CC NRSE

the pay will probable not be good. That area doesn't pay well. where are you going to be working? Didn't know they were using travelers now.

It really just depends on the school. The best thing is to try and find someone attending that school or someone who has interviewed there. Most of the school want to know your skill level and how you will pay for it. Some schools have a panel of people conducting the interview others will just have one or two. There is a forum web-site much like this one but I don't know the name right off. You might do a search and see if you can find it. Good luck!! :-)

it just depends on where you work. some ccu's have very sick patients. balloon pumps and the works. others are very mild. sometimes i don't mind getting a float from floor. other times i really don't have the time to keep an eye on their patients. if your not comfortable,.....dont do it. you could really get into alot of trouble if there are more than a couple of bad patients in the unit. it's not fair to the nurse or the patient.

actually, several of the hospitals I have worked have used the "oral protocol". This usually involves Peridex (a mixture of mouthwash and peroxide, also called cholrahexadine) every three hours. They did have evidence based studies that showed decreased hospital acquired pneumonia but I am not sure where they got the info.

It means they have added everything back into the hourly rate. For example, you will get $30/hr + $5/hr housing for a total of $35/hr. You really have to watch them about this. They can be pretty sneaky. If you are interested in it the best thing to do is call and have THEM break it down for you.

yes, the working conditions are very unfortunate. it is a beautiful state but they don't respect nurses. you are absolutely correct about the bon. i have heard horror stories about obtaining license there. it used to take as long as 6-8 weeks but now you are suppose to (by law - enacted by jeb bush) obtain a temp in as little as 30 days. i have still heard of people having problems if they didn't push to get their license. i guess they just assume that b/c florida is a destination state they can pay and do what ever they want and people will still come. there are a few good hospitals there, but they are few and far between. that is why i travel. tampa is a nice area, i hear tampa general is a good place to work but couldn't tell you from personal experience. i have worked at mortan plant in clearwater and can say that isn't bad. i can't help you with the salery b/c i was a traveler at the time.

there is a lady from pensacola, fl who had one a couple of years ago (2001). she did have some difficulty along the way, but made it through. i saw her in the hospital one day when i was working (she was visiting someone) and she looked great!! :) she was at university of pittsburgh medical center in pittsburgh for her surgery.

well, the staffing ratio should be 1:2 but when you are short or have call ins, this is what happens. they don't believe in closing beds. that means patients must go to other hospitals and they lose money. they had rather work the poor nurses for little money and no help. i can't say those patients are less acute either. they don't staff based on that. if your thinking about orlando, stay away from the florida hospitals. they are also known for that type of treatment. i'm afraid closing beds in florida is almost unheard of. they just don't do it. i had a friend who refused a thrid patient and was told by the manager she probable needed to find another place to work. the next day she transfered to pacu.

i don't think they use their icu nurses as float pool simply b/c they don't have enough of them. at one time (last summer)they were using alot of agency. even then the staffing ratios for icu were 1:3. it is also a hca hospital which typically means short staff and low pay. most people choose to drive to pensacola to work.

angie, i am so sorry.......... your friend truely is lucky to have you.

the answer to your question about your friends father won't "fit", most ct tables will only accomodate a patient weight of 400lbs. the other issues,..if his pupils are blown, no cough, no corneal or gag reflex,....chances are he was down to long and suffered an anoxic injury which he will not recover from. there probable was no eeg preformed because these are pretty definate signs knowing the history. i have seen this many times and can't recall seeing anyone recover. (although that doesn't mean this is the case with your friend's dad.) your friend could insist on an eeg just for her own knowlege and sanity. i don't think that would be out of the question. she just needs to understand even if he is not clinically brain dead (no wave activity) he may never recover any more than what she sees now d/t the injury already substained. also keep in mind,...your friends dad may not be sedated with anything. if he is not responsive, then there is no need. sedation would not indicate the pupils being blown. when did this happen? i am very sorry this happened. it is always a difficult situation.

if the family has stated "comfort care only" then you shouldn't cont accuchecks, labs, antibiotics, ect. sometimes if the patient has been on oxygen,i will cont it.(more for the family, for some reason it seems to make them feel better) otherwise, i only give morphine (or painmed) and ativan (if ordered) prn. i would clerify with md regarding orders and if he told you to cont accuchecks, i would remind him of the families wishes. if he insisted, i would go up the chain of command. also you could ask the family if they wish to cont. them (if md still wants them). usually, they will say no.

i agree. of course tell me the pertinent information (they do have a foley, trach, ect.) but don't tell me breath sounds, opinions on family ect. i will figure that out soon enough and had rather have "just the facts". as far as neuro, (i realize it is different if you have more than two patients,) but i personally like to do a bedside assessment with the oncoming nurse so there is no questions as to what is new and what has been. only thing i want to know regarding an assessment is if something is abnormal and has been that way. that way i am not calling the md about something he/she is already aware of. (no pulse in r foot, cool to touch but no pain, been that way for 10 years!!!)

yes, there is away around the 6 month quarantine. by having a rabies titer drawn 6 months before you plan to go to hawaii, you only have to quarantine your dogs for three days. problem with that is, what is available now (jobs) may not be available in 6 months. if i remember correctly the titer was a little expensive. (it could only be sent to a certain lab. university of kansas i think??) i would love to go to hawaii, but not willing to spend the money on a chance they might have a job for me. at least it was that way last time i checked. it may be different now because that was a couple of years ago. good luck!! :)

I think that recruiter is full of crap!!! You never accepted the position, just agreed to be submitted. These are two totally different things. Please do tell us what company and recruiter this is so the rest of us will know to stay far away from them. There are some really good companies out there. You shouldn't have to put up with the threats. Just be thankful you didn't take an assignment with this company, or at the least, this recruiter. It is very important to find a company and even more important to find a recruiter you can trust.