AlissaO

At my hospital there are 3 tele units- one of them takes post CABG/valves and LVADs but my floor and the other just get your typical cardiac patients. Usually they're in from the ER for cp/sob or if they're tachy they may need cardiac monitoring (i.e. infection/GI bleed... not really cardiac related but it's another thing to learn about!) or if they have a history of afib they'll be on our floor no matter what they come in with or sometimes we get medical overflow. We also get transfers down from the ICUs- often after they've stabilized after a aneurysm or something. My floor has mostly semi-private rooms so we don't get too many isolation patients (yay for no c.diff!) but we end up having plenty of roommate problems, sometimes we're moving patients in the middle of the night to get them closer to the nurses station or with-it vs. extremely confused/impulsive patients out of the same room. I work nights- I usually get there right at 6:53 to clock in and quick write down my assignment and the patients' meds. I don't look them all up unless I have extra time because you can generally tell what their history is by what they're taking (and make sure all the day shift meds got addressed before getting report plus when I go see the patient I know what I'll be bringing them if they ask and know which PRNs are available to them or what I would need to get an order for). Then we have huddle at 7, then bedside shift report (plus all the extra goodies we talk about in the hallway away from the patients/families). By 7:45 I'm usually doing my first set of vitals/assessment (we have techs that do toileting etc. and take our blood sugars, we do our own vitals which is fine by me- I don't want to have to stalk my PCA down to find out their pressure before giving my meds, it's bad enough waiting for sugars some nights). Then I try pass all my meds before 10. If I can take my midnight assessment at 11 and let my patients get some sleep while I do my charting/note reading/write the report sheet for the new day/give report to the charge nurse until 5am when I can do my 4am assessment and pass my 6am meds at the same time and then give report at 7:15. Sounds simple but it never actually happens that way. Usually I don't have the chance to sit down until after 11 and then I may as well make my midnight assessment and chart them both at the same time. The evening can be a lot of paging doctors to get whatever orders you may need/want before they get too crabby, going to get your patient ice water and then going back because they only wanted ice and then going back because 'an orange juice sounds good' and then going back because 'oh I really prefer grape juice' but then again 'it's been almost 5 hours since my last BM so I'd better have a prune juice instead because I'm practically constipated', then you get cornered by a family member who wants to make sure you know their entire family's medical history and about the argument that went down 10 years ago between Aunt Sally and Grandma Ruth and how that somehow relates to the patient's diverticulosis and how (even though they've been in the hospital for 5 days) at 10pm on a weekend is a good time to bring up that their ear itches and don't you have a medicated cream for it RIGHT NOW? And one of your patients you don't know much about because they're discharged and their ride should be here any minute but then you end up spending an hour getting their ride coordinated and them out the door while you admit your new patient down the hall. Then the telemetry tech is calling you that one of your patients leads are off and they can't get ahold of your PCA and then they call that the person they just cardioverted is back in afib and your other patient just had 10 beats of VT and then a bed alarm goes off for the 5th time in 5 minutes. Or you walk into a rapid response or every single patient you go to assess also needs you to take them to the bathroom right then. It's almost always hectic but it's almost always fun. Certainly never boring and your coworkers and your patients will get you through because they're awesome. You will have short-staffed days with 6 patients, most of them heavy when you keep running out of flushes or alcohol swabs in your pocket. You will also (hopefully) have staffed days with 4 patients and be able to have conversations with your patients and get to know them and let them know they're important and maybe feel awesome for passing your meds early or be able to do something extra for them they've been too afraid to ask for. Many of the nurses on my floor are relatively new (

Thanks Ned, that's what I needed to know! For my current job as a new grad they offered no moving expenses for me (was single/not a lot of stuff at the time so thankfully moving from CO wasn't a big cost) or travel for the interview so I kinda forgot that was a thing but hopefully things will be a little different with some experience under my belt

My husband is applying for 2 year grad school programs in different areas, one being Seattle. I have 2 years tele experience and am considering looking for travel nursing opportunities there instead of typical staff jobs. It seems to me that being a travel nurse we would get help with our moving and housing expenses, I could potentially try different nursing areas (something I want to do anyway) and hospitals for shorter times with less commitment. I'm assuming I would get better hourly wage (right now make ~$30/hr). Also, I could get a better feel for the area/preferred hospitals and apply for a long-term job (be nearby for potential interviews) while on a travel assignment. With most agencies (I know they're all different) can I ask for an assignment only around Seattle just around the time I want? Are the housing/moving assistances worthwhile even? Would I be able to have my husband and daughter on my insurance at a reasonable/low rate? Are there rules about not being able to go somewhere that you're actually just planning on moving to? Will they expect me to keep traveling to other areas? Basically, will they be persnickety if I'm just using them to relocate and is it even worth my while if they do allow it? Thanks all, in advance for sharing your experience!