Outlook for experienced ICU nurse

shawba08 · Jan 23, 2014

Hello,
I am sure this question gets rehashed a thousand times, though I would appreciate any input.
I have 3yrs experience in a level 1 CT-SICU in PA, and am considering moving to the west coast. My wife and I both love San Francisco and Portland, OR and I was curious if I could get input into the current job market for ICU nurses in Portland. CA seems to be very saturated, and I know that new grads are having trouble all over, but I will be leaving a good position to get out of Philadelphia and want to do some more preliminary research.
Any opinions? Thank you very much for your time

I am not yet a nurse, however, I work in a Portland hospital and am familiar with the difficulty to obtain a job in the ICU. First, many hospitals give preference to its employees looking to make a job change. Secondly, if you have experience you have a really good chance at landing a job. What you should do is look up job postings at the Portland area hospitals. The big hospitals are OHSU, Emanuel hospital, Providence and Kaiser. They have a good amount of nursing jobs that are posted right now and some even offer a bonus plus relocation fees. Start there, and then speak to a manager before moving. Obviously if you do not mind working med/surg or ED there are jobs available for them as well.

boogalina, ADN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN · Jan 23, 2014

Try Salem Hospital - an hour from Portland. 30 bed MICU, level 2 trauma center.

portland medic · Jan 29, 2014

OHSU always seems to have at least 10 ICU positions available.

garciwarsi · Jan 29, 2014

I currently work at OHSU, not in one of the ICUs, but I had my senior practicum in the trauma icu last summer. There always seems to be positions available in the ICUs, typically night shift, but they are available. Right now I have seen a lot of openings in the cardiac medical ICU. The fact that you have level one experience is huge! Try Legacy Emmanuel too.

JRich · Feb 11, 2014

I was looking for pretty much the same information wynnemat. I am in the NICU and have about 2 years experience. I want to get out of Texas as soon as I can and was looking at the west coast (I have always felt that was where I belong). I see so many posts about how hard it is to get a job, but hoping some experience and certifications can help out some.

ConRadical · Apr 18, 2014

Bronze3, try signing up with an agency like Medical Staffing Network. They have many postings in OR, Portland, and Medford among others. Working with an agency is a great way to move into an area. My experience has been great with this approach. You get familiar with the area and computer system while they get familiar with you and soon they are offering you a staff job.

jennifer1000000 · Jan 17, 2016

I know that we are hiring in the PACU (and having ICU skills helps) at Salem Hospital, in Salem, Oregon. Great team, great pay, Magnet hospital and if you love the outdoors, you will love the NW! I am not quite sure how to send a message to you personally but if you want to contact me, I can get you more information.

Argo · Jan 21, 2016

You can always sign up for a travel job in the area. Then you can get a feel for the area and hospital before committing full time. Honestly it isnt the lack of need that keeps people from getting hired with experience here. It is the massive corporate quagmire that your resume/application gets lost in when you apply to the hospitals out here. It is actually pretty ridiculous. They have about 8 positions open at the hospital I am at now in OR but HR still has only posted 3 of them. The one I have been filling for 9 months still has not been posted. I could hop into it full-time right now as a traveler transferring in but they cant hire externally since it is not posted through corporate.