Trinity Healthcare Staffing

NedRN · Dec 26, 2014

I've never heard of it, but it will probably involve a 2 year commitment at a forth rate hospital for poor money. Think about the why and how and the who and I think you will come to the same conclusion.

Given what you want to do, why not a major teaching hospital and get some first class training? Then you can do travel right!

CriticalCareRN1 · Dec 26, 2014

Travel Nurse Source forwarded my information to them. I'll be speaking to them today sometime. I hear you and have that "major teaching hospital" on lock. Just wanna see what they are about. Interesting concept for a travel agency. If the major hospital's can train, why can't a travel agency where they make great money off of their RN's. I definitely won't be signing a banana-peel contract at a hospital with a poorly ran ICU, when I know I can get $27/hr as a new grad and have a great experience. I already went through a poorly staffed hospital for my student nurse rotations, and don't want to go through something like that every again. I'll update this post on my findings. I will be asking tons of questions. Thanks for your reply!

NedRN · Dec 26, 2014

A service such as Travel Nurse Source make $35 to $50 per agency to forward your information to agencies. This explains a lot, and I don't recommend these "one application" services. You lose control of your contact information. As it happens, Trinity is a well regarded agency but I can tell you that recruiters hate these cold contacts. I know the world seems exciting and full of unknown prospects as a new graduate, but I'd have to be pretty desperate (and so would the hospital involved) to explore this further. The hospital will be not be a good one, or is located in a remote area where it is difficult to recruit. Agencies will soak off a good profit margin for placing you so you will be getting paid less than direct application and placement to a hospital of your choice.

It doesn't hurt to investigate but I'm sure it will be a complete waste of your time if it even is real. I used to hear 10 years ago rumors of such possibilities with large agencies but never heard of anyone who actually did it. Seems better to me for marginal new grad candidates.

CriticalCareRN1 · Dec 27, 2014

I think you may be on to something. No response from the email I sent wanting to know more about this opportunity since the phone call didn't transpire. Just gave them a taste of my accolades and experience, and maybe it was too much for what they would offer. Or maybe they have recruiters on this forum, lol.. I would love to provide an opportunity like this for new grads once I get situated. Sky is the limit. Where one door closes, another one opens.

CriticalCareRN1 · Dec 30, 2014

Well.. They contacted me. Basically, it was a way for them to acquaint their company with you as a new grad, and provide some helpful tips to make yourself more marketable as a first time traveler: LORs from all levels of management, showing documentation of knowing how to use EHR, keeping a list of skills you know how to do. Pretty much my clinical passport in school, but now a clinical passport as a working professional. The woman I spoke to was very nice.

NedRN · Dec 30, 2014

Very interesting. So they are doing this just to establish a relationship in case you go traveling years later? Nice. Trinity is a good agency.

I fully agree that you should establish a professional portfolio. I would recommend downloading a skills checklist in your presumptive specialty from PanTravelers (far better than Trinity's).

Reading between the lines in the checklist will give you ideas on what nurse managers want in a traveler. Like the ability to float.

The most important thing you can do for your portfolio are written references. As a student, I would start with professors and anyone you have worked with during clinical orientations. Once you are staff, try to get them regularly from charge nurses, managers, and directors. It is a good way to track your personal progress as a professional too in your formative years where progress is rapid. Physicians are good too, and patients are OK as fillers.

PanTravelers has a reference form as well, but at this stage, you are better off with more formal letters of reference.

CriticalCareRN1 · Dec 31, 2014

Thank you for the website recommendation. They are GREAT!! Your one-stop shop of everything you need to know when traveling. I became a basic member for now, just to utilize their forms and information. When I am near ready to travel, I will become a full member. Interestingly, they have only been active since 2007. Great minds think alike!! I'm glad there are resources for travelers like what they created. Trinity told me a good solid year, of which Feb 2016, I should be ready to go. But it all really depends on my experience and skill set during my first year regarding how they contract me on my first assignment. I'm excited and ready to LEARN how to be a great ICU nurse. I know the learning curve will increase exponentially as I start working due to my personality. Are you an ICU Nurse? How was your first experience as a RN? When did you start acquiring a rhythm in the processes of your area of interest?

NedRN · Dec 31, 2014

I would strongly recommend at least two years of ICU at a large hospital. This not only makes you more competitive, but gives you the clinical strength and confidence to survive rough assignments. You can learn as you go, but failure and termination becomes more likely. You have to understand that as a traveler, you are a hired gun expected to hit the ground running with minimal to no orientation. Forget about the support you will enjoy at a staff job.

I'm an OR nurse and spent three years as staff before I went traveling. The extra year I thought was needed to nail home CVOR (and it was). Things have worked out well coming from a major teaching hospital that did things right. No regrets at all for waiting years to travel and I've been doing it for the last 17 years. I also tested my skills by doing per diem at a few other hospitals to make sure my skills translated to other hospitals before I went traveling.

There are some hospitals that have a 18 month internship in the ICU. You would orient in muliple specialty ICUs: neuro, CV, medical etc. You would probably have to sign a three year commitment but it would make you a really strong nurse ready for anything.

Don't let an agency manage your career and start you traveling too soon.

NedRN · Dec 31, 2014

I might add that the travel market could be exploding at the time you have a year of experience. Try to resist any high paying offers and get your dues paid first. I've never heard anyone say they regretted not getting adequate experience, but lots that regretted traveling too soon.

CriticalCareRN1 · Dec 31, 2014

I definitely appreciate your comments, and they are relevant for a good majority of new grads. Times are really moving fast, and people are doing things never thought of a few years ago. You got BSN-DNP programs (dual program), and I wouldn't put it past next year for there to be BSN-PhD programs (triple program) online, and SOME of those students are very successful. I am a product of a 15 month BSN online program, that scored very well on many of HESI tests (above 90th percentile of most), with content exams nearly every week, and working at the same time. I just did what needed to be done to succeed, and eventually, through all the hard work, graduated with very high honors. You have some hospitals that won't accept online trained nurses, of which they just haven't come to the realization of current changing times in education. But tell them to look at the rigor of my program, and they will be floored. That was all said just to prove that these times we currently live in are extremely different from a few years ago. Student's are doing some extraordinary feats to accomplish things. Me, I'm just a fast learner, and very inquisitive. But I am very realistic with myself, and know my limits. But it will be a very interesting 1st year. I'll document here and there some experiences. Interesting enough, I want to be in the CVICU because I love hemodynamics. Give me all your CABG and BURN patients. I just love the process of looking at numbers and determining what to do, as well as coupling that with patient assessment. Smart nurses are we. Can't wait to start! I have a few other things I'm working on as well on the side that are in theory to be used by a majority of healthcare professionals. I'm excited about that also. I'm not your ordinary woman by far. Sky is the limit with no ceiling.

NedRN · Dec 31, 2014

I haven't made any comments that I know of about online learning. Other than the difficulty you may have with some boards of nursing if you are graduating from Excelsior.

It is fun being smarter than others. I also do very well in school with very little work. But I can tell you that becoming a nurse was very humbling. I had several careers prior to nursing and I excelled. I did not at nursing, in fact my personal evaluation is that I sucked big out of nursing school (I was top of my class too). My major stumbling blocks were organizational skills and the difficulty of doing things that are based in tradition rather than science or evidence. My brain just doesn't work that way and surgery is full of traditions without basis.

Now I'm fine and generally a great resource and knowledge base everywhere I work. But I'm here to say that new grads (especially smart ones) are often cocky and without understanding that they don't even know what they don't know.

Just a word to the wise. ;-)