Palm Springs Nursing?

[steelydanfan]

I am thinking about moving out from The Bay Area and would like to know about PS.

Which are the best hospitals in terms of recognizing experience and support to enter new fields?

Are the local hospitals CNA?

What are the wages like?

I can't find any of this out from the local hospitals web sites.

Thanks,

Cate

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Hi, Cate!

I graduated from the local JC nursing school there in Palm Desert in 1975. I've worked at both Desert Regional (was called Desert Hospital at the time) and Eisenhower. It was quite awhile ago, however. At the time only Desert Regional used nursing assistants. Things may have changed over the years though. Have you tried just calling their nurse recruiters? There were a lot of celebrities and people of wealth who were patients at both hospitals at the time, but I imagine it is more so at Eisenhower now. The Betty Ford Clinic is at Eisenhower. Eisenhower made no bones about the fact that they wanted to attract that class of clientele. I'm sorry I can't tell you what the pay scale is, but at the time I was there it was a lot less than what nurses made in Los Angeles. It's because it's a kind of isolated area with no other hospitals that are close. Loma Linda Medical Center is where difficult cases were triaged to. Even Riverside or San Bernardino is a bit of a ride from Palm Springs. There is another hospital that you might want to consider in Indio, but it does not have the excitement of celebrity clients as in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. I've sent a private message to a forum member who I know is moving to that area and to someone who is currently a nursing student at the local JC. I'll give them a link to this thread and ask they get in touch with you by posting a reply here or by private message.