Looking for advice

[sunnyshine1989]

I have been a nurse for 17 years. 15 as a LVN and 2 as a RN. I am currently working in an ICCU unit at a Level 1 trauma hospital. I have worked in LTC, state supported living facility, clinics, and home health. I am considering moving from a town of about 200,000 to a large city. I am looking at 3 large cities that are approx 5-6 hours from where I currently live. I am not sure how to go about finding a job in these cities that have so many hospitals to choose from. I would prefer to have a job before moving. I have given myself 6 months to decide on which city to move to then 6 more months to work on the logistics of moving and finding a job. I am also not sure that I want to continue bedside nursing as I am starting to feel burned out. One friend suggested doing a travel nursing assignment in the city I choose. Any thoughts or ideas? Any would be appreciated.

[Marshall1]

Traveling, if you have that option, would be a great idea since you aren't sure which of the 3 places you would like to live - you could possibly, get a travel assignment to each of them at some point or at least close.

Another suggestion is looking at what each city offers that is in line w/what you are looking for not only in terms of employment but also personal interest...as far as finding a job - once you decide where you want to live (city) you would go about applying as you would anywhere else - checking the career sections of the hospitals, looking at job sites like indeed.com, glassdoor, monster etc..if these cities are outside of the state in which you live, applying and obtaining a license in the state before applying for employment would be wise. No employer is going to wait - at least not where I live - for a license to come through w/so many nurses needing jobs.

Good luck

[ArtClassRN, ADN, RN]

Put map on dartboard. Throw dart. Look for jobs in large city closest to dart. Move there. If you don't like it, move to second closest.

Repeat as necessary.