New to travel, first assignment NoCal?

mursinary · Oct 5, 2013

Hi- I would like to permanently relocate to California-there is a college my husband would like to attend. I am attracted to traveling there first for the benefit of "checking" it out versus moving directly to one city. He would not be able to attend school until 2015, so while we would like to stay in northern California, we are not sold on one particular city. We have visited several times the coastal areas and have always loved the area.
I have 4 years acute med surg with tele and two ICU. My ccare experience is in a surgical trauma at a level 1 center, a medical unit, and a stent in a
Community hospital icu. In my medsurfs days I also floated to all acute care wards in a teaching hospital- 650 beds.
I am nervous about needing more support than is available to travelers- I am confident in my skills but I am not the best cardio or Neuro nurse.
I have spoken with aya healthcare and have an offer of $20/hr, license and relocation reimbursed plus $1500 month housing stipend in eureka ca. She says this comes to $43/hr but I am getting 30?
The hospitals website has progressive care unit openings. My question to you is- would I be better off to take a staff rn job when my ultimate goal is to settle down? Other places
I am looking at are Mendocino coast and redding.
Of note- I have two small kids and am not really interested in moving frequently. My recruiter was hopeful that I could get a 26 week contract- but the more i research, I realize there really are no guarantees. I am trying to balance stability vs pay vs comfort in practice. Hope this makes sense!

Hey Hencake,

Sounds like you have lots to think about.

If you take a staff job you will most likely make much more money than in the travel position. However, you will have to find a place to live, which can be difficult right away. You also lose the ability to "test drive" a facility and the area.

I understand that you don't want to have to move around, especially with two chidren.

I can't make the call for you, but if it were me, I'd do a travel assignment or two and get to know the area. Find a hospital you like. (you could always pick up agency work on the side to feel out other facilities) Then decide where you want to settle down.

I also suggest that you talk to your recruiter and have them spell out your pay package for you in plain english so that you're on the same page about your pay. $1500/mo seems a bit low for NorCal, but then again, I don't know the Eureka area very well.

Best of luck in your decision and travels.

NedRN · Oct 5, 2013

I'm having difficulty deciphering "acute medsurg" with a descriptor of tele and ICU attached. Are you ICU or not? Eureka has a tough PCU population and you will need good skills. It probably is not a good place for support. Staff pay in Eureka is low for Northern California (Arcata is no better), but higher than the quote you got, especially if you take a two year contract with relocation (what you are getting from the travel company is probably on the order of only $600). I would consider the staff job only if Humboldt is the school your husband is interested in. If you don't take relocation expenses, there is no such thing as a permanent job so you are free to skip if you don't like it. Santa Rosa and Redding will pay substantially more.

At the very least, you should shop a few more agencies for better quotes at Eureka. Try RTG, Aya is not the best agency especially for a new traveler. I'm wondering if you are missing a per diem in your quote from Aya though that might account for the missing money. Given the currently low bill rates at Eureka, $43 to $47 might be about as good as an agency can offer though.

Hencake · Oct 6, 2013

Thank you for the replies. NedRn- I have been reading through other threads and I appreciate your directness. I have 4 years in a very busy teaching hospital on an acute care medicine floor that had telemetry on most patients - ratios varied from 4:1 to 8:1 when I left. then I floated to all acute care wards- including acute cards, stroke, oncology, neuro, Pali and geriatrics. My icu experience is in a surgical trauma- about 6 months, left after I had a baby- and it was not my cup of tea- then worked in a huge medical icu.

I am totally comfortable with medicine, other than that, I feel like I have a general knowledge but am not 100%. I also like to ask questions and learn. My experience with travelers is pretty limited, but most that I have worked with have either been ill prepared for the acuity and swamped trying to figure out the computer- or they are the most bad ass competent nurses I have ever met. I would say I am more on the competent side, but when I don't really know what kind of situation I am going I not- how can I know?

How did you feel when you first started? Did you question if you had the ability/skill set?

I am feeling more like I will probably apply for a staff job- at least I would get orientation and my kids would be settled.

My husband is actually looking at the woodworking school in Fort Bragg- the Mendocino coast hospital is actually hiring- but it is very small and I prefer a larger, more academic setting.

In redding- do you prefer Shasta or mercy?

Thanks!!

Hencake · Oct 6, 2013

thanks for the advice. It i s a lot to think about, trying to weigh all the options and appreciate your input!

NedRN · Oct 6, 2013

Fort Bragg is pretty cool, I would take a job there. Had a chance as a traveler but declined as they are in bankruptcy. That is a problem as they are legally allowed not to pay their creditors - such as agencies. I pointed that out to the agency who was offering the assignment and they decided it was too much risk to place a traveler there. That is not a problem if you are staff as employee's are always the first in line to get paid over all other creditors.

Fort Bragg is the kind of hospital where there will be a very low threshold to ship acute patients. You won't have any problem working there. From your description, I don't think you would have any problem at Eureka PCU either but it is a stressful unit, perhaps because of management. Just so you know, they do do open hearts there and you may see them a couple days post op - but like any other large unit, they will assign nurses according to their skill set. Tons of surgical patients as one of the busiest (and some find the nastiest) surgeons in the country is there. Eureka isn't in the slightest bit academic except for nursing and EMT students.

I've not worked in Redding so cannot comment.

Having only worked at one hospital for my first three years of nursing, indeed I wasn't sure if my skills would translate to other hospitals. I was fortunate to work in a large metro area so I did some per diem to validate if I was ready for other hospitals. They sure can be different! but I did OK and have been traveling since.

pinktermite · Oct 18, 2013

I always make an agency break the pay down by stipends and by taxable hourly wage. I've had a fair number of them (not AYA) do this babble of such and such per hour, etc and it never tells me a story. A good company, and there are quite a few, will tell you specifically what you'll net and explain it to you if you don't understand, including what's taxable and what's not.