Okay everyone let's help Aaron and ourselves by posting reviews. I have done hospitals and companies. I think he has worked hard getting this all together for our benefit. I know I use what other travelers say about companies and assignments to be sure that is where I want to go and with whom.
It doesn't take long. For those who have done reviews I thank you. Helps me make the best choice for me.
Yes, let's all do it!!!!!! I just did, and I think this site has really great potential! Just takes time to get the information in there. Go go go go!!
Please,Please more of you experienced travelers review the companies. I am an 'old' nurse but a new would-be traveler. I'm age 48 and years of life and especially psych nursing have made me really wary of lots of hype. I went on the review site but there just weren't enough reviews. Maybe 5 or 6 per company.
Some had none. Currently I am talking with American Traveler, Healthcare Staffing and PSR also under Crdentia network.
I am doing all the research I can. Thanks for your help.
Interview a company just like they interview you...Ask them to send you their resume.. Have them send you the employee handbook.. It's different from your contract but just as enforcable. Have them send you a packet. No on line apps.. I don't give out all my info to any company. Have them send you the handbook for the insurance,medical, dental, life, malpractice, worker's comp etc.. Also, any info they have on 401k or other retirement vechile they might use..
Ask them for references.. Ask them to have one of their nurses call you and tell you about them..
That's a good point WindingRoad. Not only are you interviewing with them, but they are interviewing with you as well. Just as they can hire you or someone else, you can hire them, or go somewhere else. It's getting to be a competitive business, and some companies are not for everyone. Some companies benefits are geared more for one type of nurse compared to the other, so to all who read this, don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions, and as WR mentioned, maybe even talk to another nurse that works for them.
That's exactly why we created our Review section. It's first hand experiences from other nurses. So PLEASE, rate and review every company and hospital you have worked for. This is a perfect chance to help others out.
As I only do chronic outpaient hemodialysis I don't have any hospitals to rate except Danbury in CT and again I worked only the dialysis unit.
I believe many travel nurses need to take off their blinders and realize hospitals and their units are not the only travel opportunities out there.. Dialysis is a kewl field.. I don't work nights ( I know many like nights) I don't float ( again if you just love floating disregard) I don't work for some ASSociation that sets the fees a unit can expect. I don't have to worry about the unit be sold often...etc... It has it's pros and it's cons.. I just think the pros outweigh the con's hand's down..Never made less than $35 ..And actually made $37 in Nevada.
Windingroad, that is food for thought. I am just wanting to get into traveling. Have mostly done ER (6 yrs), 1-2 yrs dialysis experience but last did dialysis about 16 months ago, do you think dialysis places using travelers would be interested, I know it would not take much to pick up again, but travel agencies I have talked to act like I've been out of dialysis too long and just want to talk to me about current ER positions. Just currious as to your opion since your are currently in dialysis. Do you have any trouble finding travel assingments in dialysis? Thanks
I think your better bet might be going with a company that specializes in dialysis.. Which machine are you familiar with.. The concept of dialysis is like driving.. Just whether you're driving a standard or an automatic..
Can you assess a patient? Do you know the s/s of fluid overload? Brush up on the meds.. Only about 3-4 we give during dialysis.. The Fresenius 2008H has been around for years.. So if you used it you won't have trouble getting back in the saddle..
I only had one full year of experience before I traveled and no charge experience. I am the only licensed person in the unit I am in most days..
Try these two companies.. They specialize in dialysis.
Dialysis is in a critical state as are other areas of nursing. It has just taken a little longer for dialysis to feel the shortage. As I stated before it's not a typical way of nursing.. No Sundays, no nights ( yes we are doing nocturnal but not much) stable pop, much fewer admits, bond with patients, become an expert etc..
Winding......... Thanks for the reply! I am not a bit concerned about assessemnt, puting pts on/or taking off etc. Just would need to be refamilarized with set up, mx checks etc... I was an acute dialysis nurse for about 1 and 1/2 yrs in a 2 bed icu unit, no tech or anyone esle but me, set up, ran pts, broke down mx, sterilized etc......And yes! it was the Frecineos 2008H, cool! I didn't know if a lot of places going to Cobe because easier to set up without the bicarb jugs etc. I will check the two places out that you mentioned. Thanks! BTW do they give referral bonus? I would be glad to mention you if you would like.
How long have you been doing traveling dialysis? Sounds like you really enjoy most of the time.
I have been traveling since July 2002. I worked in Danbury CT chronic inhouse unit.. Fresenius 2008H. 17 weeks. The Norwalk CT Gambro Cobe3 13 weeks.. The Carson City DCI Fresenius 2008H.. 6 weeks. The 20 weeks SF Bay area Cali. Davita Fresenius 2008H. Now in NC Davita 2008H.
Davita staffs very lean.. CT has staffing ratios for dialysis units ..Half the staff has to be licensed. In Danbury we were all RN's...Cake walk. Union hospital. They are building a new unit and will add six stations.. Fresenius and Gambro wanted to buy them out.. HMMMMMM
Fresenius is fazing out the H and going to the K..I would love to learn the Phoenix...
RCG bought out NNA.
I love my dialysis patients cuz I can fuss at them and mother them..LOLL
Winding..... okay, great, will post and let you know if I do something with qt or foundation. My hubbie and I are going on a 7 day cruise to the Bahamas next week for our anniversary so I won't get involved in any searching until after that.
Anyway, I worked for Gambro, they started leaning more toward the Cobe lately but I can't see them chucking out all the mx's just to change. They burned me out and I went back to ER. When I started working for them I was to have 24hour a day call mon-fri with every weekend off, and believe me mon-fri had plenty of 16 hr days! But then needed me to take 2 weekends on call, so I basically had about 4 days out of an entire month that I was not on call. Then to add to it, made me start covering a 2nd acute unit at another hospital 45 mins away. So here I am with 2 beepers, four days a month without call. I'd be at one facility running a pt and getting beeped by the other facility-geez! When I told them I was quiting they begged and begged, offered $1.00/hour raise to stay (PLEASE!). So that's why I got back out of it, I did get attached to the pts and still see some of them from time to time in the ER, they all tell me they really miss me.
That's why I don't do acutes.. I work 12 days a month...5 days off every other weekend... I work Wed Fri Sat off Sun then Mon Tues Thurs ....Then off Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues...
I am working for the same company another RN is working for. (she referred me & we have the same recruiter). She has GREAT housing, BEAUTIFUL furniture, & a microwave. I have great references, work lots of OT, & the hospital is aking me to renew. But my housing is less than desirable & the recruiter won't change anything...unless I pay to move myself & pay to upgrade my furniture. Of course, I'm going to keep on traveling but I am going to change companies. Good luck!
They are trying to get it off the ground..They have an opening for a director of the program. They want an HR person...
They offered me $30/hour.. I am making $35 on the outside with good bennies too..Nurses in Cali are making that with OT after 8 and DT after 12.. Why would any of them go somewhere else for straight $30/hr? I had a guy call me in Sept 2002 about it and they still don't have it working.
Davita also staffs license wise very lean. I dilayze 36 on MWF with an LPN to give meds and 5 techs..Many days I am the only licensed person in the building. On TTS I dilayze 26 WITHOUT a med nurse and only 3 techs...I have worked in Davita units as a traveler ( not for them ) for a year now.. Time to move on to Gambro..
The down side is that you probably have to go where they tell you to go.. And all those licenses can be a PIA..
I would rather work for a travel company and pick and chose my assignments.. Davita has all it can do to do dialysis let alone trying to run a travel division
IMHO..
WR,,, three commas for Becca
P.S. Many days I have patients to boot..And Davita's treatment sheet sux...Big time... OMG.. If techs can't do catheters, like they CAN'T in Cali you are gonna get your hands dirty...
I am new to the travel world and loving it! I am getting ready for my third 13 wk contract in California....I dont for see myself ever going through any other agency than PULSE! They have helped me enjoy life again! Thanks Pulse and Thank you too Nick Cunningham...the best recruiter in the world....CIVICU JON jadamsthern@hotmail.com
HAVE BEEN WITH THE SAME CO FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW.I HAVE THE
BEST RECRUITER.SHE'S ALWAYS READY TO LISTEN AND DOESN'T SPAZ OUT EASILY.THATS WHAT KEEPS ME WITH MED.EXPRESS
I do see one or two problems working Davita's Travel Program.
One it took them forever to get it off the ground, two you probably would have to go where they send you, and they have all they can do to dialyze patients let alone have another division.. Also, Davita staffs very lean on the licensed side and if a tech calls out they have no replacements. So you as the charge nurse become a tech and do charge that day.
Actually Davita doesnt sound too bad... as eve shift charge at a fresenius clinic, i had a total of 63 pts with mwf and tts pts combined (day shift charge had the other 63)...i had to calculate drugs based on monthy and biweekly labs, i had to draw up meds for 21 pts on mwf and 42 pts on tts, plus carry a pt load of 6 or 7 pts (HEAVY pt loads at this clinic). thank god we went to disposable set ups!!! (no more reuse). also, turnovers were 15 minutes or less... and the payscale was $19-25 an hour, $2 hour shift diff, and $1 hour charge pay... all while working under the most inept manager i have ever met... believe it or not, during an apheresis procedure she actually transfused a pt with not 1, not 2, not 3, but 23 units of another pt's plasma...have to say 5 weeks vacation per year wasnt bad...but you really had to earn it!!!
At the Davita unit I worked in NC I was the only licensed person in the building many days. Davita staffs lean on licensed people. AM shift I had 4 patients, charge, and gave all the meds.. Epo Venofer, Zemplar, 20 patients in all.. Did all the care plans, called docs, monthly med lists etc. And then 20 patients in the afternoon. MWF..
TTS 20 AM 18 PM..Never saw the other charge nurse as he worked opposite days of me..
And the facilities manager had all of 3 months experience in hemodialysis.
We deserve $35 and every time we take less we are shooting ourselves and every other nurse out there in the foot..
In the Dec issue of Nephorolgy News it was reported that Davita gets an average of $306/treatment...
BTW Davita still does re use..Have fun..
WR,,, three commas for Becca
Cali wasn't any better.. 12 12 8 and I did all cath dressings, take off put on, all meds and calling docs.. ALONE again....
One problem I see working for a particular dialysis company is the lack of your ability to chose assignments.
JMHO
WR,,, three commas for Becca
And Davita only offered me $30 but then upped it to $34. I don't know if the guy I talked to even had that authority. I don't know if the program has really even taken off. I've not heard from them in months. They do have alot of positions on their website...??????
But do they know what hemodialysis is?? It ain't oncology. LOLL Had a recruiter tell me one time she'd never heard of the word..That's ok.. But she wasn't gonna make any effort to find out either..
Thanks but no thanks..Foundation Medical Staffing ain't broke,, Plus, if you can't share it with the whole forum I'm not interested.
I'm not gonna go there.. If we went after every one here who isn't who they say they are,, as other forums do,, we wouldn't have any one here..
I beleive most people have to make their own decisions. Never believe every thing you read any way.. Even stuff I say.. Much of what I say is opinion and like a**holes every one has one..
I might not like a particular speciality that doesn't mean another nurse shouldn't go into it..
Well, it WAS someone obviously touting Ready Refer for Readylink Healthcare and they are sooo on my blacklist it is sickening.
I have tried to contact readylink several times asking them to ask their "spammers" as I call them to stop posting here but alas, it happens once a week.
Flat out, these people are spammers. Someone will sign up and then "oh, I didn't know the rules" post a link to their affiliatespam on readylink.
Readylink won't do anything about it but the bottom line is they are responsible...
Until they can control their "affiliates" AHEM (spammers) then UltimateNurse.Com will have no relationship with them.
I do not speak for any other site in the network, only mine, but that is my stance.
If they want to use this site as a vehicle to make sales then they can sign up as an advertiser.
(but why would they want to do that when they have affiliates who sign up every week promoting them...)
Okay, sorry for the rant, but someone posted over 50 links to readylink with their affiliate code in the links directory and guess who had to delete them all? Yep, ME! 30 minutes out of my life I will never get back...
Besides, if I wanted 2000 readrefer links on my site I would have signed up myself...and I haven't, for surely obvious reasons.
