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25 an hour in Tucson AZ? As far as I know the going rate is 19 or 19.50 a hour (that is without differential)...just a question what hospital in Tucson is offering this hourly rate

batmik..i know that i have asked you about this before in this post..where are you in the bay area, sf, oakland, san jose etc. i am going up there pretty soon but i have seen about 32 an hour before diffs...could you give me information about any of the hospitals if possible eg: UCSF, san francisco general, california pacific, the CHW network, stanford university etc. which hospitals have you heard are good places to work? you can pm me.

I think that this is inappropriate and further more I wonder how much of a liability it would be for the school (if one person decided to act inappropriately). Liability is another reason why a lot of schools do not allow students to perform shots, venipuncture, and ivs on each other. I would assume that you would have to sign a waiver and if not they would have to provide another option for those who did not wish to participate. IMHO there are better ways to understand an issue of patient vulnerability than having to be bathed in your underwear by a classmate.

I am confused, if you belong to a union or work in a union shop then this overtime after 8 hours would not apply to you...at least this is how I interpret this. This is also something that I have not heard of and I have been searching for jobs in the bay area, and even though it is a state law is this overtime rule more common in certain areas of the state rather than others? Also how do you find out whether or not a hospital follows this policy?

I have been trying to find out on this forum, what the pay scale is like in the Boston area since I am considering moving back. I already know about salary.com and I have found that in most major cities the numbers are a little off. I worked for partners in the past (in a non nursing capacity) and am wondering what the pay scales look like for their hospitals (eg: the Brigham and MGH). From what I recall from living there in the past was that the pay had yet to catch up with the rising cost of living and I am just trying to find out if this still holds true. Thank You

Recently the idea of moving to Australia has come across my mins. I did read a lot of the information in the sticky but I have a few questions. I would like to live in sydney, I have read other people's opinions on this board about sydney..but studied abroad during my first degree in australia (way up at james cook university in townsville) and am familiar with many of the bigger cities (except for perth and adelaide). I am a big city kind of person, but where as nurses in some of the major cities in the US, eg NY and san fran are paid in the mid sixites to low seventies a year (starting), sydney seems to pay really low wages and considering how much of your salary is taken out in taxes..how can you afford to live? Is there a difference in salary between private and public hospitals? Is there a lot of overtime and do you get paid time and a half or more like in the US? How can one afford a house? Is there some sort of tax break for home ownership? I looked up the salaries for other professions and even lawyers and a lot of IT people start out with salaries in the high thirties to the mid fourties...where as a lawyer in the US who goes corporate can start out making 120,000 (not all, but some)...I guess what I am getting at is that the majority of salaries seem low to me for a city as big and expensive as sydney. And if at 62,000 47% of your salary is going to taxes, how can you survive?! Correct me if I am wrong on any of these statistics.

Stonybrook in New York offers a variety of different masters online and I believe that Duke offers an online FNP degree.

The thing is that the bar has been raised on theses programs and the minimum requirements are really guidelines. I would suggest that you call and ask what prevented you from getting in or waitlisted this year. Convey your interest in the program, sometimes this helps to keep your name in the heads of those making the decisions. Try again next year. Maybe also think about trying to get into the traditional program, which may take you longer (2 years as apposed to 1 year). ALso think about getting health care experience if you have none. A lot of the time it is not neccessary, but if your grades are lower than other applicants it may help to distinguish you from the crowd. Good Luck.

I think that I responded to your previous post. I was in a similar situation. I was admitted to a direct entry MSN program, but was looking at 60,000 worth of debt. I decided that for this reason and others that I would do the accelerated BSN, work as a nurse then go back, hopefully get tuition reimbursment or be able to work per diem (which a lot of hospitals will not allow until you have at least one full year of experience) while going to school. What I have seen is that most of the direct entry programs are at private universities and that there are a lot of high ranking programs that are public universities. Also some of the university hospitals (like NYU's) give employes up to 24 (or i18 I canlt remember) credits a year for free at at NYU for advanced degrees in nursing.

Most likely if you have a Bachelors degree in another area you will be chosen over someone who only has met the credit requirements (much like it is in most dental and pharmD programs). When I applied to direct entry MSN programs I was under the impression that when the masters portion is being completed you are highly encouraged to work as a RN. That way by the end of the masters degree you will have had at least 2 years experience as an RN. I do know people who have graduated from direct entry MSN programs who have gotten jobs as advanced practice nurses but they have as a RN during the masters portion of the program. But I have not heard of a program that has the direct entry option for those who do not even have another degree, also these direct entry programs tend to be very expensive.

Whoops, I gave you an answer that you already knew. :)

If you want to advance your education in nursing, most graduate schools require a BSN rather than a different 4 year degree (but there are programs out there for those who have an ADN and a BA or BS in an area other than nursing). Even though they are generally more expensive have you looked into an accelerated BSN. They tend to run 12-18 months and also tend to have smaller waiting lists than ADN programs.

Thank you for the responses. I have been under the impression that most places in the bay area have a similar starting salary, between 31-33 for a new hire before diffs. Is this true? Or are theses rates only in san francisco or san jose? Does Oakland, Daly city, Palo Alto etc. pay in the same range?

Starting out thousands in debt is the reality for an undergraduate student these days. There was an article in the village voice about that: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0411/fkoerner.php The good thing is that she will be able to get a job after graduation, I could not say the same after I got my first degree. If you are a resident of Maine and are thinking about having less debt than maybe your daughter could apply to USM even as an out of state resident the tuition would still be cheaper. They have a nursing program and it is also located in Portland. I would also try http://www.discovernursing.com some schoarships are located there.

Does anyone know which hospitals in the bay area offer ER new grad programs. I am aware that UCSF medical center does but I am having a difficult time finding others. I am interseted in the bay area from san fran, to san jose, and the east bay. Also a previous poster indicated that the HCA system in San Jose is not a good place to work. If possible could someone elaborate on this?

This is off the main topic, but I am confused as to the post about hospitals being reluctant to hire new graduates. I would assume that a hospital that is unable to meet the staffing ratio with core staff then it would need to look to travelers in order to meet the need, which ends up costing the hosptial more than hiring fulltime new employees even when you factor in extras like sign on bonuses, relocation, and benefits. I do not live in california, but the ecomonics of it is that it makes sense to hire more core staff than to rely on temporary staff. I guess I am just confused about the previous post.

I was wondering how the ratios in California have influenced your patient care? Do you feel that you can take better care of your patients? Have a lot of hospitals moved towards "primary nursing" in order to cut corners financially? The idea of state mandated patient ratios is appealing to me (having 5 patients sounds better to me than having 7 or 8 patients on a telemetry unit) but it might be a case of the grass is greener on the other side.

If you are a NY resident than stonybrook and SUNY downstate all have accelerated BSN programs which would be cheaper than a private school. Also search the NYSNA (new york state nurses association) website and look for possible hospital scholarships. I believe that national nursing scholarship program has very strict requirements. I would call someone to find out exactly what the requirements are. I do not think that the associates degree is the way to go since the waiting lists are so long. Keep looking for a job, maybe move to brooklyn or queens (if you live in manhattan) and try to get a job in one of the hospitals there as a PCT or a tech. Or just look for a job in a non health care area, work for a year and then go back to school once you have staightened out some of your financial problems. But the idea to call a financial counselor is a good idea.

I think that a lot of VA hospitals offer some sort of loan repayment, as to the amount I am not sure. Also I do not know if there is a VA in NYC, but if there is try giving them a call.

Does the school offer just the accelerated BSN, then the amount that you would be projected to take out over the course of the program would be less and you could get your masters later. Also maybe you can defer for a year and get a job as a research assistant at one of the major hosiptails, and begin paying off some of the loans. I would advise you to also call the loan provider and ask why you do not qualify and what you can do to qualify.

I am jumping on my own post...sign on bonuses/relocation funding etc., has anyone encountered any of the above in the Bay area of Cali?

I think that the idea of a direct entry MSN program is that there is the belief that for a lot of students that have already achieved a BA or BS that they want a Masters degree next rather than soley another BSN. I know that when I applied to a couple of direct entry programs I met a lot of people like that and some who really want to be advanced practice nurses. I thought that I wanted the direct entry program at first until I read the fine print in my prefered masters program, that if I wanted to switch areas of concentration after the undergrad part, it was not a possibility. So I chose the accelerated BSN so I can make sure that this is the area of nursing I want to do. I also did not want the huge debt that would come from the direct entry msn. I do not think that these programs decrease the amount of knowledge that you will aquire, but if this is the way that you want to go I would ask if you can take a year off between the NCLEX and the masters area to work and get experience, or work part time while getting your masters. Also know that there are a lot of people in traditional BSN programs who go straight into the MSN. If this is what you want to do then go for it.

I guess my question is where is the 700,000 figure of foreign trained nurses coming from, is this a well known number? And I have been wondering, how much does it cost a hospital to sponsor someone to come work here and isn't there a substantial waiting period?

I guess since time is an issue this might not be an option, but I believe that Columbia is in the process of developing a DrNP (Doctor of nursing practice) program in which a graduate will have admitting and discharge privledges and will be able to bill at the same rate as primary care physician. There is information on their website about this program and it is pending approval. I would guess that the autnomy that this degree would grant may vary from state to state (much like a NP), but this might be another option since for those who are already a NP the program would be two years with a one year residency.

I guess I was also wondering what the hourly pay is like...I would assume in at least the mid-twenties per hour? But I saw another post where someone indicated that they were paid 21 per hour in Boston. Which in my opinion does not seem right compaired to the cost of living (althoug I remember from living in Boston that the wages have yet to catch up with living costs).