rubyagnes

Thank you for your response. If I listed my BFA, why would you suggest it be written first? I see that the article states the non-nursing degree be written first, but I'm curious if you have any ideas as to why. In the instance written, the person is an executive, so the non-nursing MBA degree is relevant to that position. Sometimes I feel my BFA is relevant to my approach to nursing in a creative sense, but I wouldn't say it's more relevant in terms of my role, so I'd be inclined to list it second, if I list it at all. Thanks in advance!

Hi, A lot of my coworkers have their credentials listed in resumes and email signatures. I am an RN with a BSN, I also have a BFA, and I'm a board certified psychiatric mental health nurse (PMH-BC) According to a nursing world article, the highest education would come first, second degree can be listed second, then certifications in order of relevance to practice after degrees. When looking into creating my signature, it appears I would write "my name," BSN, BFA, RN, PMH-BC but I wanted some feedback to ensure that's correct. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!  Source: http://www.nursingworld.org/~48fdf9/globalassets/certification/renewals/how-to-display-your-credentials

Hi, A lot of my coworkers have email signatures that list their credentials after their name. I am an RN with a BSN, I also have a BFA, and I'm a board certified psychiatric mental health nurse (PMH-BC) According to a nursing world article, the highest education would come first, second degree can be listed second, then certifications in order of relevance to practice after degrees. When looking into creating my signature, it appears I would write "my name," BSN, BFA, RN, PMH-BC but I wanted some feedback to ensure that's correct. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!! Source: http://www.nursingworld.org/~48fdf9/globalassets/certification/renewals/how-to-display-your-credentials

I just moved to Durham and got a job at UNC chapel hill in their neurosurgical ICU. I really enjoy it so far and they offered a relocation bonus and additional retention bonus. If you want more details just send me a msg ?

Any advice on how to patent a nursing invention, specially one relating to using technology in a hospital setting. What steps should I take? When should I look into selling the idea and how can I do it? Like if I wanted to patent the idea then contact a company about it - what steps should I take? Thanks in advance!

@MBNurse123 I just moved from the Baltimore area to Durham. I was able to interview at Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Rex, and WakeMed. Interviewing is extra strange right now and took a little longer than expected. All of my interviews were either just by phone or zoom. I ended up accepting a position at UNC Chapel Hill, which was my first choice. Duke also offered me a position but was about $3 less per hour, UNC Rex said they'd respond but never did (which possibly is due to me accepting the UNC Chapel Hill job) WakeMed also offered a position but I had already accepted at UNC Chapel Hill. I was making close to $34 in Baltimore and now my base pay will be $30, but the differentials here are great and will hopefully make up for the difference. Both UNC and Duke offered relocation bonuses + a choice between a retention bonus or a pre-licensure student loan repayment bonus. A lot of apartments around the area also offer first months rent free or other moving incentives. Feel free to send me a PM for additional info if you'd like : )

Just wanted to follow up - I ended up being paid my scheduled hours while not working for over 2 weeks. It’s pretty amazing to me. I don’t think I accrued any PTO along with those hours but I don’t care much about that (our PTO accrual is crap anyway) On my paycheck the hours are listed as “non-productive pay” but is the same pay rate as if I had been working. Makes me wonder if hospitals are able to write off this money as a “covid expense” bc myself and other employees have had “non-productive pay” listed when there have been quarantine situations while awaiting Covid testing. Regardless, I am thrilled I actually was paid while not working. I was able to pack for my move properly, catch up on sleep, and move on with my life. Very surprised and very thankful!!

I’ll def follow up next week. Honestly don’t have much PTO and it’s only paid out at 50% so I’m more interested in my expected pay. I have written documentation from my manager clearly stating I will be paid my regular hours up until my chosen resignation date which is two weeks from now - just seems like a good deal, which def makes me suspicious. Hopefully it just works out and I can move on ?

Thanks. I think I’ll feel a lot more secure once I’m actually paid as expected next week. The coworkers I’m referring to extended their 4 week expectation to adhere to the policy, but the policy also states employees can call out sick during that time frame bc I don’t think they can legally take sick leave away. Those employees still worked their regular hours, but also called out sick during that time period. Either way, perhaps it is a very generous and thoughtful parting gift - and if so, I am extremely thankful. Definitely not what I was expecting considering the fact that I knowingly broke the policy. Anyway, thanks for your advice!

The policy is to pay out PTO at 50% but my manager clearly stated I’d be paid my regular hours as if I was working, then after my end date HR handles the PTO part. I’m on good terms with my manager and coworkers. I’m only suspicious bc it seems like a really generous thing to do, especially given the fact that I did not adhere to the policy. A few coworkers that have left were in similar situations where their end date was shy of 4 weeks, so they changed their end date then called out sick on days they didn’t want to work. I honestly just couldn’t commit to working the full 4 weeks so I ended up breaking the policy, but now I feel like I’m being rewarded...

Hi, I recently resigned from a nursing position at a hospital, as I was offered a new job out of state. Due to covid, the hiring process was a little slow, but I let my manager know as soon as I was certain about my new position. My current job policy is to give 4 working weeks notice, but I gave about 3 1/2 weeks notice and I was not able to change or adjust my end date. The policy states employees who do not give 4 or more weeks notice “may be considered ineligible for rehire” - key word is “may” but honestly I accepted the possibility of being ineligible for rehire bc that’s just the situation I’m in and I don’t anticipate working for this hospital again. Long story short, I have a little over 2 weeks of work scheduled and my manager told me today that she spoke with HR and beyond being ineligible for rehire, they actually wanted me to submit my badge today. Despite being scheduled to work for over two more weeks, I will be paid my regularly scheduled hours until my chosen “resignation date”. Why would they literally pay me for shifts I’m literally not working? This isn’t coming out of my PTO either, apparently I will be paid as if I’m working my scheduled hours. This was totally unexpected. I feel like I’m being tricked bc it seems too good to be true. I asked my manager to send me these stipulations in writing, and she did, which clearly states “You will not to work your remaining scheduled shifts and are ineligible for rehire. You will be paid as you would regularly for your full time hours until your resignation date.” My next pay day is next Friday so I hope this is completely true, but has anyone ever experienced or heard of anything like this?

I want to start off by saying sorry for yet another post about the Triangle area. I'm moving from out of state and due to COVID the hiring process has been remote/interviews via zoom which has made things pretty stressful. I've never even been to the triangle area before, so I don't know what I'm getting myself into, but from what I've read it should be a really great experience. That being said, I have been a nurse for about 4 1/2 years. 2 1/2 years ER experience + 2 years geri inpatient psych. I'm moving away from psych, as I want to grow in my medical/clinical skills and the unit I work on focuses a lot on dementia, TBI's, movement disorders so I've developed a growing interest in neuro as well. I was offered a position at Duke in Durham on a Neuro stepdown unit. The interview went really well, everyone seemed super nice. The unit will be in a completely new tower, so everything is nice and new and up to date. I'm currently working at Johns Hopkins so the whole teaching hospital/big name features are familiar to me, and I don't necessarily assume a "big name" is best. Cons: - They offered me 27/hr base pay despite over 4 years experience. The differentials are great, but I would only be rotating so I don't know if that pay rate will cover my bills (I have *a lot* of student loans) It's hard to estimate how much I'll actually make a month when I don't know my schedule or frequency differential shifts. - The recruiter mentioned their loan repayment incentive, which sounds great, but when I received my hiring packet it did not mention the loan repayment incentive, and when I reached out to my recruiter to make sure the incentive is still active, he never responded, which makes me anxious. They did offer a 3K relocation bonus and that was included in my hiring paperwork - Parking is expensive, which I currently deal with now at Hopkins, but I'm also taking a big pay cut and the decreased cost of living doesn't take away the fact that I have a lot of student loans to manage monthly... * Any Duke insight would be great. Do you think I could request a higher pay rate, or would that be futile? I see posts of new grads being offered 27/hr base back in 2017... so why am I being offered 27/hr with 4+ years experience? Do you think the differentials make up for the low base rate? Do you find you have opportunities to pick up overtime shifts? Do you get annual raises and is it worth starting out low with the hopes of getting more adequate pay over time? Is there room for growth/leadership opportunities? I don't want to sell myself short and be underpaid when I feel I have worked very hard to develop the experience and skills I currently have, however I am also willing to enter into a lower paying base rate if there is potential for growth. I was expecting a lower rate of pay, just want to be sure it's a fair offer. Since being offered a position at Duke, I was also offered a position at UNC Rex yesterday for an ortho position. Still waiting for paperwork about specifics, but I've read UNC Rex typically pays more. They also have a loan repayment incentive and their relocation bonus is 5K (as opposed to Duke's 3K) UNC Rex has free parking. The manager was also very nice, and even mentioned possibilities of being qualified for leadership positions (which they do have open) based on my experience alone, which seemed promising. They seem like a fast paced unit, handling up to 17 post surgical patients a day, with a faster turnover rate. Cons: - I'm not that familiar with ortho. I remember enjoying my ortho rotation in school and I'm pretty familiar with pain management and various levels of immobility, but not necessarily from a post-op standpoint. I'm not 100% set on neuro, but I do feel more intrigued by neuro based on my recent experiences, however I also don't want to rule out a particular area of nursing as I feel very open to enjoying many aspects of learning. - I was hoping to live in either Durham or Chapel Hill, so driving to Raleigh would be a commute, but the parking is free and it doesn't seem to be too far from Durham. - Still waiting to hear more about pay rate/differentials/incentives but I've read a lot about UNC Rex paying better. Is that the case? I don't want to pick a position solely based on pay rate, but I also want to be able to manage my bills without losing my mind (completely) - There are multiple leadership positions open on this unit... is that a bad sign that it's an unstable unit? I don't want to work in a floaty/unsafe area and would feel more confident working in an environment with a very solid team. I know nursing can be transient, but it just threw me off a little... - Does UNC Rex have the same benefits as UNC Chapel Hill? I also had a really great interview with UNC Chapel Hill Neuro ICU, but that was a while ago and I was told there is a hold up from HR on hiring. Last I checked they said I'm still being "strongly considered" but still have the HR issue which is vague and has no known time frame, so I can't afford to decline offers in the meantime. OK, whew, sorry that was so long. I really didn't expect back to back offers so I'm trying to decide which one is right for me.

@mmc51264 My boyfriend is moving with me and I think overall we'd rather pay more for a nice downtown apartment than pay less and commute to pay for closer parking. We are both moving from a bigger city environment so we'd like to be in a more active/downtown area of Durham, with walking distance to restaurants, shops, etc. So far I've gotten some good advice on biking in and my bike has a motor so it's not necessarily serious pedaling the entire time. I'm definitely going to look into cheaper remote parking as well, especially for inclement weather days. I hope to visit the area soon, as I've never even been to Durham or Duke before. It's been a strange process just having virtual interviews due to COVID. Do you find that you have overtime opportunities on your unit? Or do nurses ever pick up shifts on other floors/float to other units for extra shifts?

Hello, I was just hired at Duke Hospital in Durham and I’m starting at the end of Summer. I was hoping to get some insight on a few things. Due to Covid, the orientation is now virtual, so I won’t have many opportunities to ask someone in person. I’m moving from out of state and hoping to get an apartment in downtown Durham. How feasible is it to commute a few miles to work? Is Durham a bike-friendly city? Trying to avoid expensive parking as much as possible. Also, does anyone have insight into the health insurance plans offered? Is the cheaper Duke health insurance decent? I don’t really have any major medical issues and just go to the doctor mainly for annual physical kind of stuff, but it would be nice to find a reliable primary physician and the cheaper insurance would require me to use a doctor within the Duke network Thanks in advance!!

Has anyone had a waiver approved for the use of antidepressants or adhd meds?

Hello, I am a registered nurse with my BSN currently working in Baltimore, MD. I have been a nurse for about 4.5 years with close 2.5 years previous experience in emergency department nursing and have been working at Johns Hopkins inpatient neuropsychiatric unit for almost 2 years. I am planning to move to the Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill area of North Carolina this fall and have been considering joining the reserves for a while with the hopes of expanding my work experience and fine tuning my skills as a nurse, but did not want to start the application process until after I move to NC. I was hoping to get some feedback from nurses who have joined the reserves. Any advice/stories/etc would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

@mmc51264 Thank you all for your response. You've been very informative throughout this process. Both jobs got back to me stating they are waiting for HR to "officially clear" the jobs to move ahead and that I am still being considered. They both stated hiring has been delayed due to COVID and many people working remotely are just returning to their offices. Something I did notice when looking at other positions at both UNC and Duke is their job postings used to mention an incentive program including student loan forgiveness, tuition reimbursement, commitment incentives, and relocation assistance. I worry that these incentives might be cut or significantly reduced due to post-COVID budgeting issues which would be so so so disappointing bc I am desperate for any and all help, especially regarding student loan repayment. When applying for positions at Duke specifically, they suggested I interview for one position at a time rather than multiple nursing positions and asked me to deduce which position I wanted more (neuro ICU vs neuro SD, so I picked neuro ICU but that doesn't mean I'm not necessarily only interested in ICU) Honestly after working in the ER for a while I discovered I enjoy and am interest in many types of nursing and am not exclusively interested in just one field, though neuro is definitely fascinating to me and most relevant to my more recent nursing experience. Anyway, I'll still check out more positions in the meantime. Is it in poor taste to apply to other positions within the same hospitals while I'm waiting for their response on my initial applications, or would it be more beneficial to check out other facilities? Thank you again so so much!

@Nurse SMS @Enarra @amoLucia Thank you all for your responses. Both jobs got back to me stating they are waiting for HR to "officially clear" the jobs to move ahead and that I am still being considered. They both stated hiring has been delayed due to COVID and many people working remotely are just returning to their offices. I'll still apply for more positions in the meantime. Is it in poor taste to apply to other positions within the same hospitals while I'm waiting for their response on my initial applications, or would it be more beneficial to check out other facilities?

Hello, I had two interviews a couple of weeks ago for ICU positions at both UNC and Duke and I felt that each interview went really well. I was given a good amount of onboarding information, including benefits package info, incentive package info, etc. Essentially I was given a new hire packet for each facility. Then... crickets. No response. I was told outright by UNC that the hiring process might be delayed a couple weeks due to COVID related issues, but it's been a couple weeks. I sent out thank you emails to both facilities. UNC responded saying they'd try to respond to me with an update by the end of last week (no update). I can see on both sites my application was accepted, I’m listed as interviewing, the job itself still says active under my applications, but when I search for the specific job via the reference code I can’t find the exact job offer on their search site I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, like they’re going to offer me the position, or if it’s not good....  I don't want to nag them, but I also am really anxious about if I'm going to be hired for either position, or if I should keep applying to more jobs. I really don't want to apply to a bunch of jobs and deal with all of the paperwork/references/etc unless I really have to, but I also don't want to miss any opportunities. I really wish they'd just give an update so I'm not in limbo It's so stressful. If you work at either UNC or Duke, have you heard about any hiring freezes, furloughs, or reduction of benefits at your facility? Or have you heard of any other triangle area facilities announcing hiring freezes, furloughs, or reduction of benefits, etc? Thanks in advance!

Hello, I had two interviews a couple of weeks ago for ICU positions at both UNC and Duke and I felt that each interview went really well. I was given a good amount of onboarding information, including benefits package info, incentive package info, etc. Essentially I was given a new hire packet for each facility. Then... crickets. No response. I was told outright by UNC that the hiring process might be delayed a couple weeks due to COVID related issues, but it's been a couple weeks. I sent out thank you emails to both facilities. UNC responded saying they'd try to respond to me with an update by the end of last week (no update).  I don't want to nag them, but I also am really anxious about if I'm going to be hired for either position, or if I should keep applying to more jobs. I really don't want to apply to a bunch of jobs and deal with all of the paperwork/references/etc unless I really have to, but I also don't want to miss any opportunities. I really wish they'd just give an update so I'm not in limbo It's so stressful. If you work at either UNC or Duke, have you heard about any hiring freezes, furloughs, or reduction of benefits at your facility? Or have you heard of any other triangle area facilities announcing hiring freezes, furloughs, or reduction of benefits, etc? Thanks in advance!

Hello, I had two interviews a couple of weeks ago for ICU positions at both UNC and Duke and I felt that each interview went really well. I was given a good amount of onboarding information, including benefits package info, incentive package info, etc. Essentially I was given a new hire packet for each facility. Then... crickets. No response. I was told outright by UNC that the hiring process might be delayed a couple weeks due to COVID related issues, but it's been a couple weeks. I sent out thank you emails to both facilities. UNC responded saying they'd try to respond to me with an update by the end of last week (no update). I don't want to nag them, but I also am really anxious about if I'm going to be hired for either position, or if I should keep applying to more jobs. I really don't want to apply to a bunch of jobs and deal with all of the paperwork/references/etc unless I really have to, but I also don't want to miss any opportunities. I really wish they'd just give an update so I'm not in limbo ? It's so stressful. If you work at either UNC or Duke, have you heard about any hiring freezes, furloughs, or reduction of benefits at your facility? Or have you heard of any other triangle area facilities announcing hiring freezes, furloughs, or reduction of benefits, etc? Thanks in advance!

Heroes Act is being stalled by the Senate (no surprise.) There are many aspects I feel are completely irrelevant to heroes and I honestly hate that they call it the “heroes act” when really a majority of the bill has nothing to do with the idea of anyone acting heroically - they’re just using the word heroes as a smoke screen. One of the few hero-related aspects discussed is hazard pay. Apparently if the bill is passed, employers would have to apply for the funding then eventually distribute money retroactively to employees. The process just seems impossible and extremely unlikely. I don’t know of any nurses receiving hazard pay, yet retail employees are striking for hazard pay. If anything we’ve had our hours cut, PTO drained, retirement matching removed completely, and any planned merit raises slashed. We’re being treated like *** and the idea of our government treating nurses and other healthcare workers as heroes is honestly a joke at this point. Any thoughts?

@A Hit With The Ladies Yea, I mean, I'm not getting my hopes up, as I also would be beyond surprised if we were helped by the government in any way... but, a girl can dream! It would be nice to know the specifications just out of curiosity. I also work psych and am a volunteer for our cover unit. I'm also a former ER nurse and am likely going to be transferring to Neuro ICU soon, which may have covid patients depending on the circumstances... I guess I'll just cross my fingers for something good to happen!

I’ve been actively following the recent proposed student loan forgiveness bills lately. When they mention “frontline healthcare workers” in regards to COVID-19, which nurses are included in that demographic and who would be excluded from that criteria? Would all inpatient nurses be considered if they actively screen/test patients for COVID-19? If patients are screened by a nurse but positive patients are required to be sent to other units with negative pressure rooms/appropriate isolation capabilities, would those screening nurses be included as they’re still at risk for exposure? Or do the “frontline” nurses have to be actively treating COVID-19 positive patients? Thanks in advance!

I've posted a lot lately, but I have two upcoming interviews with UNC and Duke Neuro ICU's. I was hoping to get some feedback about these units. Either the overall hospital or the Neuro ICU specifically. I'm hoping to move from Baltimore City to the Triangle area in the fall, but with current stay-at-home orders I don't know if I'll be able to visit the area prior to accepting a position (which is making me very nervous) From what I can tell both facilities have similar benefits, pay rates, relocation assistance, and student loan repayment benefits. UNC has state insurance and a pension, whereas Duke is private. Duke has a great reputation and offers to help pay a majority of the tuition if I wanted to get my MSN or DNP, which I likely would do if the cost was covered. Any other insight would be very much appreciated. Replies or direct messages would be super helpful. Thank you so much in advance!