Moving to San Antonio!

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jan 25, 2016

I'm a bit puzzled about your question - "do hospitals in San Antonio recognize the MSN-entry level graduates yet?". San Antonio actually has more nursing schools per capita than any other Texas city ... Including long-established graduate & post-graduate university programs. So, it's not exactly the boondocks of higher education for nurses. If you're asking whether MSN-entry grads are being hired, well - that's another issue entirely. In my organization, most hiring managers are actively avoiding them due to previous issues they've experienced.

Reality check - entry-level Masters grads are not any more qualified for entry level new grad jobs than those with undergraduate degrees. You're all starting from the same place when it comes to having the clinical skill to provide patient care. During your Job Search, probably the worst thing you can do is attempt to position yourself as 'better than' the other applicants simply by virtue of your degree - especially if the other applicants have the advantage of graduating from programs that did their clinical rotations in that facility.

Are you currently on active duty? Recently discharged? If so, you'll discover that San Antonio is a very military-friendly city, and many companies offer preferential treatment to qualified veterans. SA does have a lower salary base than other Texas cities. However, if you factor in the absence of state income tax & significantly lower housing costs, the overall cost of living there is much lower than you're used to.

Best of luck on your job hunt & launching your nursing career.

zuzuafone · Jan 25, 2016

Thanks for your response! I'm a bit confused with your response as well...Let me first start off by saying that Yes, I was referring to San Antonio acknowledging the Masters-entry level program. My remarks never intended to portray San Antonio as the boondocks; I was just under the impression that there isn't a college that offers the Masters-Entry level nursing degree there.

And as far as your reality check goes, I sure wasn't trying to make myself more qualified and I'm unsure as to why your institution isn't hiring these grads, so if you can enlighten me I would greatly appreciate it. I can only speak for my program, but many of us have two B.S. or even a masters already.. We already have a background in either public health, biology, chemistry, sports medicine etc. Yes i realize that alone will not make us better nurses, but all of our classes were with the nurse practitioner classes. Meaning all of our courses are master level, advanced pathophys, advanced pharm, advanced public health etc. Also, our clinical hours well exceeded over 1,000 hours, not including our 9-month residency. The hospitals in the Twin Cities are trying to recruit our grads, and offering them a higher salary then the typical B.S. So it's a little disheartening to hear that we go through the same schooling as undergraduates. I'm definitely not trying to put myself on a pedestal, but I'm just trying to explain my program.

And I'm in the reserves and my husband is active duty stationed there. I've become very familiar with San Antonio through all of my training experiences. I'm just trying to get a feel for which hospitals are great to work with.

Thanks

ShantheRN, BSN, RN · Jan 26, 2016

An entry level nurse is an entry level nurse, regardless of degree. You won't get preferential treatment over BSN new grads, and you'll get the same amount of orientation. I'm in an MSN program with direct entry folks and I'm annoyed because I feel like the class pacing is slowed down to accommodate them. But that's a whole other thread lol You will soon find out the NCLEX nursing isn't close to real world nursing. I work at a pretty big hospital and there is no incentive pay for degree.

Once you get over that, the reality of the job market will set in. I'm kinda surprised the pay difference is so much! I have friends in Dallas that are making quite a lot. Good luck with your search!