CARCAM75

For the 2 I've been to, I can say they were great with travelers. Bayfront Med Ctr/ All Children's/ Morton plant Mease countryside

I'm on assignment at Bayfront Baby Place right now and it's been an ok place so far. Also my first travel assignment was at Mease countryside in safety harbor and they were ok also. I've never traveled through the Baycare mobile pool but I've not heard any negs from those I've worked with.

I just completed a travel assignment at Mills Peninsula hospital in Burlingame CA, on LD unit. They are Sutter and the first time I've work for that organization. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed my assignment! The staff was awesome, pts were great, docs great... Hospital seemed organized enough, no floating experienced or heard of while there, and they ensured staffing was always appropriate, offered OT fairly, treated travelers great, etc. I would gladly take another Sutter assignment to see if this experience holds true for the other Sutter hospitals.

I'm in LD at Mill Peninsula in Millbrae/ Burlingame area. Great hospital, great staff, fun environment. San Francisco right next door (like 20 mins)... Lots of travelers extend here and stay as staff. I've been to Bakersfield Memorial in Bakersfield CA and hosp was ok, the city was dry and dusty as hell, reminded me of an old western- was glad to get outta there. I'm not a Kaiser fan, but KP Roseville Medical Center was a nice location and not to far from Sacramento.

Hi, thanks for replying. I actually did an assignment there on the LD unit and it was cool, staff is nice, location sucks big time - very, very dry and dusty -was glad to get outta there, but people were nice. Memorial was busy while I was there but they cancelled my contract after 4 wks due to low census - go figure. I would recommend the assignment though.

Flex Care staffing has some stuff. My recruiter there is Alicia. FlexCare Travel Nursing - Home.

Hi, Are you at Valley Medical Center? I did an assignment there on LD in 2009. It is still my favorite assignment to date!! I stayed there 9mos, I loved Renton!

Thank you so much for your reply Chrystal. I'll be going to Bakersfield Memorial.

I just did that last month, drive from FL to North Cali, just made a road trip out of it with hubby. Great drive across country. I ALWAYS drive because you never know how an assignment is going to go. Secondly, parking in NYC can be costly and scarce so depending on where your assignmt is you may just want to fly and commute while there.

Did you end up going to Bakersfield? I'm considering a travel assignment there for LD. How was the area/ hospital, etc? Bakersfield memorial is where I'm considering. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

Hi, I'm considering a travel assignment there as well in LD and would love to find out how it is there too. Hopefully someone will reply. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

Yes Mursinary.

Congrats on returning to the road!! I also just came back to travel nursing from a 3yr hiatus. I'm in Cali on assignment and I'm clearing $1300+ weekly. I'm with AMN on this assignment but will go with Fastaff for my next one. They are known to pay $2800 weekly or more. Message me if you want more info.

I've traveled to both coasts and live in FL. Florida is beautiful but the pay sucks as both staff and traveler. But it is the prettiest state I've been to thus far. I like NY for the pay, the city hospitals disappointed me because for all the innovation and stuff they are reknown for, I found that they suck in patient care. I worked at Montefiore in the Bronx and that was an ok assignment that I'd return to. I worked at northern Westchester community hospital in Mt Kisco and that was a really nice assignment. Westchester county is BEAUTIFUL - they housed me in Yonkers in a really nice apt bldg on the Hudson River. Seattle Washington (really Renton WA -15mins outside of Seattle) so far is my all time FAVORITE!! The pay was GREAT with no state taxes. I spent 9 mos out there and Washington is just BEAUTIFUL! The people are very friendly and very diverse and I found that the state really cares about healthcare and family and does a lot to promote both. I am currently in Northern California on assignment - I start on the unit on 9/7, lots of Orientation - so far I really like the city I'm in (Roseville) and find the people to be really nice and friendly as well. I hope the assignment goes well. I hope this helps you decide where to go next. :-))

I worked there through Fastaff back in 2010 in LD. I liked it and hope to go again now that I'm back on the travel circuit! They housed me in Yonkers at a really nice apt on the Hudson River.

Considering an assignment on Labor & Delivery unit at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland CA. Anyone ever worked there? How was it? Appreciate your input! :-))

Hi All Nurses!! :flwrhrts: I am once again seeking advice/ direction/ info... I am currently on assignment here in Renton,WA, working on L&D at Valley Medical Center. GREAT ASSIGNMENT!! I've been here since November of 2008 and have renewed 3x!! Being an East Coaster, I can say that I THOROUGHLY enjoyed my stay, my apt, my surroundings (OH SO BEAUTIFUL HERE) and the people/ staff/ docs at the hospital and surrounding areas. Everyone is so friendly. HOWEVER.... I am TERRIBLY missing my EAST COAST family and friends. I am presently looking for an assignment (yet again) in New York for a September start. LOVE NYC in the fall and winter!! I've already done an assignment in the city and was not thrilled about it. This time around, I'd like to do an assignment on Long Island or in Westchester... Looking to be in the suburbs this go round. Has anyone done any travel assignments out on Long Island or in Westchester for Labor & Delivery? Can you tell me which hospitals are out there? Can you tell me which agency you got the assignment with? I'm with American Mobile and it seems that all of the hospitals offered by the main agencies (Am Mobile, RN Network, Cross Country) are in the city (Manahattan), Brooklyn, Queens... haven't heard of any on Long Island or the suburbs. Greatful for any info you can provide. Thanks a Million! :dncgbby:

Hi, While I was in nursing school I knew that I wanted to work L&D ONLY (and 12hr Nights on top of that) after I graduated. I lived in Ft Lauderdale, FL and when Jackson Memorial Hospital (Miami, FL) came to recruit senior nursing students for hire close to graduation time, I asked what possibilities there were for me (a second semester nursing student) at the hospital. It turned out that they had Nurse Tech positions available for nursing students who had completed their first semester of nursing school (where we had already learned the skills of taking vitals, changing foley's, making beds, etc.). It paid about $12hr I think and they had positions in L&D, Med Surg, Burn Unit, ICU, Trauma, ER and some others and the regular shifts 8hrs, 12hrs, days, evening, wknds, etc. You weren't required to work at the hospital after graduation, it was just a regular job. I took advantage of the 12 hr nights position on the L&D unit at Jackson and although it was a 30min -1 hr drive coming back to Ft. Laud at the end of the shift (traffic was horrendous) it was a great experience! The nurse tech position there, restocked the linen in all the rooms, transported the babies to the nursery, transported patients to the post-partum units, etc. The LPNs there did the recovery fundal checks (after the RN did the initial fundal assessment post delivery) and cleaned up the moms post delivery so that the nurses could chart and if there was an issue with the patient post delivery, the LPN would assist with "catching" the baby and providing tactile stimulation until the RN could get over to the baby. (The LPN was totally an extra hand at delivery when another RN couldn't be there. This was not their customary role). Because they knew I was in Nursing school and desired to do L&D, they sometimes let me insert foley catheters under supervision, and do the LPN stuff under supervision of the LPN. Not only did this give me valuable training, but it did expose me to things in L&D that though I didn't understand then, I understand NOW as a practicing L&D RN. Jackson is a very big, very busy, Level 3 Trauma, Community based, Teaching hospital in the heart of Miami, FL. I would suggest that you seek the hospital in your area that is as busy and apply for a Nurse Tech position there on their L&D unit. Even if they don't have that position for L&D, try to get in anywhere you can - cause sometimes if you're already in the hospital you can see openings (not publicized) that other units have that you may qualify for. Let them (nurse mgr, nurse director) know on the L&D floor that you are a nursing student with a desire to be an L&D nurse on graduation and they may "create" an opening for you. Then try to work the hours that you think you'd be interested in as an RN. The experience for days is different than the experience for night shift. I don't know anything about Maine, but maybe your city isn't the busy city and the neighboring city is. Don't be afraid to venture outside of your city for what you want. You will have to be aggressive whatever you do because nothing is going to be laid out for you. If I didn't speak with the recruiter, I wouldn't have known about the tech position available and after I brought it up , the subsequent time they came to recruit seniors, they made a point to speak with the lower classmen as well about tech positions. You just never know.... Good Luck!

LOL!! Yes birth plans can be excruciating for the Labor Nurse and everyone else involved. The approach that I take is I sit with the patient and spouse/ Significant other, etc and I read over the birth plan with them. Even if someone else has done it - like the MD/ Midwife, etc - I like to go over it again with them because I will be the labor nurse tending to their care 90% of the time and it is I who will be immediately intervening/ harrassing/ throwing a wrench - possibly- in their experience. Its also been my experience that sometimes the providers mislead these patients into "Oh yeah, we can do everything that you want, bring on the birth plan. It's totally your experience and we're going to jump through hoops to accommodate you when you come in to have your baby." The labor nurse makes or breaks the entire laboring experience of the laboring patient. I ask questions as to why they don't want an epidural and/or pain mgmt - a lot of their reasons are based on misinformation from friends/ family members/ television/etc. I then correct any misinformation that they have. Then I tell them what they can expect from their experience here on the labor & delivery unit, immediate recovery period (the fundal massages and why we do them) and a little about post-partum processes (I don't do postpartum and so I tell them only what I know). I inform them of the reasons why we intervene and inform them of the importance of monitoring fetal heart tones while they are laboring, tell them about the mechanism of contractions and how they affect the baby - dilatation and distress - tell them what our interventions are in case of fetal distress (the turning and oxygen application, fluid boluses, possiblitities of needing and Intrauterine pressure catheter and/or and internal scalp electrode). I tell them why we give the erythromycin, vitamin K and Hepatitis B immunization shots to the babies post delivery, etc. (It never ceases to amaze me how little factual knowledge pts have compared to the inaccurate info they come in with regarding baby meds/immunization,etc) As I go through the birth plan with them I inform them of the requests that are possible to incorporate, impossible to incorporate (sometimes they are high risk patients and they request no monitoring, no interventions of vital signs, etc. and that is just not going to happen for a PIH pt) and a definite NO -GO to incorporate in their care. I answer any questions that they may have and what I don't know the answer to I tell them I don't know but I will find out and get back to them. I get the answers or have someone (doctor or counselor or postpartum charge nurse, etc.) come and explain further, etc. At the end of my little information session (I usually do this on admission if I am getting them fresh from triage or when I get them at shift change) they are more informed about the reality of what to expect on the labor unit, they understand the SEVERITY of the labor process - it's not like TLC and Discovery Health programs portray it to be (I hate those laboring programs) - they understand why I need to intervene like I do WHEN I do and they are more compliant. Over all, they don't stress ME out while I'm caring for them (because they know why I need to do what I'm doing and when) and they get as much out of the laboring experience that they want. More than anything, they KNOW that I'm not trying to take anything away from or ROB them of what they would like to accomplish. They still feel empowered and in control of their labor experience. The birth plan is just another way of the laboring patient to say I WANT TO BE IN CONTROL OF MY LABOR EXPERIENCE. By letting them know what is possible and not possible, they feel like they still have some control of the situation and they really value that they've taken part in their care. I think laboring patients get so caught up in the NATURAL is GOOD, MEDICAL is BAD that they come in with an attitude against the medical establishment when it is needed. I always tell them, we don't sit around as medical staff and say, 'Oh she's really comfortable , lets go see how we can mess that up' or 'You know what, lets just go have a c/s for the hell of it'. When we intervene, it's usually necessary. Otherwise, we would leave you be. When I was in nursing school (a short while ago, I graduated in 2006), one of the biggest things (and MOST VALUABLE thus far) that I learned was patient teaching. An informed patient makes a great deal of difference in the caring process. The caregiver wins and the pt wins. Another big thing that I learned is that it's not a bad thing to admit that you just don't know. Nurses aren't omniscient. We are human. Never act like you know everything. When you don't, say you don't, but always say "I'll look into that for you" or something to that effect. So the patient knows that you actually care. Some labor nurses will probably say, wow, she has enough time to do all of that? No, I don't ALWAYS have enough time to do this counseling/ education, and as with anything else, some patients can receive this information and some can't. Everyone doesn't have the same thought process or learning ability, but you still have to assess your patient and the situation to know when is the right time to say X, Y, Z. However, the additional 15 minutes on admission or at shift change that you spend educating the patient, makes up for the 5-10-15-30mins or 1 hr of your shift overall that you'll spend back and forth in the patients room fighting with them when/if you need to intervene. Overall, I say all of this to say that the birthing plan doesn't have to be a big ole scary monster..... we can change it to a Shrek or a Sully :)) (Those of you who are fans of the animated children movies Shrek or Monster's Inc. will get that analogy) Thanks for reading!

In all of the facilities that I've worked in the placenta and cord are first examined/assessed by the OB and then sent to pathology. Fetal autopsies are optional and left to the parents decision as to whether or not they would like one performed. As you can imagine, a fetal demise at any gestation is very distressing to all parties involved (nurse, doctor and especially parents) and more emotional the closer the baby was to term. The autopsies are neither encouraged nor discouraged. The parents are simply informed that the option is available and then measures are taken to assist with their grieving process. I read somewhere in this post that the autopsy rate is decling. I would imagine that being because many parents don't want to further "distress/ damage/ disfigure" their demised baby. They just want to grieve the loss and heal leaving the baby as intact and whole as possible. The mental and emotional strain is just too great. Very few of the patients I've dealt with choose to do an autopsy.

Hi Keri, How is the assignment for USVI going? What hosp and dept are you nursing in? I'm an L&D nurse and I've also entertained the idea of doing an assignment there. Did you go alone or with spouse/ sig oth, etc.? What agency got you the assignment and how were/are the locals? Thanks.

Hi GradRN, If you go to the National Council for State Boards of Nursing website (it is a GREAT reference for nurses https://www.ncsbn.org ), you can find a link on the left side of the page for Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) https://www.ncsbn.org/nlc.htm . This is a good link to bookmark because it provides the most recent info on the states that belong to the compact license agreement. While on this site, you can click on the link at the left side of the page that says "Participating States in the NLC" ( https://www.ncsbn.org/158.htm ) for the most recent listing. IndigoCarmine is correct in stating that you have to be a RESIDENT of a state participating in the NLC in order to receive a nursing license that is also a compact license. Unfortunately, FLORIDA - my home state- is NOT a participant in the NLC.

Hi LilyRose - I am by no means a negative person and I tend to find a silver lining in even the worst situations, but NYRH tested my "stick-to-it-tiveness" from day one. It seems like each shift I had to talk myself into NOT walking off the assignment. Why didn't I? Because I'm not that type of nurse, I'm a great documenter and I don't have a problem speaking up when I need to advocate for my patient or protecting my license (like when a resident told me to "just throw a bag of normal saline IV fluid into the microwave to warm it up" for an amnioinfusion). You asked.... here is my answer: A little about New York Roosevelt Hospital. It is a community hospital (Level 3 Labor, Level 3 NICU). They do about 5000 deliveries a year. Patients come to the unit and are triaged (5 triage bays), then admitted to Labor and Delivery from there. They have separate Antepartum and Postpartum units, 3 L&D/ ORs, 13 labor rooms (LDRs). They use the QS system for OB charting, PRISM for their medication administration recording (and non-OB unit charting), and Pyxis to dispense the medication. The RN draws the blood for labs upon admission and do IV starts. LR is the main IV fluid used on the floor. They are a teaching hospital so they have residents (years 1-4; the 4th yr is the Chief; the pt's OB is the Attending. The Labor nurse catches the baby at delivery, takes a set of vitals for the baby then transfers the baby and pt post-partum within 2 hours of delivery. In the OR, the Labor nurse circulates, the Pediatrician from NICU assesses baby and then the Labor nurse resumes care of pt and baby until patient is transported to Recovery/PACU. Report is given to PACU nurse (only 1 PACU nurse is in the unit for 4 PACU beds) for patient and Labor RN transports baby to nursery then reassumes assignment on the labor unit. The staff is NOT very supportive here, the Labor nurse ALWAYS catches the baby and tends to mom during a delivery (no charge nurse or baby nurse help provided here - MISS THAT!! ) . The work is simple enough but due to lack of teamwork, charge nurses that don't leave the RN station due to laziness, lack of supplies (ie: no baby blankets - we wrap the babies in folded adult blankets; 2 thermometers on the entire unit - that you can hardly find when needed; blood pressure monitors that don't always work - you pray your Pre-eclamptic or PIH pt gets the 'working' room; computers in rooms that don't work properly; 2-4 computers on the entire unit that allow for charting your administered meds - which are almost always being used by nurses or docs surfing the internet and playing videos from YouTube when you need to use them), Anesthesiologists that don't want to do their jobs - apparently, depending on the Anesthesiologist and the day, it is not the job of the Anesthesiologist to respond to a beeping epidural pump and OB residents who don't always know what they are doing, etc, the majority of the time the environment and your shift tends to be VERY stressed! So, this is NOT a hospital that I can recommend and after a conversation with a travel nurse friend on assignment at Mt. Sinai Hospital, this seems to be a trend amongst NYC hospitals, I will not be doing another assignment in NYC. I think that the non-teamwork, non-caring attitude stems from the fact that hospitals here in NYC are unionized and so the attitude 95% of the time is "That's NOT my job". Seems no one will work outside of their "role" much less DO their darn roles. ANYHOO, It's over for me..... I came, I conquered (with prayer and lots of support from family and friends), and I skipped- to-my-loo while dancing a jig out the door Wednesday morning when my last shift ended!!

I just completed an assignment on L&D at NY Roosevelt Hosp..... I couldn't get out of there fast enough!! Started counting down my contract days after my FIRST shift.... I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOSPITAL FOR L&D ASSIGNMENT!!!!

Hi Bedpan! :) Thanks for your well wishes. This is my first time on the West Coast, but not my first travel nursing assignment. It's actually my 4th. My first was at Morton Plant Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor, FL. LOVED IT!! I get excited about ALL of my assignments because a new contract equates to a new experience... a new adventure. I just love travel nursing!!!