Moving to Boston

Mrs.D., BSN · Aug 15, 2020

Hey, CONGRATS on your new degree. I’m not in Boston, but I’m in Mass at an acute care hospital. When we’ve hired RNs with only 0-2 years acute rehab/LTC experience, we consider them new grads and they go into that program-which is actually so helpful for them. I was hired straight from college, but we were oriented together. They were much more confident because of the new grad program. I love that my hospital is willing to do that for them.

So maybe look for new grad programs? Good luck!

ineedachange1, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2020

Thank you @Mrs.D. I am excited to start a new chapter in my life next year in Massachusetts....I just hope I can find a job

Alzsunrise, BSN, RN · Sep 2, 2020

I think you have a good shot at getting into a med/surg floor in a hospital. Almost every hospital around Boston requires a BSN (which you have), but you let experience is based on RN experience- which you have a year of. I think that year will give you an edge over New Grads. I work for Beth Israel and I know they hire Clinical Nurse I which require less experience and are typically for less acute floors and Clinical Nurse II (More experienced/acute care). I think this is a good system because it gives people with less experience a better chance since they are applying with other people with similar experience. You could also consider community hospitals affiliated with a big Boston hospital. It makes you an internal candidate and if you want to transfer into Boston later, you have an advantage.

There is a massive number of hospitals in the Boston area so it becomes a number game. I would get all your info together and just apply for anything that appeals to you. You prob won’t hear from some bc they get so many applications but all you need is a few.

Here are some hospitals in the Boston area you can look for job postings on:

Beth Israel Boston

Boston Medical Center

Tufts Medical Center

Massachusetts General Hospital

Brigham and Women’s

Faulker Hospital

St Elizabeth’s Medical Center

Community hospitals not far outside the city worth considering:

Beth Israel Needham

Beth Israel Milton

Newton Wellesley Hospital

Cambridge Health Alliance (three locations)

Mount Auburn Hospital

Winchester Hospital

Melrose-Wakefield Hospital

Lahey Hospital Burlington

Salem Hospital/North Shore Medical Center

Emerson Hospital

South Shore Hospital

A little farther out but by the ocean:

Anna Jacques Hospital

Addison Gilbert

Beth Israel Plymouth

Tobey Hospital

As you can see, there are tons of them. Just start applying!

I hope this helps some!

ineedachange1, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2020

@Alzsunrise THANK YOU SOOOOO VERY MUCH FOR THIS VALUABLE INFORMATION! I appreciate it so much. I will take your advise and start applying because I would ideally like to be in Massachusetts no later than the 1st quarter of next year (2021). Thank you again! ??

**emergenceRN17, ASN, BSN, RN** · Sep 11, 2020

On 9/2/2020 at 8:25 AM, Alzsunrise said:

I think you have a good shot at getting into a med/surg floor in a hospital. Almost every hospital around Boston requires a BSN (which you have), but you let experience is based on RN experience- which you have a year of. I think that year will give you an edge over New Grads. I work for Beth Israel and I know they hire Clinical Nurse I which require less experience and are typically for less acute floors and Clinical Nurse II (More experienced/acute care). I think this is a good system because it gives people with less experience a better chance since they are applying with other people with similar experience. You could also consider community hospitals affiliated with a big Boston hospital. It makes you an internal candidate and if you want to transfer into Boston later, you have an advantage.

There is a massive number of hospitals in the Boston area so it becomes a number game. I would get all your info together and just apply for anything that appeals to you. You prob won’t hear from some bc they get so many applications but all you need is a few.

Here are some hospitals in the Boston area you can look for job postings on:

Beth Israel Boston

Boston Medical Center

Tufts Medical Center

Massachusetts General Hospital

Brigham and Women’s

Faulker Hospital

St Elizabeth’s Medical Center

Community hospitals not far outside the city worth considering:

Beth Israel Needham

Beth Israel Milton

Newton Wellesley Hospital

Cambridge Health Alliance (three locations)

Mount Auburn Hospital

Winchester Hospital

Melrose-Wakefield Hospital

Lahey Hospital Burlington

Salem Hospital/North Shore Medical Center

Emerson Hospital

South Shore Hospital

A little farther out but by the ocean:

Anna Jacques Hospital

Addison Gilbert

Beth Israel Plymouth

Tobey Hospital

As you can see, there are tons of them. Just start applying!

I hope this helps some!

The Faulker, BI Plymouth, and BI Milton are hiring for sure. Norwood might still be closed d/t flood. South Shore is also hiring as well.

?

OncologyCat, BSN, RN · Oct 2, 2020

If you want to do acute rehab you can try applying to Spaulding as well. Not sure if you know about the Mass General Brigham system (which used to be Partners Health care) which is a system of hospitals together including Mass General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Martha Vineyards Hospital, etc. Spaulding is also in that system, so if you have trouble finding jobs at the hospitals, you can try applying to Spaulding and put in your years there and then transfer to other hospitals as an internal applicant when a job is posted. Good luck!

I also applied from out of state to Boston with no family in the area so if you have any questions let me know and hopefully I can help!

muchtodo · Nov 3, 2020

Congratulations on the degree and the future move! I am also from NY and relocating to Boston.

Does anyone know what is the best paying hospital system is in the Boston area? I am seeing a lot of very low numbers compared to the cost of living and I am concerned.

**emergenceRN17, ASN, BSN, RN** · Nov 3, 2020

1 hour ago, muchtodo said:

Congratulations on the degree and the future move! I am also from NY and relocating to Boston.

Does anyone know what is the best paying hospital system is in the Boston area? I am seeing a lot of very low numbers compared to the cost of living and I am concerned.

The cost of living is expensive in the immediate Boston area. Best to seek housing in a neighboring City/Town. It is also very competitive job wise. Kind of who you know unless you have good years behind your belt.

Wishing you the very best.

OncologyCat, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2020

On 11/3/2020 at 10:40 AM, muchtodo said:

Congratulations on the degree and the future move! I am also from NY and relocating to Boston.

Does anyone know what is the best paying hospital system is in the Boston area? I am seeing a lot of very low numbers compared to the cost of living and I am concerned.

I had 2.5 years of experience when I moved to Boston and was offered ~$32/hr without diff. From my experience Mass General Hospital is paying slightly higher compared to Brigham and Women’s, but they don’t have a nursing union there. I was told the Mass General Brigham system is the best paying hospital system (which makes sense cause it’s also happened to be the best known system in MA). Beth Israel Lahey is another big one. I know of Steward Health Care (which includes St. Elizabeth’s Medical center) but I’ve heard the working conditions for nurses there are not as good; they do have a nursing union but I’ve seen nurses protest against SEMC quite often pre-COVID times.

If you’re trying to cut the cost of living, don’t live in the immediate city area; it can be expensive, especially with the combination of college students finding apartments in the same area. Some more affordable towns can be Watertown, Dorchester, Roxbury, Waltham, Reading, Marblehead, Andover, etc. I have coworkers who even live in Newburyport. Just be aware that you’ll still need to pay for parking.

HopefulFutureOncNurse, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2020

Somewhat related, but I am a new grad as well (BSN, RN) and just moved back home to the Massachusetts, having attended school out of state. I am really hoping to get a residency in oncology but haven't been able to find anything for the past several months and have been looking quite diligently. Do MA hospitals not offer residencies in this specialty? Any leads or advice on how to move forward would be much appreciated. TIA!

OncologyCat, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2020

On 12/11/2020 at 1:54 PM, HopefulFutureOncNurse said:

Somewhat related, but I am a new grad as well (BSN, RN) and just moved back home to the Massachusetts, having attended school out of state. I am really hoping to get a residency in oncology but haven't been able to find anything for the past several months and have been looking quite diligently. Do MA hospitals not offer residencies in this specialty? Any leads or advice on how to move forward would be much appreciated. TIA!

I believe there are new grad onc residency programs in Boston but it is extremely difficult to get into, especially when you go to school out of state (unless you went to a big named school out of state like UPenn or UMichigan). MGH and BWH have new grad program where you can float between services and hospital systems I believe. Dana-Farber has a new grad research nurse program that, from my understanding, only offers 2-3 positions/year. Beth Israel will post new grad positions as Clinical nurse I. The majority of new grad nurses hired to big named hospitals in Boston have to do a practicum there or work there as a nursing assistant before.

With COVID and hiring freezes I suggest apply to any jobs you see, whether regular med-surg tele or rehab; don’t limit yourself to oncology only. Spaulding is a popular choice for new grad since it’s still in the Mass General Brigham health system and you can transfer to big named hospitals in hat system like MGH or BWH more easily than as an external applicant. Once you have a year of experience under your belt, you’ll be much more appealing to hiring managers. Another option is to relocate; Boston is extremely competitive to get jobs. I used to be able to work in New Hampshire as a new grad RN in oncology and move down to Boston with 2.5 years of experience.