Mitcher

Background: male RN with 3 years experience. Mostly PCU about 6 months of SICU exp. Traveled for 1 year as well. Current situation: have 2 children. Infadelity has occured in my marriage. We want to give it an honest shot but feel only real option is to move and start over. Plan: Enjoy being a nurse. Enjoy the patints, freedom, and enjoy helping people. What We want is a warm area to move to and what I want is an area where I can make the most possible compared to cost of living so that my wife does not have to work can be with our children after the difficult 6 months we just had. I know money is not everything but in this situation it is fairly important. I was thinking the Houston area. Maybe Kely. Read that you can make upwards of 30 an hour there and possibly with a flex type job even more. What do younguys think. Lowest cost of living compared to pay rate. Actual hospitals with pay would be helpful. Ps currently from PA and anyplace with really good golf is a plus. Thank you very much Mitch

I graduated from Mount Aloysius in 2007. It is 2 years, 1st semester is your usual just getting you acquainted with nursing. You will have 2 days a week of clinical for the 1st semester and it isn't too bad. 1st semester weeds out alot of people though. 2nd is Peds/OB, for me this was terrible because I'm a guy. Think it was only 1 day a week of clinical. 3rd Semester was more Med/Surg/PCU type clinical, you actually start feeling like a nurse slightly. Start getting an idea of what you are going to be doing on the floor. 4th Semester is another 2 days a week clinical, they will give you a day or 2 with an ED nurse, and an ICU nurse so you can get a feel for that. Besides the nursing classes you of course have to take. AP 1/2, Englishes. Human growth and development, religion, rhetoric 1/2. But all in all it's not that bad. Everyone complains about it but hey they can't just give it to you. Penn State altoona also offers a pretty good nursing program. As far as which one is better, think they are comparable. I would base it on which one is closer to you and cost of the program. Keep those student loans as small as possible. Mitch

Hey guys from central pa and have been thinking about moving to the Hampton area, around Williamsburg to Va Beach. I like to golf, the wife and kids like the beach and just sounds good to me. I am an RN with 2 years of Step down unit experience. I am currently making with night diff around 29-30 dollars an hour. Was wondering with 2 years of exp and working night shift possible flex pool what kind of money am I looking at in this area. People have told me Sentara or Bon Secours. Let me know thanks alot Mitch

Any specifics in either area Durham or Virginia Hospital, heard from a friend Duke hospital is great place to work but pay is not good at all. Any specific hospitals that you know pay well in either specific area, both sound great to me. 'Mitch

Hey I am a nurse with 2 years exp med/PCU exp. I currently live in central PA working in a smaller hospital making around $26 an hour. I want to move south for 2 reasons, I am skinny and don't do well with winter, and also I love to golf and can't do that for 3 months out of the year. Searched the internet but this is such a broad question to ask without any help to get started. Want to move to at least Virginia or lower but not so far that I can't visit family in PA. I don't mind winter I just can't stand January where it is 0 degrees out for 30 days straight and my pipes freeze. I can golf in 30 degree temps. Want a hospital that offeres a CVICU because I believe that is what I want to do, and also a hospital that pays close to what I get now. I really can't afford a pay cut as the only bread winner for a family of 4 besides my wife who works 1-2 times a week for some spending money. So if anyone can help me out, don't really know anything about Virginia, maybe Richmond? or North Carolina? Something close to the beach/ within 1 hour would also be nice. thanks Mitch

When I was in nursing school I thought it was STAT as well until my teacher made fun of me about it, so then I never did it again. I now have a friend who is a new nurse using the same term and haven't broken it to him yet but feel bad telling him, but also feel bad every time I hear him say it. ha

Hi there, im from altoona and went to the mount for my RN license just graduated in may and passed my boards and am working at Altoona Hospital. I know 3 people who went to the LPN course last year. 2 made it and 1 dropped out. good luck with classes, sure they are tough, it wouldnt be nursing school if it was easy. And learn alot. Mitch