want to move to florida

osprey · Feb 18, 2004

Pay in Florida is nothing to write home about. I am enclosing a link for the Miami Herald, Herald.com. I always see ads for dialysis.

Thanks for the info': how much is nothing to write home about; I am at the top of the scale here at 33.75 Can/hr with 6 weeks paid holidays; how does that compare to florida?

ESRD · Feb 18, 2004

Thanks for the info': how much is nothing to write home about; I am at the top of the scale here at 33.75 Can/hr with 6 weeks paid holidays; how does that compare to florida?

You MIGHT get $22/hour in FLA if you are lucky.. I don't know the exchange rate..Hopefully, you might..

The southern area of the US is lower paying than other areas.

ESRD

drscepura, BSN, DNP, RN · Feb 29, 2004

I've tried for years to move to Florida permanently, but being a dialysis nurse in Florida really isn't as glamorous as it is up North. Nearly all the dialysis units in hospitals are "outsourced=AKA=farmed out" to Gambro, Davita, or Fresenius. If you do inpatient acutes you are forced to work for a "for profit" entity in Florida. These companies are like factories, giving the diaylsis nurse very high nurse patient ratios in the chronic setting, while working acutes you are asked to drive a 50 mile radius to perform acute treatments. Has anyone been in the traffic down in SouthWest Florida? (let's talk parking lots) An acute dialysis nurse's work day if normally 12 hours becomes 16 hours with all the driving required, not to mention if you have a "dialysis machine problem" you have to wait till it is repaired, or fix it yourself if you know how. Then if you work in acute setting 40 hours, you are asked to take "call" which means carrying the pager and getting up in middle of night to drive up to 50 miles to go do a treatment. How would you like that in the middle of the night? I give the acute dialysis nurses in Florida a round of applause for being able to cope with the conditions they are faced with. The salary for acute dialysis nurse in Florida is exceptionally low comparitively with the Northern states. (16-27 max/hr depending on years of experience) They say cost of living is low in South Florida, but if you want to live in Naples, FL you better check again what the real estate costs there and the disproportionate salary nurses receive there. Currently I am a travel dialysis nurse and am at point nearly where I am willing to give up the fabulous lifestyle to settle down, but at an expense of nearly 20-40K of what I normally make in a year travelling, for the grand excitement and priviledge of living in Florida and paying "sun tax." I may just have to work for a "for profit" dialysis center in some shopping plaza as a clinical nurse manager to make any sort of decent living here and this is the sad reality of trying to move and live to SW FL for this nurse.

Nur_1996 · Feb 29, 2004

I've tried for years to move to Florida permanently, but being a dialysis nurse in Florida really isn't as glamorous as it is up North. Nearly all the dialysis units in hospitals are "outsourced=AKA=farmed out" to Gambro, Davita, or Fresenius. If you do inpatient acutes you are forced to work for a "for profit" entity in Florida. These companies are like factories, giving the diaylsis nurse very high nurse patient ratios in the chronic setting, while working acutes you are asked to drive a 50 mile radius to perform acute treatments. Has anyone been in the traffic down in SouthWest Florida? (let's talk parking lots) An acute dialysis nurse's work day if normally 12 hours becomes 16 hours with all the driving required, not to mention if you have a "dialysis machine problem" you have to wait till it is repaired, or fix it yourself if you know how. Then if you work in acute setting 40 hours, you are asked to take "call" which means carrying the pager and getting up in middle of night to drive up to 50 miles to go do a treatment. How would you like that in the middle of the night? I give the acute dialysis nurses in Florida a round of applause for being able to cope with the conditions they are faced with. The salary for acute dialysis nurse in Florida is exceptionally low comparitively with the Northern states. (16-27 max/hr depending on years of experience) They say cost of living is low in South Florida, but if you want to live in Naples, FL you better check again what the real estate costs there and the disproportionate salary nurses receive there. Currently I am a travel dialysis nurse and am at point nearly where I am willing to give up the fabulous lifestyle to settle down, but at an expense of nearly 20-40K of what I normally make in a year travelling, for the grand excitement and priviledge of living in Florida and paying "sun tax." I may just have to work for a "for profit" dialysis center in some shopping plaza as a clinical nurse manager to make any sort of decent living here and this is the sad reality of trying to move and live to SW FL for this nurse.

I'm not a dialysis nurse. But have lives in Naples for 14 years. Had to reply about the wonderful pay we get here! And the traffic is fun huh? I hav'nt even seen the beach in 6 months, I currently am a school nurse, my 7 1/2 hour day, often turns into a 10 hour day because of the traffic. There are days I would just love to leave this place they call "Paridise" :rotfl:

drscepura, BSN, DNP, RN · Feb 29, 2004

I'm not a dialysis nurse. But have lives in Naples for 14 years. Had to reply about the wonderful pay we get here! And the traffic is fun huh? I hav'nt even seen the beach in 6 months, I currently am a school nurse, my 7 1/2 hour day, often turns into a 10 hour day because of the traffic. There are days I would just love to leave this place they call "Paridise" :rotfl:

Know your worth. Don't stay stuck in a job when there are so many other opportunities in this country for you. I spent 8 years in a job beating head against wall in Boston for what? High cost of living, moderate wage, and very little in the checking account. The highest paying jobs are in CA and there are some honest travel nurse companies out there that you might look into, but a lot of them are crooked too so be careful. One company wanted me to wait three and half weeks before giving me my first pay check for only one week's worth of pay. Another company falsely advertised, (Quik Travel) that they supply health insurance compensation and 401K program. When it came down to signing a deal, they in fact did not have either of those benefits in tact so I had to back out of the deal, fortunately I did not sign anything. You are better off with larger travel nurse companies, but even they try to stick you for housing cost, so you have to be assertive and tell them no deal unless housing is paid in full, and it usually works depending on location and assignment. Good luck to you and hope you realize you have lots of power in job market and don't stay stuck in job you dislike or most especially in a city you do not like...