mayrn82

Good morning colleagues, I am an RN with about 9 years experience. Currently I work at Kaiser near Seattle wa. The hubby and I are ready to move to a much sunnier place the summer of 2020, once our daughter graduates high school. We cannot take the grey and rain anymore. Are there any Kaiser RN's that can give me some info on salary. I looked up the Kaiser rn contract in Colorado and am confused what type of level nurse I am. In WA our wages are dependent on years of experience. For example, because I have about 9 years of experience I am a step 9. We don't have "levels". Currently I am making 42.84 an hour. I am confused about Colorado's terms of staff nurse I, staff nurse II and staff nurse III. I Don't have a bachelors degree yet but am obtaining one online. Does anyone know what my hourly wage would be based on my 9 years of Rn experience per rn union contract? Thanks everyone for your time!

Thanks so much for the information.

Thanks for the info!

HI Ladyrn29! My partner and I are seriously condering the Sacramento area to relocate to from Seattle but have heard that state taxes are so high. Can you give me a rough guestimate on how much take home pay after taxes would be for an RN with 5 years of experience? Any info you provide would be greatly appreciated!

There are a lot of jobs for Experienced nurses. Unfortunately, I know of a lot of new grads that are having a hard time finding jobs. I would seriously consider gaining some experience first as well, preferably 2 years. In addition, a lot of places are now really being sticklers about having your BSN. I'm not saying that it's impossible to get a job without your BSN. It's just very difficult. For example, I work for a company that favors hiring from within. There were 20 Nurse residency RN positions. Only two of the applicants did not have their BSN, but they got hired because they were already empolyed as LPN's within the company and stated that they were going to get their BSN through online education. The rest of the applicants were all BSN graduates. Experience is the top priority. Second priority would be a bachelors. I do know many ADN nurses working in hospitals, but they are the experienced nurses that have been employed for a while. Don't be discouraged though! There are many online programs that you can take for your BSN. My company even contracts out with a local university to help nurses attain their BSN. The company will even pay for Continuing education and tuition costs.

Thanks so much for your response gunrock. I agree with you about maybe staying here a little longer and allowing her to get experience. I have put up with the rain most of my life what's a few more years of grey rainy weather. I will check out the UC Davis website.

Hi guys, I was just hoping for some input from nurses in the Sacramento area. My partner and I, who are both nurses, are looking to relocate from the Seattle-Tacoma area to possibly the Sacramento area. She is currently an LPN and will graduate this summer with her RN. I work as an Ambulatory Care RN for a health organization very similar to Kaiser and have 5 years of RN experience. We are looking to relocate because of the weather. We cannot endure the rain and cloudy skies anymore. We were interested in the Bay area, but we were concerned about the cost of living and crossed that area off our list. We were considering the Sacramento area because home costs seemed much more reasonable, and the weather is much more conducive to our lifestyle. We are outdoorsy people with 2 dogs and teenagers. I am finding as I get older that the sun really has an affect on my quality of life. We are tempted to move, but want to make sure that we are not in over our heads. WA state has no state income tax, and I have heard that California is very expensive. I currently work 72 hours per pay period and make $33.59/hour with a take home of approximately $1700 per paycheck after union dues, health benefits and retirement is taken out. My partner will be making a little less since she will be a new grad RN. We were wondering if you Sacramento nurses liked living and working there, and if you felt that you had a good work life balance? If so, what areas would you recommend? And how much are the RN starting wages generally in addition to take home pay? Thanks so much in advance for reading this post. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. :)

Hi guys, I was just hoping for some input from nurses in the Sacramento area. My partner and I, who are both nurses, are looking to relocate from the Seattle-Tacoma area to possibly the Sacramento area. She is currently an LPN and will graduate this summer with her RN. I work as an Ambulatory Care RN for a health organization very similar to Kaiser and have 5 years of RN experience. We are looking to relocate because of the weather. We cannot endure the rain and cloudy skies anymore. We were interested in the Bay area, but we were concerned about the cost of living and crossed that area off our list. We were considering the Sacramento area because home costs seemed much more reasonable, and the weather is much more conducive to our lifestyle. We are outdoorsy people with 2 dogs and teenagers. I am finding as I get older that the sun really has an affect on my quality of life. We are tempted to move, but want to make sure that we are not in over our heads. WA state has no state income tax, and I have heard that California is very expensive. I currently work 72 hours per pay period and make $33.59/hour with a take home of approximately $1700 per paycheck after union dues, health benefits and retirement is taken out. My partner will be making a little less since she will be a new grad RN. We were wondering if you Sacramento nurses liked living and working there, and if you felt that you had a good work life balance? If so, what areas would you recommend? And how much are the RN starting wages generally in addition to take home pay? Thanks so much in advance for reading this post. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. :)

Ahhhh....I remember those days. I can totally relate to how you are feeling. I know it's tough, and it may seem like your preceptor is not making it any easier, but she honestly probably is just trying to toughen you up by giving you some tough love. Nonetheless, it would benefit you to learn from someone you feel comfortable with, someone who you feel isn't gonna snap if you miss that IV start. Maybe talk to her first and tell her how you feel. If she doesn't improve then go to the supervisor. The way you're feeling is TOTALLY NORMAL. I've worked ER for about 5 years now, and I remember how I used to dread going into work everyday for the first year. I would ask myself "Why the heck am I doing this?" I would have this nervousness in the pit of my stomach from the beginning of my work day till the end. Then finally, I remember driving to work and not being scared anymore. It was an AHA moment for me. They say the first year of nursing is the hardest, and it must be true because 1/5 of nurses quit after their first year. I don't think the issue is you at all. I think that the first year is just HARD PERIOD. In ER, you see it all. You see oncology patient's, L&D patient's, PEDS, geriatrics, and mental health patients. It's a stressful specialty in the sense that you can't really plan your day. You get whatever walks through that door and you have to play CSI and try to anticipate what's going on with the patient, then stablilize them. I still have shifts where everything goes wrong, and I seriously just want to no show the next day. I admit though, I have fewer of them, and you will too. Keep your head up! Don't feel dumb because you don't know it all. You sound like a very motivated individual who is just trying their best to do the job right. Cry and let it out after you've had a Jerry Springer shift, but then don't take the stress of work with you. Leave it at work. Know that this feeling will pass with time. Whatever you do, DON'T SACRIFICE SAFETY FOR SPEED. Do what feels right, and when in doubt, DOUBLE CHECK, TRIPLE CHECK AND ASK! Hope this helps :nuke: http://cbs3.com/health/nursing.shortage.hospital.2.935932.html

I would definitely go for it! It will definitely come in handy down the line in your career when you further your education. I currently work in an ER and my nurse educator says that is mandatory and will definitely help me when I get my RN. Good luck to you!:wink2: