RNinOK

Hi, Starting pay in tulsa for new grads nights is 17 to 18 hr plus diffs, nights 2.25 weekends 3.00 (general range can be a couple dollars more) so you should be around minimum of 20 hour for night shift with every other weekend. I travel nurse now because Oklahoma is so low paying, St Francis isn't what it used to be either heard that the got knocked down a trauma level , friends work there as nurses and leaving in droves for St. John's which is very political and cliquey but trying for Magnet status I think, Hillcrest is nice but not a big trauma hospital so if that's your thing you won't be happy, but they do have a nationally recognized burn unit just be prepared for the culture shock in nursing compared to big cities like Charlotte. Hope this helps.:nuke:

this is my first post. I have lived and worked in Oklahoma all my life minus two years... I have only been a nurse since 2005 but have recently started traveling as a nurse and I must say while I love Oklahoma as my home state, it is definetly the most ass backward system of healthcare I have ever seen or worked in. The worst thing this state ever did was vote for the stupid right to work law. If any state needs a nursing union it's Oklahoma. I have never seen more apathetic, scared, overworked, underpaid, underappreciated nurses as those in our state. I have worked in most of the major hospitals in Tulsa and surrounding communities either as perm staff or agency. I don't know when it became safe nursing practice for an RN to staff a whole med/surg floor (15 pts) with one LPN, no tech, or unit clerk, do all admits, push IV meds and take a team of 7 pts. Oklahoma nurses need to wake up and smell the coffee, if you want change, you have to make it yourself. I know when Hillcrest tried to Unionize they used the you'll get fired line, but really do you think they can afford to fire every nurse in the hospital who wants to unionize. Ratios are a good thing people, it's called safe nursing practice you can lose your license for not following it, not to mention it's great for our backs, our insurance, and wages. Why should any manager make the big bucks sitting behind a desk and get labor bonuses for cutting staff when we are doing all the work nursing and non nursing, why not cut back on the political administration jobs, pay better wages, use less agency and travelers, upgrade equipment, offer more than a 500 buck a semester tution reimbursement or a 5000 sign on bonus that is really worth 2400 after taxes and take care of the nurses that will ultimately be taking care of you. Oklahoma is light years away in their mentatilty of what nursing is all about as well as unions. Having a Union would be hard for most Oklahomans to swallow, especially our nurses, since we have a don't make waves attitude, but we really should think about banning together for once, a Union isn't just about money folks, it's about the patients to and ultimately that's why we are nurses!