Stacy67CP

PhilWayne, My friend cannot even get me hired, sorry my first priority is self preservation. I have been looking at places I can drive from Northern UT and do 3 or 6 shifts in a row, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Las Vegas. This is why I'm trying to convince you to look at other places. The Job market here is just sad. I don't know for sure, but from looking on the internet Colorado needs Nurses and I know they pay far more than UT. Las Vegas needs nurses and they pay very very well. Why do you have to come to UT? I had to come because this is were my Mom and Sister are, but if they weren't here I would be where the jobs are.

I have a friend who is a manager, and the old system of knowing someone is been replaced by a ranking system. This is how IHC now does interviews: If a manager wants to interview you HR will say that you ranked 68 out of 267 applicants, and if the manager wants to interview you instead of interviewing the top 20 + you; the manager now has to interview all 68 applicants. Most managers are so busy that they cannot take the extra time to interview another 40 people, so who you know isn't helping.

PhilWayne, She graduated from the UofU early spring of 2012 with her BSN. Since she worked for the U in a non medical area, so the U paid for part of her tuition which put her in a contract with the U. She could only apply for jobs at the U, in turn the U takes her first over a equally qualified applicant. Just for FYI, she does have hx as a medic in the military, so she is experienced. She applied for every RN position from homecare, to internships, to critical care. She was finally hired in Jan 2014.

Utah has an overabundance of Nurses. Every Community College, University, Technical Centers, Business Schools, and now we even have "special"nursing schools to become an RN. The average job opening will receive over 200 qualified applicants, not to mention all the rest that apply. The facility's know that they hold all the cards, and the pay shows it. I spoke with a Director at a local University and they stated right now the best way for Utah nurses to get hired is to leave the state. They said they have never seen so many unemployed nurse's, and it may last 3-5-10 years. On a personal note a friend graduated with a contract that she would be hired by the hospital that helped with her tuition. 2yrs later she was finely hired, rather than be released from her contract. So don't move to UT.

You do have to concider is your area over saturated with Nurses if it is, then yes 30.000 is way to much. If the area you live is desperate for nurses then it is acceptable.

It seems to me the reasons you are getting the heavy case loads is because you ARE skilled enough to handle it. The others are already freaking out and they don't even have your load, can you imagine what would happen if they actually had those patients. You sound like a wonderful nurse, and if I needed palliative care I hope you would be my nurse.

Back in 2000 -2004 I worked for the worst manager ever. This manager made my life a living hell to the point I would not answer the phone on my days off. The staff would rather work short then have her come help, because she was so incompetent as a nurse. It was such a hostile work environment, but I thought I could prove to her my worth..... I was wrong. I still have nightmares about working for her, and all the rotten, cheap shots she took.

I think that you have a brilliant idea. I do have some thoughts for you, since this will be a one nurse per patient/family you should have an form that the patient/family fills out that tells all about likes and dislikes, personality, family dynamics... That way you can fit the nurse with the patient better. Give a "Get Along Option" after 5 patient contacts if the Nurse or the patient/family does not feel comfortable with the other a new Nurse will be brought in. Then the first 5 contacts will be billed at 1/2 price, if a new Nurse is requested by the 2 contact there will be no charge for those 2 visits. (or something like that, just a thought) The nurse should be involved with hospice on behalf of the patient, that way if the patient needs home O2 hospice can arrange for it to be provided and billed to Medicare/caid. A team outlook with your Nurse and the patients DR being team leaders. You need to find a way to get as much billed out as possible. Are you going to charge by the hour or by assignment (ie: DX:COPD, prognosis 3months to live = cost $6,000.00) I would start looking at small home healthcare businesses a talk to them about what does it take to start billing insurances, medicare, medicaid... Reality the majority of people cannot afford self pay medical care. I know it will take a lot more time and energy to get billing, but I think in the long run it pay of big. Good Luck

Here are a couple: While I was at Triage I had a woman ask to be seen, she had no CC. She stated that she was driving past the hospital and remembered she hadn't had a pap in >3yrs, but she had extra time today. All I could say was OK The next one was a teenage Mom with her 1 month baby. The Mom came in asking for sleeping pills for her child, because he/she did not sleep through the entire night. The ER DR. did do a full check up on this infant to make sure there were no signs of abuse, and the infant was healthy. This next one needed to come to the ER. Think of the flag pole scene in The Christmas Story, well this is the rest of the story. I was at Triage when a Mom came running in carrying her son with a bloody cloth in his little mouth. The Mom explained that they have a very old fridge with a small metal freezer inside, and her son got his tongue stuck on the metal freezer part. The Mom was so scared she quickly jerked her son off of the freezer causing a chunk of his tongue to left on the freezer and a bloody mess of a tongue. That poor little guy. The Dr.s did work quickly to stop all of his bleeding.

Oh man no one ever told me the ER could fix my cellulite, that would be one hell of a job benefit.

To meanmaryjean Thank you, sorry to hear about your cut in pay it's not right to cut pay.

Is there a Nursing shortage in your area or is there an over abundance of Nurses in your area? In northern Utah (Provo, SLC, Ogden...) we have an huge over abundance of Nurses. A manager friend said for every position she posts as open, she receives 200 applications. We have a very logical reason, every University, community college, technical school, and career training centers have a Nursing program. Meanwhile those same schools have waiting lists to get in, they still advertise how great a career in Nursing is (which it is). What area do you live? Is it having a Nursing shortage or an abundance? If you are having a shortage what incentives are being offered to new employees? Are facilities increasing their pay? If you are having an over abundance, have you noticed a difference in how facilities treat their employees? If you are not employed, how long have you been looking? Thank You All For Your Time :)

In Utah (the Wasatch Front) the starting wage for an RN is $21.80 for all area's of a hospital. They do pay shift and weekend differential. The hospitals do not pay more for a BSN. I did receive a job offer in Las Vegas, ER, I have 11 years experience, starting me out at $41.00; after shift and weekend differential it went up to just slightly under $45.00. I am unsure if there is a pay difference for BSN.