How long did it take for you to hear back from Vanderbilt Nurse Residency Program ?

Thanks for all your information! I really appreciate the inside track! I'm from Arizona. It's crazy how it's so hard everywhere! My husband's a nurse, too, and he's working about an hour and a half one way drive in another town... 'cause we can't find anything in town. By the time the new grad program starts in January, he'll be a few months shy of a year of experience. It's kind of tricky. But I imagine it'd be easier for him to find a job than me... and I know Vanderbilt tends to hire RN level 1s.

Is Colorado a tough market right now, too?

That website is really useful! I just compared and Nashville COL is considerably lower than Tucson... so that's reassuring. It's crazy when places like California are so inflated when the market is so tough.... so I'm glad it's not like that! I imagine I'll get a better idea, too, when we stay out there a few extra days after my interview Yay, vacation!

Hi Paintingskies and Nurse901. I am from Orlando, Florida and are new graduates start at $21-$22 an hour. I've lived in Florida pretty much my whole life and sometimes I think it's too expensive here, lol. I have family in Crossville, Tennessee about an hour and a half outside Nashville and to me I think Tennessee is cheaper, but that just me...I live in Mickey Mouse, Sea World and Universal land, lol.

Oh, wow. Yeah, I imagine touristy areas are going to be largely inflated. I wonder why Tucson pays so much more for the new grads then. I don't really understand how that's all figured out and why one area can be so much more than another. Go figure.

Are y'all traveling in for interviews, too? They don't reimburse for interview travel either, do they?

I'm driving up for the interview. No they don't reimburse for interviews. I think they are testing you maybe, kinda like to see if you really want it. But I don't know

i just moved to nashville from wisconsin. I graduated in may. before i moved i was working as an RN in an ICU for four months. I made $30/hr with my night shift and critical care differential. my base pay was $22.60 per hour. From what i can tell thus far the cost of living here is cheaper only by housing. When i go to stores I find that things are significantly more expensive than in wisconsin. I like it here in nashville and the weather is a lot better but the nursing job opportunities and the pay is very crappy. It doesn't seem to equal out with the so called cheaper cost of living. If any of you aren't opposed to moving to wisconsin the job opportunities are plentiful for new grads. I received six job offers when i graduated and was able to start in the ICU right away. i just had to move here due to my husband's job relocation.

I live in Memphis but Nashville really isn't that much different regarding cost-of-living. Housing is pretty affordable, and there are tons of things to do on the cheap in Nashville. Keep in mind there is NO income tax in TN, so your sales tax is going to be higher. I think statewide it is around 9 percent (in Memphis it is 9.25%). BUT, there is no income tax... The DO tax food here (grocery store food), which is kind of suckly. But TN will have a sales tax holiday every year for school supplies, computers, clothing, etc (back-to-school incentive).

The pay for the new grads at Vanderbilt is a little low compared to Memphis. But, there are 10+ hospitals in Memphis and more competition (there are a lot of medical training programs here - UT Medical School Memphis, Southern School of Optometry, at least 5 nursing schools, etc). The average here is $21-22/hour, with shift diffs averaging about $4.25 for night/weekend. Benefits are pretty comparable, but maybe slightly worse overall than Vandy. BUT, you will have good training with the Vandy residency, and you are getting the name recognition if you take a job there. There is only one hospital in Memphis that has an extended residency (St. Francis), so these residently programs are pretty competative state-wide.

Good luck to all of you! I hope you get the job!

JennRN09, that's an interesting thought - the test. It would really kind of suck to buy a plane ticket out to an interview and then not get the job. I was really surprised that they didn't offer phone interviews. Most places do. The tickets from my side of the country to Nashville are definitely not cheap. How long is your drive?

SJonesRN, I wish I could just pick up and go anywhere! My husband is such the opposing force and has some musical background. He'd love nashville simply for the higher incidence of the kinds of musicians he's looking for. There's pretty much nothing here in that regard. Where do you work in Nashville? Was it hard to transition over? That's the concern I have for my husband and his job... (RN also)

I <3 ICU, thanks for that information! I didn't realize that it is a no income state and I think that really makes a difference, coming from a state that is. Our sales tax is around 8.7 or 8.1... so it isn't that much lower. That doesn't sound half bad at all. Do you know if Nashville is as saturated as Memphis sounds?

I honestly don't know. I think there are more hospitals in the Memphis area, but I guarantee if you were to search open positions in Memphis now you would find dozens, if not hundreds, of RN positions available. Most hospitals here hire new grads and have a new grad orientation, but only St. Francis has the nurse residency program. From what I understand the Vandy residency program takes a LOT of students. I don't know how the recession has affected their numbers, but I imagine there will still be a considerable number of positions. I'm not really sure how that reflects their nurse retention rates, but I suppose that's a whole other thread topic!!!