Houston to Denver, L&D where to work?

klone, MSN, RN · Dec 29, 2014

I would look at UCH or Denver Health. UCH has an in-house traveler program - you sign for 13 weeks, and then you can re-sign for another 13 weeks or you can get hired on permanently. After 2 contracts, they have to hire you on permanently or let you go. Pay is a few dollars/hour higher than regular staff. They have two L&D units - one low risk (birth center) and one high risk (women's care center). The high risk unit also works in conjunction with Children's Hospital (next door) and their new Maternal Fetal Medicine Unit, which takes super high-risk pregnancies (fetal high risk, not maternal). They do things like exit procedures, PUBS, fetal surgery, CDH, etc.

Denver Health does high risk, but transports its highest acuity patients to UCH. They have great benefits, including $2500/year in tuition reimbursement (no contract). UCH offers tuition reimbursement (not sure the exact amount, somewhere between $2500-3000) but you have to have worked there for, I think, 6 months or a year before you can take advantage of it.

Pay is totally dependent upon your years as a nurse. It's going to be in the $27-30/hour range for a staff nurse position for someone with 4-6 years/experience. Denver Health will offer you an additional $.75/hour for your certification. Denver in general is a bit on the low end for hourly pay compared to a lot of cities. I remember going through some sticker shock when I moved from a small town in central Arizona to Denver, going down about $4/hour in pay. Of all the facilities in Denver that have OB/L&D, Denver Health is probably the highest paying.

If you want to see super high acuity stuff, UCH is the way to go. They see the worst of the worst (best of the best? depending upon your outlook).

As far as charting - UCH and Children's both use Epic. Denver Health has a weird paper/computer hybrid, and is moving to Epic, but not until 2016 (they're building the program right now).

l&d4life · Dec 29, 2014

Yikes in regards to the pay.. So what am I looking for 3 years of experience Bc that is what I'll have when I move... But I'll have to negotiate pay before I hit 3 years. I get paid $31 now. I care for environment, patient population, and great teamwork.. The pay is important Bc I'm starting grad school in jan and well ya know that isn't cheap.

Would you recommend the travel assignment there? And that's through uch... Not if I'm with a travel agency right? I saw that job description. How soon should I apply for that position? I'm moving in mid June

Thanks so much klone.

l&d4life · Dec 29, 2014

Do you currently work at these hospitals?

klone, MSN, RN · Dec 30, 2014

I have worked at all of the aforementioned hospitals at various points between 2010, when we moved to Denver, and now.

The traveler program is directly through UCH, not an agency. I think I applied online about two months before we moved to Denver. I did a phone interview and was hired before moving out. I did one full 13-week contract and part of a second, then it was cancelled and I was hired as a fulltime employee. I just looked, and it looks like they have a listing for traveler in the WCC (high risk OB). If you're moving mid-June, I would recommend applying maybe in March.