Moving to Phoenix, Arizona in the fall ...

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Hi all,

I'm moving back to Phoenix, Arizona this fall and I was hoping to start a discussion about which hospitals offer the best working environments and money. I've talked to some people about both, but there does not seem to be any consensus.

I'm coming from a large teaching and research hospital in the Midwest. I have a BSN with 3.5 years of RN experience, half of which was in med-surg and the other half is in an MICU. I have my CCRN, ACLS and I'm chemo certified, NIHSS certified and CVVHD certified ... not very much swanz cath experience though and no IABP and no ECMO experience.

From what I've been told, I should expect to make anywhere between $35 - $45/hr with my experience ... but is that really accurate for the Phoenix market right now and how competitive is it there?

And what are the better Phoenix area hospitals to work for? And what I mean is, where will you get the sickest patients? ... Where will you find the best doctors and nurses teamed to together? ... At which hospitals do the nurses seem to love their jobs more?

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Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.

And what I mean is, where will you get the sickest patients? ... Where will you find the best doctors and nurses teamed to together? ... At which hospitals do the nurses seem to love their jobs more?

The sickest patients will be at the Level 1 trauma hospitals. I would say St. Joe's (now called Dignity Healthcare I think), Banner Good Samaritan, and Maricopa County have the sickest ICU patients. I have never worked for John C. Lincoln, but they are also a Level 1 trauma center. Scottsdale Shea is a Level 1, but technically it's not in Phoenix.

I think a teaching hospital environment has the best team work. The first three I mentioned above are all teaching hospitals. Nurses loving their jobs......hmmm..... in my mind, it would be where you can get a lunch break and never have a 3:1 ICU ratio, have a lift team, a CNA to help you bathe, and a smooth charting system. I guess that would be nowhere!

The market is very competitive here but your certifications make you very marketable. I believe anything over $40/hr is overly optimistic. Agency is not even paying that much. $35 would probably be doable, perhaps a couple bucks more.

Best of luck. Let us know how the hunt goes!

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in my mind, it would be where you can get a lunch break and never have a 3:1 ICU ratio, have a lift team, a CNA to help you bathe, and a smooth charting system. I guess that would be nowhere!

LOL ... Isn't the truth! Thank you so much for your input, I really appreciate it.

I will take a closer look at those hospitals, including Shea...a question for you: out of the hospitals that you mentioned, which one would you pick? Or which one do you work for? lol.

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Hi, I probably couldn't be of too much assistance because I'm not even a nurse yet but I figured any hospital who earned Magnet status would be good for u. Banner Good Sam has for to consecutive review cycles. That to me would put them on the top of the list wouldn't you think?

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Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.

I would probably pick Scottsdale Shea because I have heard good things from nurses that have worked there and because they do have a lift team on day shift.

Banner Good Samaritan has a reputation of snarky nurses and seems to have a lot of turn over in ICU. (It is magnet, but I wouldn't put a lot of stock in that.)

Parking sucks at Dignity Health Care with new nurses having to park off-site and taking a shuttle bus. That may have changed in the last 5 years or so.

Actually, I work in research now. I am so done with bedside nursing!

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Specializes in CVICU.

Hi there! I am a RN with about a year of ICU under my belt. I work for CHW/now Dignity Health. I have worked at St. Joes and CRMC in the ICU and it is a great place to work. I know the parking is tight at St. Joes, but not bad at all, and the parking at Chandler is tight because we are building a new tower with new ICU beds. I would recommend St. Joe's for someone with your experience. It was my favorite place to work, but I lived over an hour away. Good luck with your job search, you can PM me if you have more questions.

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Specializes in Trauma and Cardiovascular ICU.

I'm currently looking at making the move back to Phoenix. I went to school at ASU and have spent the last 2 years working on the East Coast with the last year in a STICU. How is the demand for the Trauma ICU at St Joes? When I was in school I externed at St Joes and loved it. Parking was fine when I worked there. At my current job I also work as the Trauma response RN for the ICU and go to the ER for Level 1 activations and multiple Level 2's at one time. I did see several ED positions open and was considering that as I do love doing Trauma resuscitation in the ED. Anyone info anyone has would be great!

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Hi...so I'm just curious, do you know how much nurses with a little over 4 years experience would be paid at chandler regional? I'm interested in applying for a position there, but I don't want to take a huge pay cut coming from San Diego. Thank you!

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Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.

The cost of living in Chandler has to be way lower than San Diego. There is a website that makes COL comparisons somewhere out there. I have seen it posted before on AN but can't remember the site. Perhaps you could search for it.

Depending on what your specialty is, you can't really pick and choose what hospital you work at. The nursing market is very over-saturated here. I have no ideal what Chandler Hospital pay scale is.......but almost guaranteed it is lower than what San Diego hospitals pay. You will have to take a pay cut to move anywhere in the PHX area.

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Whoops

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Hi there! I am a RN with about a year of ICU under my belt. I work for CHW/now Dignity Health. I have worked at St. Joes and CRMC in the ICU and it is a great place to work. I know the parking is tight at St. Joes, but not bad at all, and the parking at Chandler is tight because we are building a new tower with new ICU beds. I would recommend St. Joe's for someone with your experience. It was my favorite place to work, but I lived over an hour away. Good luck with your job search, you can PM me if you have more questions.

Hi, I saw your response and I'm considering a position at St. Joe's in the Med Surg Trauma ICU. I would also be commuting. Was wondering if you would answer a few questions of mine? Thanks in advance.

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Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.

The low down as I know it; If the biggest trauma hospital is what you're looking for, then Maricopa Integrated Health is the hospital you should look at. Not in a good area of town and is really the "County ER", but the biggest traumas tend to go there. The same with major burns. BTW, anyone that loves Neuro. should look closely at Barrow's at St. Joseph's. Banner is a good place to work in general as they have so many different facilities all over the valley, but I don't personally care for Banner Samaritan...older building (although it seems that maybe they are expanding, I'm not in area close enough to be sure) that has some weird vibes. IASIS/Abrazo hospitals do not have a very good reputation in my experience. Banner Gateway Hospital is attached to MD Anderson Cancer Center and is tops for Oncology. Phoenix Children's Hospital is the place to work if into Pediatrics. Mayo Clinic, I've been there done that, just not my cup of tea although many love it.

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