Are there any Texas hospitals that offer signing and relocation bonuses?

Where in Texas are you going to live?

Your subject line and your question are somewhat of a dichotomy -

The places with the best sign on's are usually the worst places to work! Just a handy rule of thumb to consider.

Hospitals in South texas are paying 30k sign on's in some cases - I'd be asking myself why - you KNOW they are going to be hideously short staffed!

The best place to work depends on whats important to you. Benefit packages can vary pretty widely even in the same city, some places have hefty tuition reimbursement, others have very little, some have more vacation time or structured time off such as a "teachers schedule".

Talk to recruiters and get the lowdown on the places you are interested in, but chances are - the place you will be happy long term is not the place with the biggest sign on bonus.

Often those bonuses are paid out over time, so it might take you 2-3 years of working there to collect the total amount.

I am a Nursing Director for a hospital in South Texas. Our next door neighbor is paying up to $50K for a 4-year commitment and it is paid out over time. Many of the people they recruit leave before the 4 years are up and must pay back all of the monies received to date. Our hospital prefers to attract people to our beautiful, warm community and to a hospital with low nurse to patient ratios, great directors (if I must say so myself!), and a small sign-on bonus along with relocation. Great working conditions are more important in the long run than large sign-on bonuses. In many hospitals, you can broker a good deal depending on what your needs are to include a sign-on bonus and relocation. Don't be greedy the first time around. Go to work in a supportive environment where you can comfortably learn and grow as a nurse. After you become proficient, you can better pick and choose your next situation and negotiate a better package due to your experience. Good Luck! And don't be afraid to consider South Texas. The temperature here on Christmas Day was a lovely, sunny 75 degrees.

jats2........GREAT ADVICE you gave in your post! You sound like the kind of manager I respect and appreciate. Where can I find you when I'm ready to start work again as a nurse?

Thanks for the compliment. I am currently in McAllen at Rio Grande Regional Hospital. You can find me on the 5th floor. Interestingly, I have been blessed to hire all of my Medical/Surgical positions. But it is a fluid business, and just about the time I think I have it all done, someone up and leaves. It is a good thing though, because one of my favorite things is to recruit new nurses! Our website is called nosnowjobs.com. Give us a look if you are interested. We will usually fly an interested party down to McAllen and put them up for a couple of days. Good luck in your search and maybe I will meet you someday.

Jats2
Thanks, I also appreciate your advice. I am an RN in New Zealand and have been considering moving to Sth Padre with my Texan partner. We are currently investigating the immigration procedure and I understand I will need to obtain a Texas license and sit the NCLEX exam before I can work. Anyway decided to see what I could find out about Nursing in Brownsville or Mc Allen on these forums and frankley some of the posts about South Texas working conditions were freaking me out! Glad to see some positive feedback. I have checked out your website, just wonder what are the staff/pt ratio's like and also if fulltime means three 12 hr shifts? Any other advice you can offer me would be gratefully recieved.

Hello Gracer,
Our facility has 12 hour shifts and I prefer my staff to work 84 hours in two weeks. On day shift each primary nurse generally has 6 patients if we are full (36 beds) and may end up with one additional patient if we are not full. On nights, they have 7-8. There is also a charge nurse on each shift that usually does not take patients. We have nurses aides and a unit secretary around the clock. We have a great facility and I have a great team working with me. We have a sister facility in Brownsville that I hear from staff is not as good as ours but still in the running. I don't know why South Texas has a bad reputation. There are a number of good hospitals here and most are pretty competitive. I think it is the one's offering the mega-bonus to sign on that are "too good to be true." I would never go anywhere just for the money. The Director, working environment, and nurse to patient ratios are the most important things; money, growth, and educational opportunities are second.

As for taking your NCLEX in Texas, I wish you good luck. As a foreigner, I think they will require you to take an English proficiency test which I believe they only give twice a year. I understand Texas is pretty difficult about taking the NCLEX as well. Some of the nurses I have hired from Canada and other non-compact states, take the NCLEX in Minnesota, Georgia or California. Since they are a compact state, Texas accepts it and you can get a Texas license generally sooner than if you waited to take it in Texas. It is the one thing that bothers me about my state. Otherwise, there is nothing negative about Texas as a state.

South Padre Island is the best beach in Texas. I wish you luck in your efforts to get here. Come and see us, I bet you will stay!