OR Nurse Salary DFW

Hello future Texan. I'm an OR travel Rn from Dallas who hit the road in order to get paid adequately for all my hard work and experience. I trained in Plano, a suburb just north of Dallas and worked for 1 year at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Here's my perspective: You are far better off working for an agency. After travel nursing and making $32 - $37 hr in California for 3yrs, I was back home / Dallas - working for 6 months making $34 hr as agency not the $25 hr I was offered to hire on. And that included health insurance. If you go to Dallas/Ft. Worth on a travel assignment with an agency, you will not only get paid more they will pay for your apartment and utilities, insurance and a travel bonus. It will also give you the opportunity to check out different Hospital to see how YOU like them instead of feeling like your the one being judged. Then hire on if you want to. It is true that different areas of the country pay their nurses different rates and I understand about cost of living and all that but . . . . . . My bills are always the same no matter where I live and my time is just as valuable as anyone else's. Why would I work my tail off for less when another company will pay me more for the same position? Dallas, Ft. Worth is a great area to live and work in with friendly folks and lots to do. You have many many options for hospitals to work in who need good RNs but since Texas is a "right to work state" the pay, in my opinion is too low. But like they say "if you don't like it here you have the right to work somewhere else."

I recently attended the one-day nursing expo organized by Lippincott and spoken to few recruiters and one from Texas Health Resources. I am from Singapore, with 6 years of OR nursing experience specialized in orthopedic and spine surgery. I would like to seek advice on the expected salary/hour. Thank you.

sheisbb

Howdy. I worked for and was trained by Texas Health Resources 7yrs ago. They have several hospitals in the Dallas / Ft. Worth Area. Some good some not so good. They are pretty typical as far as health care companies go. The thing about Texas is that their labor laws don't support the workers as well as it does in other parts of the US. And that is pretty typical of most Southern states. Texas is a right to work state and very anti union. As far as salary goes . . . like I wrote in my first post, there are many many options in the US. The pay rate varies so much from state to state that it is crazy. You're doing the same thing and using the same skills no matter what state you work in. Why would you work for less money? Some people use "cost of living" as a justification for lower wages in some areas of the country but I just don't see it that way. Your car payment will always be the same wherever you live etc. and yes it does cost more to live in California than Texas but the pay and treatment of nurses is so much better by comparison. In Texas an experienced circulator will hire on at about $25 - $27 an hr. and only make $2 an hour to be on call - it is usually mandatory that you take call. In California I make $52 hr and $26 per hour just to be on call! Not $2! When I do get called in it's Time and a Half! Call is never an issue here because we get so well compensated for it. However, housing and taxes in California are higher. I don' have to worry about that because I rent. I also own a house in Texas that I will retire to when the time comes so I keep my Texas status when I travel nurse and pay the lower Texas Taxes. Best of both worlds. If you sign up with a Travel Company then you can "shop" around various locations in the USA and decide for yourself where you want to live. Travel assignment are usually 13wks. and they pay for your apartment, furniture rental, and utilities. I traveled for 3.5 years and loved it. If you don't like a place you can move on after your 13wks. If you do like it you can usually extend your assignment or hire on. Why would you not shop around for a place that fits you? Currently I'm hiring on in California to recover from a work related injury to my knee. And that's another thing. Workmans Compensation in California is so much better than back home in Texas. They pay more and provide more services. Don't get me wrong. I am a true Texan and love my state, but I'm also realistic and informed about my working options. I am not on "Sale". I will not work for less money to do the same thing that somebody else is doing. My advice would be to do an Internet search on Travel nursing and find a company that will sponsor you in if you do not have a work visa etc. and see what they provide. It also might be that Texas Health Resources might be a good first step to get you to the US. But after you have fulfilled your requirement to them you may want to Travel Nurse and explore other options. Texas is a great place to live. Good Luck.