Virginia

Katnip, RN · Jul 3, 2003

What part of Virginia are you interested in?

tammilynn · Jul 3, 2003

I am looking at Charlottesville, Roanoke or maybe the coast. I hear the UVA Medical center is a nice place to work. Also, I have looked into Salem (Gale-Lewis) and Roanoke (Carllion). I love the mountains and water (lakes or ocean).

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Jul 3, 2003

Hi Tammilyn !

I'm 2 hours south of Roanoke. Beautiful area. Lewis-Gale and UVA are decent. Never worked at either, but can gather some opinions from coworkers who are "locals". Don't know that much about Charlottesville. But if you're looking for mts., Roanoke and south of there is beautiful. Only the farther south you go, (in Va.)your wages follow suit. Give me some specifics, and I can see what I can find out for you. Have you checked any area websites? I'm sure you could find some info on both teh hospitals and area there.

And by the way.. welcome ! :)

K O'Malley · Jul 4, 2003

Lewis-Gale is HCA and therefore staffs like HCA. In their critical care units the nurse patient ratio is 1:3 and you work like a dog! But there are wonderful doctors there who treat the nurses with respect and lots of good, highly experienced nurses who tend to stay there for many years. Of course the pay lags behind many other places. Roanoke is a beautiful place to live. If you like the outdoors, the Blue Ridge Parkway is close by.

UVA is probably much better staffed, the pay is probably better too and it is also a beautiful area with lots of educational opportunities. I love the university! Cost of living is high in Charlottesville though.

slyhrtbt · Jul 4, 2003

What part of Pa are you from? I moved from the Charlotsville area about 3.5 years ago and I am now starting clinicals in Pa. The Charlotsville area is great. If you live out of town a little and drive you might find cheaper housing.

tammilynn · Jul 4, 2003

I live is small declining town in northeastern Penna. We are real close to Erie. I have lived here my whole life. I am ready to venture down south, but only as far as Virginia or North Carolina. We drive to Florida every year and have only gone through the western tip of Virginia and throught Charlotte NC. I would like to explore more of the area. I know everybody says "the grass is greener" but I would like to find out for my self. I love the historic culture of these areas. I know wages go down further south you go. I spoke to a recruiter from Charlottesville UVA and a real estate agent. They say the pay is good, ratios are good and quality of life is at its best here, but housing is outragous!! I love the little college towns were youth and activity is. I want to work on a transplant unit, but do not want to go to a huge city. Here Pittsburgh is huge and I know I could get a job in an instant. I like the smaller towns. I'm a country girl who likes the ammenities of big city living. I just have to figure out where I can live comfortabley (cost of living) combined with a great place to work (benefits and pay).

Here a nurse grad makes 17.00 p/hr. In Erie, (1 hour away) 19-20. But the weather Stinks!!! I am an outdoors gal and winter 8 months out of the year is for the birds. How much is starting pay at Gale-Lewis or UVA? I heard UVA is better but combined with housing, you come out even. Roanoke sounds more financially fesible. What do you think? All opinions are appreciated:D

K O'Malley · Jul 5, 2003

I don't know what the starting pay is now at either Lewis-Gale or UVa but I know that during the height of the shortage UVa was paying $50/hr for weekenders. Several nurses left Lewis-Gale and headed for UVa. Another beautiful place you might want to check out is Asheville, NC. It is in the mountains, the parkway goes through it, there is a university there. It is not a large city but has a lot to offer, and is quite cosmopolitan. I hear that it has excellent hospitals.

tammilynn · Jul 5, 2003

Thanks everybody for the info!!!!!

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Jul 5, 2003

Tammilynn..

chceck out this link for some info on the Roanoke area. By the way, the Blue Ridge Pkwy. is right there at Roanoke and winds its way down southwest thru the mts. and about 2 minutes from my house in my neck of the woods.. goes on down into N.C. It is really, really pretty. And yes, Asheville is GORGEOUS ! I'm sure you could find a website for it as well. Any way, here's the one for Roanoke:

http://www.roanoketimes.com :)

UVaRN2Be · Jul 6, 2003

I have worked there for many years. I live about 30 minutes from UVA. I dont really see where there is much difference in housing in Charlottesville as anywhere else. A 2 bedroom apt runs about $700-800. If you go to the streets surrounding UVA you probably will pay an arm and a leg. Even though I work with nurses that do live there and say it isnt that bad. UVA starts new grads out at about $19.00 per hour with a bonus at 6 months, 24 months and 36 months. You have a mentorship program for up to six months. Charlottesville is a nice town. It isnt to big. I wish there were better shopping there. I usually go to Frdericksburg/ Richmond for a shopping spree.

Here is the UVA website if you want to take a look.

http://www.hsc.virginia.edu

http://www.virginia.edu I think there is a link to Charlottesville on this site.