[Kenzie]

Has anyone been to a NJ strike assignment? I think it would be cool to step in and take care of patients when they need it most, not to mention the pay. Regardless of strike or not, there are still patients in need. I was wondering about the housing, hospital, other experiences. You gotta check it out for $60/hr. I have 15 yrs ER experience and 6 yrs L&D. I am not afraid to step in. Am I missing something? The company is US Nursing.

[tomernurse]

Be prepared for a secluded life..You will be "bussed" to the facility in an unmarked van, stay in a hotel/motel not too near the facility for your protection..You should not bring a family with you..be prepared for possible emotional abuse and physical abuse by others who work at the facility and by the strikers..good thing is the money though!

[ChrisChirdo]

you are stabbing other nurses in the back by being a strike breaker. the problem in NJ is that the hospital system there wants all its nurses to seek health care at their facilities so the hosp doesnt have to pay an insurance company premiums for its nurses. so, if you go on vacation, or have an embarassing problem, then you have to seek healthcare with all your co-workers knowing you had that problem, in NJ at the hospital or you arent covered.

nurses are caring individuals and want to take care of the patients. being from this area, the patients are the only rewarding thing about working in the tri state area. it has to be something really messed up for a group of nurses to gather together and strike. this is more than just a few dollars more an hour.

you will not necessarily get assaulted but they will make your life miserable. trust me.

[AmandaWIRN]

I disagree that a nurse would be stabbing others in the back by taking a strike assignment. Someone has to take care of the patients, and by doing so during a strike, the traveler is putting the needs of the patients first. Why should the patients have to suffer?

[ChrisChirdo]

the nurses are striking because of deplorable conditions made by the hospital. no nurse wants to abandon sick patients.

the nurses arent striking because they want more money. they are striking against the hospital who sees money as its first priority over good nursing care and promoting a good working environment.

in this day and age, nurses need to stick together more often than ever. but, we choose not to. this is why we will never be respected in the workplace. we are too busy eating our young, fighting amongst ourselves, and trying to get each other in trouble to stick together, and stand up for what is right, which is our respectable career. we are the lifeblood of the hospital system and we are regarded as expendable staff.

Edited out

just my humble opinion...

[AmandaWIRN]

Originally Posted by ChrisChirdo

this nurse wants to do this because of the high salary rate, not because he/she cares about the patients!

She clearly stated in her post that she thought it would be cool to step in & take care of patients when they need it the most, so it really isn't fair for you to say that she doesn't care about the patients. If no one steps up to take care of the patients, then what??? Sure they can go to a different hospital, but what about the patient having an acute MI, head bleed, or trauma patients, where precious minutes can be wasted traveling to a facility that has nurses to take care of them? Having travelers at a hospital where a strike is going on can mean life or death to these patients. I can respect the nurses who are striking to improve conditions at their permanent jobs, but at the same time, SOMEONE needs to be there to take care of patients & save lives, and that's where travelers come in.

[ChrisChirdo]

she also clearly stated the pay rate.

i respectfully disagree with you. :endof:

[justatraveler]

Originally Posted by ChrisChirdo

the nurses are striking because of deplorable conditions made by the hospital. no nurse wants to abandon sick patients.

the nurses arent striking because they want more money. they are striking against the hospital who sees money as its first priority over good nursing care and promoting a good working environment.

in this day and age, nurses need to stick together more often than ever. but, we choose not to. this is why we will never be respected in the workplace. we are too busy eating our young, fighting amongst ourselves, and trying to get each other in trouble to stick together, and stand up for what is right, which is our respectable career. we are the lifeblood of the hospital system and we are regarded as expendable staff.

so, for $60 an hour, you are definately selling out the entire career of nursing. if money is so important to you, then become a strike breaker. i wouldnt sell out the career of nursing for 1000 an hour. this nurse wants to do this because of the high salary rate, not because he/she cares about the patients!

just my humble opinion...

Do you have another suggestion on who should take care of the patients? Should administration do it? We had a nursing crunch once at a hospital I worked at. Actually a census overload and TPTB wanted the case manangers, infection disease nurse etc to work the floors. What a fiasco. They hadn't worked the floors for years. They were more bother than help. They didn't know how to work the IV pumps, the accu-check etc. Some had never hung TPN. Didn't know how to use a pleura-vac etc. We spent more time "orienting" them than we or they did taking care of patients.

As for shipping patients to other facilities. What if they find they like that other facility better. Some strikers have found themselves without jobs PERMENENTLY.

If the issue in NJ is with health insurance for nursing why are the nurses there punishing the patients???? Get your precious union to find you "great" health insurance. Great portable health insurance. After all isn't that what you pay dues for. For the union to work for you not the other way around?:whipping: :whipping:

OPPPS I'm getting down now..............:frustrated:

[DiprivanLover]

well personally having gone through 3 -205 strikes in calif. we do not appreciate strike breakers as they are nothing more then hypocrites looking for money..we have to work at the hospital once the strikes over and they are long gone. thankfully the strikes ive been in were resolved to the nurses and patients benefit.yes we were striking for better work conditions which directly benefited ourselves but also the patients as we got better staffing and other conditions toward patient care. so if you are thinking of strike breaking remember that we consider you nothing more then [Edited out]... It takes months of negotiations before a strike is ever considered and this isnt taken lightly as we all lose money,vacation ect,,..we all have families to take care of and are concerned about the patients. but we need a decent wage and work environment to do patient care in. with all of the corporate greed going on. for profit or not . I hope that anyone coming around here will stand up for themselves and coworkers first. anyone who knows anything about corporations realizes that the buck comes first before anything even if they are very profitable . they can publish as much propaganda about patient care and how well everything is but we know the truth as we are on the front line of their lies. so dont go to a striking facility as they are trying to screw the nurses and the patients. go to lasvegas they already have 9/1 ratios if you want to work in that environment.
NUffSaid..

p.s. I wonder how many managers actually post on these forums to secretly advance the corporate line of brainwashing?????????????

[AmandaWIRN]

Originally Posted by DiprivanLover

well personally having gone through 3 -205 strikes in calif. we do not appreciate strike breakers as they are nothing more then hypocrites looking for money..we have to work at the hospital once the strikes over and they are long gone. thankfully the strikes ive been in were resolved to the nurses and patients benefit.yes we were striking for better work conditions which directly benefited ourselves but also the patients as we got better staffing and other conditions toward patient care. so if you are thinking of strike breaking remember that we consider you nothing more then [Edited out]... It takes months of negotiations before a strike is ever considered and this isnt taken lightly as we all lose money,vacation ect,,..we all have families to take care of and are concerned about the patients. but we need a decent wage and work environment to do patient care in. with all of the corporate greed going on. for profit or not . I hope that anyone coming around here will stand up for themselves and coworkers first. anyone who knows anything about corporations realizes that the buck comes first before anything even if they are very profitable . they can publish as much propaganda about patient care and how well everything is but we know the truth as we are on the front line of their lies. so dont go to a striking facility as they are trying to screw the nurses and the patients. go to lasvegas they already have 9/1 ratios if you want to work in that environment.
NUffSaid..

p.s. I wonder how many managers actually post on these forums to secretly advance the corporate line of brainwashing?????????????

First of all, I'm not a manager, never have been- Just a traveler who works in the ER.

Second, what is your solution for the critical patient who needs medical attention IMMEDIATELY??? What would you do if, while you are marching around on your picket line, a person comes in the front door of the ER wih a stab wound, or a mother drives up to the ER entrance & hands you her child, who is not breathing & blue??? Do you say, "I'm sorry, we all refuse to take care of patients because we want better health insurance, so your kid is now going to die."??? What about the MI patient who has precious minutes to get to the cath lab? Too bad for them, there are no nurses to take care of them in the ER or Cath lab, so I guess they'll just have to die too?!? What is you solution for these patients??? So while I can understand that you are striking to improve hospital conditions, who suffers? Sure the hospital loses revenue, but who suffers the most??? The patients!!! Think about it. It is not an exaggeration by any means to say that patients could DIE because of a strike!

Third, I have never worked a strike, [Edited out] For some of us, it is not an option for a hospital to remain un-staffed so that patients have to be turned away or sent to another facility, which, in some cases, could cost them their lives. Bottom line: SOMEONE has to be there to take care of the patients. If not travelers, then who??? Administrators who have been pushing papers for years & are no longer qualified to do actual paitent care??? I don't think so.