Per diem in Cali

baker1bv · Sep 4, 2018

I would rather not have a long commute, but I don't require nice upscale accommodations, just a private bedroom. I was going to try to research which hospitals are using a lot of travelers, and going from there. If anyone has any recommendations of which hospitals they recommend, please private message me.

Guest1025459 · Sep 4, 2018

I was wanting to get a position somewhere in the Bay Area, and use BART to get to and from the airport, and to and from work. I don't mind walking a bit if necessary. Do you have any suggestions on specifics hospitals in the Bay Area?

No hospital suggestions, sorry.

As to BART, very dirty. I've met a few tech types in the mountains that have shared they hate it

If you spend any extended time in SF, get a dual sport and learn how to ride it. At least you can lane split. At least, that's what I would do.

I love riding at high speed in the middle of nowhere

Put me on my motorcycle urban, 25 lane split sounds good. Albeit, only rode in the city once. Still not that bad

Guest1025459 · Sep 4, 2018

My experience in SF is outpatient dialysis, but I have a friend who works per diem ICU in an SF hospital. He lives out of state and flies in every week for his NOC shifts. He's been doing this for awhile and I've not heard him complain of being cancelled etc.
There are many hospitals in the bay area, but BART is not convenient for all of them. Some hospitals, like CPMC, have shuttles from downtown BART to the hospital, but they don't run 24/7. Also, the airport is a good 30 minute BART ride into SF, depending on where you get off.
Lastly, I would not recommend commuting from Los Banos/Merced to work in SF/Bay Area. I lived in Modesto for two years and just prior to moving back to SF I worked per diem in San Francisco and full time in Modesto. I would leave my house before 4am for a 6:30am shift (for a typically 1 hr 40min trip) and still hit traffic! The commute back home was even worse.
Food for thought. It really depends on your priorities and what you can live with.

Geez louise, I've done Fresno to San Jose in 2H15M, driving mostly the speed limit.

LibraNurse27, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2018

California has good and bad areas just like any other state, as well as very liberal and very conservative areas, areas with more homelessness and other issues. In my opinion (I live in SF Bay Area) the outrageous cost of living causes many of the problems talked about above. People with full time jobs can be homeless here. I see people living in tents by the freeway putting on business clothes for work. It's really sad. Nurses do get paid very well here, especially in comparison to other states, and our legalized ratios are awesome, but with the cost of living here it can still be difficult for nurses to live comfortably. Maybe flying in from other states is the best of both worlds. You can take advantage of the good pay (which will go much further if you live somewhere with lower cost of living) and not have to deal with finding housing and constantly witnessing the extreme wealth gap that exists here. Many hospitals here heavily use travelers because no one can afford to live in the area on a nurse's salary (unless your spouse has a high paying job!). For example Stanford hospital in Palo Alto is about 30% travelers right now. UCSF, Highland Hospital, Contra Costa Regional, and many of the Sutter and Kaiser hospitals here also hire travelers and lots of per diems from what I here. Best of luck!