Where do I go from here?

Hi all! Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. I have had a nice visit from my husband. He came to Napa for 3 days and didn't want to leave. Isn't that sweet? We've been together for about 12 years and this is the first time we have spent any time apart. It has been difficult. Absence does make the heart grow fonder.

As for my travel assignment, it's coming to decision time again. My original thought was to stay here for the summer as a traveler. When I arrived here my boss told me that as a traveler I could stay as long as I wanted and return as often as I wanted and he seemed really excited about that, genuinely happy that I was here and wanted to stay so long. Initially when I came to the Queen of the Valley they had a policy that you could only have 2 assignments there as a traveler, ever. Last week my boss asked me what my plan was, I began by saying I wanted to stay until the end of summer as a traveler and he cut me off right there. Apparently they have hired enough staff and will not be extending any of the travelers but I could sign on per diem. Now, if they don't have work for me 3 days a week as a traveler, just how much work am I going to get as per diem? He is also implementing changes in the nursing assistants roles and our break time. Sounds like it's time to move on, if only from that floor. The hospital has something like 40 or 50 travelers right now...getting rid of us all is going to be some feat. I understand that travelers are expensive for the hospital and I understand that we will be the first to go but I don't think it was presented thoughtfully. Cold and matter of factly, it hurt a little. Especially after me stepping up and doing whatever I was asked to do (like working night shift) and working extra shifts, the presentation could have been nicer.
So, now either I move to another floor in the hospital or I move to another hospital. My recruiter says Phoenix is paying just as well as this assignment but I dread the thought of Phoenix in the summer.
Another fun thing, the travel company I am currently working for was just bought by another company. This sort of thing happens a lot in the travel nursing world. It means signing new contracts and new insurance and hopefully more assignment choices. My recruiter will be staying on with this new company which is a plus. It's really hard to leave a recruiter you trust. So, we will see where I end up. It's hard to leave a place where I feel comfortable but I have a goal, a financial goal and a time frame in which I intend to reach it. Staying here per diem will not help me reach that goal. So, again I will step outside of my comfort zone to help me achieve it.
I had someone ask me what happens if I hate my assignment...how do you get out of it.... I have really only had 2 assignments I really hated. One was in Columbus Ohio. It was a tele floor that was nicknamed "the dump" I worked night shift, 6 patients. I constantly got to work and had at least one admission on its way up to the floor. The staff was unfriendly and not helpful. I had a patient who's chest tube came out and I couldn't leave him because I had to hold a dressing over the sight, I couldn't get anyone to answer the light. I saw 3 nursing assistants walk by the room and not one of them looked when I called out to them it was awful. I stuck that one out. I worked for RN Network at the time and they were unsympathetic to my pain. I did my 3 days a week and hated it. I clung to the assistance of the other travelers who were also having a rotten time. I left one day early...called off my last shift... and the company charged me for it. The hospital even called me to make up the shift. They said I could not work there again if I didn't make it up, I was glad to hear that.
The other assignment was in San Pablo California, it too was torture to go everyday. I was never on the same unit twice, I had to float most of the time half way through my shift. I had a nursing assistant tell me who she was going to bathe for me because "on this floor the nursing assistants don't do all your baths" . Charge nurses who did nothing but hand out admissions all day.It was really scary...I worked for World Health at the time and my recruiter (who I am still with) was very understanding and found me the Queen of the Valley position I took last summer. I didn't have to pay any penalties and it hasn't affected my ability to find another position. I guess it just depends. Some nurses just quit, end their contract and leave, others decide to see it through. Everyone has a comfort zone and if the assignment makes you feel you could lose your license if you stay then I would leave. I always consider the care I am able to give my patients as a gauge. If I can't care for all of my patients and keep them safe for my whole shift then there's a problem. I live by the creed...first do no harm. (Primum Non Nocere)

Crab Feed

Well, I'm glad that's over. As all my despite friends say,I'm back from the dark side. Well,sort of, I worked my last night shift Friday night and had to work day shift on Sunday. So Saturday was really weird, almost like not a day off at all. The shift thing just has to do with your body's clock I guess. You are either a day person or a night person and the first time you work the wrong shift, your body will tell you. Some people get nauseous, some people get crabby,me, I just sleep all the time when I work nights. So, hopefully I'm done. If my boss asked me again to do it for a short period of time I would probably agree, because I see my role here as helping out the unit. Plus no matter what the night shift says they are not as busy as the dayshift, most nights.
The rain seems to have stopped for the time being here in Napa. The big blue sky I remember is back, it's still a little cool but that will change as well. I went to a crab feed Saturday, kind of a funny name. Being from the Midwest I would have called it a fest..like Octoberfest, Perchfest, but here they call it a feed. The crab was from Bodega Bay, I guess it's crab season here because there is a crab feed almost every Friday and Saturday this month. It was well worth the $45 admission fee for all you can eat crab...not just the legs cuz they aren't Alaskan King Crab, their legs were pretty scrawny. The one we attended was at a High School in the Gym. We sat at long tables with plastic plates and silverware. Some of the more experienced crab feeders brought real glasses to drink their wine from. I was lucky enough to sit with Sue who brought a pound of drawn butter and little butter warmers...it's not what you know...it's who you know. Everyone brought a bottle of wine to share, most of us had to drink out of the little plastic cups that were supplied on the table. Luckily plastic doesn't spoil the taste of the wine, only the appearance. (and if you drink it quick no one will be the wiser...lol) It was a nice time with some of my friends from the Queen. We are planning a trip to Carmel next month...I promise more pictures! Take care all and remember,Primum non nocere!