I didnt think it would be a problem. The charting itself was not so bad, it was the flow of the day that I could not understand and no one seemed to know what I was asking. With a paper chart, you have something to do a chart check with...with a computer, while the chart is there, I was never really sure how to do a chart check with it. I never knew how I was supposed to know to check for new orders and meds either. During the day the doctors would add orders from their office or wherever and I only ever actually SAW one doctor on the floor the entire 12 hours! It just blew my mind. That assignment ended that night. LOL I could not understand how the system itself worked as far as knowing when to do what, and since no one could or would explain that to me, I didnt go back! I hope your experience is better than mine was

I also am used to paper charting and am totally lost with the computer thing! I am computer literate and able to use several programs easily. The problem I have is that I dont understand the work flow of the day with computer charting. I mean, how do you know there are new orders? How do you do a chart check? How often do I check for new meds and orders? The workflow of the whole day seems to be different with computer. I have had no training with it but was exposed to it through travel nursing and it was a disaster trying to do it with no training! I just dont understand how you stay on top of what is going on with you patient all day. I dont have any answers for you. Just letting you know you are not alone!

Hi all. I am a nurse with two years experience as an RN and two years experience as an LPN, all of it cardiac/step down floor along with being floated to a general med/surg floor during that time. I have recently decided to do travel nursing. I feel I have reached a point where I am comfortable enough with my knowledge and skills to try it! I recently took my first assignment and had a horrible experience. My main problem was the lack of computer charting experience. Can anyone explain to me how the typical work day goes when computer charting is used? For instance, I am used to having an entire chart in front of me and when I do a chart check I can look and see what orders have a number beside them, this lets me know the order was seen/processed. I had no idea how to do this on the computer. The hospital I was at gave me a preceptor but she was usually no where to be found. When I asked her for help she replied that she was only there to help me with the computer, not my nursing skills. I went to the manager of the floor and got no help there either. I know when you travel they want you to hit the ground running, but how can I be expected to function independently without any orientation at all? Do travel assignments sometimes give you training on their computer system? Are there any sites out there that I can train on at my own pace? Like a learn it yourself kind of thing for computer charting??