nursing jobs for wife right out of nursing school

TazziRN, RN · Aug 30, 2006

If she doesn't work for three years after graduating that will be very difficult for her to explain when applying for jobs. My opinion: she should apply to places where you are for right now, because there is no place that pays new grads as well as experienced nurses. If she's patient and "pays her dues" the first year, she'll do fine and it will be easier for her to find a job wherever you end up moving to.

PS.......from a military brat: thanks for your service!!1

retrvrman · Aug 30, 2006

From what she has told me is that there are jobs in AZ either in Flagstaff or Phoenix areas that will hire nurses right out of school that include sign on bonuses, pay off student loans, relocation bonus, etc. So if I understand what you are saying, she should get her resume' together now, send it to hospitals, people that might be looking for nurses, now??I am just trying to make things as easy for her as possible so that she doesn't get to frustrated. She seems to think that Colorado Springs pays nothing and I have heard that Denver pays alot more. I can I find out the payscale for nurses in different cities???

TazziRN, RN · Aug 30, 2006

Call different hospitals and ask them what their starting pay is. But yes, whether it be where you are now or in AZ, she should start soon. Otherwise in three years she will be an "old" grad with no experience, and the newer grads will have a better chance than her for a position. Not to mention that she's only learned part of what she needs in school, the rest comes from experience. She will not only have 3 years get get rusty in what she's learned, she will be that much farther behind her classmates in actual experience.

mcleanl · Aug 30, 2006

Why not apply in Colorado Springs, Denver and in AZ? Look over the offers when they come in and then decide which area is the best. I personally would be surprised if the pay scale was that different. Also, your wife will have to take into consideration the hours that are being offered, the area of specialty...etc...not just money. I also think ( and I'll be interested to see what others say) that it is way too early to apply for RN positions if she isn't graduating until may.

retrvrman · Aug 30, 2006

She just has heard that in Colorado Springs, nurses are not paid that well right out of school. I don't know how much information she has gotten or if it is hersay...They are opening two new hospitals here in the next year or two. I am trying to get all the information I can together and then we can make the best educated decision possible. I only have threes left in the USAF and then I can retire and we can go anywhere she wants....I really appreciate any and all advice and info that folks have...thanks,

TazziRN, RN · Aug 30, 2006

Call the places in Colorado Springs and ask, then call other places too. Wherever she ends up working, she really should start working as soon as she can, rather than three years from now. Good luck to both of you!

mtngrl, ASN, RN · Aug 30, 2006

OMG I cannot believe your wife! She is actually considering moving away from you and her kids because she thinks she will make a few dollars more???? Why is she in nursing...for the money? She will never make it then. Graduate nurses are paid as graduate nurses. It's not going to be much. If there is such a huge difference in pay somewhere I'll bet the cost of living there is much higher. And another thing, the hospitals that are offering the bonuses are usually doing so because they are so short staffed and it is the only way to get nurses. Those are often the worst places to work at. She has a lot of time left to figure out where to apply. You should encourage her to work close to home. That's my opinion.

P_RN, ADN, RN · Aug 30, 2006

Hubby are you located in Colorado? As the others have said all things considered, new graduates pretty much make the same. Cost of living, housing etc makes for example California pay higher and SC pay lower.

I certainly would agree that she needs to get work as soon as she gets her license. Education is never wasted, but if she holds out for 3 years she will be considered inexperienced, whereas if she had worked that 3 years she'd have bargaining power.

And to you THANKS for what you are doing.

retrvrman · Aug 30, 2006

Part of the reason is that we are having some marital difficulties (and I know that there are other forums for stuff like this but since most of y'all out there are women then I do appreciate your opinion), we are going to counseling as am I for myself, she has not started for herself yet. Like I said I am active duty AF, we currenlty live on base housing, and with the three kids. She has told me that she will make a decision or have to by next May when she graduates, she has said that doesn't mean she wants a "D" or separation, right now she really doesn't know what she wants to do for sure. It is just that the allure of sign on bonus, relocation pay, etc and her being able to live closer to her family gives her some sense of comfort.I have told her, and she doesn't like me saying this because it makes her feel bad, that I will move wherever she wants to work when I retire, regardless of our situation, just so our kids don't have one parent in one state and another parent in another. I have also suggested that I will try and move myself (get a waiver or something, find a job in my career field for the USAF) if she decides or finds something she cannot pass up.That is why I am trying to get educated as much as possible on the payscale for nurses right out of school here, AZ, etc so that we can then talk about it.She and I don't want to wait for three years and not work. I talked with a human resources lady today and nurses right out of school make $20.15hr at Penrose. I am trying to get a hold of Memorial and find out from them what their starting pay is for graduate nurses.

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 30, 2006

As another person wrote ... the places that offer the most "bonus stuff" for new grads often do so because that's the only way they can get people to work there. They are often the most understaffed hospitals and the ones that have the fewest resources to provide a good orientation or good experience for a new nurse.

A new graduate should not choose her first job based on these bonuses. When they do, they often end up in the wrong place and starting their careers on the wrong foot. The first job should be chosen based on the quality of the intsitution and the ability they have to provide the new grad with a good orientation and a positive first year transition from student to professional. As you and your wife start to look at jobs for her, you need to focus on those types of things -- not on money. The money doesn't do you any good if you quit your first job in a few months and/or get so burned out and bruised that you quit nursing. Focus on quality of experience, not on a few bucks.

llg

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2006

20 year nurse (nurse manager/community health nurse) here...."hearing that pay in one place isn't so good" is meaningless. It sounds like an excuse to me. Sign on bonuses sound great but they evaporate quickly after taxes.

I've done staffing surveys around my state and wages don't really vary that much except to pay slightly more where cost of living is noticably higher.

I think your wife is looking for a reason to move to her family and has latched on to this as her rationale. I'd be very surprised if it is valid.

ETA: I strongly advise not postponing employment after graduation! Not one of the people I graduated with who "took a year off" ever ended up working as an RN. You lose so much... and the mental block about being a new grad seems to get bigger and bigger until it is insurmountable.