chey

Yes, it is a quiet forum. You might try the Delphi forums... they're a bit busier sometimes, but I don't think they go by state like this one does. Anway, I went to school in Wisconsin, at UW Eau Claire. Good luck with everything! -chey

Well, my first travel assignment starts in a month, and I cannot believe all the paperwork I have to fill out! Feels like hundreds of forms, trying to find all sorts of information that I don't remember (my addresses for the last 7 years! like I remember all the places I moved in college!), have to get some titers done, TB skin test, statement from my doctor, notarized eligibility to work papers, picture for ID... It's so stressful; I'm starting to think I should have just moved to CA myself and found a regular job! Did everyone feel this way when starting a first assignment?!? chey :sofahider

Hi! I will be taking a travel nursing assignment in CA, with the thought that I might move there permanetly. I might also do a couple other assignments around the country after this one... but I see myself eventually in CA. I do not anticipate ever returning to MN, where I currently live. I do not think I can maintain any sort of "tax home" here in MN as I currently rent and will not be keeping any sort of address here and will not be coming back to visit. I suppose I could say that I live with my parents in WI as a tax home... but I doubt that would hold up to IRS scruteny. Has anyone been in this situation? I've read about filing as an itinerant worker, meaning "wherever I go, there I am" and that's my tax home. I've read that this would cost me lots of $$$, but I'm not sure how... the agency is providing me with an apt. Would I have to pay tax on the apt $$$ if I made CA my tax home? Even if so, CA state tax is 6% and 6% of, say, a $1500 housing pay is $90... not fun to have to pay, but not the end of the world. Is that all the penalty would be? WI state tax is higher than CA so maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing? VERY confused... can anyone help? Thanks, Chey

:yeahthat: If I'm going to get up, put on my scrubs, drive to work, park, work a shift, then drive all the way home... well I might as well work 12s and only have to do all that 3 days a week instead of 5. If you consider that the drive and prep time takes me about an hour per shift (and it could easily be more if you have a longer commute) then I avoid wasting two hours of time a week by working 12s. Love them! Wouldn't work anything else.

Hi! I was recently told by a travel nurse I work with that, because of the labor laws in CA, nurses (even travel nurses!) are paid time and a half for any work over 8 hours even if they are working scheduled 12 hour shift positions. Has anyone heard of this? Sounds too good to be true. I'm on the verge of accepting a travel assignment for Stanford and I would think the recruiter would have mentioned this as a selling point? That extra $$ would be nice... Thanks! Chey

Hi! Can any travel nurses in CA tell me how this works for travel nursing? It would be pretty darn cool if I could get time and a half for the last 4 hours of the 12 hour shifts I plan to work as a traveler in LA. Thanks! (suppose I could post this question on the travel nurse's forum...)

Hi! I am thinking about doing travel nursing in CA, and just looked over the CA board of nursing web site about the walk-through program. Could I really move to CA a few days before an assignment started and just get a walk-through temp license? Would it be better to send a bunch of stuff via mail first, or better to just do the walk-through? Just trying to make it as easy as possible... Thanks! chey

Hi! I'm a RN and have been working in Minneapolis for over three years. I've read a lot of the past posts on this list and thought I would post my perspective on some of the questions that were brought up: What are the best hospitals to work for in the Twin Cities? I would for sure recommend the hospital I work at, Abbott Northwestern. We're union here, so the pay is very good and there's no manditory overtime and lots of protection for nurses. Generally we are treated pretty well. I wouldn't recommend HCMC, as they are *not* union and I have heard from friends that their staffing ratios aren't as good and they have manditory overtime. What are the staffing rations? At Abbott on a cardiac/telemetry stepdown unit I have 3-4 patients on day and evening shifts, and 5-6 patients at night. I think med/surg tends to have a few more. What is the pay? Starting at Abbott I made about $22 per hour (I'm a BSN and that does pay a little higher here). After a little over three years I make $27.90 per hour. There's also a $4 per hour night diff. and $1.25 weekend diff. The overtime pay is nice- time and a half, unless you get over 12 hours, then it's double time! Is it hard to find a job? When I was applying as a new grad three years ago I didn't have that tough of a time. I only applied at one place other that Abbott. There seems to be a lot of demand in telemetry here, and they are willing to train new grads. I'm a BSN, and I don't know if that made it easier. What do you think of the union? It kicks butt! Sometimes it's bad when that makes it harder to fire nurses who are truly unsafe, but mostly the protection is very, very nice. I was not a union fan at first (the $50 or so a month I pay them kinda hurts), but it's worth it for the higher hourly wage and all the job security. The union really backs you up if you need it. What's up with the rotating shifts? I have no clue. They suck. I worked them at first, but now I'm straight 12-hour nights. There really aren't any nurses at ANW or any other hospitals in the cities I know of who work straight days- those positions just don't seem to exist unless you work clinics or something. I kinda thought all nurses had to rotate shifts, until I read more on the boards here. I don't know why the union hasn't done something about that... nights is my shift of choice anyway, so it hasn't bothered me much. So, hope that helps someone! Sadly, I cannot handle the winters anymore and am moving down south... I'll miss the job, but not the weather. chey