Rating a hospital with NurseRatings.org is so easy a crash test dummy could do it.
I just ran across a site that if properly used could become a huge tool for travel nurses everywhere. NurseRatings.org. I don’t know if the creator of this site, which has the tag line “Nurses helping Nurses,” meant it to be for travel nursing or just a great tool for nurses everywhere, but whatever the intent, the potential use for travel nurses is huge. Imagine being able to learn first hand from travel nurses just like you what they thought of a hospital during their time there during a travel nursing assignment. And don’t forget the valuable feedback from the perm nurses that work there too.
No matter what your goals for being a travel nurse it is important to know a lot about the hospital you are going to work at. You will want to evaluate on culture, technology and clinical skills, management style, etc. And NurseRatings.org lets you rate on the:
- Doctor to Nurse Relationship
- Nurse to Nurse Relationship
- Pay
- Location
- Nurse Management
- Professional Development
Plus it has a comments section where nurses can add anything else they would like. Rating does not require a log in or even using your real name, which is one of the strengths and weaknesses of review sites. On the one hand the anonymity can let people speak up who may not normally, but can also lead to abuse. But overall I think it is a good system that is easy to use.
But the best part may be how easy it is for you as a travel nurse to go in and rate hospitals you have worked at. The site is very user friendly. It is grouped by state with a simple to use map, as long as you are familiar with US geography, which if you are a travel nurse I assume you are. This is a great option if you want to browse a state you are considering taking a travel nursing job in, but if you are looking for a specific hospital to read about or rate, there is a easy to use search tool.
The biggest drawback of the site so far is that there does not appear to be many ratings available and currently no real incentive to do so, other than the good old fashioned nature of people who like to share their opinion. If there were some sort of social networking aspect to it or rewards system to spur reviews I think it would grow faster, but it is still very new so you just have to give it time and be a willing user yourself. Ratings sites like these are only worthwhile if people use them so I suggest you start using it today, it is a really good way to educate yourself and other travel nurses about the hospitals they may be taking their next travel nursing job.
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I just finished a 13 week assignment at University of Ct. John Dempsey hospital in Farmington Ct.
I’ve been a traveler for 5 years and a nurse for 15. Let me tell you, this was the worst experience of my career. I have never been so mistreated in my life! All the travelers were more than upset and one even bought out her own contract. First of all, the lies. I told them during the phone interview that I needed my days in blocks because I was 4 hours away and would have to stay in motels. I told her that it was the only requirement I had. The nurse DON said “Yes. That will be no problem.” Once I signed the contract, and got my schedule, she had me working almost every other day. After 2 weeks checks started bouncing. I was having to use motels every night. I went into her office and told her that I would lose my house, and that she had given me her word about the schedule. She smirked and said “well thats the way it goes” She actually snickered and said “Hope you don’t lose your house” as I was walking out.
Now, being an experienced traveler, I know that I won’t always get great pt assignments, but the assignments given to the travelers were more than unfair. I saw more than a few travelers with tears in their eyes. These people are downright mean to travelers. I stayed untill 2130 several times. I only got out on time once. I could go on and on. I still can’t quite believe it. The worst part is that they asked me to sign on for another 13 weeks. I told them I couldn’t. So they gave me the first bad evaluation of my career. They said that I came in in the morning and dissappeared for the rest of the day and hid, talking on my phone. Outright lies!!! Good thing I have been with the same company for 5 years and they know me. They didn’t believe a word of it. They said, “They just asked us to re-sign you! You’ve had nothing but excellent evaluations for every assignment you’ve ever had.”
Let me tell you, this has been the worst, most upsetting experience in nursing. I have decided to go into another career now. I was starting to get burned out before this, but was coming back around to finding it more rewarding. Since this disaster, I have a new goal of being out of nursing by the end of 2010.
Beware of this Hospital! The one good thing was how the Doctors treated us. Very respectful and nice.
Wow. Sorry to hear you had such a bad travel nursing experience Kimberly. I am glad to see your company stood behind you though.