new RN jobs in Fla?

itsmejuli · May 13, 2010

Anyway, does anyone have some insight onto this Florida situation, how long it will last and the dreadful salaries in the state?

Let me look into my crystal ball.....

Truth is that FL has always had low wages and nothing is going to change.

FL is third in the nation behind CA and NV for real estate problems and high unemployment.

If I wasn't stuck here, I certainly wouldn't be moving to FL. Even the weather can't make up for lousy pay, increasing cost of living and high unemployment. I won't even mention the massive reductions in public services by local and state governments.

KateRN1 · May 13, 2010

Don't forget to factor in the lousy school system, too.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · May 14, 2010

I am from PA and will ge graduating in a year hoping to relocate to north Florida with family. I've been reading on here how poor job prosepcts are in Fla as well as low salary. Any idea on the reason and how long this will last? Can't totally blame the ecomony, here in SW PA, we have nurse recruiters that come in the fall where I attend and several students have job offers 4 months before they even graduate, salaries 22-28/hour starting with benefits, and further education assistance. I realize in other places it might not be the same, but yet in other areas of the country they pay even more. I know several recent grads from the ADN program I am attending that have been out only a couple years and are in the 30+/hour range, one is at 41/hour. The sad thing is the cost of living here in PA is way less than Florida. For me, I am a second career student, the thought of 18-19/hour is sickening, that is LPN and even in a few places nurse aide salary here. I know many LPN's that make in the low to mid 20's/hr. My family will be moving to Florida in a year right about the time I graduate any thoughts on if this situation Florida will change by then? Is the market flooded with nurses down in FLorida of what? This being a second career for me, making 25-30/hr is already 1/2 of my wage in my previous job, less than 20/hr isn't even worth getting out of bed for, how on Earth could one afford a half decent home on that wage. If you think about it, it's almost insulting and down grading to RN's, my previous job was half the work and effort and 3 times the pay, and wasn't even in a position to help people. Some national nurse organization needs to fight to get RN salaries up to where they need to be relative to all the duties nurses perform. Anyway, does anyone have some insight onto this Florida situation, how long it will last and the dreadful salaries in the state?

Perhaps, you should have done your research better.

There are literally hundreds of posts/threads on this BB about the poor pay rates in Florida, the poor work conditions, the abysmal ratios, and the reasons behind that.

The pay rates have historically been low across the board, for nurses and nonnurses in Florida - this has ALWAYS been true, and is NOTHING new. Even when the have been so-called nursing shortages, Florida facilities have still paid poorly and used to import staff for that reason, before retrogression was in place. Pay rates have actually gone up in the past few years, prior to the recession.

The joke, as far as ALL jobs in FL, is "you get paid in sunshine".

As far as hospitals, Florida politics tend to be conservative and aimed to supported big business, thus large numbers are facilities of all types are Forprofit, and therefore chintzy on pay, benefits, staffing, supplies. This also means most of the uninsured/underinsured get shifted to the nonprofit facilities. The high number of elderly means that disproportionate numbers of pts will overstay their DRG allotments, costing the facilities money. They also have more comorbidities, costing more in care, often more than insurace will reimburse.

You also have denial issues. 80 year old grandma that fractured hip and needs to have extended rehab in LTC, but refuses to stay "in a nursing home". Or 78 year old grandpa "who hasn't been sick a day in his life", despite the 2 cardiac bypasses, emphysema, and "borderline prediabetes" with a BS of 497 on admit...he has a serious stroke, vegetative state and family refuses to put him "in a nursing home" because he will be out golfing next week. Grandma will bounce back and forth like a pingpong ball, repeatedly falling at home, injurying self - that insure will underpay for because it is a readmit. Grandpa will stay in the hospital forever, while family members from several states argue the issue.

As long as FL is the retirement capital of the East, and has a disproprtionate number of homeless (live on beaches), elderly, HIV +, underinsured/uninsured emigrants of all legalities, there will be a drain on the health care system.

It is highly unlikelay that a "national nurse's organization" can do one darn thing to fix it. They cannot change the entire health care system and politics of the state. And you will find in most hospitals, about the time that anyone uses the "U" word - nion, you will quickly find yourself out of a job.....and likely unable to find one any where in the local area.

My question is why do you want to move there? There are a lot of people from the NE that have this dream, of changing careers, moving away from the snow and "retiring" to work in FL and then are disappointed, because they expect to have the good parts of "up North" along with the sunshine and bass boat with dockage in Florida. Life does not work that way, you have to accept the good with the bad of a place. There are costs to all advantages.

I moved "up North". I do not like everything about "up North", but have made my tradeoffs to living here. I don't expect "up North" to change for me. I shovel snow and put up with cold and rudeness, but get paid better and work with better ratios and conditions.

Carolina, a native Floridian from "old FL", currently in Maryland.

Dino · May 14, 2010

Perhaps, you should have done your research better.
There are literally hundreds of posts/threads on this BB about the poor pay rates in Florida, the poor work conditions, the abysmal ratios, and the reasons behind that.
The pay rates have historically been low across the board, for nurses and nonnurses in Florida - this has ALWAYS been true, and is NOTHING new. Even when the have been so-called nursing shortages, Florida facilities have still paid poorly and used to import staff for that reason, before retrogression was in place. Pay rates have actually gone up in the past few years, prior to the recession.
The joke, as far as ALL jobs in FL, is "you get paid in sunshine".
As far as hospitals, Florida politics tend to be conservative and aimed to supported big business, thus large numbers are facilities of all types are Forprofit, and therefore chintzy on pay, benefits, staffing, supplies. This also means most of the uninsured/underinsured get shifted to the nonprofit facilities. The high number of elderly means that disproportionate numbers of pts will overstay their DRG allotments, costing the facilities money. They also have more comorbidities, costing more in care, often more than insurace will reimburse.
You also have denial issues. 80 year old grandma that fractured hip and needs to have extended rehab in LTC, but refuses to stay "in a nursing home". Or 78 year old grandpa "who hasn't been sick a day in his life", despite the 2 cardiac bypasses, emphysema, and "borderline prediabetes" with a BS of 497 on admit...he has a serious stroke, vegetative state and family refuses to put him "in a nursing home" because he will be out golfing next week. Grandma will bounce back and forth like a pingpong ball, repeatedly falling at home, injurying self - that insure will underpay for because it is a readmit. Grandpa will stay in the hospital forever, while family members from several states argue the issue.
As long as FL is the retirement capital of the East, and has a disproprtionate number of homeless (live on beaches), elderly, HIV +, underinsured/uninsured emigrants of all legalities, there will be a drain on the health care system.
It is highly unlikelay that a "national nurse's organization" can do one darn thing to fix it. They cannot change the entire health care system and politics of the state. And you will find in most hospitals, about the time that anyone uses the "U" word - nion, you will quickly find yourself out of a job.....and likely unable to find one any where in the local area.
My question is why do you want to move there? There are a lot of people from the NE that have this dream, of changing careers, moving away from the snow and "retiring" to work in FL and then are disappointed, because they expect to have the good parts of "up North" along with the sunshine and bass boat with dockage in Florida. Life does not work that way, you have to accept the good with the bad of a place. There are costs to all advantages.
I moved "up North". I do not like everything about "up North", but have made my tradeoffs to living here. I don't expect "up North" to change for me. I shovel snow and put up with cold and rudeness, but get paid better and work with better ratios and conditions.
Carolina, a native Floridian from "old FL", currently in Maryland.

Sounds like a sad case of too much capitalsim in healthcare in Florida. Some is ok, but too much creates greed, where the workers, the ones who actually make the money for the hospital are underpaid and underappreciated. No wonder Florida hostpitals try to acquire foreign nurses, so they can rip them off no questions asked. All I can say is from what I have observed in nursing thus far, is that nurses need to get more of a back bone, lose the catty attitudes and start working together and demand more, or in a few years with the cost of living increases it won't even pay for a college student to go into nursing, too many other professions pay more with less work and hassle. "Caring to help people" isn't reason enough to go into nursing if it's not going to pay the mortgage, car, food, and raise the kids.

nlion87 · May 14, 2010

Also, keep in mind the bulk of FL's economy is based on tourism and the service industries which notroiously offer lower salaries/wages. As most recruiters down here will tell you you get paid in sunshine

Dino · May 14, 2010

Also, keep in mind the bulk of FL's economy is based on tourism and the service industries which notroiously offer lower salaries/wages. As most recruiters down here will tell you you get paid in sunshine

Well, I still think the saying "get paid in sunshine" is a bunch of crap to falsely elude one into thinking that a nurse can't make more money. Again, it comes down to having enough backbone to demand more, as mentioned all the caring to help people in the world doesn't change the fact that one needs to make a living, not just to make ends meet every month,if that. Maybe those homeless people living on the beaches mentioned by the previous reply are actually RN's getting there pay checks in sunshine!!

Preeps · May 14, 2010

Unfortunately if you are a grad RN you may not even be able to find a job period, low pay or high. The job market is very competitive for new nurses and most are happy to accept the starting pay of around $22.00 an hour.

I think you may need to rethink things a bit because the economy has affected the job market severely in Florida as well as many other state.

Dino · May 14, 2010

Unfortunately if you are a grad RN you may not even be able to find a job period, low pay or high. The job market is very competitive for new nurses and most are happy to accept the starting pay of around $22.00 an hour.
I think you may need to rethink things a bit because the economy has affected the job market severely in Florida as well as many other state.

So, what you are saying is in Florida due to the economy there, the people on the business end of running these hospitals, the physcians who work there, the nurse practitioners, and PA's all took salary cuts too right??? :lol2:

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · May 14, 2010

So, what you are saying is in Florida due to the economy there, the people on the business end of running these hospitals, the physcians who work there, the nurse practitioners, and PA's all took salary cuts too right???

As I previously pointed out, PAY IS LOW ACROSS THE Board in Florida. And nurses have not had their salary cuts - it has always been consistantly low.

Florida also has difficulty attracting MDs and you find plenty of MDs of foreign origin there, because the pay is significantly lower there for MDs, NPs, PAs, etc. than in other states. Nurses are not singled out for this treatment. This affects pretty much the population at large, not just healthcare. It has nothing to do with backbones, It has NOTHING to do with behavior issues that you are ASSUMING occur.

Many areas have serious shortages of OB/Gyns, Neurologists, and neurosurgeons - liability is too high and reimbursement is too low. Medicare doesn't pay for all the work that they have to do to get reimbursed.

Dino, you can argue pointlessly all you want, and post your complaints repeatedly all over the BB. It will not change the facts. If you want to live in Florida, you will have to make sacrifices. As someone who prefers decent pay/conditions and doesn't mind snow, I sacrifice certain comforts and live up North.

I really do not care for some of the rudeness up here, but I learn to deal. I do not complain repeatedly about something that IS NOT going to rationally change to suit me.

Perhaps if you find it "so demeaning", you might be happier working in your previous (so much better paying) field, or relocating somewhere that pays as it suits you.

Dino · May 14, 2010

As I previously pointed out, PAY IS LOW ACROSS THE Board in Florida. And nurses have not had their salary cuts - it has always been consistantly low.
Florida also has difficulty attracting MDs and you find plenty of MDs of foreign origin there, because the pay is significantly lower there for MDs, NPs, PAs, etc. than in other states. Nurses are not singled out for this treatment. This affects pretty much the population at large, not just healthcare. It has nothing to do with backbones, It has NOTHING to do with behavior issues that you are ASSUMING occur.
Many areas have serious shortages of OB/Gyns, Neurologists, and neurosurgeons - liability is too high and reimbursement is too low. Medicare doesn't pay for all the work that they have to do to get reimbursed.
Dino, you can argue pointlessly all you want, and post your complaints repeatedly all over the BB. It will not change the facts. If you want to live in Florida, you will have to make sacrifices. As someone who prefers decent pay/conditions and doesn't mind snow, I sacrifice certain comforts and live up North.
I really do not care for some of the rudeness up here, but I learn to deal. I do not complain repeatedly about something that IS NOT going to rationally change to suit me.
Perhaps if you find it "so demeaning", you might be happier working in your previous (so much better paying) field, or relocating somewhere that pays as it suits you.

Well if you say it's across the board low pay then that's another thing. Here in PA there is very high liability and low reimbursement as well, but again salaries appear much higher than down Florida. As mentioned, I will have no choice to go to Florida in a years time, I will then weigh my options as far as nursing goes. And you are right in that if there is no room for salary growth I might have to look at the possibility of going back to my old job or become a NP. I realize there is an issue in Florida more so than other places, though as mentioned, here in PA we have similar issues but wages still much better. If one wants to study that hard and work that hard to help other people great, I enjoy helping people in need as well, but if it is going to short change me and my family's life and how we can live it, or lack there of due to salaries not meeting cost of living with aleady too low of wages, well then I can now partly understand the gross dissatisfaction I have seem among nurses in my clinicals. I will give the profession my best, but I won't be taken advantage of either. You only live one life, and unfortunately to live life to it's fullest in a capitalistic society one needs money, not how I like it, but who am I. If someone wants to go through life being underpaid for there level of education and work effort and can live their life to it's fullest that way, great, wish I could, but with a family, a need for a decent home,car,bills, and our activities we enjoy, 22/hr isn't going to cut it. My uncle is a retired steelmill worker in PA and makes 26/hr mowing lawns on the side and can barely read due to dyslexia. Sorry but if 22/hr is all I'm ever going to see in Florida than it is demeaning for the education level and work required as an RN. Best wishes and thanks for the insight into Florida.