RN pay in Texas

Hi, there. . .

What brings you to Harlingen? The Rio Grande Valley of TX (Brownsville, Harlingen, Edinburgh, Laredo) is known for offering very competitive pay rates and large sign-on bonuses. All of this money is being offered because employers generally cannot keep nurses in this region.

The nurse/patient ratios in this area tend to be high, with 9 to 13 patients per nurse on a typical med/surg floor. In addition, 74 percent of all of the medical malpractice lawsuits in the state of TX can be traced to the 4 counties that comprise the Rio Grande Valley.

Click on the link below to read the perspective of others on this area:

http://allnurses.com/forums/f175/sou...as-261613.html

Texas is the BEST PAID State???? Wow! Now I know the economy has gone down the tubes

Here's some clarification. . .

California is the best-paying state for nurses when no COL (cost of living) adjustments are made. After COL adjustments, Texas ranks as the highest-paying state for nurses.

The food here is really good. It's the only thing I'll miss when I move back to East Texas.


The weather is terrible (unless you like heat), the people are terrible (including the 100000 "winter texans" that clog up the roads and restaurants every winter.), and you'll be hard-pressed to find a single professional attitude in the entire area. My wife and I are here because she took one of the bonus baits ($50000/4 years). It's worked out well for her, because she's no longer working at the bedside. But she's still fighting with incompetent management who don't know the first thing about healthcare.

We're leaving as soon as her contract is up, which is one month after I graduate from nursing school.


Having said all that: I've been to NM, and from what I've seen, it's not markedly different than the RGV. Same people, and same weather (southern parts, anyway). So, you might like it.


Doctor's Hospital at Renaissance (in McAllen/Edinburg) is said to be the best hospital in the region, but they don't pay any sign-on bonus. They do offer more per hour, though. And hey...it's an hour from S. Padre Island. Something to be said for that.

I don't remember the price, but NSO is pretty cheap..I think it's the same price for all states. You don't get it from your employer.


And I had no idea TX was the best paid state w/o COL adjustments! Awesome.

In the remaining 49 states, NSO offers $1 million worth of malpractice insurance per incident for a yearly premium of about $100.

In Texas, NSO offers only $100,000 worth of coverage for a yearly premium of $230.

I had a (nonnursing) job interview in Harlingen about two years ago. It's the only time during an interview when they asked me if I had any questions I said, "Nope!" and then got up and left. After seeing the town, the climate, and some of the people, I was so not interested in the job and just wanted out of there. I would suggest you go down there and spend three days or so before you commit to anything. Some people love it down there (not that I've ever met any of them but I'm sure someone has to like it) and you might be one of them. But I'd check it out first.