New Grad moving to Albuquerque in December

rpbear · Feb 18, 2004

If you decide to go for a job at UNMH, make sure you follow through with the unit director, or the mentor program director. UNM is notorious for not following through on applications, without your vigilence.

WOW, you hit the nail right on the head with that one! I applied to both UNMH and Pres, and UNMH never called me for an interview. All the units I applied for at pres called me within a week. Needless to say I took a job a Pres. Thanks all for the advise!

nilepoc · Feb 18, 2004

If your new bosses initials are LH, good luck.

BTW don't mention my name.

MEL101 · Feb 25, 2004

:chuckle You guys are all to funny!! I moved to Houston 3 yrs ago after living in Albuquerque for 20+ years....Best things about NM is the "slow" paced attitude but thats NM and the green chili! Anaheim's just don't make it in Houston...I never did work the hospitals in Alb, did do Pres reviewing med records w the HMO tho', did Qual Med mid 80's, the PRO org and even medical supply sales. I agree, stay away from LL, and PRES (roll my eyes), UNMH is an excellent hospital as far as being a Level 1 trauma center and the residency program is rated at #2 or 3 I believe. Best place for a nurse to add to education. Also I'd recommend, well its not St. Joes since I left, someone bought the Sisters of Charity...Its something like St Joseph's Regional Medical Center??? That hospital had the best reputation of being the most "homey" type hospital....they have some of the best docs I think...they talk with you and not down at you....Dr. Chong, what a sweetie.... sniff...Gardunos on 4th St is best restaurant for New Mexican cuisine and Blue Margaritas..Lots of politics between all the hospitals....Pres and LL always changed management every few years, always scary and one of the reasons I never wanted to be involved w those systems...lots of good friendly people tho' and good food....

Hope this helps....later dudes/dudetts.....:)

walterrn · Apr 10, 2004

Bah humbug to "AzdreaminRN"........There are good places to work and bad places to work. Depends on who you are and who they are. THEY are usually full of ****, but not always. Ive worked my entire career in NM, and for the most part, it's been an enjoyable experience. Check out the Sunday want-ads of the Albuquerque Journal and youll find about 2 pages devoted to medical. Anything I can tell you about NM, let me know.

Walter the Nurse

I will be a new grad moving to Albuquerque this December. Is there anyone out there that can give me any advise on what to expect? I am originally from ABQ and have family there so I really just need advice about nursing. Where should I apply to work? Can I work on a permit or do I have to wait until I get my license? Are any hospitals offering sign-on bonuses? I am coming from NY and have talked to the BON about how to get licensed, but I would like some personal insite.
Thanks,
Molly:p

candykalu · Apr 14, 2004

Hi I am an RN with 3+ years of experience in neonatal nursing and planning to relocate to albuquerque....Also, I wanted advise on the best hospitals to work for and if you know if they offer sign-in bonuses, and if you could give me an estimate of rate per hour, I entered the UNM job search and in the salary part they offered $17 per hour which seemed extremely low to me, I hope its not true. Also, I was wondering if PRN or part-time jobs are popular among hospitals and if they offer good pay. Thanks for your advice, I would really appreciate it!

walterrn · Apr 14, 2004

Good morning. UNM does have a few perks. Unfortunately, they begin your pay grade dependent upon yrs exp. They do have a clinical ladder which you can end up with an additional $5 Qhr (and fairly easy to accomplish); their diffs are 15% of your base on evening/noc and 25% of base on weekends. They will also pay 100% of any undergraduate work at UNM, so if you're an ADN and want your BSN, they pay tuition you pay books. A nurse friend of mine hired in Oct. 03 received $5000 sign on bonus (that probably still exists). Gawd, I should work for HR.

Presbyterian has a good benefit program, but I've found their in-house political structure a little too back stabbing for me. Lovelace is probably still in transition since merging with St joseph, but that merge brought them the largest client group in NM. All three use outside agency, but all three also have inside casual pools. Hope this helps.

Hi I am an RN with 3+ years of experience in neonatal nursing and planning to relocate to albuquerque....Also, I wanted advise on the best hospitals to work for and if you know if they offer sign-in bonuses, and if you could give me an estimate of rate per hour, I entered the UNM job search and in the salary part they offered $17 per hour which seemed extremely low to me, I hope its not true. Also, I was wondering if PRN or part-time jobs are popular among hospitals and if they offer good pay. Thanks for your advice, I would really appreciate it!

candykalu · Apr 18, 2004

Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. Would it be too much if somebody estimates rate per hous for a nurse with 3 years of experience? Thank you again

walterrn · Apr 22, 2004

Thanks for the response, I really appreciate it. Would it be too much if somebody estimates rate per hous for a nurse with 3 years of experience? Thank you again

Ms Candy,

I dont know rate per hr, but lets pretend its the $17.00 you were quoted. If you're a BSN, you are immedeatly (spelling) a "CAP 1" giving you an additional $1.50 /hr. If you are certified in your dicipline, you become a CAP 2 for another $1.00/hr. Then all you need is an additional 30 points, which can be done by taking free telemetry classes and picking up your ACLS and/or PALS, which adds an additional $2.50/hr at "CAP 3". Charge position will grant you $2.00/hr diff and weekend noc will grant you an extra $4.25/hr. That being said, your original $17.00/hr is now worth $25.25 /hr. Most states make more as an RN than NM.....................being #2 in the nation for poverty does that. Cost of living is low. Current gallon of gas is $1.70. Multiple fun things to do on your time off.................great city noc life, winter ski/snow boarding, summer ski/fishing...............now I'm starting to sound like the chamber of commerce...................I love NM.

Walter the Nurse

mytoon38 · Feb 8, 2005

I just wanted to warn everyone about the V.A. They are running ads again for sign-on bonuses for R.N.'s for either $8,000 for Med-Surg, and $10,000 for the Spinal cord injury unit. Please take my advice, and come do a shift or 2 here through an agency BEFORE you sign on that dotted line. I wish I would have, and now I am STUCK for another year and a half at this place.

Their staffing ratios are DANGEROUS!!! It is not unusual to have 20 patients on Med-Surg floors, and this is on DAY shift!! We have very sick pts. too, that require a lot of care. Most of the time the poor CNA's call in. I can't say I blame them, because they are overworked too! On a floor with 40+ patients, there will be 2 CNA'a and they have to split the patients between them. Then you have 2 Nurses that have 15-20 pts. each, so obviously we aren't able to help the CNA's much. We have A "Charge" Nurse that sits on her @#*, and is really no help at all. It doesn't do any good to complain to management, because they just say "You have to do the best you can with the staff you have"!!! Oh yes, we also have MANDATED O.T., so if someone calls in, you might be forced to stay over, if they say it is your turn! :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

So just be careful if you are thinking of coming to the V.A. I am thinking of breaking my contract and paying back the money they gave me. I think in the end it will be more cost -effective, because at least I will still have my Nsg. license I worked so hard to get. I am afraid if I stay here, I won't have it much longer!!!

med/surg flt rn · Aug 24, 2005

I just went on an all expense paid trip to visit the Lovelace Sandia healthcare systems in ABQ. They have merged lots of hospitals under one system. I was impressed. Know lots of people that are going to sign on and work there. They are offering a bonus, from what we were told. You can PM me if you have any more questions.

I was wondering how is love lace hosp been reading up on the different hosp. there in albuquerque, plan to relocate there. Just wondering has is the job market, salary down there. I am a Med/surg nurse of 3 yrs my plans are to go for ER, if you can give me so information, I would greatly appreciate it

lisala · Apr 4, 2006

Hi all!

I'm a new grad moving to Albuquerque this summer and was wondering if anybody has advice regarding the hospitals. I've applied for positions at UNM, Presbyterian, and Lovelace, so far, and I plan on making a trip out there by early May.

Any advice for a new grad R.N. seeking employment in Albuquerque would be appreciated.

ann444 · May 3, 2006

my advice for any healthcare professional - especially a new grad is to do your research before signing on with a hospital in albuquerque. as with any city there will be good and bad hospitals. i have heard good things about presby. but there is one hospital in particular that has had numerous problems with medicare complaints and investigations. we are talking front page newspaper expose type of problems. do your research. this is not a one time event - it is something that even the staff admits occurs every few years. in my opinion it is not an educated group of people and from what i experienced any attempt to bring new staff in or institute program improvements was met with an angry opposition. so basically you have a group of ignorant people who are quite content to remain ignorant at the expense of patient care as long as they remain in control. the hospital genuinely had an almost third world feeling to it. the patient population is very poor and uneducated with no real advocate support. so unless you are willing to just go in, do your job and quietly overlook this sort of a situation i would avoid the place at all cost. i've seen several health care professionals attempt to be publicly vocal about the situation or attempt to institute program improvements desperately trying to make for improved patient care and outcomes only to meet with problems in their own careers down the road as a result of retaliation. i WOULD definitely give tucson arizona university medical center a try first if you are wanting to head southwest. a world class difference in facilities and staff. also a world class difference in management. it is an excellent facility and a beautiful place to live. phoenix also has some excellent hospitals to work as a new grad or as a traveler. in fact, albuquerque is one of only two bad hospital reviews i have to give based on 10 years of travel experience. so with that being said, protect your career, save yourself the grief and be careful which hospital you land in as a nurse when traveling through albuquerque.