Tips for RN moving to Sacramento, Ca in October.

U.S.A. California

Published

Hello all!

So, I just looking for a little advice/insight into the current Sacramento job market. My husbands family lives there and we desperately want to be moved over to Cali from Florida in October/November of this year. By October, I will have 4 years of nursing experience all in med surg. I will also have my BSN complete! My husband will have a little over a year of RN experience (In Neuro) with a BSN as well. Now I have heard and read about the difficulty getting a job in the area especially for new grads! It frankly makes me nervous! Any encouragement would be awesome!

Thank you!

Specializes in being a Credible Source.

Well, the job market's pretty tight but there are jobs to be had.

The region's major hospital employers are:

Kaiser Permanente

Sutter Health

Dignity Health (formerly CHW)

UC Davis Medical Center

VA

Not being new grads will help, as will having your BSNs. Some of these places require baccalaureate degrees and the others 'prefer' them.

When looking at Sutter, keep in mind that not all 'Sutters' are created equal: That is, some are affiliates (basically licensees) with dramatically different pay scales and benefits.

Beyond the biggies in Sac and the contiguous 'burbs like Roseville, etc are a bunch of smaller hospitals up and down I-5 and back and forth along Hwy 80 and Hwy 50.

All of the above large employers require applications through their websites while some of the smaller joints will take faxes and drop-offs.

I don't know that I can offer much encouragement besides saying that there are thousands of RNs working in the greater Sacramento area... but also lots of folks looking to get hired, too.

Specializes in being a Credible Source.

I forgot to mention CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)... as well as the county jails.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

The California BON are sticklers about contingincy issues and education....be sure you will qualify for the board to accept your application to endorse to CA.

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

1. Get your CA endorsements now, or at least within the next couple of months. Reason 1: CA BRN takes forever. Reason 2: if there are issues with your education/endorsement, you (referring to both of you) will have time to address them before you arrive.

2. You're not new grads anymore but instead working RNs, so you've already cleared a major hurdle :)

You (OP) have the advantage of a few years' experience. Yes, the market is tight but you've got a solid background to go into m/s or even into a lot of other specialties.

Your hubby may be at some disadvantage as he'll only have one year's experience and many jobs want 2+ years. But one year's experience is better than no experience, and he has a decent shot at selling himself especially to a neuro job. Also, having a year's experience means he is eligible for a lot of registry/agency nursing jobs.

3. Having BSNs in a big advantage, as most places prefer them.

Your hubby doesn't qualify for specialty certification yet, but you (OP) could get your ANCC certification in m/s to help boost your chances--a lot of places smile favorably upon certified applicants.

The downsides of certification is the cost of taking the exam and the need for lots of CEUs...however, given that you need to cough up 30 CEUs every time you renew your CA license (you don't need them for your endorsement so don't panic), you'll be taking those courses anyway.

Best of luck!

Specializes in CCU Stepdown, Tele.

Im late on this post, but i would like to know if you and your husband where able to found jobs in Sac. If so how long did it take?? I am in the same situation as your husband a 1yr experience tele/ CCU at a level 1 trauma facility but because my husband is military we are moving to Sac.

Well we now have 2 years of RN experience ...I have 3 additional years as an LPN. He has 8 months of that 2 years in the ICU. We actually just got here in the beginning of April. We are taking a travel assignment about 50 miles from Sac in Modesto to keep our feet on the ground. I'm actually 19 weeks pregnant so I'm doing this travel assignment then I'll look for a job after the baby is old enough. As far as getting a permanent job. He's had 2 interviews (1 job offer) and he has two more. It took a long time for the phone to start ringing though. That's why we got ansy and decided to do a travel assignment.

+ Add a Comment