Jobs in Virginia Beach area?

[tashacorinne]

Hi there,

An RN with a Bachelor's degree here and I am thinking of moving out of CA to where my brother lives in Virginia Beach. Being a new grad in CA has been absolute hell and I haven't found an acute care position for 2 years... Don't worry, I have been working as a school nurse and volunteering at free clinics and the American Red Cross since I graduated.

Before I can even consider making this big move, I would like to know how the job market is for new grads over in Virginia Beach and surrounding areas. Is it incredibly competitive? Is it worth the move?

[danarooo, BSN, RN]

This is my opinion on the possibilities for low pay here.

This area has a high Medicaid use, and in Virginia the reimbursement rate is very low for Medicaid services which means companies who provide services and bill Medicaid have less wiggle room to pay employees. Also, yes it's a big military area for sure but something you have to remember is that military bases = jobs and lots of them for civilians. Now, we have CHKD which is a big draw for families with children with special needs, and for military you can get orders where you don't move nearly as often when you have a child with special needs (depending on need of the branch and what the active duty person does in the military). Also, even if you have Tricare you can also get Medicaid and they split what they pay for (I have a special needs patient who has both Medicaid and Tricare). Also, with the number of military bases here it's extremely easy to stay in this area for a long time and just move commands/bases which many do so the bases help the local economy which would definitely suffer without the presence of the Navy here.

So, to me it's a mixture of issues going on here. Also, the nurses in this area aren't very active in the state nursing association and if they were then maybe we could use the VNA to work for higher pay for nurses here! AND the BON here isn't very supportive of nurses, the practice acts are weak and there is no built in protections for nurses (see Texas practice acts, they take care of their nurses with "safe harbor laws written FOR nurses).

Bottom line is that we worked hard to become nurses and we deserve better pay, as it is the Hampton Roads Area nurse pay is low and how could you expect to attract and keep good nurses when they could go elsewhere and get better compensation and enjoy laws that protect them in addition to the patient?

[DesertRN2009]

This is my opinion on the possibilities for low pay here.

This area has a high Medicaid use, and in Virginia the reimbursement rate is very low for Medicaid services which means companies who provide services and bill Medicaid have less wiggle room to pay employees. Also, yes it's a big military area for sure but something you have to remember is that military bases = jobs and lots of them for civilians. Now, we have CHKD which is a big draw for families with children with special needs, and for military you can get orders where you don't move nearly as often when you have a child with special needs (depending on need of the branch and what the active duty person does in the military). Also, even if you have Tricare you can also get Medicaid and they split what they pay for (I have a special needs patient who has both Medicaid and Tricare). Also, with the number of military bases here it's extremely easy to stay in this area for a long time and just move commands/bases which many do so the bases help the local economy which would definitely suffer without the presence of the Navy here.

So, to me it's a mixture of issues going on here. Also, the nurses in this area aren't very active in the state nursing association and if they were then maybe we could use the VNA to work for higher pay for nurses here! AND the BON here isn't very supportive of nurses, the practice acts are weak and there is no built in protections for nurses (see Texas practice acts, they take care of their nurses with "safe harbor laws written FOR nurses).

Bottom line is that we worked hard to become nurses and we deserve better pay, as it is the Hampton Roads Area nurse pay is low and how could you expect to attract and keep good nurses when they could go elsewhere and get better compensation and enjoy laws that protect them in addition to the patient?

Yes healthcare is different. I have a NC license and go by both state practice acts. But compared to AZ medicaid is way too easy to get in these states and pays less. AZ allows people to buy medicaid plans for low premiums not just giving it away. Plus there even on min wage working part time, people don't qualify for free medicaid and food stamps plus they kick adults off rather fast unless long term care or certified disabled. It is different in cost of living here as well. It is way more expensive to rent or buy here. I am struggling to make ends meet whereas there we were saving money.