[hsieh]

anybody know a company that does alaska nursing in the anchorage area?

[jacklpn]

I am getting ready to travel to Anchorage with Bestsaff/Arcadia Ask for Tony and tell him Jacqueline Morton referred you any questions email me at jacklpn2000@yahoo.com

[tiffany07]

I would love to do travel nursing in Alaska. How is it? I want to start my nursing career there very soon?

[musherdeb]

hi,
I lived in Alaska for 8 wonderful years. It is a great place to live. so i will break it down for you.
Anchorage is just another city on the map. We jokingly say it is the other alaska.
there are many hospitals to work with. 3 main hospitals in anchorage and then one in the outskirts. (wasilla)
Fairbanks has a nice hospital and i loved it there. Patient ratio was great and they take good care of you. I was not a traveler in alaska.
If you are looking for the bush life there are great places for that as well.
Nome is a very remote location and it is a nice place to work. For most of the village hospitals ie: Nome, Kotzebue, Barrow, you may be expected to do more than your specialty. i gaurantee that you will learn more in these small hospitals. In Nome you can do L/D,Peds, Psych, M/S, ER and well anything else that walks in the door. only a 25 bed total hospital. it has a 2 bed ER.
I never worked in Kotz or Barrow. I never worked in the Southeast or in Bethel.
Bethel is a very busy hospital.
Best advice for alaska...
1. Do your research. it is expensive to live there.
2. If you work in the smaller hospitals make sure you do some grocery shopping before you go. take soda, coffee, staples, and most loved items with you.
These things are very expensive in the smaller villages.
3. Be prepared to have a room mate in teh smaller villages. there just is not enough room for private housing.
4. Research whether you want winter or summer. Winters are really tough out there unless you are totally prepared. Keep in mind that just because you have wintered in teh lower 48 it is NOT THE SAME. be prepared.
5. if you go to a smaller hospital be prepared to have things to do once you have seen the country. also. there are not always cars to drive in the small hospital areas.

you can have a great time in Alaska and depending on what you are looking for, you can learn a lot of new things.
The native population is great but remember, you can not change them or the way they live.
enjoy Alaska. it is an awesome place.
i miss it.
i am going to travel for a bit and see the lower 48.
then i will go back.
any questions just email me.
deb

[songgirl]

Thankyou for your post Deb! Alaska sounds very inviting and I appreciate your advice to be prepared. I m used to severe winter, this year over 6 feet of snow on the ground. How can it be harder than that? I would enjoy a small hospital in a village, would love to actually see a polar bear in real life! LOL Have a great day
Denise

[musherdeb]

well the chances of you seeing a polar bear are greater if you go to Barrow.
as far as how bad can it get. well.. in fairbanks this winter it was -50 to -60 for a few days.
that is not with a wind chill either.
In Nome you will see blizzard after blizzard with winds at the hurricane level.
Anchorage is not so bad by any means.
It is the extremes that make it so different. So many times i have heard "i have been in snow and cold" "i dont have to worry bout it".
Alaska is unpredictable and if you are prepared you will do fine.
It is a great place and i love it adn will go back.
deb