annab

Lee Memorial owns 5 of the 6 hospitals in town. While they are not calling it layoffs, non-clinical staff has been let go. Nursing staff has had hours cut and OT is banned. Additionally, there has been a hiring freeze since october 07. Not a good situation really. Lee Memorial has essentially created a monopoly in town. Because they bought 2 other hospitals and have mismanaged money, staff is paying the price.

Toq, Ahh, yes you are familiar with the specifics. In addition to the ceo's bonus did you read his performance eval that was also published in the news-press? It was the most unprofessional, insider, b*tt-licking I have ever read. The Monopoly is a big problem, the purchase and building of the new hospitals and loaning the county millions of dollars to build the road going to the hospital are infuriating when the "senior leadership" is encouraging staff to take off the summer or "even the year." Do you currently work for the system? Have you been to any of the "town meetings" they are pretty scary. I think the system is in need of a Union scare or a news investigation. But, the bottem line is right now with them being the only player in town and no one able to sell their house they are really able to call the shots. Its intersting how the magnet campaign went out the door. They must know that staff would never recomend the system for magnet so why bother at this time.

I work and live in SW Florida, where we, like much of the country, are being hit hard by the economic downturn. The Hospital I work for recently became the monopoly employer in our county and there are not many other options for acute care employment. The problem, my employer is experiencing tremendous loses due to the economic troubles of the time. They are attempting to cut costs wherever possible in order to save the system. Nurses hours are being cut. Overtime is outlawed, travelers are gone. Many nurses are being e-conned and if they don't have pto to cover, then they just don't get paid. Administrators are encouraging nursing staff to take contracts for the summer and come back next year when , maybe, things are getting better. There is complete hiring freeze. Lay-offs cant be far away. So much for the nursing shortage, huh? All the sudden nursing doesn't seem like a stable career choice at all. Please, someone tell me that this is not the situation around the country. So, if lay-offs do happen I can move somewhere else to get a job (even though I wouldn't ever be able to sell my house here in the horrible market and would have to settle for foreclosure.) Are people hiring where you are? Does nursing seem like a stable career choice in your neck of the woods?

I graduated from Edison. Its a good program. Make sure to hang around with other motivated students and keep up with the work load and you will get allot out of it.

GNs/new RNs start at approx $21.5/hr at LMHS. I dont know what NPs make there.

I'm a 35 year old BSN. Before I got into Nursing I considered a military career but was discouraged to discover that past indiscretions would prevent me from becoming an officer or maybe even from enlisting. You see, my first time around in college (before BSN) I partook in a little too much partying. This included much drinking and some marijuana smoking. After college, I quit partying completely and have not had a drink, or anything else in over 10 years. Here is the problem. -I am under the impression that past drug (marijuana) usage can prevent a candidate from being granted a security clearance, which is required for officers. Also, there is no use in lying about it; besides the fact that you should be honest in the application process a thorough background check will discover it anyway. Has anyone had any experience with this. Would this prevent me from becoming a military nurse?