California gold rush

Nurses General Nursing

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Why is everyone running to California for short term assignments. I habe heard of so many nurses going to California for short term assignments. Isn't that kind of far?

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Specializes in ICU.

Its not really that far when you consider that the travel companies provide you with and pay for your housing, or your a Canadian like me who hates our winters and just wants to get away for 3 months. Its not like I would be moving there permanently. The money is decent, there is warm weather, what more could I ask for?

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Why is everyone running to California for short term assignments. I habe heard of so many nurses going to California for short term assignments. Isn't that kind of far?
Even though it is far away from many people, the money is excellent.
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I really have no choice. I am licensed in California and moved to Tennessee for a job change for my husband. Since I did not graduate from my nursing school I am currently unable to get licensed here and must go back to California and get assignments thru my former registry. My family and my condo are still there (anyone want a short term house in Irvine...CHEAP) so I will fly on my own dime, rent a car and hope to pick up the shifts that no one else wants for a few weeks.

I had my condo listed for sale but the market is soft so I may just go ahead and toss in some furniture and use it as housing. I'm paying a mortgage anyway and it is move in ready. I'll miss my husband but times are what they are and I'm not getting any closer to getting my endorsement here. I have applied locally at Home Depot, Lowes and a few restaurants etc. They all say the same thing..." Why would you want to work here?" and I can only be honest and tell them I would work bedside in a heart beat if only I could here.

It's a tough decision, I'm leaving not only my husband but my pets , my DVD's, my favorite clothes and was just getting settled in here. Then again, my family and friends are all there. My story is rather odd regarding the original posters comments but that is the situation I find myself in.

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Isn't that kind of far?

Not when you live in California, or Nevada, or Oregon.....

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Haunted,

Maybe you could rent out your condo to traveling RNs working in the Irvine area? You might could hire an apt rental agency that handles this kind of thing.

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Haunted,

Maybe you could rent out your condo to traveling RNs working in the Irvine area? You might could hire an apt rental agency that handles this kind of thing.

Great idea. It would also be great corporate housing. We smart nurses know how to tweak our options!

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

Decent ratios

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Decent ratios

The ratios do make a difference ... it's not just the pay. I've met quite a few travelers from neighboring states who tried to go back to higher patient loads in their home state but, just didn't want to do it anymore after working in California (we have a ratio law that limits the number of patient assignments).

In California you can't get more than five patients but, in other states, the patient loads can get up to 8-10 patients or more ... so, a lot of them tend to stay here. Many of them told me it was just too hard to go back to 8-10 patients so, between the ratios and the extra money, they said it's worth the inconvenience of traveling.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
why is everyone running to california for short term assignments. i habe heard of so many nurses going to california for short term assignments. isn't that kind of far?

hi, bawlermore!

is that possibly as in baltimore which definitely would make it a "far" trip! kfwb news radio today, out here in la, did a little thing on the nursing shortage. this might give you an idea of why nurses are coming to california. it's no accident. california is aggressively seeking and recruiting rns.

  • there is currently a need for 160,000 rns and that number is expected to increase
  • the average yearly salary (quoted by kfwb today) for an rn in california is $75,000
  • california has a law called the nurse staff ratio law that mandates and limits how many patients an rn in the acute hospital can have for an assignment during a work shift as well as floating guidelines. i believe the current ratio is 5:1 and is supposed to move to 4:1 very shortly. (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=hsc - go to section 1276.4 and 1276.5) this has dramatically improved the working conditions for most hospital rns. basic economic supply and demand theory is going to drive rn wages up.
  • california has always been a leader in healthcare and improving healthcare access in california is part of governor schwarzenegger's agenda

i have moved across the country a couple of times and worked in a number of different states as an rn. an rn license allows you that kind of freedom. i guess it depends on how willing you are to pick up and go as well as how much of your junk you want to take with you when you move!

you need to be aware that travel nursing is basically agency nursing where you are locked into a contract. they sound good up front, but you don't make the big bucks they advertise in your first assignments. that doesn't occur until you've worked a few contracts for the travel company and have proven your reliability. you have to read the contracts very carefully before you sign them.

welcome to allnurses! :welcome:

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I knew a nurse from Colorado who took one to two month assignments to our facility for over a year. He would work almost every day (waived the overtime) and then would go home for a month or two, come back and repeat the cycle. I asked him why once. They were buying a house and he was trying to earn as much as he could to put down, and the wages in CA were way better than CO.

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