stanford hospital in palo alto, ca

ncneuro · Apr 19, 2010

I just finished my very 1st travel assignment there! What area will you be working? I worked on E2 ICU, so I can tell you plenty about that.
So, Palo Alto is in the south bay area, about 30 min south of San Fran. Who knows where you will be housed. I know people housed in Foster City, I lived in Mt View (Silicon Valley), some are in Sunnyvale, Redwood city, Palo Alto, etc... Some of the permanent staff actually live in the city of San Fran & make the 45 min commute to work. For me, Mt View was too surburbian....but that's just me.
I have several friends who signed on permanently after a travel assignment. For me, I just liked it...didn't love it. But I think it's a good 1st assignment. They are traveler friendly, the docs were all nice, and the nurses are professional & intelligent. I was impressed with them. But, it depends on the unit you work.
The bay area is awesome. You will like it. The weather is sunny, but in San Fran the fog brings the coolness & winds. You are close to Napa Valley too...make sure you go there this month, I hear it's pretty in Oct.

Hey there- I saw you were a traveler before at Stanford in their Neuro ICU, E2? Im thinking about taking my first job there and was wondering how you liked it and the typical pt population you dealt with. Was there trauma too? How many beds? Mostly SAH and strokes? Just trying to get a better feel for the unit. Also, did you get pulled to other units often? Thanks so much!

wanderlust99 · Apr 20, 2010

Hi ncneuro, E2 is a great unit to work in. Very busy high acuity patients but you have tons of support so it makes it ok. Only bad thing I didn't like was you have to stay in your patient's room and someone will let you out for breaks (2 15 min breaks before lunch, then a 30 min lunch, then a 15 min afternoon break). So you get your breaks which is good. You just call for a float if you need anything. Sometimes I felt like I was in prison! ha. But it's traveler friendly. And I know they hired a bunch of travelers as I was leaving...maternity leave, etc... I would say 30% is neuro patients...I came from a strictly neuro ICU so it's definitely not like working in a neuro icu. Lots of septic patients & abd surgery type pts, you'll get a liver transplant pt maybe but post op day 2, some trauma..but no cardiac. You will be the first to float to North ICU which is their cardiac unit..but will take care of pts similiar to the ones in the e2 ICU (surgical types). I'm sooo glad I worked there, I learned SO much and their nurses are the BEST and brightest IMO! It's actually called Neuro/Medical/Surgical/Trauma ICU...so you get quite the mix of pts.

One thing to be aware of is through the grapevine I've heard they make strike soon. CRONA is their union and the hospital is starting to post positions for possible short term positions if a strike should occur. It's not a definite thing..but it's a possibility. Check out the CRONA website, they're on facebook too. I'm not sure what to say about that? Maybe some other travelers can give you advice about that. But it's a definite possibility in the future for them to strike.

wanderlust99 · Apr 20, 2010

Oh and I floated to North ICU maybe a couple times a month...which is nothing compared to what I'm floating to now. You'll never float to a tele unit or floor which is a major plus.

snowbiggie · Apr 21, 2010

I know that stanford pay possibly strike in the near future, I would like to take a travel contract sometime there in the future. Who staffs stanford for normal travel contracts

(not the pending strike)?

ncneuro · Apr 21, 2010

Thanks so much for the info! I just wanted to talk to someone who worked there before, I am coming from a strictly Neuro Surgical ICU and I didnt want to get in over my head for my first travel assignment dealing with different types of pts I dont normally see. I do have 4 years of experience and work at a Level 1 trauma center and are pts are very high acuity. Im looking for a unit where I can learn more but not drown! Good to know they are a supportive group there! I cant believe you are not allowed to leave your room! Crazy! Do you chart everything in there? Hmmm. What drips were commonly used on this floor and did you have a lot of SWANS and PRISMA? Thanks so much!!

wanderlust99 · Apr 21, 2010

Not a whole lot of swans were used, no. I would say I saw them on my patients maybe a few times a month..and I'd always ask someone to remind me how to wedge and shoot CO. :) I don't know what Prisma is... Alaris IV pumps, Philips monitors. You do chart in your room, they use Epic computer charting..MD orders, meds are scanned, and your charting. I liked Epic, but you know some don't like computer charting.

Most of the patients have standard orders for drips..they use the usual. They do Nipride (which we didn't use in our neuro ICU), Levo, Neo, Cardene, Epi, all the usual stuff.

Did you work at a teaching hospital? Lots of residents there, nice to staff, and disrespectful behavior towards nurses doesn't happen there.

It was my 1st assignment and yes it was kind of scary at first dealing with surgical/medical type patients, but I ended up liking them more than neuro pts. No q1hr neuro checks:) It's a good unit to work on..and most will say you become spoiled after working there.