California

Olli · Apr 10, 2008

I was thinking about moving to California too but they have the second largest RN shortage in the country + mandated minimum RN to pt ratios... so I am staying here :) At least Illinois forbid mandated overtime and our staffing accounts for acuity etc. anyway, good luck to you. hope everything works out well.

Nurse_Hagatha · Apr 10, 2008

All I know about the Loma Linda area is that it is desert-y and hot in the summer, but California is a unique place to live in that you can find different scenery usually within a 2 hour drive. We have mountains, beaches, lakes, rivers, desert, and lots of agriculture. I live in northern California and there is not a huge RN shortage here. There are several nursing schools feeding into the job market and the economy has sent a lot of women back to work. If you have experience though, you should have no problem, but it might take a little longer to find a job as a new grad.

Ahh...the RN to pt ratios...I wish they were as grand in reality as they are in theory. My hospital has cut way back on techs, and on the tele floor I work we are often short of staff...so we run our tails off and can take 5 or (rarely) 6 patients that we basically do total care on. The law says tele ratios should be 1:4. If we're lucky enough to have techs they'll do the vitals and empty foleys and help with you with cleaning and turning IF you can find the poor things because they're also running ragged answering call lights, etc. My back hurts just thinking about going to work!

Oh, and California nurses make some of the best wages and the cost of living isn't THAT much higher than other parts of the country. I speak from experience. Good luck to you!

Ramrodthegreat · Apr 10, 2008

Theres also a california forum under region at the top.