ASU_Sdvls

FallonRN writes "Short on cash for school **** Travel Nursing **** hands down this is where you can sock much cash into your account. I am currently traveling in California and I make over $50 an hour plus $1800/month housing with all the overtime I could use. I usually gross over $4,000 -$5,000/ week. So in my five months before school starts I want $40,000 in the bank. In California anything over 8 hours gets you time and a half and over 12 hours is double time and there are plenty of 16 hour shifts to be had." Thanks for the advice. Now I know what to do so that I can live like an ex-pat on a part-time basis in a Third World country (such as Argentina, Mexico, Thailand, or the Philippines), living like a king for 6 months on $40,000, then having the ability to earn it on a year to year basis, by being a travel nurse. I gather that I can take 6 months off doing this, during the winter, and working like a slave for the other six months, especially taking advantage of the South American summer (during the winter months here in the US). 26 weeks is only 2 travel assignments of 13 weeks a piece.

I applied to the hospital after a friend recommended I go there. The interview took less than 15 minutes and I was hired pretty much on the spot. I only had to fill out the application form, give them a copy of my AZ license, copy of my ACLS and BLS cards, copy of my vaccinations, and voila worked there the next week. It was fairly simple. Hopefully, I will be making about $90,000 gross next year by working 4.5 days a week. With my earnings from this year, I have bought a couple of rental properties. Will try to do more of the same next year as the real estate market in the Phoenix area is hot.

I will make about $76,000 after my first year as an RN. My basic wage here in Arizona is $20.56, plus $4 to $5 differential when working nights and/or weekends, plus $12 an hour working an extra shift (essentially overtime), plus $35/hr. (1.7 times my basic pay) working overtime. I generally work 4 days a week. Overtime is considered time after 36 hours per week. I have been to Hawaii, Asia, and Mexico my first year as a nurse. My brother, who has been working as an accountant for the past 7 years and has a BS in Business Administration and makes less money than I do, is totally jealous about my ability to punch out after work and not have to worry about the project sitting on my desk while I am off somewhere. He is considering going to get his ADN at a nursing school in Hawaii, where there is keen competition for students wanting to become nurses. His other complaint is that he is paid on a salary basis. After figuring the amount of time he works and the amount of salary he makes, he figured that he is making only about $15 an hour! So essentially, as an RN, I am only required to basically work 4 days a week for $76,000, plus have PTO that pays for my time off, no responsibility after working hours, travel the world, and invest my money in the stock market and/or real estate. Thus there is a build in time off in my schedule where I can get 6 days off for vacation.

Is this the same program that was under the auspices of Temple University? Temple charged $447 per credit hour for Pennsylvanian resident and $653 per credit hour for out-of-staters. At a total of 53 credit hours that one was required to take at that schoole, tuition cost came out to $23,691 for Pennsylvanians and $34,609 for out of staters. I don't know reason for the increase except that one can bragged to others that one attended an Ivy League school.

During my interview at a Texas hospital, the nurse recruiter indicated that I had to have reciprocity even though I already have an Arizona license. I thought that having a compact state license like Arizona meant that I didn't have to get a Texas one. Now I will have to shell out some money for reciprocity plus get my fingerprinting done, which is also a time issue. I want to start working right away. I tried to look into the web site mentioned above but could not locate any information. Can somebody out there in Texas help me determine as to what the truth is regarding a compact state license for RNs?

I have decided to accept a position at Del Sol Medical Center. As a graduate nurse, they are going to pay me $21.38 per hour as base pay and $3.00 for differential for working from 7p to 7a. That is $24.38 for a brand new nurse! This comes out to more than $45,000 annually for somebody who just graduated a couple of months ago from nursing school. In addition they have a $4,000 signing bonus plus $2,000 for relocation. In addition, I found out that there is a bus line that goes from the downtown plaza to this facility--I can now live in Mexico and commute there from the Santa Fe Bridge, isn't that great!! These are bus line 59 and bus line 56. Thanks for all the people who have helped me in this endeavor. PS: I also looked for an apartment on the corner of Montes de Oca and Vincente Guerrero in Juarez during my visit to the El Paso metro area. They are charging $250 per month for a two bedroom. Sounds good to me.

I have been perusing through the general nursing discussion of this forum and have constantly seen and read a large number of posts of job dissatisfaction among nurses. I wouldn't be surprised if, after reading these posts, a newbie or a student nurse second-guess themselves with regards to their career choice. However, I have not yet seen any of the kind in this area. Are the CRNAs out there really satisfied with their jobs and wouldn't trade it for anything? Or they have a lot less to gripe about because of the nature of the job, such as more autonomy and better pay, than your average RN?

I am also exploring Del Sol Medical Center on Gateway in eastern El Paso. Has anyone heard of this place? Also, is there a bus line that goes from downtown near Stanton and Franklin to this hospital? I am going to meet with a recruiter this week and am staying in downtown, hence for the bus line. Also, in the future, if I am to live in Juarez, I would like to get a bus from the border to this place.

I am exploring the idea of working at the Sierra Providence Hospitals in El Paso, mainly Providence on Oregon Street near UTE. I am leery however by the fact that they are own by Tenet, a company with a not so great reputation. Could anyone t ell me the reputation of this hospital and the working condition for new nurses? Thanks in advance.

I am not sure whether this is the correct thread to ask, but has anyone worked at Phoenix Children Hospital and, if so, would recommend it as a place to work. My back is getting worse while working in adult ICU and would like to explore my options in working with kids in critical care areas such as NICU and PICU. Thanks in advance.

I have just edited my previous post. Hopefully it is more clear. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Hey UTEP has a program that don't need any nursing experience but just a BSN to get into it. It doesn't even require a GRE. I have only just been working for 3 months as a bedside nurse and already exploring my options. This looks like the way to go for me. They accept people during the fall and spring. Hopefully, it is not too late for me to get into their program this January 2004. After that, after getting my MSN degree, no more butt wiping, bath and oral care for me.

Thanks for the information. I am planning to live in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico since the average person pays about $400 a month in total expenses and for $19 to $22 a hour, a nurse could live there in a fairly well-off manner. What are the names of the hospitals that you and your husband work in? I'll try to look at their facilities and visit the HR departments the next time I go to Juarez. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone! Hopefully someone can help. I am interested in living in Ciudad Juarez and working in a hospital in El Paso TX or Las Cruces NM part time while maintaining my full time job in Phoenix AZ. Can anyone recommend a hospital in the metro El Paso TX or Las Cruces NM? I know that Texas is already is a compact state for licensure and New Mexico won't be one until January 2004, so having an Arizona license should be no problem. Just wondering what the working condition is like in that part of the country and what the pay scale is for starting RNs.

Try your state board's web site. I know that in Texas they have the passing rates for each school. I don't know about Florida though.