Any Boston area nurses out there?

goodytwoshoes · Feb 28, 2005

Hey Jan,

You are going to love Boston! I lived there for ten years...worked at the Brigham and Women's hospital-loved it- they treat their nurses phenomenally well with great pay and nurse:pt ratios. I have heard that the more known "big gun" intellectual hospital-Mass General, which is also a Harvard university hospital along with Brigham, has poorer ratios and less pay, but many of my nurse friends seem to love it there too. (I did clinicals there in nursing school and have to admit, I loved the environment-staff seem to get along really well, camaraderie, etc.) MGH is non-union, whereas BWH is union. I have worked in both and don't really have a preference, although in general I am pro-union. Boston is a VERY expensive city- a one bedroom apt in the city center will cost $2000/mo and you won't find a shack within a 30min drive from the city for less than $400,000. But its fabulous!

OB/GYN NP · Feb 28, 2005

Thanks for your reply goody two shoes (cute name, btw :) )! My husband used to travel to Boston a lot for work, so at least HE was prepared for what it costs to live there--JEEZ! :uhoh21: I didn't realize that Massachusetts had any nurse unions, so I'm glad that you mentioned that. I'm currently practicing in Indiana, and there are no nurse unions here. I guess I don't know what to think about unions yet, since I haven't ever dealt with being in one, but I guess my gut tells me that they're a good thing...more money, lower nurse to patient ratios, more job perks...how can that be a bad thing?! :) I have seen some job postings for BWH, and went to their website. It seemed like they have a lot of good things going on there from their website, but that doesn't always translate into a good working environment, ya' know? So thanks for your input on BWH. I will check into that one a bit more. I had also considered a travel assignment, since it is so expensive to live there. Maybe I could get my housing paid for, at least for the first few months, until we know where we want to settle for sure. Thanks so much for the info. That helps me to at least get a feel for the nursing climate there.

Hey Jan,
You are going to love Boston! I lived there for ten years...worked at the Brigham and Women's hospital-loved it- they treat their nurses phenomenally well with great pay and nurse:pt ratios. I have heard that the more known "big gun" intellectual hospital-Mass General, which is also a Harvard university hospital along with Brigham, has poorer ratios and less pay, but many of my nurse friends seem to love it there too. (I did clinicals there in nursing school and have to admit, I loved the environment-staff seem to get along really well, camaraderie, etc.) MGH is non-union, whereas BWH is union. I have worked in both and don't really have a preference, although in general I am pro-union. Boston is a VERY expensive city- a one bedroom apt in the city center will cost $2000/mo and you won't find a shack within a 30min drive from the city for less than $400,000. But its fabulous!