Greetings readers! I am now working on an assignment in Riverside California!
Working the burn unit wasn't so bad after training my stomach to deal with looking at burned flesh and the pain people suffer during dressing changes. That took a few weeks...lol. Well everything was wonderful on the burn unit until 10 weeks in when the manager was asked to give me a reference. I thought sure why not, I haven't had any real issues on the unit...the staff is pretty nice, so I shrugged it off. This asshole gives me the equivalent of "needs improvement" in all of the categories and reasoning included "we have talked about him about issues multiple times, he is a diva". Ok lets get some things straight, I was never approached about ANYTHING working on this unit! Usually as a travel nurse, if you things people don't like working on a unit YOU ARE MADE AWARE IMMEDIATELY! Not 10 weeks into an assignment, hell if its the 2nd day you are made aware! 2nd off, how professional to call someone a diva? Ok, how about some proof and documentation. There was none because it was fabricated in this guy's imagination! I am an adult and I will own up to my mistakes but this guy here just had it out for me. So to conclude New York and the burn unit: Night staff was great, Managers can kiss some dirty assholes. How unprofessional and conniving!
California!
To be honest I don't know how in the hell I ended up out here! The original plan was to stay home for a few months and chill then travel...then the plan changed to stay home and try to get a position on at the hospital I started at then apply for grad school, then the plan changed to I am leaving Thursday to start work on Monday.My recruiter was very pushy but I had to break it down for him that I am doing this on my merit and I will leave when its my time and lets just say my time came. My recruiter has been almost fired at least 5 times within the past 10 months but always manages to make up for things before I can compose the email!
I did 2 telephone interviews and was given 2 offers. One in Riverside close to LA and Mountain View, south of San Fransisco. I went for the higher paying job with the night position. Mountain View sounded great but they wanted day shift ICU and I don't like working day shift at all! The position I am currently working is officially titled "ER holding" however, we are taking care of the critical patients there. To describe ER holding it would be like purgatory. You aren't quite in ER hell but you haven't made it up to the floor yet lol!
This unit will be very hard to work in because there are no unit norms, you have to deal with ALL of the doctors (WHO ARE NOT ON TEACHING SERVICE) there are no supplies or IV pumps! However, it will be interesting because I will probably be taking care of all kinds of different illnesses. I will say this, I will not rush nor will I be pushed to make a mistake because they are trying to "move beds". I can already see the time coming where everything and everybody will be rushing except me! Somebody is going to be pissed off but frankly I won't give a damn because i'll tell yall like I told one of the supervisors out there: When im sitting in unemployment line because of a lack of a license this hospital isn't going to help pay my bills.
The computer charting SUCKS! Whats is it, Meditech or something! ITS SO SLOW AND IT LOOKS LIKE MOS DOS! Its horrible! I can say this about NYC, the computer charting at that hospital was impeccable! Everything was computerized, orders, vitals...hell everything except consents! It was wonderful! At this place you have to interpret MD chicken scratch and guess on scribbles! Its a nightmare and I have very little patience for it! Thank goodness for unit secretaries!
Well I have already had a semi run in with one of the trauma surgeons. He was being a smart ass-asshole telling me of what the nurse before me should have told me and so on and so forth. In the true Brandon way I told him in an ideal perfect world things would be the way you said it, unfortunately thats not the way of the world. What these people will learn about me is I am in the business of taking care of people. When I hit the door, me and how I feel is left in the streets! It all becomes about the patients! So if I have to make a call 2am that is what I am going to do! If the physicians don't like it then they should go work at a teaching institution JUST LIKE I PLAN TO DO IN 12 MORE WEEKS! I WILL NEVER EVER WORK AT A SMALL NON TEACHING COMMUNITY HOSPITAL IF I CAN HELP IT!!!!! Also they will learn regardless of what they do at this little community hospital, I am a world class nurse and give world class care. No short cuts, no laziness! The foundation I stand on as a nurse is a strong one and I will never ever compromise it for some crazy doctors, nurses or charge nurses. Didn't do it in Texas or New York WILL NOT DO IT IN CALIFORNIA!
So get ready folks! I am sure to have plenty to blog about working in the little hell hole! At the same time I will be open minded and make it work! LOL!
BS RN
Omg!...this reminds me of my hospital. In spite of the BS.. trust there are advantages and disadvantages in both situations. what would you say are the advantages to working at a teaching hospital?
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Thanks for the comment Baby RN! I think the greatest benefit of working at a teaching facility is the accessibility of the medical staff. I know working in ICUs of many teaching institutions the residents or fellows were never a knock, page or a phone call away from the bedside. There was always a MD in the building or on the unit. If a patient needed to be intubated, central line initiated or pressers started the resident or fellow would make the calls and thing would start being put into motion immediately! I feel at this hospital there is very little physician support and it really does suck for the patients. Teaching facility require a certain level of care because they are teaching young physicians to master their craft. I can't wait to go back to one!
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