registered nurse

registered nurse - emergency room

registered nurse - medical / surgical

advanced practice registered nurse

nursing supervisor

Indian Health Service

RAs work 36/48 work schedule. I had to ask co-workers about this, but nobody told me they just threw me into the fire.  They said they would transition me easily from doing 5 8-hour shifts a week to the 36/48 by doing 10-hour shifts first but that was completely disregarded. It was brutal. 

You spend most of the day with the patients. No formal training for the specific position. You just shadow and wing it on the floor. I practically learned everything by asking questions and just watching. Also, you go on A LOT of outings. They made me drive their government cars so many times. They never include this in the job description. So if you don't like driving, it is not for you. Also, when we went on medical outings it was difficult sometimes because we aren't nurses so whenever there were questions, we basically said whatever we thought was best. 

There's lots of training for certifications but for your actual job as an RA, you just observe and ask questions. The patients taught me more than my higher-ups did. They taught me all the ins and outs of the facility which exposes the clear lack of structure within the RA dept. 

RAs don't get treated fairly. It's unwritten, but RAs are deemed the lowest tier even though the list of responsibilities and work hours are some of the longest in this company.

Certain people get special treatment and receive no consequences. Lots of nepotism, and unprofessionalism. The patients are easier to work with than the actual adult staff

HUGE lack of organization, communication,  structure, and consistency.  Also CNACI Clearance is a MAJOR issue that needs to be addressed and fixed. It affects EVERYTHING and every employee.  Nobody told me about CNACI clearance. I had to ask about it. 

Some of the staff are uncooperative and negligent. There is also a severe lack of humanity and empathy from some staff. Lots of staff lose or forget about the purpose of the program. 

I did gain a lot of hands-on experience and training that helped with professional development. 

Management is not good. Scheduling is disorganized. As I said, there's a high turnover rate. Not to mention, the pay is lower because it's in Yolo/Sacramento County OPM pay. Down the road in Vacaville/Fairfield, the pay is way higher because it's Solano County. I requested retention pay and they did offer it to me. 

Also, I had lots of issues with my timecard and also missed my holiday pay which was paid later on. 

But working with children/youth was really fun and 

My typical work day begins with checking my emails and responding appropriately.  I then review all travel authorizations and vouchers and notify travel planners of any changes. After the corrections have been made I receive a notice letting me know that the travel authorization or voucher is ready to be reviewed.  I then forward the documents to the Administrative Officer for approval.  I may be asked to prepare travel orders and vouchers, and occasionally travel to other locations to train travel planners.  I review travel policies and sent updated to the travel planners.  I log all Title 42 and Title 38 Cases in the Workflow Inofmration Tracking System and check to see if there is an existing file on the individual and prepare packets which will eventually be sent to the committee and I hand-deliver the packets.  I execute all property requests for laptops, cables, docking stations, and mouse.  I use a required vendor list to check for office supplies and enter the items in an online cart that is sent to the Division Coordinator.  I also must submit the order in the Purchasing Online Tracking System that is approved by the Card Holder and the Administrative Officer.  I prepare Title 42 notebooks. I make adjustments to division timecards, schedule meetings, and book conference rooms.  I type letters, compensation documents, charts and prepare executive recruiting packets.  I run HR reports and collect data pertaining to salaries.  I've learned that human resources is an intricate part of the workforce and good customer service is needed throughout the different divisions.  I interact with management occasionally and respect his/her position.  My co-workers are caring and pleasant to work with. The hardest part of my job is to train the travel planners and to get them to meet deadlines.  The most enjoyable part of the my job is being the "go to person."  I like knowing that people can rely on me to get the job done.

I Managed and maintained the OAR’s Conference Center for more than 150 meetings per year. 
•Coordinated the planning and implementation of meetings for Senior Staff.
•Served as senior Travel Logistical liaison for the President’s Advisory Council on AIDS.  
•Composed correspondence, memos, letters, and briefing material for annual conferences.  
•Negotiated contracts with vendors in the NIH Procurement office, conferences, shipping supplies and computer software packages in compliance with DHHS Federal Regulations and The Office of AIDS Research Standard Operating Procedures.  
•Monitored and controlled the Alchemy Retrieval Database, a correspondence and central filling system that track correspondence and documents received by and developed in the office.
•Analyzed all scientific documents in the Office of AIDS Research and made recommendations or concur with classifications and cross-reference.   
•Served as primary assistant to the computer specialists.    
•Provided technical support to 40 users on Basic Computer Applications.  
•Trained senior and support staff on the functions and operations of the Alchemy Database.  
•Provided overall administrative assistance to three Senior Program Analysts, one Budget Analyst, and one Program Coordinator.  
•Prepared various reports and briefing material using a variety of software applications.  
•Assembled, pack, and transmitted items using the Electronic On-line FedEx Website
•Created a directory database that stored names, addresses, etc.  
• Administered the shipment of items going beyond National Boundaries. 
•Scheduled and maintained conferences between supervisors and staff using MS Outlook.  
Used the On  Time Calendar Program to develop up-to date calendars and weekly reports to be submitted to the Director’s Office. 
•Served as lead payroll official, kept inventory of all Earnings and Leave Statements, along with all requests for leave.  
•Prepared and filed confidential documents for employees.
•Coordinated office moves for 45 individuals

Kayenta Healthy Center's Counseling Services was a rewarding place to work if you enjoy working with people and working with predominantly Native American's.  Everyday was different, I seen patients anywhere from children to adults.  Due to lack of providers as a Mental Health Child Specialist I seen many adults whom mostly spoke Navajo and I can communicate with them in Navajo, that was rewarding to be able to talk in your own language and make a difference in the lives of people.  I completed assessments on patients, provided counseling one-on-one, family and group work.  I facilitated the men's domestic violence group as well as the women's group. I also facilitated the Parenting Classes, all of these groups were referrals from Social Services or the Courts.   I also helped with crisis interventions including suicidal patients, bereavement issues, PTSD and other catastrophic disasters.  I presented on suicide prevention within the communities and sometimes invited to speak at a conference on suicide, I'm also an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Trainer (ASIST) and went into the community to do 2-day presentations.  Sometimes I participated in health fairs to set up a booth and provided information for Kayenta Health Center's Counseling Services.  I did a lot of work in collaborating with different agencies within the community, schools, courts, women's shelter, social services, FBI, and residential centers in Phoenix or New Mexico.  My employment with IHS has provided me with many skills and a rewarding one at that.

I have worked as a contractor for IHS at Woodrow Wilson Keeble Memorial in South Dakota for 2 months now and I'll probably never leave. I love the type of work that I do and have found it so fulfilling to serve the Indian people. You can tell people work here because they are passionate about what they do. The pay is great and I have an awesome contract company. I also love that you tend to work in more remote locations which is a plus to me. I feel that I can practice being a dentist in a way that is ethical and I can give patients the care I feel they need rather that what is most lucrative. It has been a life changing experience for me. A typical day of work begins with a staff huddle which always seems to be centered around patient needs and workflow. Management is lacking a bit only because of short staffing, but people really band together here to get the job done regardless. It feels like a cohesive team rather than just a job. The hardest part of the job is simply the short staffing, but that is oddly also a strength because it causes you to solve problems as a group rather than working as an individual. I think there is a great culture here and this is the first time in a long time that I get excited to come to work. I would highly recommend.

Overall rating: **

Compensation/Benefits: These are great!

Culture/Values: Are seriously lacking. Though programs are in place to reduce prejudicious, comments can be overheard being made among the staff; however, more importantly prejudicial treatment is evident in the writing of family/parental treatment plans that are impossible to complete within the court appointed time-frames thus setting the entire family for failure and permanent disruption.
Job Security/Advancement: Once hired; NEVER fired - regardless of mistakes!
Management: It would appear that DFPS prides itself on hiring MSWs. Unfortunately, most of the MSWs hired do not have the clinical expertise of the LCSW, which is the 3000 hours of experience that would bring the focus back around to "the well-being of the child, the family, and their environment" - something DFPS so desperately Needs!
Work/Life Balance: DFPS will wear you out with casework overload unless you are trained to with self-care to say "no". Staff are expected to maintained anywhere between 25 cases and up.

A typical work day started out at 3:30 am getting the water tested and the machines primed up and running before the first dialysis patient walked in at 5 am. Setting up all the water baths, testing the pH of the water supply lines. I learned that every patient was different in temperament and needs and tolerance to dialysis treatment and schedules, and learned alot about dialysis and the whole process. Management was supportive, but direct management on the floor had no nursing knowledge or skills making decision making and the work place difficult . Co - workers were for the most part helpful some were lazy and made it hard to pick up the slack.  The hardest part was a non medical manager in the dialysis unit, not understanding the roles of the nurse verses the technicians. I really enjoyed this temporary job knowing that I was helping people get through their week and making life easier by understanding their disease process with dialysis and nutrition.

Some people do it for a paycheck. Management has no idea how the unit works and makes rules from an office without staff input and frequently change rules so they don't have to come in and work. They make rules to satisfy their agenda and to look better than other organizations but it's really pathetic that they don't have the supplies or even half the brain to be like the private sector and make wiser decisions regarding government and resources...ex giving hazard pay to teleworkers??? How when they are not even at work dealing with covid directly being on the front lines. This is many of the things that are done to emphasize their stupidity. Not worth the trouble, dealing with arrogant and entitled people that have no real work experience qualifying for something there  that they would never qualify for in the private sector. 

There are no typical days at the Emergency Medical Services department. Emergency and transport calls come in at any time of day or night. When responding to an emergency call, one must apply all knowledge to the task and work as a team to prepare for any contingencies. When not responding to a call, we were tasked to assure that the ambulance was well stocked, clean and all lights, siren and mechanical parts were working properly. We worked in the Emergency department when not busy in the office. Our supervisor was very knowledgeable and fair. The upper management would have award ceremonies, holiday lunches, and training's. The most enjoyable part of the job was the friendship of fellow employees. The hardest part of the job was seeing families in distress while a family member was injured or worse. Native American culture played a big part in the medical department. A great understanding of the culture was paramount to healing.

Ihs is a government health care system for indian reservations & overall underfunded & does not provide adequate healthcare for the people on & around the reservation.  I worked in the ems department that was given top equipment & training with a total of 8 personnel to man a 50x80 square mile reservation of approximately 2,500 people. Our positions gave emergency care to all types of injuries & sickness, from gsw's, stabbings, heart attacks & diabetic comas to list just a few.  My fellow employees & I were treated mostly fairly by administration and after nearly 20 years of that duty the new incoming head of the hospital defunded (along with the obama admin.) The monies for the program.  The department was severely downsized to approximately 4 people & cut hours of operation.  After leaving the position and within months the entire staff was let go & volunteers attempted to keep up the responses for service.


Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 1 salary reported	$67,682 per year
Registered nurse - emergency room 102 salaries reported	$94,995 per year
Registered nurse - medical / surgical 51 salaries reported	$86,519 per year
Advanced practice registered nurse 5 salaries reported	$140,672 per year
Nursing supervisor 82 salaries reported	$82,712 per year

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