Live on the east coast, but work on the west coast?

NedRN · Mar 14, 2013

It is, or was possible to do this, but it is very hard to get such a position now. It can be over $70 an hour in the Bay with enough experience (union scale) - even over $100 on an offshift weekend. The best way to do it would be to take a travel assignment and work your way in from there. Most of the folks I heard about doing it in the early and middle 2000's lived in neighboring states and flew in. No reason it wouldn't work from the east coast, but you have to find the job first!

Typically in Northern California, staff makes more than agency per diem or travelers. So in-house is the way to go, if you can get it.

meandragonbrett · Mar 14, 2013

Yes, we still do this :) You just have to land a position with a hospital. The best way to do this is to take a travel position to SF Bay area and then sign on as per diem. Do your scheduling to meet the requirements, fly in, work, fly back home. There are LOTS of people that do it.

msnurse14 · Mar 15, 2013

Nurses are so creative :laugh:

NedRN · Mar 15, 2013

Yes, we still do this :) You just have to land a position with a hospital. The best way to do this is to take a travel position to SF Bay area and then sign on as per diem. Do your scheduling to meet the requirements, fly in, work, fly back home. There are LOTS of people that do it.

Have you seen travelers still able to move to in-house per diem in the last 5 years? Are you one of the San Jose crowd? And you are from the east coast? Sorry for all the questions but I am curious. I keep meeting nurses from the Bay area who are taking travel assignments and permanent jobs outside the Bay area because they can't find a staff position of any kind in the Bay area.

meandragonbrett · Mar 15, 2013

Have you seen travelers still able to move to in-house per diem in the last 5 years? Are you one of the San Jose crowd? And you are from the east coast? Sorry for all the questions but I am curious. I keep meeting nurses from the Bay area who are taking travel assignments and permanent jobs outside the Bay area because they can't find a staff position of any kind in the Bay area.

Nope, I work in the city. Yes, from back east :)

It's hard to move from traveler to staff period in the bay area. Most hospitals now are requiring their travelers to work a minimum of 6 months as a traveler so that they can try you out before they will even consider offering a staff job. Getting a staff job in SF is all about being a damn good traveler and being willing to extend and extend until there is a staff position open.

NedRN · Mar 15, 2013

Thanks for that. Yup, not easy.

NurseLatteDNP, MSN, DNP, RN · Mar 15, 2013

Just out of curiosity, if you are not working for a travel agency, where do you stay for those days while you are working in SF?

Spoiled1, MSN, RN · Mar 15, 2013

Thanks for the feedback. Do you know of any good hospitals to work for in the Bay area? I was looking at UCSF Medical center. I also heard that the Stanford hospital is a good one too. I wouldn't bring a car for those 10 days, so being in close proximity to public transportation would be an important factor as well. Obviously I hadn't worked out all of the details because I wasn't sure if people were really doing this making $10k/month. Now that I have little more info I may seriously consider it. Are 12 hour positions hard to get now-a-days?

Yes, we still do this :) You just have to land a position with a hospital. The best way to do this is to take a travel position to SF Bay area and then sign on as per diem. Do your scheduling to meet the requirements, fly in, work, fly back home. There are LOTS of people that do it.

Spoiled1, MSN, RN · Mar 15, 2013

Thanks for the info. Someone else also told me that in-house per diem is the best way to go. I will look into it further.

It is, or was possible to do this, but it is very hard to get such a position now. It can be over $70 an hour in the Bay with enough experience (union scale) - even over $100 on an offshift weekend. The best way to do it would be to take a travel assignment and work your way in from there. Most of the folks I heard about doing it in the early and middle 2000's lived in neighboring states and flew in. No reason it wouldn't work from the east coast, but you have to find the job first!
Typically in Northern California, staff makes more than agency per diem or travelers. So in-house is the way to go, if you can get it.

Spoiled1, MSN, RN · Mar 15, 2013

You would have to arrange your own housing. The traveler who told me about this says his friends rent a place and split the cost. There is a group of them who do it. I am hoping he will pass on their info and I can contact them for the details. You could also look at extended stays or renting a room. If the pay is really what people are claiming, then even with finding housing and paying for the monthly flight, you'd come out thousands of dollars ahead. At least in my case since I'm paid 2-3x LESS per hour than what the average nurse makes in California. I think some of the CNA's in Cali make more than the RNs here in the south. It's sad.

Just out of curiosity, if you are not working for a travel agency, where do you stay for those days while you are working in SF?

meandragonbrett · Mar 16, 2013

There are all kinds of hospitals out here. I will say it one more time....the BEST bet as to getting a staff job here is to be a traveler. One of our secretaries has been out of school for over a year and still cannot get an RN position even in our own facility. It's competitive to get a job here.

Housing is expensive...a decent studio/1 bed will easily set you back 1500+ per month and will have no garage or parking spot.

12hr jobs are fairly more difficult to come by. 8hrs are the norm. UCSF and Stanford still have 12s in the ICUs.

Hospitals include UCSF, Stanford, Sutter Health, John Muir Health, San Francisco General, Dignity Health.