Moving from MI to CA - need advice!

[mobobo]

Help guys! I'm torn. My boyfriend and I are moving to California in May. Not sure what part of CA just depends on where he gets a job since he is a new grad. I am currently with a travel company as a med surg nurse. So my question, should I get a travel assignment out there first and then look for a staff position since I want to make the transition to critical care OR just look for a staff position right away as soon as I figure out where we're going? I'm not sure how difficult it would be to look for a job across country and changing specialties at the same time. Would love to pick your brains! Thanks in advance!

[Skippingtowork]

Everyone is right about California being a tough market for new grads. I see many smart nurses trying to get jobs without success. One of the many issues is that many hospitals want magnet status and are hiring BSN. I would travel first, scope out hospitals and cost of living. If you don't have a BSN start working on it, if possible. California is a wonderful place to live, lots to do and see every day. The advise given about having housing through your travel job is perfect. I know someone doing it right now and it's working out perfectly.

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

I already received my CA license and he's working on his right now. We've done some research and saw there are new grad residencies available in select hospitals. Any idea how difficult it would be to get in one? Thanks for commenting!

Residencies are tough to get in (something like a 10% acceptance rate for the cohort I just promoted from) but they are not impossible. A lot are going to be starting their application process for September w/i the next several weeks. Some places, like Sharp (IIRC, they may have changed this), have a limited amount of online applications they will accept (i.e. the 1st 100 applicants and then they reject the rest). Kaiser Permanente starts their new grad residencies in the spring but I'm not sure if they have already interviewed -- if so, then he may have to wait another year to start (for the Kaisers in my area, they only start new grads in the spring and you start in adult med surg and have to wait your turn to transfer to a different unit -- ideal if you aren't set on a specialty but not ideal if you aren't keen on waiting over another year to start working). Here's the link describing the SoCal regional residency program: Kaiser Permanente Nursing: Nursing Pathways: Southern California

You can also look for traveler jobs at Kaiser -- where I'm at (SoCal) they had tons of travelers and they tended to be fairly content w/ what their set up was like.

Beware that, as said previously, there are many hospitals eyeing Magnet accreditation through the ANCC and they are implementing residencies that are glorified orientations because they don't/can't drop funds on a structured program like Versant. Depending on what your boyfriend's idea was like in terms of how he wants to transition from new grad to RN, he has a lot of options but may need to consider the fact that it may be a while before he is able to start in a residency. I think, ideally and as some anonymous internet person, you may want to get your traveler job and contract set in place and he may need to work around where you ultimately end up. Avoid the San Francisco area as it is absolutely swamped and probably the most competitive. SoCal is bad, too, but there are lots of places to find work that have lower costs of living which may be helpful while he's gets his feet on the ground. Good luck!