advice on career decision

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I am originally from PA

I moved to Florida and have been working as a med/surg/tele RN..

I am not getting paid great money.. only 24.30/hr and that's including nights shift diff

I have recently came upon an opportunity to move back to PA and work in the hospital where I went to school's Critical Care Unit

I'd make 29/hr, not including shift diff, and I'd be working nights. I am not 100% sure but I believe the shift diff is 18% which would be 34.22/hr.

I am going to be getting my BSN soon and that should take 1-1.5 yrs depending on the program I chose. After that I plan on going to CRNA school.

CRNA school require at least 1 yr CCU experience.

If I move home now, I can get a jump start on the CCU experience and learn a lot.. It's a trauma lvl II CCU w/ post-op open hearts and everything.. and I'd make more money...

It signed into a contract at the place I'm currently working. There's about 1.5 yrs left on the contract. It did not include a sign on bonus, but if I leave early I will owe them $6,000.

The move would be expensive... I'd have family in PA to help w/ my 2 kids if needed during CRNA school...

There are so many pros/cons to both..

But what I'm leaning towards is although it would be a hit initially and rough to get up there, it would probably be best career wise to move, and start in the CCU as soon as possible.

I could stay here and wait out the contract .. in 6 months I can apply within the hospital I'm at now for a ICU/CCU position, however this is unlikely to achieve at this place. The most likely scenario is that I'd be here for another 1.5 yrs on med/surg. There's also the issue that they pay less, and cost of living his higher.

Or move home to PA, struggle at first and be okay after a while, just not enjoying the awesome weather and beaches ;)

Thank you guys in advance!

I appreciate the advice.

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If you truly want to get that 1 year of ICU experience then I say go for it. You may start off rough in the beginnings of transitioning but it'll soon go more smoothy once you and your gets kids settled. Plus, you'll have that extra benefit of $4.07. It's not much, but it'll still help you in your journey of saving up for CRNA school.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

$6,000 sounded like a lot of money to me until I pushed some numbers around and with the increased hourly wage you would receive if you moved back to PA it wouldn't take long to make that back. It doesn't sound like there is one option that is glaringly better. What is your gut saying?

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My gut wants to puke... lol

There's a reason I wanted to move to FL in the first place, it's like paradise here.. great schools for the kids, low crime rates, tons of kid-friendly events.

My gut says go for the CCU for the experience and money. But moving 1,000 miles, again seems so stressful. My friends and family are home.. my grandmother doesn't have many more years to live. It would be nice to be there for her last years and be able to spend holidays with my family...

Everything's further away in PA driving wise..there's added cost of gas and maintaining a vehicle with the snow. .

If I go to PA- not far from where I lived is one of the best CRNA schools in the US.

My gut is just so frantic at this point I have no idea what to do.

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Specializes in NICU, Trauma, Oncology.
My gut wants to puke... lol

There's a reason I wanted to move to FL in the first place, it's like paradise here.. great schools for the kids, low crime rates, tons of kid-friendly events.

My gut says go for the CCU for the experience and money. But moving 1,000 miles, again seems so stressful. My friends and family are home.. my grandmother doesn't have many more years to live. It would be nice to be there for her last years and be able to spend holidays with my family...

Everything's further away in PA driving wise..there's added cost of gas and maintaining a vehicle with the snow. .

If I go to PA- not far from where I lived is one of the best CRNA schools in the US.

My gut is just so frantic at this point I have no idea what to do.

Florida will always be there and always be sunny. This experience, opportunity and most importantly grandma won't.

That's just my 2 cents.

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Specializes in Critical Care and ED.

When you're young it's easy to be in a hurry, when in actual fact you do have more time than you think. There isn't any pressure on you, except that you want to see your grandmother, understandably. The cost of my RN to BSN was $6000. I can't imagine wasting that and throwing it away with nothing at the end to show for it. Pitfalls to be aware of: does the hospital in PA allow nurses into the ICU without a BSN? My hospital, and most in my state, will not. Secondly, how will your new hospital view the fact you walked out on another's contract? Will they find out? Possibly. Maybe your current hospital will be put out that you left early, and when the new hospital calls to get a reference and they are asked if they would rehire you, they might say no because you left early and rescinded on a contract. All things to bear in mind. At the end of the day the decision is yours, but I would plan and think carefully before making rash decisions. CRNA school will still be there. Even if you get a job in the ICU there's no guarantee you'd get in to CRNA school either. There's no guarantee all your pieces will fall together exactly as you expect them to. Can you not transfer into your current hospital's ICU, stay within your contract, and still get ICU experience? Does $34.22 - $24.30 = $6000 over a period of 1.5 years? Probably not. All food for thought.

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I've been a nurse for 33 years. Looking back ,the highlight of my career was a travel position in Honolulu.

Ya know, where the weather and beaches are beautiful ;)

You're only a nurse for 3 days a week, enjoy your time off.

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