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Melt Your Job Stress Away - January 2014 - Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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Page 142 BEHIND CLOSED DOORS Paula Watkins, RN, CNOR California Nights Travel nursing is an opportunity to learn. As a travel nurse, I'm convinced I have the best job imaginable. I can work anywhere in the country, as long as I have the right state licenses, and if I'm WISH YOU WERE HERE? When I startlucky I'll learn something at ed the assignment, I didn't know what to expect. I learned a thing or two. each stop. Just before the holidays, I finished a 6-month assignment in Bakersfield, Calif. I'd been to the state for fun and conferences, but I'd never considered working there until my agency presented a hospital opportunity. My California stay was no vacation, but I took a lot away from the experience. • The sun sets in the west. Everybody knows what sunny California's like, right? Surf's up, Beach Blanket Bingo, Hollywood, movie stars and swimming pools. I worked the 3-to-11 shift, like some kind of vampire. If you've never experienced the adventure of the evening shift, you may think it sounds like a third-world hospital (as opposed to 11-to-7, which is truly another planet). The 3-to-11 staff can run a couple of rooms, and they're not just doing one particular job. They're multi-taskers who do more with less even more than the day staff. They don't know what "short-staffed" means. They act like it's normal. • Old dog, new tricks. I found I actually prefer 3-to-11. I don't much care for early mornings. I like working with fewer people and using a wide range of skills. And I just enjoyed the crowd I worked with. These young men and women (they were all younger than I) were the most fun and yet most professional people I've worked with in a

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