I was interested in transitioning to travel nursing, but would want to stay within my specialty, which is IR and Cath Lab. Any travel nurses out there able to find continuous contracts in this specialty? More so for California.
Thanks!
Hi everyone. Long time lurker but this my first post. I am a new grad who plans on traveling after gaining the proper experience. I got offers to both the OR and the Cath lab and I love both. Which one is better for travel in the future both availability and pay wise. Any cath lab and OR nurses who can share their experience or what they would rather do please let me know. Trying to narrow my decision and any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
so I received an e mail for an interview for cath lab as well as OR. OR I think I will feel comfortable with, but cath lab I feel under qualified for. Has anyone with little acute care experience been set up for success in the cath lab early on? If it's a good fit- I am willing to work hard on and off the clock to learn everything I can. I know the high preference is ICU experience. But has anyone been successful without it?
Hello! I will be taking a new grad residency next year and my goal is to do cath lab, but I understand that I will most likely need to have either ICU experience, ED experience, or at the very least M/S. If you are currently in cath lab or have been, how did you get there? Did you need experience in a specific field before applying for cath lab jobs. Just want to make sure I am going for the residency position that will fall in line with my short (ICU) and long term goals (Cath lab). Thank you in advance!
I'm going to skip the stories. Been doing ICU for over 3 years. But I'm done with bedside and dealing with rude people. I'm curious what it's like being an OR or cath lab nurse. Is it an easy transition? Is it still a long orientation like it would be for new grads? I was travel nursing the last year but I have a lot of downtime because of a knee injury. How long would it take to learn OR nursing and be comfortable traveling? Any advice would help! I also don't care about rude surgeons. I can't handle the spitting, yelling, verbal abuse, punching, kicking, and confused people in neuro/trauma anymore.
Currently salaried and only working about 30 hours a week. No weekends. Often have at least 1 weekday off. The problem? Not enough money. I feel like a glorified truck driver. I can't be doing this 5 years from now. 2 years from now... There aren't any clear opportunities for a promotion. I have Too much free time. I should be doing more with it. I would welcome a 2nd job but i would have to be able to make my own schedule.
Looking into an interventional radiology/cardiac cath lab job. My hours would almost double. The stress would go up x100. The pay might actually be similar, but that's before factoring in overtime and being on call 5-10 times a month, which would add 10k?20k? Hard to tell. Part of me says i need to at least try it. At least stick it out 2 years. It's now or never. The other part thinks "why would you do this to yourself, you're not crazy about Healthcare, do you really want to be a cog in a machine, ?"
Also in the past few months my health has gone downhill, but I'm back on the right track. Also got dumped by my gf. That definitely rocked my world like no other event before, that's a whole other story for a different subreddit though 😂. At first i thought i this mid life crisis was me being too dramatic and harsh on myself after the breakup. But... I need to treat this as a blessing in disguise. 10 years from now I'm going to be looking back at this time and realizing it was a pivotal moment in my life. The actions i take in the coming weeks i feel will greatly shape the trajectory of my future. Someone shed light on this predicament, or slap some sense into me. Thank you in advance!
Looking for some advice from someone who has went through a similar situation.
I am interested in working in the cath lab, but have been away from the bedside for about 4 years now. There are plenty positions available near me that do not require experience, but I don’t want to set myself up for failure either.
I had 1.5 years experience in cardiac stepdown, and now 4 years of being a Nurse Navigator which entails coordinating cath lab procedures and educating patients on those procedures. I am ready to get back to patient care and out of the politics. I want to get away from being in the middle of docs fighting over cath lab time, and where to put their cases.
I would like to stay in the cardiac world. I am going to feel like a new nurse. My question is- should I work on the floor for a little to get my bearings in patient care again before transitioning to the cath lab? Or should I just go for it? I have also thought about CVICU. Would that be a better place to start? Just based on what I’ve read so far it seems that nurses who have ICU or ER experience have an easier transition because they are well versed in responding to emergency situations.
Any advice would be helpful, thanks in advance!
Do the quoted weekly pay estimates from travel companies account for on call pay and callback pay? I can't seem to find info on how RNs are paid for call and callback.
I've been doing tele PCU with the occasional MICU patient. I'm bored with this and want something more challenging. My applications were pulled for both positions. Is there any benefit to one over the other?
Any cards folks have pointers/resources to help prep myself for an interview next week?
I have ~3 years experience in the ED, 6 years RN total. Been looking to make a move from ED after the past 2 years.
I've worked my last bed side shift and am starting in Cath Lab. I'm very excited for all the reasons you might think. I'm trying to figure out what supplies I might need to have with me.
In floor nursing I always had my stethoscope and a pulse ox, my mini flashlight and a sharpie on my badge. I have no idea what I will need.. should I bring my stethoscope? Anything else you'd expect your new training Cath Lab RN to have on hand? Just a pen? Even that?
Thinking about leaving med surg to go to the cath lab... any tips? Any cath lab nurses that could tell me what their typical day is like? TIA!
I've applied to some cath lab jobs with a couple interviews tomorrow and my mom is freaking out because she thinks a cath lab job is going to give me cataracts and brain cancer and a bad back from the lead aprons. Are these concerns warranted or is she over reacting?
I’ve been a nurse for about 10 years. I’ve done med surg, MICU, PACU, and right now home health. I have an interview for cath lab. If you have done it or do it now, do you enjoy it? Pros and cons? Thanks for any input!
What are y’all’s thoughts/experiences on Cath lab nursing/nurses? Thanks.
