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Travel Nursing Hospital
Ranking Results Each
ranking will be averaged and updated on a continual basis. The highest score for
a hospital is 100.
Feel free to rank any
hospital. You are not limited to the ones below.
Travel Nursing Hospital Review of: Mercy Gilbert Medical Center
| | Score
(all time) | Score
(within 1 year) | | 1. Friendliness and acceptance of travelers by staff | 4.3 | |
| 2. How open are they to allowing you to expand your skills while traveling? | 2.3 | |
| 3. Hospital Technology | 4.3 | |
| 4. Location (A nice area to live) | 5 | |
| 5. Cafeteria food | 4.3 | |
| 6. Parking | 4.3 | |
| 7. Physical layout of hospital effecient | 4 | |
| 8. Hospital appeal (looks) | 5 | |
| 9. Hospital orientation geared toward travelers? | 4.7 | |
| 10. Simplicity being initiated into the system (Do you have to do lots of unneccessary paperwork, drug testing, criminal background checks, etc. in addition to what the agency requires before you can start working?) | 3 | |
| 11. Reputation of the hospital | 4.3 | |
| 12. How nice are the doctors to staff | 4.3 | |
| 13. Friendliness of staffing office | 4.7 | |
| 14. Happy with the work scheduling procedure? | 4.7 | |
| 15. How efficient is their system so you can get your job done? | 4.7 | |
| 16. Adequacy of their nurse to patient ratio | 2.7 | |
| 17. How well staffed are they | 3.7 | |
| 18. How happy were you with your workload? | 3 | |
| 19. Staff morale (overall) | 3.7 | |
| 20. To what extent would you recommend this hospital to other travelers? | 3.3 | |
| Total Score (number or rankings) | 80.3(3) | (0) |
- I worked in the ICU department(s) in the hospital. My fiancee and I are halfway through our assignment, but wanted to post so all travelers are aware of what they are getting themselves into…
When we interviewed, we were told NIHS certification preferred, that we would occasionally float, and if there were telemetry overflow patients we would occasionally get tripled.
Reality= we are considered the first to float and ICU B side has 12 beds that are typically tele overflow so we float over there EVERY shift and our tripled almost all of the time. Also, on top of all the modules we had to complete for orientation, we also has to spend a great deal of time completing our NIHS certification by the end of our first week because it is mandatory (NOT preferred).
We don’t mind increasing our knowledge, and we don’t mind taking care of telemetry patients, but we feel as though we were lied to. Also, not having critically ill patients, we are beginning to feel like we are losing our skills.
The staff is nice, the policies and procedures are up to speed, and there is an intensivist in house at night. As for a small community hospital I think they are doing pretty well, but I am an ICU nurse for a reason… Needless to say we will not be extending our contract here. Our advice… if you want to work for this hospital system (because I think compared to Banner and some other local hospitals they are better), apply to work at Chandler Regional only, from what we hear from other staff members they treat there travelers much better over there and you get to care for critically ill patients!
For a more in depth review of Mercy Gilbert, reviews on other hospitals, and/or travel tips visit our blog at www.thejustache.com :)
03/02/2017
Housing was approximately 15 mile(s) from the hospital. The name of the housing complex was Scottsdale RV Ranch. Housing was located in city of Scottsdale. On a scale from 1 to 5, I would rate it a 2. My fiancée and I live in a 5th wheel so we do not choose the housing option. Scottsdale RV Ranch is definitely not our favorite RV park... They do not enforce the rules. They also advertise as an adult park, but there are children everywhere... the list goes on of dislikes, but the spots are large and it is only 2 miles from downtown Scottsdale which we love!
RV advice: If you travel in an RV and are a working professional, you can call the 55+ RV parks and they will usually let you stay... wish we had known that prior to booking this park in advance. - I worked in the Float Pool department(s) in the hospital. It was a good place to work, I was extended twice. However, I left after my first extension as my rate was lowered by my agency. Manager was easy to communicate with and there for you for whatever you needed her for. You could pick your own scheduled and mine was honored 90% during my assignments. As a Float there were some floors that were worse off then others. Some would treat you equally and other tried their best to give you a terrible assignment. Sometimes you were with six patients without an aid. As an experienced nurse I was able to handle it. There ER staff is rude, they do not help you, the assignments they give you are unsafe, and when you call them on it they don't like you. I asked not to go there anymore and my request was granted. I was required to float to Chandler Regional Hospital as I will leave a review there. It is not a diverse place and obviously will not allow room for growth. I wanted to work in the ICU as a Float as I came from a Level 1 trauma center in the Northeast a a Critical Care Float but, was told that I did not have enough experience to work in there critical care floors. After talking to some of the staff there floors were not as intense as what I had experience with. Overall if you are just looking to do an assignment it is good. I received references from the charge nurses there. However, I usually do not want to return to hospitals will only use me for their Travel positions but, not as permanent staff. 08/28/2016
Housing was approximately 10 mile(s) from the hospital. The name of the housing complex was Symphony. Housing was located in city of Chandler. On a scale from 1 to 5, I would rate it a 4. My apartment was pretty expensive compared to a yearly lease. The price changed according to the season. The best thing there was plenty of storage, washer/dryer, appliances up to date, layout of the apartment was large and nice, they have two pools, a play area, and it was easy to walk to. When I moved in the carpet smelled of cat urine. I cleaned the carpet myself. There were minor repairs that no one ever showed up for, so my husband fixed it. My roof leaked twice. The last time it leaked I had to have a loud fan drying the area. When you work nights it is a nuisance. Neighbors were loud. Not great when you are in grad school. When I moved they did not tell me that I would have a carpet inspection. I had to remind them the condition of the carpet when I moved in and that we had to clean it several times to get the smell out. Anyway, there were no charged incurred. - I worked in the Emergency department(s) in the hospital. Mercy Gilbert was a great place to work. My contract allowed me to also work at Chandler Regional. Both are Dignity Health hospitals. There is a triage area with 3 stretchers in case of EKG or immediate need to lay down. Travelers do not work here. There are three areas of the main ER based on ESI level. Green (4’s and 5’s), Yellow (4’s and 3’s) and Red (3’s-1’s.) There is one lounge area.
While working in Red zone, there are four assignments. Two of the four assignments have a 3:1 ratio. The other two assignments have a 4:1 ratio r/t psych rooms. This does not, however, mean your room will be utilized for a psych patient during busy times. Psychiatric holds are a frequent encounter at this facility as there is no psychiatric department within the hospital. Social work is VERY helpful with psychiatric patients and follows through with all the placement. HUC/Tech’s sit with patients requiring 1:1 observation.
There is a cath lab in house. When a code STEMI is called, staff floods the room to assist and the patient is usually to the cath lab within 10-30 minutes depending on the time of day. When code Strokes are called, house supervisor, SWAT RN, and additional help is quickly available. The team is wonderful. There is often a float nurse in red zone who can help out when you are busy. Typically, a Tech is floating around in the department. Most Techs are paramedics but not all are. The Paramedic Techs can help by starting IV’s, running NS, catheterizing patients, and assisting you with any needs that a CNA can. They are a wonderful asset. There has been some discussion that they will soon be able to give medications within their scope of practice (i.e. Zofran, Morphine, Motrin and Tylenol I think.) I am not sure if/when this will occur.
While working in Yellow zone, there are 3-4 assignments. On great staffing days, you have a 3:1 ratio and a “flow” nurse. Most days there are (3) 3:1 assignments and one 4:1 ratio. One of the rooms may be made into an additional med room soon. The flow nurse helps to bring patient to and from rooms, do task oriented work, and help where (s)he is needed. Patients are checked in, triaged, and sent to a room usually within ten minutes. When there is a large influx of patients, the “pit crew” is called to triage to help get everyone checked in, triaged, and treatment/studies initiated from out front. The pit crew is comprised of the flow nurse, a tech (often a paramedic) and a doctor. On very busy days, yellow zone may also house red zone patients. Likewise, if it isn’t too busy and the rooms are available, a patient upgraded to red zone may be moved to an appropriate room in the red zone. Like the red zone, there is usually a Paramedic Tech. Sometimes there is only one in the department if there are 1:1’s and they go where they are needed most heavily.
While working in the Green zone, there is one 4:1 patient assignment. Ideally, only greens and “light” yellow patients are sent here. There are cardiac monitors in all of these room so on occasion there are “heavy” yellow patients. They try to avoid this because it negates in-and-out the idea of the fast flowing green area. The green zone also substitutes for an admission hold area in times of surge capacity. Typically, a hold nurse is called in from one of the floors to manage but I have done a holding assignment at times when they are not available. You do not have a tech here but sometimes you can utilize the yellow tech for a few minutes if they aren’t too busy.
Mercy Gilbert utilizes a Lounge area for patients who are stable and awaiting test results prior to admission or discharge. It is a large portion of the waiting room that has barriers and recliners. There is one nurse stationed in the lounge to address the ongoing needs of the patients. This is a heavily utilized area of the ER since it allows for a better flow with patient care. When there are no patients in the lounge, sometimes the lounge nurse is able to help out in the yellow zone with discharges and task oriented jobs.
On very busy days, hallway bed assignments are opened and are typically 3:1 ratio. There are barriers that can be put up to keep patients from staring at each other and can also provide some privacy if the patient is needing a minor exam or injections. Since there are no monitors and not much privacy, these patients are typically green or light yellow patients. There are lots of WOW’s (workstation on wheels) to utilize.
There are several doctors and mid-level providers on every day so patients are seen quickly. Overall, this hospital has the best system I have ever worked in to date. A majority of the patients are happy with the way the hospital flows.
Cerner charting is utilized. Alaris Carefusion pumps with guardrails are used. They can be programmed to work with Cerner for documentation via scanner. GE vital sign machines can cross over into Cerner charting when you associate the room. There is a computer in every patient room for charting. Omnicel is used for med dispensing. There are three in the ER. One small machine in Triage, the main machine in the red zone, and another machine in yellow zone. Scanning of medications is HIGHLY encouraged but not all WOW’s have working scanners. All computers in rooms are supposed to have one but sometimes it may be missing if it has malfunctioned. Travelers do not usually answer the patch phone.
Want to know what else is great about this place? Pharmacy is staffed 24/7. All ordered drips either come pre-attached for reconstitution or are manually mixed by pharmacy and tubed to the ER. Even their Phenergan comes pre-mixed for piggy back use. How much time does that save? A lot! Pharmacy cuts all pills.
Music is embraced here! You are allowed to listen to reasonable music at the nurse’s station. What a stress relief!
Report to floor is brief here – nurses, if given the full 20 minutes, are able to look through the chart and have very few questions for you. They are busy too so sometimes a full report is necessary to get the patient upstairs. ICU always requires a full report.
There is transportation staff working until 2300 or 0100 most days. The program, Teletracker, is updated and it alerts them to be dispatched. They are pretty fast most days.
Any place had a few cons for me as well. They are few.
1. Quite frequently, you come on shift to take over another nurse’s assignment so they can go somewhere else. It makes more sense to me to just send the new crew to the open new areas but I am not the charge nurse. There may be more to it than just switching.
2. The triage assessment is not put into the computer out front – it is, rather, put onto an organized paper and provided to the nurse taking the patient so (s)he can input it. There is not always a full set of vital signs on the paper when it is very busy which slows down the entry process in the back. Boy, is it frustrating when that paper gets misplaced or picked up by the doctor too. Some nurses will put it in the computer and they are wonderful. Kudos!
3. They use Celsius. This does not come naturally to me.
4. Staff self-schedules but you do not. You are filled in where you are needed. This is really what we travelers are here for though so I can't really complain. My schedule was usually pretty great though. I think I only had one or two weeks where I was every other day. Through my whole assignment and extension.
5. Occasional hallway assignments.
6. The travelers often times get heavier assignments. This is not unique to MGMC or any other traveler-utilizing hospital though.
7. Frequent push backs. Some weeks you are nickeled and dimed two to four hours a week with shifts that get pushed back 2 hours. The company policy allows one 12-hour shift every two weeks to be cancelled without reimbursement.
8. LOTS of continuing education modules... but you are reimbursed so it isn't for nothing.
9. We utilize hotels for housing. The closest Extended Stay or Candlewood Suites was 15 to 19 miles away... Which really is only about 22 minutes drive via highway at least.
ER manager was great. All charge nurses are very knowledgeable and do their best to keep your patient load in mind while assigning new patients to rooms. Lunch breaks are mandatory. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times that I missed a lunch - and I extended!
Overall, this was a wonderful place to work for. If you had the nightmare job, it is a nice place to work to regain your zest for traveling. The greater Phoenix area is a beautiful area to live and explore. Lots of good food. Everything you need to thrive. I would be honored to return to this gem in the future! Thank you for taking the time to read my evaluation! 07/23/2016
Housing was approximately 19 mile(s) from the hospital. The name of the housing complex was Candlewood Suites. Housing was located in city of Tempe. On a scale from 1 to 5, I would rate it a 4. Pet friendly - stone area with potty bags provided for taking your dog out. Nice back road area close by to walk your pet.
Pool, Hot tub, Grilling area, Free laundry facilities, 24-hour Gym, NICE hotel rooms!
A bit pricey but consistent - unlike ESA. Just hope your upstairs neighbor doesn't smoke...
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