Travel nurse contract - stay or go? Please help...

[jsallen]

I am currently on assignment at an unnamed hospital in LA in the ER and from day 1 it has been an absolute disaster! My first day I walked into a code minutes after it had been called overhead and no one was doing anything, no compressions, no ventilation, no meds, nothing! So I started shouting orders and ran the code myself. Then my second week here I looked at the assignment board and noticed I had a new patient - I went to the room and he was ashen gray, diaphoretic, with chest pain and shortness of breath. He was not on a monitor, no ECG was done, no 02 - and he came to me from triage where a nurse had already seen him... Then the cherry on top of it all was Monday night. I had a patient come to my room in SVT - he was diaphoretic and had been in SVT for 24 hours or more. We gave cardizem and adenocard and got him back to sinus after about 15 minutes and dozens of PVCs. Then I walked out to mount my rhythm strips and a staff nurse walked to the nurses station asking where the crash cart was so she could check (it was 7p shift change.) I told her it was in my room still on my patient and she said "okay" then walked away. A minute later I hear screaming from my room - I go check and long story short she "checked" the defib at 150 joules WHILE IT WAS ON MY PATIENT and then lied about it...

Now.. the first several incidents scared me but this one absolutely terrified me. Had he gone into a lethal rhythm, I'm sure she would have tried to blame it on me and who do you think they'd believe - their union member or a traveler? So now I'm not sure what to do. I've followed all protocol with my agency by reporting everything, having the appropriate meetings, etc, and they will let me out of the contract without too much hassel because of the "unsafe working conditions" but should I leave because of this? If I do leave, should I stay with my company (who has been pretty much terrible up until this point also) or go with another company? I'm from a level 2 trauma and the hospital I'm at isn't trauma at all... and I started traveling to learn. Another company I'm talking to says that they have openings at UCLA and Childrens which are both Level 1 and the company I'm with says they feel that my current assignment is "too overwhelming" for me. Well.. I'm not overwhelmed by the assignment, I'm overwhelmed by the stupidity... :/ Help??

[79Tango]

I would re-post my resume and start looking for an exit strategy.. I would bet you are not the only one that has raised these concerns. Your agency is most likely powerless to whats going on and probably feels lucky to even be staffing there (sometimes Unions will not allow travelers). The only thing they can do is send a replacement if you leave.

By the way--Do you have Mal-practice Insurance? You might want to think about that.

[RNewbie]

Wow...sounds pretty unsafe. I would end the contract and move on from the agency if you are not satisfied with them.

[GleeGum, BSN, RN]

get out.

[GleeGum, BSN, RN]

and who checks a zoll at 150 joules? i keep thinking about you and this situation. hope you are doing ok.

[Worldtravelgirl]

I work at a hospital in LA, and I've been appalled at the nursing care provided. It's very scary here. I haven't been here long, and I'm looking at going into travel nursing to get my feet wet in other places. I hope you've gotten out of your contract. As far as other hospitals to stay away from in CA, I've heard horror stories about Cedars Sinai. My suggestion is to get out of CA completely. Lovely state, but horrible nursing practice. Pt safety, your license and your sanity are way more important that enjoying the overpriced sunshine of CA. I can't wait to get out of here!

[GleeGum, BSN, RN]

Actually, I've enjoyed 4 assignments in California. Great ratios and breaks. (Not been in LA). Beats my East coast experiences.

[Worldtravelgirl]

The ratios are fantastic, but the nurses are terrible. You haven't been in LA, so you haven't seen the bad side of it. I guarantee it'll be as worse, if not worse than, the East Coast. I can't wait to get out. I'm actually thinking of doing traveling nursing because at least I can do my three months and run.

[GleeGum, BSN, RN]

Oh, yes, nurses can make a difference. I believe it! I hope you have great traveling experiences!! And sometimes you can get a 8 week contract.

[Worldtravelgirl]

Thanks, Glee! I didn't realize you could do shorter contracts! I think the biggest fear I have is not working for a teaching hospital. I've been a nurse for over two years, but I'm afraid I'll work with really unsupportive people, and have crazy ratios that I can't keep up with. I just need to take the dive and go!

[GleeGum, BSN, RN]

Some hospitals are better than others, some more friendly than others. I decided LA wasn't for me and I went to NYC but in a pediatric ER so it was friendlier. Message me if you want. I'm happy to answer any questions or help in any way. I'm on my 6th assignment in two years. It's been a good experience. A good season in my life.

[Worldtravelgirl]

Glee, thank you! I'm having such a hard time figuring out whether or not I should take the dive and mainly because I've only been at my current hospital for a little over a year. I don't want my resume to look terrible, but I also don't want to remain unhappy.

I don't think I can PM yet as I haven't made 15 posts yet, but I think I'm well on my way. I have a TON of questions, and would love your input. I'm DYING to go to NYC! Have you found that continuing to get assignments is difficult? That's my biggest fear, making sure I get my hours and making sure I don't have gaps between employment. My student loans won't allow that! I'd post my email, but I don't want the whole world to have it. haha. I'm glad you decided against LA. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of fun things to do here, but it's just not what people make it out to be. Do you find that you get assignments at a lot of teaching hospitals? That's so important to me.