CRNA's in Hawaii

susanna · Jun 23, 2004

I don't know the answer but I would love to know how practice is in hawaii too. What a great place to live! I want to move out there to once to settle down after school and everything.

u-r-sleeepy · Jun 23, 2004

You'll see ads for Tripler & Straub sometimes. The pay isn't the greatest, but you get to "live in paradise" if you can make it work out there. :) It is beautiful, but there are drawbacks too. The cost of living & housing in particular might surprise you. Well, depending on where you're moving from it may surprise you. If you're from California or the northeast with high real estate prices & taxes, you might feel right at home. :rotfl:

I did see one ad a while back for a surgery center or something doing plastics on Maui, but it was like 2 or 2 1 /2 days a week. The pay wasn't that great either. Still, if you have another person earning money or a way of making money elsewhere, you could be very happy. Myself, I could see doing it for about a year or so. :)

Sleeepy

(who hasn't been to Hawaii in quite a few years....)

UCDSICURN · Jun 23, 2004

I saw on gasjobs that Tripler was taking civilian CRNA's, not sure if it was LT or permanent though.

Donn C.

zenman · Jun 23, 2004

I don't think there are many CRNAs around here, but not sure why. I think the docs try to keep them out. One ICU nurse went to school on the mainland and was planning to stay because he said there was not much need here in Hawaii. We do have a "crisis" here as afterhours the surgeons have to "beg" a gaspasser (at least in the hospital I'm in) to come in. I've seen some patients wait for hours while the surgeon kept trying to get someone to come in. Not a good deal for some patients who should have gone under the knife much sooner!

u-r-sleeepy · Jun 23, 2004

I don't think there are many CRNAs around here, but not sure why. I think the docs try to keep them out. One ICU nurse went to school on the mainland and was planning to stay because he said there was not much need here in Hawaii. We do have a "crisis" here as afterhours the surgeons have to "beg" a gaspasser (at least in the hospital I'm in) to come in. I've seen some patients wait for hours while the surgeon kept trying to get someone to come in. Not a good deal for some patients who should have gone under the knife much sooner!

Interesting post - two things stand out to me:

1 - the possible ostracizing of CRNAs by MDAs - should we be surprised at this? Are there any CRNAs "allowed to practice" in "the beautiful areas" like certain parts of Hawaii or around Lake Tahoe? Jackson Hole, WY? etc.??? I'm SHOCKED I tell you - SHOCKED! :uhoh3:

2 - it appears... the MDAs have all gone home after a certain time... and don't want to return... even though a patient needs surgery performed... and the surgeon is willing and ready to go....

Now, I want all the MDAs to tell us again about how concerned they are for patient care and how willing they are to work until the "cows come home" and how their main concern about CRNAs practicing is over patient safety! Again, this is a broad brush and docs like Tenesma are the opposite of that. We need more docs like Tenesma. "CRNAs calling Tenesma - please run for leadership in the A$A and take your organization to a higher level!" ;-)

If I sound biased... well... you can think for yourself.

Sleeepy

Kiwi, BSN, RN · Jun 24, 2004

Uh-oh Roland, this thread is calling your name :chuckle

maturner · Jun 24, 2004

I have just finished working as a traveler in HI and enjoyed it very much. I will, if given the opportunity, return after I finish school. There are a number of CRNAs in Hawaii and more positions than those that show up on gasjobs and the salaries do indeed seem low given the expense of living in an island paradise.

Just remember, visiting and living in Hawaii are two totally different animals. The lifestyle is quite different and many of the travelers I met had a great deal of trouble acclimating to the culture. There are definite pros and cons and there doesn't seem to be much middle ground. You either embrace and love it or you can totally leave it. Aloha

susanna · Jun 24, 2004

Just remember, visiting and living in Hawaii are two totally different animals. The lifestyle is quite different and many of the travelers I met had a great deal of trouble acclimating to the culture. There are definite pros and cons and there doesn't seem to be much middle ground. You either embrace and love it or you can totally leave it. Aloha

Hawaii's one of my dream places to live. I don't know where I'm eventually going to want to settle down but I know I gotta move out of where I'm living right now before it kills me: pollution, unhealthy food, high industry, yucky climate, stressful lifestyle, traffic, every building being a sight for sore eyes after a while, ect.

If you don't mind, can you ellaborate on the cons of Hawaii and Hawaii culture? The only things I can think of is that maybe the people are too laid back there (that can get on some people's nerves sometimes) or too much tourism or rivalry between native hawaiins and people that move there to settle?

richard13 · Jun 25, 2004

Thank you all for your kind words. I too would like a little

elaboration on pros/cons. I lived there for 2.5 years and

loved it in the military. I live in the northeast so $300,000

for a shoebox 1,200 sq. ft. house doesn't suprise me. How's

the medical field?

versatile_kat · Jun 25, 2004

I went to high school in Hawaii, and visited my Sophomore summer of college (my dad was stationed at Hickam AFB). And trust me, Hawaii is better than any brochure you've ever seen about it. Going from Hawaii to Tallahassee for college was such a let down!!!

The major con about living there is how much everything costs. Unless you have the ability to get stationed on one of the military bases (provided, of course, that you're already in the military), you'll be paying an arm and leg for rent/mortgage. And if you think gas is expensive on the mainland, then forget about it. Ditto with milk.

Another con would probably have to be how far away you are from everyone. Depending on which island you decide to live, you get antsy not being able to go very far. The local's call it "island fever". On Oahu, you can drive from Waikiki to the North Shore in under an hour (opposite sides of the island). And it would take you roughly 4 - 5 hours to drive the circumference of the big island (Hawaii). It gets expensive if you want to visit the mainland more than once a year, so if you get homesick easily, I wouldn't advise moving there. If you have the chance, take a travel position and enjoy the islands while you're there. Then if you fall in-love with the place, you can think about making a long term commitment. Kauai would get my vote for a place to live long term. Not nearly as many tourists as the other islands, and there's a limit as to how tall any building can be (I think nothing over 6 stories) ... not such a concrete jungle feeling like Waikiki can be.

The pro's are far too many for me to list. Visit http://www.hawaii.com or http://www.gohawaii.com for some great information. It's making me miss the island just writing about it! I plan on going back once I'm finished with school, too. Maybe a graduation gift to my husband and myself for making it. :)

zenman · Jun 25, 2004

Posted by susanna: If you don't mind, can you ellaborate on the cons of Hawaii and Hawaii culture? The only things I can think of is that maybe the people are too laid back there (that can get on some people's nerves sometimes) or too much tourism or rivalry between native hawaiins and people that move there to settle?

They say if you don't go crazy here in 2 years, you'll stay forever. Pros: nice people, beautiful views, great weather. Cons: (some of these exist no matter where in the world you are) ice addicts, Honda and Toyota thiefs, litter everywhere (even if you can't stop people from tossing trash out the window, you should at least have the city services or a chain gang to pick it up). I don't like a lot of the food. Finally found a great Mexican place so I'm a lot happier. I do miss Joe's Crab Shack. Traffic sucks. The entire road system was designed by drunk engineers who graduated from a mail order course! Kapolei alloted money for the nicest library I've ever seen...whoops, forgot to ask for money for books! Some books were donated, but shucks, the place just closed for the summer...sorry, kids...go pick up trash on the streets. Boys soup up their four cylinder Toyotas and Hondas and kill themselves and others on interstates that go nowhere. Education is lacking, politics laughable. University of Hawaii president recently fired by regents while he was away on the mainland. By the time he gets through with lawsuits, the university will have even less money! Plans are for Kapolei (where I live) are fot it to be the next Honolulu. Hello, the traffic is at a standstill during lunch and rush hour already plus there are few interstate ramps from the place. I'm not impressed with healthcare at all. Locals say that if you're not at Queens Hospital, you're out of luck. Then again, other nurse friends who work there say the same. If you get sick or injured on another island, good luck. I mean who's ever heard of a CABG patient making to the OR without a chest xray? Then after the CABG when she's in respiratory distress, someone figures out there's no xray! Well, now a diagnosis of lung cancer is made! Gas is $2.35 but can be found in some places on Oahu for $2.08. Other islands are up to $2.65. Went to Safeway this am, and with my Safeway card bought the following items 2% milk (half gallon) $3.59; Breyer Vanilla ice cream (half gal) $6.99 and 21 oz. Raisin Nut Bran cereal $6.69. Yes, houses are expensive here. Rich mainland people are buying up the place for investments. I'm buying a house now for over a $100k more than it sold for 2 years ago. It's slow here; my brother in law sets up stores all over the states, such as Lowes and said it took twice as long here as any place on the mainland. Workers would show up, go to lunch and never come back or take long breaks. Some would leave early and never come back. Laid back lifestyle is good but not to the point it hurts everybody! Other than that, I like it here!