[udali]

Does anyone here have anything good to say about the agency that represents them?

[ThinkingItOver]

Couldn't get a new thread to start, sorry if this ends up under old heading... .

Just found this site and am hoping to get some advice. I'm a mental health counselor (licensed, Master's degree, etc), with about 20 years in the mental health field. I'm tired of being stuck in one area, tied to dead-end gov't agencies/jobs that are all about "social work" (which I don't care for, now that social work has replaced "therapy"). That one is a long story, having more to do with the government preferring to throw money at people and "refer them to programs"for the next 25 years than in helping them change their problem behavior and attitudes. Therapist jobs are few & far between, the settings they exist in are always tied to government programs, hence hiring, firing, promotions, job assignments are tightly tied to racial quotas, etc, and the staff are always pressured to falsify clinical data to ensure the continuation of funding. So the environment is more about politics, all day long, than about healthcare. I've done this work for 20 years, have gone as far as I can go with it, and it's time for a change. [Unfortunately, I know social work and nursing share a common denominator of "whatever you do, it's never enough". But nurses are at least ALLOWED TO MENTION MONEY, whereas social workers are told never to discuss it or negotiate wages--- it makes you look like you aren't "dedicated", or so the rationale goes].

For years, I've considered going into travel nursing. A summary of the reasons for that: I've worked side by side with hospital psych nurses so the environment isn't totally foreign, 20 years experience w/ charting, my Master's may allow me to test out of a few classes thus speeding up the nursing school process, and mostly-- I like what I've heard about the relatively short (13 weeks?) assignments, free housing, and the option of *travel*, which my current field never offers. I'd probably be looking at mostly psych nursing, but not ruling other things out. I know a psych-only approach will cut my options waaaay down.... . Another major reason for considering travel nursing is the option of "getting in and getting out"--- the gov't "social work" programs attract clinical and secretarial staff who plan to stay for 20 to 30 years, and you can't get them out, no matter how incompetent they are. The politics are DEEP when people have been at their gov't-sponsored jobs for 15 years and plan to be there for 10 more. My hope is that travel assignments allow employees to skip most of that. Nursing pay seems higher across the board (?). Social work jobs, including Master's level generally pay $15- $21 an hour. By the time you crack $22 an hour, they're throwing you a retirement luncheon.

Opinions? Anyone with travel experience in psych nursing? If so, how did it compare to your work in other fields, if applicable? What's the best/worst thing about your job? Are you too fried at the end of the day to enjoy being in a new place, or do most people have the energy, after a week of nursing, to get out and see the sights? THANK YOU for reading/responding!