British Nurse coming to NC

Tomskatt · Jan 31, 2006

Hello. I believe we "met"on another forum, unrelated to nursing. Small world.Anyway, I can only speak from my very limited NC experience, as I have only recently moved down from NY(:chuckle ). Anyway, I have almost 12 years of NICU experience with a little cardiac and med/surg thrown in and am looking for employment in the Charlotte area. It seems the rate of pay (from what I have been told by recruiters) is from $19.00- 29.50/hr. No they are not unionized down here. I honestly don't know if that is good or bad. I have worked in unionized hospitals that were awesome and some that were horrible. I guess it depends on the Union. I'm sorry I don't have a lot to tell you, but there is another thread here that has other's pay experiences. Good luck to you.

As for the lifestyle here, I have to say it has only been 3 months, but I am loving life down here. The people are unbelievably warm and friendly and the weather is terrific! My kids are fitting in okay, with a few little "growing pains" along the way and I just love that each morning I watch the sunrise from my porch and the sunset from my back deck. No place is perfect, but this was a great move for my family! Good luck to you!

misswoosie · Jan 31, 2006

Hi Tomskatt

Thanks for replying.Where in Charlotte are you living- do I remember it was the Weddington area?

Obviously the transition for me will be huge as British Nurse working in the US say nursing is completely different over there.

Couldn't believe that NICU at CMC has 48 beds.Iahve always worked what we class as large teaching hospitals here but everything is on a much larger scale over there.

Maybe that's why our NHS is in the state it's in.My husband is going for an op

(non urgent hernia repair)tomorrow and it is 6 months since he was referred by his GP (family physician).

Our NHS pay system has just been restructured and nurses came off badly (as usual).We had to write our job description and then this was scored using a tool which was so subjective with words like rarely,sometimes and often in it-how can you measure these against a job description.

For the section on mental effort I scored 2 ,the same as our orderly!

We too have problems now with a shortage of nurses which will get worse as 40% of nurses are due to retire in the next 10 years.they recently tried to up our pensionable age to 65 but for once the unions faught it and won.

I work as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in anticoagulation clinics. My hourly rate is $19 .

Which states have min staffing ratios, do you know?

Sue

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Jan 31, 2006

welcome to the nc nursing forum (and hopefully, soon, to nc), misswoosie :balloons: the only state with minimum nurse-patient ratios is california. glad you have found helpful information here :)

misswoosie · Feb 1, 2006

Thanks for the welcome!

I have found this website invaluable ,especially for info re CGFNS etc etc on the International site.

Maybe you could tell me if most hospitals would be prepared to consider employing someone who needed to be petitioned for a green card or whether it would be just the larger ones, or is it just something that they decide depending on if the post is hard to fill and/or they really want you?

Do all Clinical Nurse Specialists in US have a Masters degree. I am a clinical nurse specialist in a nurse led anticoagulant clinic with 1700 patients.We do not initiate or permanetly stop anticoagulation but we do adjust doses of coumarin in all patients once a doctor has prescribed it, manage anticoagulation through surgery/chemo etc and refer to other services. We do not prescribe but this is really just because nurse prescribing courses are so difficult and costly to access.We also advise medical staff on in patient anticoagulation

Others have advised spending at least 1 year on a floor initially. I guess for me that would need to be ICU OR High depedency (? step down) unit.Not too bothered re salary as I only earn $19 per hour now so don't think I could be much worse off over there.Some of the salaries for senior nurses over there are amazing to me but the I guess it's all comparative!

Thanks again

lochweems · Feb 7, 2006

"Anyone who can give any info re schools,lifestyle hospitals etc near these places would be great.

Benson.Clayton.Garner.Fuquay.Wake Forest.Chapel Hill.

BELMONT (gASTON County)Gastonia. mount HOLLY."

Clayton is a rapidly expanding area with affordable housing and descent schools in my opinion. Wake forest is a booming area with mostly high cost housing and great schools (although the county is redistricting). Fuquay is small and a good drive with only 1 key route into Raleigh that I know of (and it's a 2 lane road last I knew - last time I went that way was in 2003).

Chapel Hill would be my selection. They have 2 high shools and they are separate from the county. They have a high ratio of their kids going on to further their education. Chapel Hill is a more liberal town than the others (not sure what your political affiliation is). It has a liberal college (UNC-CH) where as Wake Forest has the Southeastern Baptist Seminary.

Chapel Hill also has a grocery store that reminded me of european grocery stores (of course my experiences were italy and germany not England). Can't remember the name of the place.

So it depends on what you like.

Quiet and Peaceful and more affordable (Fuquay and Clayton)

Booming Area (Clayton and Wake Forest)

Busy, Socio-Dynamicly Active and more affluent (Wake Forest and Chapel Hill)

Best Schools (Wake Forest and Chapel Hill)

Now just remember this is solely my take on the area, others may feel a bit different.

MR.W

misswoosie · Feb 9, 2006

Thanks Mr W. Are you a nurse? What about hospitals?

We loved Chapel Hill but were a little concerned that as it's not really "Southern" anymore (if it ever was) people may not be as friendly.

House prices are cheaper in Chapel Hill than Northern England , so everyhwere else is really cheap for us but realise it's all relative and we don't really need anything much bigger than 1600 sq feet (that's really big here!) and not nec brand new.

Interesting what you say about Clayton as we'd quite like something with an acre or so and although we didn't visit have surfed the net and quite interested in Johnson County.Would you know how long it would take to travel to Duke from Calyton in the rush.

Again Rhanks for the info

S

truern · Feb 9, 2006

misswoosie, I live in Fuquay and I can assure you it's NOT a two lane into Raleigh. Hwy 401 is four lanes. Fuquay is about 30-40 minutes from Wake Med in Raleigh, and it take me about 22 minutes to get to Wake Med in Cary.

It takes me about 45 minutes to get to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. Truthfully, I've never been to Duke so I'm clueless about travel time.

In your home search, don't forget to look at Apex. It's convenient to Cary without the Cary home prices. Garner is also a nice growing area.

misswoosie · Feb 9, 2006

Thanks Truesn

Nice to have some more feedback.I was starting to think I had offended people by "gatecrashing"!

Which Route do you go to UNC Chapel Hill.Have you always lived in Fuquay?

Again we haven't visited but appeals to us.We have 1 son who is 10 and would like to live somewhere with a community feel to it, but not neccesarily in a sub-division. Any recomendations?

Husband works in Health research at local university so his work is important too.

S

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Feb 9, 2006

"Anyone who can give any info re schools,lifestyle hospitals etc near these places would be great.
Benson.Clayton.Garner.Fuquay.Wake Forest.Chapel Hill.
BELMONT (gASTON County)Gastonia. mount HOLLY."
Clayton is a rapidly expanding area with affordable housing and descent schools in my opinion. Wake forest is a booming area with mostly high cost housing and great schools (although the county is redistricting). Fuquay is small and a good drive with only 1 key route into Raleigh that I know of (and it's a 2 lane road last I knew - last time I went that way was in 2003).
Chapel Hill would be my selection. They have 2 high shools and they are separate from the county. They have a high ratio of their kids going on to further their education. Chapel Hill is a more liberal town than the others (not sure what your political affiliation is). It has a liberal college (UNC-CH) where as Wake Forest has the Southeastern Baptist Seminary.
Chapel Hill also has a grocery store that reminded me of european grocery stores (of course my experiences were italy and germany not England). Can't remember the name of the place.
So it depends on what you like.
Quiet and Peaceful and more affordable (Fuquay and Clayton)
Booming Area (Clayton and Wake Forest)
Busy, Socio-Dynamicly Active and more affluent (Wake Forest and Chapel Hill)
Best Schools (Wake Forest and Chapel Hill)
Now just remember this is solely my take on the area, others may feel a bit different.
MR.W

Chapel Hill also has the most expensive housing in the area. 2000 square feet - on NO LAND, I might add, usually TENTHS of an acre - can easily cost $350K to $400K. Anything more is half a million - and UP. There are houses (and technically speaking, these are in Carrboro, not Chapel Hill) down near the James Taylor bridge that you can't even see the yard, the houses are about 3400 square feet, and they're running at three quarters of a mil. I know this because I know someone who lives there.

Treyburn in North Durham, where you can get 3800 square feet on three quarters of an acre for $444K (we just looked at one about a month ago - absolutely gorgeous, small trees on the land; go to http://www.realtor.com and search in zip code 27712 for the subdivision - nothing like dreaming for Life After Nursing School!) is a better deal if you're interested in high end housing with land. To me, the housing prices in Chapel Hill are outrageous and the town council seems to sometimes forget that UNC is not theirs to attempt to govern.

Pardon the rant. I couldn't help myself.

Contrary to popular belief - and what the Raleigh TV stations may lead you to believe :rolleyes: - you don't need a personal bodyguard and an AK47 to be safe in Durham. If you did, a subdivision like Treyburn wouldn't touch the ZIP with a ten foot pole. I wouldn't advocate walking through Braggtown after dark (and even during the day in some sections!), but I wouldn't walk alone on the south side of downtown Raleigh after dark either.

Please don't discount Durham. I love my city and really wouldn't live anywhere else. (And no, I'm not originally from this area; I'm a Navy brat but I've lived MOST of my life in North Carolina.)

BTW - the grocery store Mr. W. is referencing is Whole Foods. We have one in Durham as well - right across from Duke's campus. And if you like them, you'd love Fowler's downtown. Very old fashioned, and locally owned.

My mother lives in Johnston County - it is a HIKE from Durham; takes me an hour on a Saturday. Can't imagine navigating US 70, which is two lanes (four lanes divided, and your only major outlet to the interstate) during rush hour.

We live in North Durham in a VERY nice subdivision just down the road from Treyburn (oddly enough, DH is a Brit himself!), in 2100 square feet built in 1997 on a third of an acre. The yard is huge! We paid NOTHING (relatively speaking) for the house, and it's already appreciated dramatically - and as soon as the kitchen remodel/refit is done, it will appreciate again. It wasn't a fixer-upper, either; all we've done is some painting to our tastes and some minor landscaping. I live about fifteen minutes from Duke University Hospital; it's almost a straight shot. It would be quicker but for the traffic lights on Duke Street. Our taxes are also less than you would pay in Chapel Hill. I live in the city limits and have trash collection, sewer, etc; my power is with Duke Power and I think the rates are quite agreeable.

If you're interested in Durham, PM me; I'd love to show you around if you come to the area! My sister lives in Garner; it is, as one poster said, growing rapidly and is VERY nice as well - it has REALLY changed over the years. But if you're interested in Duke, Garner is also a hike during rush hour. You have to drive through the Research Triangle Park to get there from Garner, and traffic is a nightmare. I go past it in the morning - in the other direction; I drive from Durham to Cary (just outside of Raleigh) in just over a half an hour.

And as another poster said, this is just my opinion. Just thought you'd like to know that not all of Durham is in the Knife and Gun Club. :clown:

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Feb 9, 2006

misswoosie, I live in Fuquay and I can assure you it's NOT a two lane into Raleigh. Hwy 401 is four lanes. Fuquay is about 30-40 minutes from Wake Med in Raleigh, and it take me about 22 minutes to get to Wake Med in Cary.
It takes me about 45 minutes to get to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. Truthfully, I've never been to Duke so I'm clueless about travel time.
In your home search, don't forget to look at Apex. It's convenient to Cary without the Cary home prices. Garner is also a nice growing area.

I was wondering HOW LONG it had been since whoever made that comment had actually BEEN to Fuquay... Because isn't Wake Tech out on 401 towards Fuquay? And that's definitely four lanes!

Duke is a bit closer to you than UNC is. It's only a few miles from I40 down the Freeway (147). Of course, I don't know if you take US 1 and if that's any faster. I must confess - I don't know much about the highways on that side of the Park and I have to whip a map out to venture over there...to "the other side" of I40.... :roll

I'm always amazed at how much it's grown here! When my sister was at UNC in 1981, I40 ended at RDU and you had to go to Chapel Hill down 54. The only things in RTP were basically IBM and Glaxo (which was Burroughs-Wellcome back then). To pick up I40 on the other side of Chapel Hill to continue west, you took Airport Road to I think it was NC 87 all the way to Burlington (took something like 45 minutes).

Ahh, nostalgia!

Miss Woosie - you probably already know this - another great thing about this area is there is a daily direct flight to the UK (to Gatwick) on American Airlines from RDU. (Not even Charlotte can boast that anymore; you have to take BA to I believe JFK now.) That was one reason when I came back from overseas that I decided to come back here; it would be easy for us to get in and out if there was a problem back home in England for my husband.

KatieBell · Feb 9, 2006

You can PM me. I have worked at: Wake Med, UNC, Duke, Alamance Regional, Moses Cone, Rex, and a few others, no I am not a job hopper, I am a traveler. I do have my personal favorite, but I think its probably not a good idea to start such a debate.

It's true to all of Durham is not the gun and knife club, just some of Durham.

There are some great places to live in Durham. Plus, I'm not so sure about the schools, hen again, the schools in Raleigh, are not supposed to be all that great either, and most of my friends have their kids in the private school system....