Graduate RN with BSN

Meeshie · Sep 13, 2017

It depends? STARN (the HCA group's residency) pays less than other residencies and works differently. Cleveland Clinic pays less than most other places in Ft Lauderdale. Most of the major hospital groups in Miami pay about the same. Residencies are staggered throughout the year so just keep applying. It's a very saturated market with a lot of competition.

yenesicristine · Sep 13, 2017

Do you have any idea of pay? Or a range of pay? Ive applied to HCA already. Broward health. Im getting a little neevous because i keep reading start oay is $21-$24 an hr. I already make $23 as an ophthalmic tech. I was hoping with a BSN and my livense i would be making well into the $30 range even as a new nurse í ½í¸” Although i love nursing it would auck to know that the pay isnt much more after all this hard work

yenesicristine · Sep 13, 2017

I have also applied to hospitals in Orlando like Orlando Health , Adventist, and Florida Hospital JUST IN CASE but im sure the pay is less up there

Meeshie · Sep 13, 2017

If you want to hit 30 or close to it you need to apply in Miami... it's not going to happen in Broward County and it really isn't going to happen in Orlando for base pay. Starting pay in Broward is usually around the 24ish mark. Same in Orlando. In Miami it's higher.

allnurses Guide · Sep 13, 2017

You keep saying "BSN", which is fantastic and deserves congratulations...but know that there is little to no pay difference for BSN vs ASN degrees throughout the vast majority of the US.

Good luck on your job search. Look not only at base pay, but at shift differentials, benefits and potential for career growth. Those are the places you will see increased compensation versus being an ophthalmic tech.

Julius Seizure · Sep 20, 2017

$30 to start as a new grad is a tough sell in Florida, at least to my knowledge. I worked in Florida for the first five years of my career and barely cracked $25/hr. Shift differentials can give you a good bump sometimes, depending on the hospital. Some are great and some are not so great. I would encourage you to remember that even though you may not make much more as an RN to start (compared to your current job), remember that there is likely more "room to grow" as an RN and so it is still a move worth making. Good luck!

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Sep 20, 2017

I am originally from Florida, and I live in a western state. Several years ago I was laid off by my employer (I got caught up in the Charter Behavioral Health fiasco) and I explored jobs back in my home state as a fallback position. I was horrified at the salaries - and I was an experienced RN with supervisory experience. Some were a little more than half what I was making out west, and the cost of living certainly wasn't half what I was paying. I would have taken a definite step backward in my standard of living.

yenesicristine · Sep 20, 2017

I completely agree. 8 have been applying everywhere from west palm beach to miami. And no bites yet. From what i hear you have to know someone in the inside to even get your resume pulled. Imconsidering maybe starting out as home health first so i have some type of experience on my resume. I thought passing the boards was hard, finding a job is a mission.

Julius Seizure · Sep 20, 2017

I completely agree. 8 have been applying everywhere from west palm beach to miami. And no bites yet. From what i hear you have to know someone in the inside to even get your resume pulled. Imconsidering maybe starting out as home health first so i have some type of experience on my resume. I thought passing the boards was hard, finding a job is a mission.

Remember that new grad residencies tend to start only once or twice a year. You may not be hearing back because the next residency program doesn't start until January (after the next class of students graduate in December). If you aren't sure if this is the case (might not be on the website), you could always call the hospitals HR department and ask to speak to whoever was in charge of new grad residencies. And bonus - then somebody "on the inside" will know your name :)

DMG332 · Oct 25, 2017

Hi! I am also interested in moving to South Florida (Broward County) once I graduate! Did you have any luck finding a job? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

EternalFeather · Oct 25, 2017

Im from South Florida too but Ive since moved after graduation and board exam, and I know that you are paid a fixed amount & no differentials yet, during your orientation and the length of orientation depends per facility. Usually its 2 - 12 weeks but some places just release new nurses off orientation earlier than they say they would.

It is very competitive to find a job there in South Florida or an RN with no experience but for experienced RNs, theres a lot of hirings. I have friends who got hired in Mt. Sinai Hospital and they liked it. They said the pay started at 23 per hour. There are great hospitals to work for there like Baptist health system, Memorial hospital, and Jackson health systems which are usually hard to get into as a new RN but still apply cause you might get lucky. they are also at the top of the list of places that pays their employee higher than other hospitals in the region, and good benefits too. Jackson for example, receives at least 600 applicants for each of their RN residency programs. I got called for interviews but I didnt get hired and that was the sign for me to move.

I also have friends who worked for some of the HCA hospitals and went through the STARN and it seemed like people dont work for long for those facilities. they couldn't handle the stress and they told me that they wanted to leave because it feels like theyre risking their license when they're working.

Good luck with your job search! Just realized this thread is over a month old. hopefully you found a job.