crosstanya

I recently moved to El Paso and my story is almost the same as yours. I have worked in the ER and Urgent Care mostly. Any advice?

Hi, I have been in Vegas for a couple of months and are currently working in a clinic. I am thingking of applying for a job at UMC - Adult ER. I haven't worked in the ER for about 4 years now and was wondering how your orientation went. Do they at least give you one???? Are you happy there? Any info would be apreciated. Tanya

Try jascouniform.com, they have some flare leg pants in Petite that should work for you.

I bought a couple of these uniforms today (online). I found them online at Jasco where I usually buy my scrubs. I searched on the internet for their website and read thru the sizing information and the description of the products they have. It’s says clearly that they have the RN (female) and MD (male) tops. They have unisex pants and it also tells you that the sizes are labeled for woman and that for men you go up so many sizes…… I hope that when I get these scrubs in the mail they fit, but regardless of what the tag size end up being, it’s about comfort, durability and the way they look. I don’t want to look like I have a bag over my head. I went to a local store and tried on about 15 pants from smalls to large. Some mediums would be to small and some I could drown in. It's always like this, we know this. Bottom line, read before you buy the stuff.

I know what you mean. I lived in Germany for 3 years (husband's job) and had to do Parameds (insurance physicals) and work as a CNA / MA for a doctor just to have a job. Now that I am back in the US, nobody wants to give me a chance. I have 7 years experience in ER nursing. This is very frustrating. I updated my ACLS but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I get so frustrated when people tell me it shouldn't be a problem to get a job as a nurse, they have no idea...

I am a RN from South Africa. We have two programs to become a Registered nurse. Both are 4 year programs and include Midwifery. The first is at a nursing college and you receive a Diploma in nursing science and midwifery. (This is the one I did.) The second option is a university program and you receive a Degree in nursing science and midwifery. If you go to college, you are in a class with just nurses and the cost is a lot lower. If you go to University you might have other kinds of students in your class and it is more expensive. College students have blocks of class and blocks of practical. We will work for 4 weeks and have class for 6-8 weeks and so on. When we do work, we work similar hours to what a RN is working. For example working 12 hours shifts in the medical ward for 4 weeks. 40 hour work week. The university students are different. They follow the class schedule of the university and because their classes are not just for nurses they might have class in the morning and go to work from 1300 to 1900 and then 12 hours the next day and not work again till the next week. Just depends on the hours they need and the time they have available to work around their class schedule. Like I said, I took the other route so I am writing this as far as I remember it to be. In the end we do about the same amount of practical hours. As far as I remember we both start of with the same salary (which is not good in my country). I believe that if you wanted to go further in nursing e.g. administration or education, you have to do your degree. As far as working, Critical Care Nurses do things similar to the US. We take blood and starts IV fluid. It is difficult to really compare. Some things are the same and some are different. It even depends on where you are working. Again, I can’t really talk about flour nursing that much because I have been working in the ER since graduation. The only thing that does stand out is like Suzanne said. We are not primarily responsible for assessment and listening to heart sounds like they do in the states. That doesn’t mean we don’t asses the patients.

Are you saying I don't actually have to take the course before I can sit for the exam. If I get the book, study and then after I work the hours needed, I can just take the exam??!! This is great to talk to other people about this stuff. I talked to the lady at Kaplan for a long time and was going to do it, if I could get into a job in CM. Now I just have to get the job. I was thinking of being a volenteer just to see if I even like it.

I am debating the same thing. I talked to an adviser at Kaplan University today about doing the Case Management certificate. Doesn't seem like I would be able to do the certification exam if I don't have my BSN to begin with. I might go with health information technology instead.:innerconf:innerconf

I am also looking into the CM field. Most of my experience is in the ER. I recently worked for a physician in a family practice clinic. My husband is in the military and we move a lot. After living in Germany for 3 years and not being able to work in the ER, it seems to be difficult to get back into it. Everybody wants current experience…. I found a job today for a utilization review/case manager nurse for a company with an office in town. (http://www.healthdatainsights.com/index.aspx) They wanted experience and certification, but I applied anyway. Like others have said, we have to get the experience from somewhere. I am not sure what the daily work would really be like. Can anybody tell me what a typical day would be like? What you do and what I can brush up on before I go for an interview, if I am lucky enough to get one. It would be much appreciated. It is definitely not easy changing your specialty in nursing.

I guess it is all about who you talk to. I have heard to stick with the Valley health system. That does not include sunrise hospital. St. Rose I have heard is nice and I have seen a lot of jobs advertised for them. I am in the process of applying thru an angency and working Per Diem. If I like the hospital, I will aply to work full time.

I just put in an application with Wesley medical staffing. They have a contract with the Valley Health system hospitals. I am hoping it works out okay. You work Per Diem and you choose the days you want to work. Has anybody worked for them or know anything about them?

I just completed my 2 day class this week with Medic West. They were very nice and the instructor was great. I would definitely recommend them. I plan on doing my PALS with them too. Look at their website or call them to find out when their next class would be. I also like the location; I did not have to drive down to the strip. http://www.medicwest.com/HSC%20Classes.htm#ACLS_-_Advanced_Care_Life_Support Also if you need practice on the rhythm strips, this is a great website to practice on. http://www.skillstat.com/Flash/ECG_Sim_2004.html Good luck.

Thank you. Now that the holidays are over, I will be making some phone calls.

I just recently moved to Las Vegas after living in Germany. My ACLS card has expired and trying to get a job without it seems problematic. I have tried looking online for classes. Does anybody have any recommendations where to do it? Do the hospitals accept online courses?

I put my resume on http://www.healthjobsusa.com/ before I even got my license and I got so many calls for travel assignments and local per diem jobs that I had to take it off. After I got my temp RN license in NV, I applied for a clinic job on monster.com and followed up with an email. I got a call in about 3 weeks. I had to decline the interview because they informed me that they were moving the clinic and it was going to be too far for me to drive. I think there are enough jobs and if you go to the hospitals website you will find jobs posted that you can apply for. My ACLS has expired since my last ER job. As soon as I can get that renewed, I plan on going to the hospital itself and talking to the HR people. I am hoping to work at Mountain View or the new hospital, Centennial Hills. I am still new here, so I can’t really say anything about the hospitals, I just know I don’t want to drive into town, close to the strip. Traffic is crazy busy. Good luck. I hope this was helpful.