AugustRN501

Sorry! How did I leave out the email. Night shift brain. [email protected] ty!!

I would also be grateful for a copy of the proposal. Sorry I haven't been on in some time. Lots of OT right now. We actually got to talking about 72/80 last night at work with one of the ANMs. I mentioned that there was a workgroup nationally on recruitment and retention that is pushing for the VA to nationally have 72/80 option for any nurses that would want it. So, an ACOS could not deny it as it would be nationally implemented. Has anyone else heard this? I actually got emailed some items on it a couple months ago. I was told last night that in the unlikely event we would go to 72 hours there was no way that we would ever get the raise to keep us at our current salaries and only work 72 hours. "Because we are paid by the tax payers and they don't want to pay us the same for taking 8 hours a pay off.” Understandable. So I wonder how it will work for the masses if it is adopted. The service line I am in at my VA had to go to the union to literally push through compressed tours. And the best we could get was four 10s. With current staffing needs that has become two 12s and two 8's. Out of the three units under our service line...mine is the only one consistently pushing to maintain it. One unit only lets those grandfathered in keep them and new hires are doing five 8s and the third unit only allows five 8s. We can't even get the regular three 12s with the every other week 8……The entire rest of inpatient has them...just not our service line. This leaves me with little hope for 72/80 but I'd still be grateful to see the presentation. I can see nurses literally making VA transfers to get the 72/80 if they start becoming more available. thanks so much!

@Senchen from what I understand, they take the top three consecutive high earning years. That is not always the last three and it's not a Jan to Dec calendar year. It's the true top three consecutive 36 months. It's more of collect you top three earning years a the SF50s you got during those years, the one you got when you recover a step increase for example. They compute the amount of actual days with the amount you were earning on those days, add it all up, divide by theee, and that's the figure that goes into the calculation for the retirement amount. If you have been here 20 or more years it's a 1.1% and less than 20 it's 1%. They take that number, multiply it by the amount of years you worked, and then divide that by 12 for your monthly pension. Your FEHB and FEGLI will come out of that.

Nene, Id really like to connect about how you got the 72/80 approved at your VA. How do I get you my contact info. Thanks so much!

Hi Heather, I see you are in NorCal. Did you do the U of T RN to BSN? I am looking at Sac State or Chico. Any advice? Thank you. ( I got my AAS in New York in 2006)

Good morning! So once again at nearly 49 I think I will have to return to school if I am ever going to get promoted. After being an LVN for nearly 15 years and an RN for 11 it seems I'm hitting the salary wall. I am looking at Sac State on-line for the RN BSN as its the closest and a good program. Chico has a good rep also but it understandably favors applicants from its surrounding counties and I am one county over the line for the extra points. I have looked at WGU, Boise State, U of T Arlington, Chamberlin (expensive!!). They are all so different in the pre-reqs they want and I feel I'll be in school for 2-3 semesters before i can even start. (For my AAS I graduated back East in 2006 with a 3.85 overall with 4.0 in all nursing courses. Some of my English classes and psych are from the late 1980's though right after high school) I know I need stats, and for some programs chemistry, some want a pharm or nutrition others want art history? I haven't done algebra since I was 14...and we didn't need trig or chem back then to graduate high school. I am concerned I'll have to put in 2 semesters of non-credit math just to be allowed to try stats or chem. I am just wondering if anyone else has felt this way, had a similar experience, or has any advisements on their school...what to do...where not to go?? I work full time days...no kids at home any more. Thanks so much for your time and any feedback. Take care.

we moved "home" to western new York to spend some time with family. I took a $35-40K annual pay cut to do so. I work harder and am so less satisfied professionally for so much less money. I'm not as worried about not having the PTO since I would try to just take a week or two off between contracts to visit back here. I do have good health insurance now, BC/BS and pay about $350 a month for it. The idea about getting to spend time in places like Seattle, Denver, the Southwest...and maybe even head back East to work also and see family that way is all so enticing. As a staff nurse I was only able to hit up Portland and Seattle for a long weekend at a time...once a year...after a 13 hour drive. I really appreciate your feedback Ned. My traveler friends are giving me some good info to. Its really just fear of the unknown that is the hesitancy. (We have been our own "traveling company" for 5 years...I have worked in three states and several places in CA...as permanent staff with shorter terms up front. It was HELLA expensive moving all our stuff each time and paying all our own travel and living expenses)...

Thanks Ned. My husband and I really play by the IRS rules and don't want to get in any trouble. I have been a NM nurse before and it has been our tax home twice in the last 10 years. I don't know if we are ready to make all the changes needed to have that happen right now. The roommate idea is a good one. I thought maybe even my nephew would be interested or even one of our kids might want to move home for really cheap rent. I'll look more into this. Its all a little scary. I know what I made in CA as a permanent employee at $48/h. Everything was taxed of course and we paid for all our own food, housing, etc. The travelers I met at my permanent place actually made a less hourly wage, had paid housing and food stipend....and still made the same or even more than me. Seems too good to be true. Everyone I know who does it though loves it. My hubby is retired and we love to travel. It just feels like the time to finally try it.

Hello, I am thinking of travel nursing for 2016. We own a home with a mortgage in NY. We had thought we could just rent it out but now I understand we cant as we lose our "tax home." Then I heard we could keep it as long as we contribute to part of the mortgage/utilities, keep our NY drivers license, car registration etc and get back there 30 days a year. Has anyone heard of this? We also have an option to rent it out completely and make NM our "tax home." We have family there we could rent from and have lived and worked the before. My NM license would then return to a 'compact' license. I guess we are just nervous that I will make enough money traveling to cover our mortgage back in NY if we had to while traveling ($900 total.) I am brand new to all these tax issues so any feedback in much appreciated. oh, btw my specialties are Hospice and Psych and I do see some positions for both. I have a CA license as well as we are hoping to get there 1-2x a year. Thank you so much.

HI, Quick question related to the original post. I have most of my experience in two specialties Hospice and Psych. I have well over two years experience in both (I am a Certified Hospice and Palliative Care nurse) however my 3 years in Psych is spread over 6 years with only 1 year of it being in the last 3 years. Will that hurt me in finding psych assignments? Thank you.

Hi, I work at a home care agency on the West Coast that uses travelers. They are all very happy and really enjoy travel nursing. I will be moving back home to the East Coast in the next few months and people have suggested I look into travel nursing so I have the option of coming back to my West Coast haunts if I desired. Can I use travel nursing to get back to the East Coast? If I am going there with the intention of actually living there and leaving my West Coast address, am I still a traveler? I see travel positions in my East Coast City...can I take an assignment there, rent an apartment, then bounce back to the West Coast when I want for 13 weeks? I have heard you have to live 50 or 100 miles from an assignment to be a traveler. At least for my very first assignment I would be as I would be applying for it from the West Coast...although I would have no address here once I left. I should add that I don't have to be employed every second. With the money I make on the West Coast assignments I would gladly take some time off in between. Will that reflect on me negatively in getting work? Any feedback is greatly appreciated.