Is Mayo Clinic worth it?

[247nurse365]

Does anyone have any insight into what nursing at Mayo Clinic is like?

I was offered a new grad Oncology job at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN but live in/went to nursing school in the Bay Area, CA. I know that Mayo Clinic is ranked as one of the best for Oncology but I have heard some questionable things about how they handled their nursing strike last year. I have also applied to New Grad programs in CA but they don't even do interviews till late January or early February. 

Moving would be a big change but I am mentally preparing myself for lots of snow and hoping I can make friends there. Does anyone know what the transition might look like and if it is rough?

 

[ChristinaFNP, ASN, BSN, MSN, DNP, APRN]

Congratulations on your job offer! There are certainly some things to consider: What is the cost of living where you are moving? How much will it cost you to relocate, and how long will it take you to recoup that money? California is very expensive and thus nurses make a good hourly wage to offset that. You will likely make less money in MN. You will surely make friends no matter where you live. Nurse strikes have both positive and negative effects. Nurses strike for better wages, benefits, and nurse-patient ratios but, at the same time, going out on strike places the patients in the hospital at risk because there are less experienced nurses to care for them. I would not put too much emphasis on what your perception is of how the nurse strike was handled and look at what the position offers for you now and for your nursing future. Best of luck to you!

[Accolay]

Well... I'm late to the party on this. I hope your decision went well.

For anyone else:

All I know of the working establishment is hearsay from other RNs who have worked there: it's easy and boring- you give meds and chart. I hear they have a team for everything: IV team, bladder scanner team etc.  They have a union, get paid well enough probably.

Mayo seems like a well-oiled machine and is Doctor and research centered. If you have an weird medical issue it's the place for you. They have in the past, maybe present?) given care to a lot of celebrities and ultrarich people there. But it's not the Mayo of 30 years ago which is good and bad. Their leadership seems like your basic corporate goobers. See their Supreme Court case from 2011. See the last CEOs statement on not wanting to care for poor people I.e. prioritizing private pay patients over Medicare and Medicaid pts from 2017. Also see their opposition to state nursing staffing mandates from 2023. They're a magnet hospital if that floats your boat. I guess they're a Level one trauma center. I'm told they're the number one hospital in the nation.

Rochester is OK if you like small (mid size?) town mid-west life. If you like more amenities head north. A quick apartment search has rents that seem high to live in Rochester, but I guess that's the way of the world these days. Minnesota is currently a well-run state with a lot to offer, but only ever one election away from the opposite and will probably get the shaft economically from the current Federal administration.