Oralando bound and need advice......

[Jenny C]

Need some advice....I will be finishing up my ADN in May and moving to Orlando. We have already purchased a house and are set to move once I finish.

How do I get the best deal when being hired? (coming from so far away) I have heard people getting signing bonuses or moving expenses. Can I sign with a hospital prior to taking the NCLEX? Is any state for licensure more prestigious from another. (NY vs FL).

Anyone have any experience, it would be greatly appreciated.

[FuturenurseCA&O]

Hi Jenny~

Just thought I would pass on to you the advice I received from my insturctors:

It's my understanding is that it will be a couple of months to get your FL license either way. My instructor told me to take the NCLEX exam in WA for FL and then move to FL after I pass NCLEX--with NCLEX pass letter in hand--takes about a week in the mail after you take the test. This way I can focus on taking the test (1 week after my last final) and not try to study while I'm getting ready to move across the country! I'm pretty confident I'll pass...Clark College in Vancouver WA has something like a 95% pass rate...so...I better pass! Most of the websites I have checked out already will accept you as a graduate nurse and get you in their internship program while the paperwork is working its way through the system.

~D

[rjflyn, ASN, RN]

I'll answer a couple posts.

For one Lakeland/Winterhaven is about an hour drive to Orlando or Tampa on most days give or take. There is alot of road under constrution both ways. More than likely being a new nurse is going to put one on the night shift and this could shorten the commute if thats 11p-7anights. At the pace of growth here more and more people are making that drive and who knows some of the hospitals may have vanpools- something to look in to.

As far as boards- one can take boards anyplace they like and get their actual first license anyplace as well. The dont have to be the same states at all. In fact my inital license was in Iowa. Where I went to school we had several students from MO. For alot of them the drive to the Iowa test sites for boards was going to be shorter that to the ones in their home state. Florida is currently taking about 60 days to get licenses out be it by inital exam or endorsement.

Good luck to y'all and maybe our paths may cross.

RJ

[nunurs05]

There are hospitals in FL that offer relocation, and you don't necessarily have to have experience. St. Vincents and Florida Hospital offer relocation assistance for new nurses. Good luck Darlene-keep us posted.