Experienced nurse moving to Arizona - job prospects

[Mindylane]

Hello!

My fiance and I are thinking of relocating to Phoenix in the next two years. I am currently a nurse with 6 months' experience in a level IV trauma NICU. My fiance would like to get his nursing degree as well; he has his Bachelor's degree in nuclear medicine and is a former EMT.

We currently live in a very high cost of living area (DC suburbs). My parents live in Arizona and I would also love to be closer to them, hence our choice to move to AZ.

I'm wondering if anyone has any insight as to opportunities for somewhat experienced nurses in the Phoenix area. I'd love to continue working as a NICU/L&D/Postpartum/etc. nurse, but it's not necessarily a deal breaker. Also wondering what the opportunities are for a new grad; my fiance was thinking of getting his associate's first & then doing a bridge program.

If anyone has any insight, it would be great! Thank you so much!

[guest464345]

Hi there -

Just moved here myself from out of state, and these are my thoughts:

Is the six months in the NICU your only hospital nursing experience? If so, at most of the hospitals here you will be considered a new grad, not an experienced nurse...that will limit your job prospects...and for your boyfriend fresh out of school, this is a very difficult market.

I moved here with eight months of experience in a Level I trauma ED - because I had already passed my specialty certification exam (CEN), I was offered a regular RN position at Banner/Good Sam. They told me this was an exception to their rule of requiring a full year of experience. I believe they were also short staffed, and desperate for bilingual nurses - which I am.

Another hospital system (Scottsdale Health Care/John C Lincoln) would only consider me for new grad RN jobs, which are a separate category that is few and far between in their postings. I've met a bunch of other people hired as "new grads" at SHC/JCL, and mostly they were not really "new"....they had a few months of hospital experience, like me, or they had worked a year in a clinic or LTC first. The exception is folks who worked for Scottsdale/JCL as CNAs or techs while going to nursing school - they do a good job of promoting from within.

I never even heard back from Mayo, but their postings almost universally specify a year of experience (if not more). Not sure about Dignity or Maricopa facilities.

So I think you're similarly in an "in-between" spot. You'd be competitive for any new grad postings you find, because you're a lot less work to train than someone fresh out of school. But you could apply for many more jobs with a year of experience (and two years is better); of course getting certs wouldn't be a bad idea.

For your fiance, it might be tough - he'd be competing against people like you and me for the "new grad" jobs (although my perception is that men do enjoy some preference in hiring). There is a whole thread on this page about how oversaturated the AZ market is for new RNs; the Arizona Board of Nursing did a report on the high unemployment rate among recent grads in 2010. I think the situation's a bit better now, but still worth considering.

Finally, it may be helpful to use your parents' address. I did not get any calls from recruiters until I started using my sister's local address on my applications....of course, then I had to figure out a way to get here on short notice for interviews!

Good luck in your job hunt!

[arsla27]

Mindy -

Can I please talk to you about the GW program you've graduated from? I don't know your email so it would be awesome if you could either leave your email or jst email me at [email protected] Thank you so much!!