Heather_ICU

Don't just expect to be called back. You have to be proactive and even a little pushy with HR to get results I've found. A lot of the hospitals have hiring freezes on right now from what I've been hearing, but there are still jobs out there. Agencies are still hiring all over the place, I know.

I work in Chicago and work ICU Registry for $40/hr + differential right now. I think full time base rate at my hospital is $26 or $27 for new grads and around $30 or so for most RNs.

I went to Truman College for most of my prereqs and got my ADN there. It's cheaper than other local options and their Nursing program is the best of the Chicago City Colleges. It's hard to get in and about 50% of our class failed out by graduation, but if you can make it and and out you're solid. They produce good nurses and a 2yr program is a great option to start making money fast even if you want to finish your BSN somewhere else later.

To be fair, I've never been inside a Kindred Hospital, but I work in an ICU on the Northside and we get a ton of train wrecks courtesy of Kindred. (You would not believe the wounds they develop! (We had the head of a patients femor fall off and roll across the floor when the dressing was removed by our MD.) We fix 'em up and send 'em back stable and they end up as train wrecks coming right back to us. It's a vicious cycle. I would NEVER ever send anyone to Kindred as a patient that I knew personally. NEVER. I could not work there in good conscience. A friend of mine works in their float pool and makes $50/hr, but they pay so well because they have to in order to keep staff. Stay away!