Moving to Pittsburgh! Help??

[Rani-87]

---

Hello everyone!

My wife and I will be moving to Pittsburgh in August of this year. I know the first step is obtaining a PA nursing license, which I plan on doing by the end of this month.

My big issue/worry, is finding a good hospital to work for in Pittsburgh. Possibly one that does phone/skype interviews and maybe even offers relocation assistance? Does anyone have any experience with this and are willing to offer advice?

Also, how soon in advance can I start applying for jobs? If I cannot start until end of August, how soon in advance can I start applying? Do any hospitals even hire a month or two in advance?? Really want to be prepared as possible for this move so that it is an easy transition as possible!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

If you are still interested. There is a Facebook Pittsburgh Nurses group that is somewhat active. You might be able to ask on there. I have no clue. I've been in LTC forever.

[lmgst30]

I'm currently in an RN program in the Pittsburgh area, I got an official job offer at the end of September and I don't even graduate until mid-December -- HR put my start date nearly 4 months in the future from when I was offered the job. So applying 3 or 4 months in advance is totally reasonable.

I can't speak to the remote interviewing except to say the recruiter will just talk to you on the phone as your first interview. After that, it's probably up to the unit director as to whether or not they want to meet you in person.

The big systems in Pittsburgh are UPMC and AHN, they both have hospitals all over. If you are moving to the south of Pgh, there is St. Clair Hospital, which is independent, and to the east there is the Excela system.

I doubt anyone will give you relocation expenses, but some UPMC positions have a sign-on bonus of $10,000 for RN's with 2 years experience. In general, the market is very good for nurses here right now -- my classmates and I are all getting offers or at least interviews. Know, though, that things might not go as smoothly for you, coming from outside the region -- industries are cliquey here.

[lmgst30]

Sorry, I forgot to check the post date before I replied -- hope things worked out for you!