gazeyball

My husband and I just got to Oahu last Friday (his new duty station is MCBH in Kaneohe) and I've been applying to hospitals all over the island in hopes of getting something in acute care like my old job on the mainland before we relocated. I've been considering about applying to Altres Medical and just doing some travel nursing and picking up shifts here and there at several hospitals. Does anybody have any helpful advice about them or about travel nursing in particular (this will be my first experience working with an agency)? Mahalo!

Over the weekend, he proposed! We are planning on getting married before we move so I'll be on his orders. I'm really hoping the preferential treatment will help out. By the time we move there, I'll take whatever job is available. I'm hoping to get something acute or ambulatory on the base. Now I have to wait to get my HI RN license in the mail.

It's been 3 weeks since I sent off my paperwork for a HI RN license now and still nothing yet. I also emailed the department of licensing to ask how much longer I can expect to wait and if my paperwork's been received. Here's to playing the waiting game a bit longer.

I'm an RN in WA and I just applied for a HI RN license last week since I'll be moving there. One of my friends I went to nursing school with who now works in FL said it took her about 3-4 weeks to get her FL RN license so hopefully it should take about the same. I'll let you know how long it takes me! As far as hiring new grads, it doesn't sound too hopeful right now from what I've been hearing from friends there and on forums. But you'll never know unless you try. Good luck!

Thanks, CC-RN-EMTP! I'm not too concerned with what level trauma center I work at. Not to be too picky, I would just rather much prefer working at a hospital rather than long term care. Do you know how lucky I'd get if I were to start applying now? I'm trying to time everything out when to plan applying for my RN license there and when to start applying between our planned move-in date. My big concern is just hoping I can get a job offer in time before I move there.

Thanks for your input, Ukie_nurse! Did you just recently move to Hawaii from somewhere else?

Thanks for your advice, jpeters84! Our moving date is set for April, would you recommend applying now? Also since you brought up nursing agencies, how are they doing on the islands? Here in Washington state, they're starting to fall out of favor here as the hospitals are trying to save money on their budgets by not hiring any travel nurses. But I will definitely check them out. Any reliable nursing agencies that you know of? Castle Hospital was the main hospital I had in mind of applying to. Are you familiar with how they're doing as far as staffing-wise or their hiring process? Thanks again!

Def check out the Franciscan Health System in the south end. I live in the Seattle area and had such a hard time finding a hospital job in the Seattle area as a new grad when I passed my NCLEX. I'm now working at St. Clare and I love it, granted the commute's a little longer than I'd like. But I was able to get into a residency program and get my foot in the door. Good luck!

I'm a 23 year old RN-BSN working med-surg in WA with about 8 months of acute care experience right now. I was an LPN and worked in long term care as well as ambulatory care while getting my ADN and then my BSN before landing a med-surg position. My boyfriend's in the navy and is getting stationed in Kaneohe Bay in Oahu in April and I'm planning on moving there with him. By the time we move there, I will have had at least a year of acute care experience. I've been reading forums and looking on hospital websites to gauge how hard the job search is for RNs and it's sounding very difficult for new grads, but I was wondering if anyone might know how hard it would be to snag a hospital job for an RN with my background and experience? I would greatly appreciate a realistic opinion and any helpful advice from the nurses and new grads living on the islands already, mahalo!