FLORIDA NURSES

Where about in South Florida.

I am on the SW side and I am sorry to say nursing is a b*tch here. We have 1 hospital system that ownes the area and if you don't play nicely in their circus you better get ready to drive 50+ miles North or South to the next county. The pay is way under for what is expected of the nurse. We have no Unions here. There is nothing nearby to compare pay too. Nursing has basically left the side of the patients bed and has totally become all about the all mighty dollar. The hospital system wants all the dollars from everyone including the ones they give you and everyones cost but theirs.

Yes, I am bitter. I have lived here my entire life and have watched everything I have grown to know get turned upside down and cut apart.

You should post this question in the Florida forum: go to U.S., then find the State.

Good luck.

I live in South Florida and am working as an OR nurse in a Level II trauma hospital which is unionized. I was hired as a new grad and am extremely happy with the team I have been assigned to. I have heard it is very difficult to secure employment in the area - I didn't have a problem, I was one of the lucky few hired in a perioperative training program. It is expensive to live in a large city (Ft. Lauderdale, Miami). Rent prices are higher as well as your daily living expenses, etc. and you will encounter traffic going into and out of the city most of the day. But I love the beach, sunshine, warm weather and most of all the friends I have made along the way - I have lived here for the least ten years (originally from NYC) and Florida is the place for me.