moving to washington

Phil Sharp · Nov 5, 2010

Hi..

I recently retired from Ft. Lewis, and am a realtor in the area. I would look hard at Madigan. I know they are hiring, and are also setting up a number of new clinics in the outlying communities to serve retirees and dependents.

I have worked with several AD nurses and dependents going to work at Madigan recently. If you would like I am sure I can put you in touch with one of them.

Hope this helps, Phil Sharp

Fort Lewis Washington Area Homes and Real Estate for Sale, 1SG Ret Phil Sharp, Realtor

nedlloyd · Nov 5, 2010

You might want to look into working at Madigan (the hospital on post). As a military spouse you would be given preference. They also have nurses working in the clinics at Madigan and McChord AFB.

Providence St Peter in Olympia has some openings right now. They are also a magnet hospital so having your BSN will be a plus if you apply there.

Will you for sure be living in Tacoma? Tacoma has several hospitals.. Tacoma General, Allenmore & Mary Bridge Childrens, all part of the MultiCare health system. Then there is the Franciscan Health System. They have St Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma and St Clare hospital in Lakewood. St Josephs is big, they are also a level 2 trauma center. A lot of military families live in Puyallup which has Good Samaritan hospital (part of MultiCare). They are expanding right now, I think the new patient care tower opens sometime in the Spring? so I imagine as the time gets closer they will be looking to hire.

Be sure to mention to recruiters/in your cover letter etc about your military situation. I know at Franciscan Health up until last year they were hiring new grads from out of state. But it burned them, new grads would get hired into residencies, work for a year or so and then move back to where they came from. So now they are more cautious about out of state hires and don't even want to look at you if you don't already have a WA state license.

Personally I would look into Madigan as a first choice if I were you. A lot of the nursing programs around here will graduate in December so there will be stiff competition among the civilian hospitals and the market for nurses around here isn't great.

Hope that helps. PM me if you want more info, my husband is also at Ft Lewis. Best of luck:)

bnarmywife · Nov 12, 2010

thank you both for the information... i got a call to set up an interview at St. Joseph in January... thanks for your help!

lindarn · Nov 12, 2010

hi... my husband is in the army and will be stationed to fort lewis... we will be moving in january... i am a bsn-rn with 3 years experience in long term and subacute... i have worked as an agency nurse and a per diem nurse... i have a very nice record and the facility where i worked as an agency nurse even offered me the position of subacute unit manager... but then i knew i was moving so i didn't take the position... i already have a temporary washington rn license... i have applied to at least 3 job postings but i haven't heard back from them... i am worried that i might not be able to find a job there... how is the job market in tacoma and the nearby areas? i am not picky... although i would prefer to work at the hospital, i am willing to work at long term and subacute unit... any input would be greatly appreciated... thank you

Have you applied to Madigan Army Medical Center? I am an AF reservist, and did my annual tour at Madigan. I was totally impressed with Madigan. It is brand new, totally state of the art, beautiful grounds, great units and working conditions. They have patient lifts that are in every pt room.

They have computer charting, and is one of the most user friendly that I have used.

There is VA hospital near there too. There are some Catholic Hospitals in the area that are nice.

For Madigan, the Chief Nurse is LTC Brown. PM me if you want.

Good Luck!

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Somewhere in the PACNW

bnarmywife · Nov 13, 2010

Hi lindarn. I can't find the PM in my account. I guess i don't have 15 posts yet. I would love to apply at Madigan hospital but i am not yet a citizen. I checked the site and it says I must be a US citizen to apply. I would like to learn more about being a reservist though. Will I train somewhere else or will I train in Washington? Will I spend 3 months in training, away from my family? Is the training rigorous because I'm not that fit anymore. Although people think I'm a young girl, I'm already in my 30's. Thank you.

lindarn · Nov 13, 2010

I believe that it is either a US citizen, or a legal resident. You are the spouse of active duty military. I would call the base legal office and ask them. They probably deal with these issues all the time.

Have you tried the Franciscan system in Tacoma?

I don't know about becoming reservist. You would have to talk to a recruiter. There is one at Madigan. Goood luck.

Lindarn

DC Collins, ASN · Nov 29, 2010

In my opinion, Franciscan is a *great* place to work. I now work in the ED at St. Clare, sister hospital to St. Joes, but volunteered at SJMC for about three years, and loved it.

The working atmosphere, between co-workers, in my humble opinion, is outstanding.

Much luck in your job search!

DC, ED RN :)

Nuke'sGirl · Jan 6, 2011

I was just curious if you've found a job yet. My spouse is in the Navy and we will be Stationed in Bremerton. I am a new grad RN with less than 4 months experience. What are my chances for finding a job when I get out there?

bnarmywife · Jan 7, 2011

hi... i got hired at st. joseph hospital... i believe they are accepting new graduates for residency training.... i met somebody at the office waiting to be interviewed and he is a new graduate... the nurse manager told me they have a residency program for 13 weeks but this is for new graduates, nurses who have been in long term care for many years or nurses who need more training... you just need to sign a contract that you will work for them for a year and if you don't fulfill your contract, you have to pay them for the training... if you don't have luck at the hospital, try nursing homes... i sent my resume to nursing homes just in case my application with st. joseph won't work out, and i got lots of calls from them... good luck!

DC Collins, ASN · Jan 9, 2011

It isn't super easy to find a job around here as a new grad, but it isn't impossible.

And bnarmywife, how are you enjoying St. Joes? I hope you are liking it there as much as I did when I volunteered. All I can say is that at St. Clare I am really enjoying myself!