Relocating to Maryland

barefootlady, ADN, RN · Aug 2, 2005

Hello Rayofsunshine:

West Virginia has pockets of nursing shortage, the really rural areas that have lost mining jobs and other employment, so nurses have left with the hubby to find a new start somewhere else. A facility close to me lays off nurses every so often, it takes a few years to get staff built back up and then they lay off again. It happens everytime ownership changes hands and it has been sold 5 times in 20 years. We have new facilities being built in the Clarksburg area, Ruby Memorial at WVU is good, CAMC is good, St. Mary's and Cabell Huntington are good. That said, many nurses drive to towns in border states for better money, more learning opportunities, and other perks.

It is a slower pace here, we have 4 seasons, decent schools, no gang activity to speak of, some drugs but "H" is not big, meth is getting worse everyday. Taxes are low for the most part, we are within driving distance of some of the major metropolitian areas of the northeast, and as a native I can tell you we have many, many secret places no one from other places see but are so beautiful it takes your breath away. I never lock my doors, I never worry about my car, I have a camper that has never been locked, and I can go out at midnight and walk the streets of 3 local towns without fear of mugging. So, it is a decision you and hubby may want to think about. My grandkids bring friends here all of the time and the kids never want to leave. They say time stands still here in many ways but VH1 is available. LOL. It has been years since there were racial problems here. Towns like Charleston, Parkersburg, and Huntington have an active gay community, also cultures from other countries seem to be under less stress here. A physician from Tennessee once told me that WV was the little known, little appreciated jewel of the east. He comes to a lot of festivals here and says he has more fun here than in Tennessee because we are more "real."

This is not a commercial for WV but you asked.

rayofsunshine · Aug 3, 2005

Wow!!! WV sounds VERY nice! I always LOVE it there when I go to visit my in-laws. I'm very glad to hear that the racial issues are a thing of the past as my family is interracial. We were really worried about that. It sounds like a great place to rasie children. My in-laws would love it if we moved there. We'll have to see. Thanks for all the info.

Hello Rayofsunshine:
West Virginia has pockets of nursing shortage, the really rural areas that have lost mining jobs and other employment, so nurses have left with the hubby to find a new start somewhere else. A facility close to me lays off nurses every so often, it takes a few years to get staff built back up and then they lay off again. It happens everytime ownership changes hands and it has been sold 5 times in 20 years. We have new facilities being built in the Clarksburg area, Ruby Memorial at WVU is good, CAMC is good, St. Mary's and Cabell Huntington are good. That said, many nurses drive to towns in border states for better money, more learning opportunities, and other perks.
It is a slower pace here, we have 4 seasons, decent schools, no gang activity to speak of, some drugs but "H" is not big, meth is getting worse everyday. Taxes are low for the most part, we are within driving distance of some of the major metropolitian areas of the northeast, and as a native I can tell you we have many, many secret places no one from other places see but are so beautiful it takes your breath away. I never lock my doors, I never worry about my car, I have a camper that has never been locked, and I can go out at midnight and walk the streets of 3 local towns without fear of mugging. So, it is a decision you and hubby may want to think about. My grandkids bring friends here all of the time and the kids never want to leave. They say time stands still here in many ways but VH1 is available. LOL. It has been years since there were racial problems here. Towns like Charleston, Parkersburg, and Huntington have an active gay community, also cultures from other countries seem to be under less stress here. A physician from Tennessee once told me that WV was the little known, little appreciated jewel of the east. He comes to a lot of festivals here and says he has more fun here than in Tennessee because we are more "real."
This is not a commercial for WV but you asked.

meesa214 · Aug 4, 2005

St. Agnes is near Catonsville, GBMC & St. Joe's are in Towson. Although I'm sure plenty of people commute across town (people in Towson go to St. Agnes, etc.)

We have SO MANY hospitals in just the Baltimore area.

I highly doubt JHH gives sign on bonuses. They rely on their reputation to recruit staff.

Katnip, RN · Aug 4, 2005

There are more hospitals in Baltimore than you can shake a stick at. A few:

St. Agnes

Johns Hopkins

UMMS

GBMC

Mercy

Bon Secour

Harbor Hospital

Good Samaritan

Sinai

Franklin Square

Most are pretty competitive as far as salaries. I'd suggest after you move here is start lookin up local job fairs and talk to the different hospitals

jennk · Aug 4, 2005

Yes, JHH is not know for a good salary. They do have excellent health benefits, as well as an extra secure area, but if you drive they charge like $100 a month for parking. I wanted to work there, but after I talked to the nursing recruiter I was really turned off by JHH

I do like Baltimore Shock Trauma, or UofM

Ruby Vee, BSN · Aug 4, 2005

i wanted to say thank you to everyone for all of the help. i'm also checking housing prices in the area and your posts are very helpful. does anyone know what the pay rate is for a new rn at jhh? in s. fl there is a major nursing shortage, some hospitals even give signing bonuses, is it the same in md?

hopkins doesn't give sign-on bonuses, but they do give $1000 retention bonuses twice a year for full time employees. my experience with sign-on bonuses is that you probably don't want to work someplace desparate enough to offer you one! hopkins does offer relocation assistance. as far as pay scale, hopkins prides itself on having the best paid nurses in the area. i'm sure hr could help you out with that information.

ruby

BoonersmomRN · Aug 5, 2005

I had one friend start at JHH making $20/hr Med/Surg day and another start at Bayview $23/hr L+D day in just the past 2 months.

There are TONS of hospitals in the Baltimore area. I'm not a nurse yet but I plan on looking into St.Joseph's, GBMC, and Howard Co. General. As close as St. Agnes is to me I have no desire to work there( been there as a patient...HATED IT)...nor do I really desire to work downtown...will if I have to..but I'd rather stay out in the 'burbs.

PennyLane, RN · Aug 5, 2005

my experience with sign-on bonuses is that you probably don't want to work someplace desparate enough to offer you one!

not true! good samaritan and st. joe's both offer sign-on bonuses. st. joe's required a committment, but good sam didn't. i've worked at both places and have had good experiences. also most of my friends from nursing school were offered sign-on bonuses at their first jobs at many different hospitals from baltimore to d.c.

innovativemurse · Aug 7, 2005

I just moved to Maryland from out west and took a job at Johns Hopkins, so my experience may be similar in that I essentially uprooted my family to come here. I had spent the last couple of years during my education researching the different hospitals, talking to recruiters, and also finding people who worked at these facilities. Essentially it boils down to what you are looking for when you start your nursing career, just as I am. I narrowed my interests down to Hopkins and Maryland, with my eventual selection of Hopkins. Hands down these two facilities offered me the chance to be involved with the cutting edge in healthcare...at least for my specific needs.

I think the starting salary and cost of living here is quite appealing compared to out west, however talking to some of the folks that have been here awhile will verify that Maryland definitely has a hot real estate market. My wife and I bought a house in Lutherville and essentially had to make an offer that day, which was the first day on the market. Although houses here are skyrocketing, they are still a bargain to us, but of course this is open for interpretation. Anyway, Hopkins has great benefits and the starting salary was the highest offered out of all of the hospitals I looked at, which was around $25.00/hr (ICU), plus biannual bonuses, and they are actually reevaluating current salaries and increasing them in Sept. to stay competitive.

All in all the great thing about Baltimore is that everything is so close and there are some amazing areas that are really beautiful, safe, and have good schools. If you need more info please feel free to PM or email me.

lijarajesh · Aug 10, 2005

hi,

i am planning to move to Maryland.i would like to know some details about Penninsula Regional Medical centre.i am appointent there as a nurse.i would be happy if you could be able to give me any information regarding this and also places where i can live with my husband.

I know some hospitals in the area do offer sign-on bonuses. Although, I'm not sure which ones. Maryland is also experiencing a nursing shortage.

Bean RN · Aug 17, 2005

I just moved to Maryland from out west and took a job at Johns Hopkins, so my experience may be similar in that I essentially uprooted my family to come here. I had spent the last couple of years during my education researching the different hospitals, talking to recruiters, and also finding people who worked at these facilities. Essentially it boils down to what you are looking for when you start your nursing career, just as I am. I narrowed my interests down to Hopkins and Maryland, with my eventual selection of Hopkins. Hands down these two facilities offered me the chance to be involved with the cutting edge in healthcare...at least for my specific needs.
I think the starting salary and cost of living here is quite appealing compared to out west, however talking to some of the folks that have been here awhile will verify that Maryland definitely has a hot real estate market. My wife and I bought a house in Lutherville and essentially had to make an offer that day, which was the first day on the market. Although houses here are skyrocketing, they are still a bargain to us, but of course this is open for interpretation. Anyway, Hopkins has great benefits and the starting salary was the highest offered out of all of the hospitals I looked at, which was around $25.00/hr (ICU), plus biannual bonuses, and they are actually reevaluating current salaries and increasing them in Sept. to stay competitive.
All in all the great thing about Baltimore is that everything is so close and there are some amazing areas that are really beautiful, safe, and have good schools. If you need more info please feel free to PM or email me.

I am a recent new grad. I took a sign on bonus and I have been licensed and working since June 16 2005, I have to say that I am in disharmony with where I work, the educator has split, my manager makes promises that she can't keep, the nurses rarely follow policy and play passive aggressive with the Doctors, but will still do things not within there scope, like write verbal orders prior to speaking with the Doc, or pulling Chest tubes out of the pleural space, and there is no such thing as a sterile dressing change.

THere are 3 of us new grads that began in the ICU, we were promised a critical education program, and some structure. The education has been reluctantly done by the nurse educator who has dissappeared...and the only structure I have mustered has been through my own generation, like reading policies and getting comfortable with norms, utilizing other resources as well as communicating with my preceptors and manager.

I am sorry to go on I guess I needed to vent, the reason why I am writing in response to your message is I have been doing research and found JH to have quite an impressive New Grad program, while I am across the country, in AZ, I am longing for a place where teaching and learning is ingrained into all aspects of patient care, medicine and healing. Even though it may not be even remotely feasable to relocate right now I take my Nursing carreer very seriously and feel like I won't have this 1st year as a new grad back. Doctors do fellowships..right?

Any words of wisdom or suggestions are welcomed.

C

surginurse · Aug 22, 2005

Penninsula General Hospital is located on the Eastern Shore of the state. This is approximately 2 1/2 hours from Baltimore. The communities nearby that hospital are Salisbury, Berlin, and Ocean Pines. Ocean Pines is the nicest, but further away ( around 30 minutes). The big benefit is you're really close to the shore, and can enjoy the summers (just the traffic sucks during the summer).