More jobs in florida for new grads??

NewYorkerGirl · Mar 11, 2015

Depends on the area. Miami? Fuhgeddaboudit. I'd avoid the areas with big universities: Tampa, Orlando, etc. They flood the market 2-3 times a year with hundreds of BSNs, and of course they have plenty of ASN programs in those cities, too. Put a local address on your resume: that's how I got hired down here. Most nurses flee after they get 1 year of experience, so lots of hospitals make you sign a 2 year contract, or else pay up $5,000 or more. I'm saving up to pay this fee because I want out ASAP. :eek:

Pay and benefits don't compare to NY, but they're better than other southern states I've investigated. Good luck.

Edit: Summer is FL's slow season. You're more likely to get hired in late fall or winter when all the old people come down from up north and have strokes and heart attacks. We get called off a lot in the summer because there's no work, so I doubt you'll get hired then.

blondie1887 · Mar 11, 2015

What hospital/town did you relocate to? and how do you use a local address before you moved? Is it really that bad though that you want to leave ASAP? I love nyc social scene but the jobs here are slim and few for new grads. It seems in every job market.

gerryNYC · Mar 11, 2015

Hello, I am hearing there are more hospital jobs for new grads in florida than my area (New York). Is this the reality? I am considering applying as I have been looking form almost a year. I will be finishing my BSN in August and would like to find something by then...

Stay in NY. Fl does not treat their nurses well

NewYorkerGirl · Mar 15, 2015

What hospital/town did you relocate to? and how do you use a local address before you moved? Is it really that bad though that you want to leave ASAP? I love nyc social scene but the jobs here are slim and few for new grads. It seems in every job market.

I used a relative's address. Put down any random address: they won't mail you anything. Change it when you're hired and are down here. I work at a hospital about an hour away from Tampa: far enough that they have to hire ASN's, so they jumped at my BSN resume. Got called for both jobs I applied for. The pay is pretty good on night shift, but the ratios are high, I'm med surg and always have 6 needy patients. they send a nurse home if we don't have at least 4 each, and I'm told to save money for the summer because we can't get the hours. Also, I'm always missing something on my charting, it's impossible to keep up. My friend at another hospital in FL has the same complaints.

There's no social life here outside of Miami/Orlando. It's all very old people, so there's nothing to do. Can't go outside: I have my AC on right now. Yeah, AC in mid-March. I won't turn it off until November. :arghh:

But it's experience. Just remember to set aside the money to break the contract. :)

NewYorkerGirl · Mar 15, 2015

Also: I talk to travelers a lot. They recommend dartmouth hitchcock medical center in New Hampshire (patient ratio is 4:1, building is set up so your patients are close to you) and Mass General in Massachusetts (I'm told you only have 3 patients there, which I find hard to believe, but it's what I was told).

april_tomorrow · Mar 15, 2015

Market for new grads in south Florida is horrible. Stay away if you can. There are NO jobs. Adn or bsn. Many nursing schools in the area. You need to look for Months unless you know someone who can get you in.

Oh and once you get hired you are going to be paid as low as $22(!)/hr with 6-7 patient ratio. Cost of living in a decent area here is pretty high.

Most of the nurses i went to school with in Miami are miserable in their first jobs.

It might be easier to find a job somewhere in a rural area and just suck it up for a year Imho

haba89 · Apr 6, 2015

hi guys. I will be moving to Panama city, Florida in may 2015 for a job offer at Bay Medical Center on orthopedic- neuro surgical unit, so i am very curious about nurse life in this hospital and beach life general? I am moving from Bismarck, North Dakota. I am pretty much done with cold weather. any suggestion for apartments?