I've been researching travel nursing for over a year now and keep seeing people mention how low the current pay is. I'm so close to taking an assignment, or would be if I could just find one that pays well. Some recruiters recommend that I just take "whatever" to get an assignment under my belt, but honestly, I don't want to take just anything. I have a few years in at a large teaching hospital (level 1) and I'll be honest, I'm cool with going to a small community hospital if needed. I want a reasonable paycheck though. It has to be a lucrative situation if I am going to be paying bills in two locations. I recently applied for my CA license and realize it will take awhile to actually be approved. That's okay, no issues there. I am, however, a bit confused with the pay there. I'm in a few of the Facebook groups for travel nurses and when I see recruiters post new contracts, some of the net weekly checks are under $1500 in CA (some way under). It's so bad that I'm actually considering just applying for a staff job instead of a travel contract once I get my license. A quick Google search will bring up the union contracts and pay scale. UCSF legit pays over $73/hr base at my experience level...and I'm only a few years in. Recruiters are a whole different ballgame as well. I've been talking to a few and even went as far as to complete all the paperwork, skills checklists, references, etc. One recruiter specifically was trying to push me to take a position in MA where my net weekly pay would be less than $1200 a week. I was pretty clear from the beginning regarding income requirements. It's insulting and I feel like I'm dealing with a car salesman. What is everyone's take on those FB groups? Is that where bottom of the barrel recruiters and positions are posted? Am I coming at this from the wrong angle? Is this the wrong time to get into travel nursing? I've seen a lot of experienced travel nurses express that the pay packages go up and down based on needs, which makes sense. A lot say we are at a low point and that it will eventually go back up, but I have been watching for over a year and do not see any improvement. How long do these low points typically last for and is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
Depends on who you talk to. OR was not my first choice but has worked out well for me personally. Upside (or possible downside) is no nights, downside might be the call requirements for some. Only one patient at a time, but you are always thinking about the next surgery, and sometimes the last one.
Yes, it is technical but it is amazing how far basic nursing can take you in a procedure or service you are unfamiliar with. That said, it takes even longer than ED to achieve basic competence and longer yet to be good at it.
Switching would definitely need to be a long term plan. A teaching hospital will offer the best orientation and broadest experience. Most reaching hospitals will have a 6 to 9 month internship with more possible if you want a superspecialty like open hearts. Count on two years to be comfortable. Likely you will have to agree to stay at least that long anyway before they will put so much work into you.
Your ED training will help you. But you may not feel like a "real" nurse in the OR. No immediate gratification like you have now saving lives. Part of a team instead of solo (effectively) practice. The rewards are not as great with the possible exception of pediatric surgery (my own opinion fellow OR nurses). We don't follow the patients and seldom know how they end up, or even the impact of our personal practice. Not much awake interaction with the patient or family, although your short time with them is very important.
You will have stress, just different. Surgeons, anesthesia providers, and scrubs can all act out and the nurse is the room manager making sure everything works out. Acting out is not perhaps common but folks can get tense. But you have a lot of tasks to manage and prioritize - perhaps you see some similarity to the ED here.
No, it is not more difficult than being an ED nurse, it just takes longer to become proficient - a lot of stuff to learn!
It's so hard for me to imagine anything more difficult than learning how to manage the ED. I went straight from nursing school to a large level 1 teaching hospital in MA. It involved a cross country move and I knew no one. It's one of the most difficult things I have ever done. I realize I don't know much about anything regarding other departments, but the idea of only having one patient at a time seems like a breath of fresh air compared to multiple unit players, confused nana with explosive diarrhea, the super chill patient with the overbearing family member, and the psych patient that needs a 5 and 2 and some restraints stat. I've actually thought about going to the OR. Do you think it's harder than the ED or just more technical?
Your post made me laugh, but seriously explore other areas. There are plenty of other areas that are harder than level 1 ED. Do you circulate in the trauma bay? That will help with transitioning to the OR. If you are referring to hard as in stress... Peds anything(the parents), Rehab, LTACH, Psych, High risk OB, and Neuro ICU (crazy confused patients, nutty families, no meds to sedate, patients in the bed out the bed, I could go on and on)...
Heart, Trauma and transplant OR are probably the more gratifying ones that I have done. You have a pt thats going to die and reverse the course with pretty immediate results. Yeah, some die but the ones that are on the brink and you help bring them back are quite gratifying.
From what I've seen, most new grads in the ED have at least worked as a tech in the hospital. I literally went straight from nursing school to the ED without any previous hospital exposure (besides clinicals) and it was difficult. I'm not going to lie. I feel like nursing school teaches you a knew language at a very basic level. It's one thing to "learn" it, it's a whole other story applying it within a new culture. Toss is heavy patient assignments with high acuity, strong personalities, a lack of staff, etc. and the situation is compounded.
I have yet to be trained in trauma, but I obviously get the trauma patients once they are moved out of the bay and into the ED. "Here ya go, hun. Here's your train wreck. Ta ta!" Then you board them for half your shift because there are no beds in the ICU while simultaneously turning over the rest of your assignment twice. Don't get me wrong, I like a good challenge. You really don't know what you are capable of unless you go outside your comfort zone, but I am not going to even attempt to pretend that the ED is easy. I'm sure other areas are difficult too, I just have yet to experience them. :)
That is much more intense than my presumption of your personal difficulty level. Kudos on survival, most would not.
I've never even been a housewife or secretary so my organizational skills sucked out of nursing school. Landed in a high stress unit with a previous success rate of one out of three (unbeknownst to me). I made it one out of four. HR took over and I thought I was gone. Instead, they offered me a choice of specialties.
I couldn't see quitting (also at a major teaching hospital) after putting so much work and heart into a nursing degree so it was their decision. But my situation was not as bad as yours and my rationale could be yours too preventing you from moving on. I might suggest a call to HR anonymously to ask about options and advice. More risky to ask your manager, but if you have a good relationship with her, it might be a good idea. Especially versus the crazy option or the open window. Your health is important too.
I'm reading much of these posts with a furrowed brow. You'd think ED nursing was easy or perfect
for the new grad. I can't imagine working in the ED! I know I couldn't
handle it; all the drunks, crazies, people who have no business being there + the really sick patients, and then babies and kids to boot. I'd lose
my mind. I'll stay in ICU, thank you very much! ...As far as traveling goes, I was looking into travel nursing a couple years ago and noticed that travel companies seemed to offer less now than when I did a brief stint as a traveler 20 years ago. Thought that was kind of weird. Supply and demand I guess, eh?
NedRN
1 Article; 5,785 Posts
Depends on who you talk to. OR was not my first choice but has worked out well for me personally. Upside (or possible downside) is no nights, downside might be the call requirements for some. Only one patient at a time, but you are always thinking about the next surgery, and sometimes the last one.
Yes, it is technical but it is amazing how far basic nursing can take you in a procedure or service you are unfamiliar with. That said, it takes even longer than ED to achieve basic competence and longer yet to be good at it.
Switching would definitely need to be a long term plan. A teaching hospital will offer the best orientation and broadest experience. Most reaching hospitals will have a 6 to 9 month internship with more possible if you want a superspecialty like open hearts. Count on two years to be comfortable. Likely you will have to agree to stay at least that long anyway before they will put so much work into you.
Your ED training will help you. But you may not feel like a "real" nurse in the OR. No immediate gratification like you have now saving lives. Part of a team instead of solo (effectively) practice. The rewards are not as great with the possible exception of pediatric surgery (my own opinion fellow OR nurses). We don't follow the patients and seldom know how they end up, or even the impact of our personal practice. Not much awake interaction with the patient or family, although your short time with them is very important.
You will have stress, just different. Surgeons, anesthesia providers, and scrubs can all act out and the nurse is the room manager making sure everything works out. Acting out is not perhaps common but folks can get tense. But you have a lot of tasks to manage and prioritize - perhaps you see some similarity to the ED here.
No, it is not more difficult than being an ED nurse, it just takes longer to become proficient - a lot of stuff to learn!