Decisions Decisions

On the employment front I made a decision to not accept the job that's been offered to me. After a lot of soul searching and disappointment that I haven't been offered other jobs, at one point I was seriously considering this opportunity. However, I have heard from somebody that works there, and a recruiter that sent nurses to this floor that there were some serious issues with the helpfulness of other staff. And the sense that the manager gave me was that she was looking for some experienced nurses to help out all the new grads that work there and there were a lot of "leadership opportunities." I think that's just code for there's a lot of shitty people that work here and you could move right up if you don't suck too. But I decided to check it out for myself and shadowed a nurse for a couple hours on my own time to see if it was really that bad and I found that it wasn't really THAT bad. What I did find was that I would be working on a Neuro/Trauma unit.....and those patients suck! What was I thinking? It's all patients with head injuries, broken bones, and strokes=heavy lifting and crazy people that there is no way to reason with or medicate. So tonight I'm going to tell that floor, thanks so much for the opportunity, but no thanks. It's a bit of a risk, but I would definitely be settling. I think in my situation, I should be able to find something that I'm excited to do or else it's going to make this experience in San Diego a lot less fun.

I am going to go back to work this week, though. I am hooked up with an agency that staffs registry nurses. Basically, hospitals find they have holes in their staffing and call up the agency to send nurses over. I've been working with this lady at the agency for a few months, she was initially looking at getting me a travel nursing assignment. She, out of ALL the people I've been dealing with, has been the straightest shooter with me, telling me when there wasn't much work to be had in the travel nursing industry, and at one point basically telling me to get my shit together or else move on. I appreciate that candidness, I can be that frank with people at times and I appreciate the respect it takes for one's self and to others to speak the truth in an awkward situation. At any rate, when I told her that I was considering taking the job that I have now decided not to take, she said that would hinder us working together because I would already be working in the hospital system where she puts most of her nurses to work and the hospital system won't let nurses double dip (so to speak). So that was another factor in deciding to pass up this opportunity. What she can do for me now that I've decided not to take that job, is she can put me to work for much higher rates of pay on my own schedule. Of course the work is never guaranteed, but I make about 20% more per shift with a portion of it being tax free due to my traveler status related to our home in Colorado. Additionally, there is no weekend or nights commitment, no holiday commitment, and when I need time off, I just don't sign up for shifts. Very simple. And, it looks like I can start working on Thursday of this week, which puts money in my pocket sooner!

My plan is to continue to pursue opportunities in other hospital systems. I can work on an "as needed" basis for a specific hospital, and then I at least have two opportunities for work when I want it and still keep the flexibility. I can also continue to have a high standard for where I choose to work. I think it's important as the only income earner while in San Diego that I do what it takes to make myself happy. If I hate my job but need it to keep us afloat here, that leads to bad things. My hunch is that the job I've been offered is a short route to that scenario, so I need to pass. I hope this all works out, I'm trusting the universe to be abundant and provide the right opportunities to allow for wealth and happiness knowing that I deserve no less.