ddaviddudley

Sure I'll share, Earlier this year I had taken a ER travel assignment and was sent to a kaiser in Southern California. My experience there was mixed but definitely different than what I was used to. Mind you, every facility is different so this is just what I personally experienced at this particular facility. The pros: 1. Phenomenal pay. 2. 3:1 ratio as opposed to 4:1. 3. better more cleaner patients (patients and family more polite and patient and less drug dependent compared to the population I was used to). 4. A lot of other travelers there so I didn't feel alone in that regards, 5. Doctors move rapidly fast, by the time the patient gets to the bed the doctor is already there and maintains good solid communication with the patient for the entire course of their visit. 6. Staff were friendly for the most part. 7. Great charting system. 8. The facility does not receive secured code blues from the field. 9. You almost never board or hold admit holds. Patients get beds upstairs rapidly once orders are put in. The cons: 1. You have no tech, no phlebotomist, and no RT. You do everything for your patients with almost no help. 2. There's no float nurse that comes and give you a lunch. In order to eat you have to find 3 nurses that are able to take on one of your 3 patients(expect nothing to be done for your patients). 3. The lab is horrible, rude, and useless. 4. Because they have an army of doctors, most of the time those doctors have nothing better to do than to blow up your phone and micro-manage you. 5. Charge nurse does nothing except walk around and triage ambulances for the most part. 6. Float nurses do nothing except chit chat, room patients, and take patients upstairs when they get a bed. 7. The doctors have no regard for the fact that you have other patients. All they care about is their particular patient and can be unreasonably demanding(I noticed this was even worse among the specialists). 8. Almost nothing is done in triage for the patient. 9. The ER lacked that family home feel that I was so used to. At the end of the assignment I chose to not renew despite the fact that management wanted to keep me. I may travel again next year but it will definitely be somewhere different.

The solution is simple: move to a different department once you have at least one year of experience. There's so many different specialties in nursing that you can get into. Most nurses hate their first job anyways

Wow.. Amazing. So glad I read this.

Being micromanaged is definitely a strong reason to drive seasonal nurses out of the job. I had recently took a travel assignment to a facility where the doctors had nothing better to do than micromanaged the nurses. I was out of there real quick. The place is notorious for going through endless travelers

My hospital is chronically short staffed in ALL the departments. I work ER and if we get a patient that becomes ICU or DOU then be ready to sit on that patient all day as there are no beds (actually there's plenty of beds, just no nurses to take care of those beds). Were hiring new grads constantly none stop but nurses quit faster than they can be replaced. And therein lies part of the problem. Most hospitals that are horribly short staffed all the time either simply don't pay their staff enough money to retain them or don't make the work environment practical to work in.

Even me who does not work on the floor, I still deal with nurses like that who pick at the tiniest insignificant details when I send them patients from the ER. It's hard but as you gain experience over time you will develop the marketability power of being able to work wherever you want to work at. If your in one environment where there's snobby nurses who have nothing better to do than to be negative then you have countless of other facilities that you can go to where you can find a more positive atmosphere.

Even as an experienced with almost 5 years of experience I still refuse to do agency work where I'm thrown out there with zero orientation. No thanks.

I'm a new travel nurse in Southern California finishing up my first assignment which is approx 70 miles away from home. Overall my assignment has gone well but due to my schedule preferences I've chosen not to extend my contract. I recently informed my agency of this and that I would like to do some local registry/per diem work for more schedule flexibility. However, my agency is now trying to convince me to take travel assignments that are very local to me (like within a 20-30 miles). I've expressed my concerns regarding not wanting to get in trouble and audited by the IRS and they keep reassuring me that it is okay. However, I work with a traveler at my staff job who warns me never to take assignments under a 50 mile radius from my home and how he knows people who have had to pay the IRS back due to doing that. So my question is.. WHO do I believe? Is my agency lying to me or can I feel safe taking local assignments? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah I was wondering the same thing. That post seemed so unrelated to this thread.

So here's the update on my situation: I took the travel assignment and went per diem at my staff job. The facility that I'm at has actually exceeded my expectations(which were quite low initially). Patient population is much better and cleaner, patient acuity is less than what I'm used to. I am by far less busier here. Financially, I have almost tripled my income. Huge leap forward. I do miss my family at my staff hospital but I suppose my per diem days will have to be enough to satisfy my cravings to be with them.

I appreciate your response. In answer to your questions: 1. What type of hospital do you work at? Teaching, Private, Level I Trauma? Were a 148 bed level V community hospital. 2. Are there perks in your job that are better than the surrounding hospitals? (benefits, schedule selection, raises)? Better charting system, more schedule flexibility. One hospital nearby has issues with lack of supplies, facility being old and outdated supplies, problems that we don't have. 3. Are you able to be a travel nurse? (no kids in school, spouse/sig. other that needs you to stay in one area) Wouldn't be able to travel to other states but I can definitely do within 100 mile radius. 4. Are you being realistic in house hunting or are you looking out of your budget for a house? If I stay within my budget I can't find anything that I or my wife likes. 5. Have you evaluated your expenses to see where your money is going since you have to work so much OT to get by? I can get by without OT. I just can't live comfortably without it. And I can't have a decent savings without it either. In regards to your questions on what I value most, money or a great work environment, I value a great work environment more which is why I've stayed at this hospital for the time that I have and have not gone back to the correctional system even though I was making 2000 dollars a month more there. However, I do value my health more than my work environment and I feel that my body is slowly breaking down with all the work I'm doing. Fortunately I do have the option of staying at this hospital per diem to keep my foot in the door.

Hello all, I'm in a little bit of a dilemma and figured I would come here for advice. Here's a little bit about me: I live in California and graduated back in 2010 and started my nursing career somewhat rough. Took my first job in a SNF which was a total nightmare and one hour away from home. After 3 months I left that job for a state prison job which was 2.5 hours away. Money was great but location was horrible(middle of nowhere), staff and patients were horrible, and the schedule was horrible. After 11 months of that I was let go and worked county juvenile hall which had its own set of problems, mostly with staff which ultimately resulted in me getting let go. Things finally took a turn for the better when my old classmate decided to contact me and recruit me to come work at her ER. Though it was always my intention to start in the ER right out of school, not having any experience forced me to work non hospital jobs. So I took the opportunity, interviewed, and was hired in a few days. Now 2 years later, I'm still at the same ER and I have to say that it has been the best job of my life. I absolutely love the people, get along with most of the docs, have plenty of autonomy, have a wonderful cool boss, great schedule.. Everything I want in a job except 1 minor and 1 major problem. The minor problem is that the job is 40 minutes away from home. Not too bad considering that almost every job I've had in the past has been far from home. The major problem however is that this hospital is the lowest paying hospital in its area. The pay is so low for the area that the hospital is ALWAYS losing staff all the time and always hiring. I don't make enough to buy a house (at least one that I like), I have to always pick up overtime just to live comfortably. But it now getting to the point to where all the overtime in working is starting to affect my health. Even the person who brought me on board has left for a better paying hospital and now she's able to just comfortably work her 3 days and make great money. I guess what makes the decision difficult is that I'm so reluctant to leave my comfortable work environment to just end up in a frying pan. But on the other hand, I'm killing myself having to always work all this overtime. So I have 3 options.. I can stay where I'm at and continue to kill myself working endless overtime, do travel ER and make great money working just 3 days a week, or try to apply at other ER's that will at least pay decently.

Quality of care is at risk of becoming compromised once you exceed 3 patients. At 7-8 patients, your stretched so thin to where I couldn't see how you could get anything done in a timely manner. The max I would take on is 5. Anything more than that and I'm putting in my resignation, real quick.

North Dakota.

Coming from someone who took a 2 thousand dollar a month pay cut.. Great money doesn't outweigh a great work environment