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So, I just wanted to see if any of you have any ideas. I am ready to move to san diego, bags are packed! I will not move without a job and being a registered nurse with 4 years experience i have yet to have a problem finding jobs. This is not the case for San Diego. Apparently I have picked one of the few cities in the entire country that does not have a nursing shortage I am looking at all options including travel nursing to no avail. I am a pre-op/PACU nurse with almost 4 years exp. and great references, and I have a CA nursing license, bls, pals, and acls certified. I look everyday for several hours at a time on monster, career builder, sharp healthcare, kaiser, scripps, craigslist, nurse.com,I am signed up with 2 different travel companies and there is just nothing!! It is hard to fathom that a city with over a million people isnt hiring nurses. If any of you may have some tips for me, I would be so grateful!!! Or if any of you living in SD might know of somewhere hiring, I would be so grateful. Please feel free to PM me if thats better for you.Thank you in advance.....

Hi, I sent you a private message!

Okay travelers! I have been reading and studying your posts for weeks now and I am getting ready to interview for San Diego. After reading all your posts on contracts, taxes, stipends, pay rates, etc.. I really feel like I am bound to get taken advantage of. Its all so confusing. I do not have the type of personality to just say ok at whatever is thrown my way, i question everything and I feel like after reading all this, I dont even know what to ask. I think for sake of ease, i would prefer for them to provide housing instead of the stipend. However, I was quoted at a rate of approx. $30/hour for San Diego!!!! That seems very low to me. Thats with my per diem for incidentals but not incl. any type of housing stipend. So, it is appropriate for me to ask when I interview with the hospital, what their per diem rate is? Also, if you work as a traveler for one of the big hospital systems, does that mean when your contract is up you would not be able to work as a full time employee there if offered. Any and all advice is very appreciated!!

Oh pt. has a history of post op n/v, Anesthesia "I gave them 4 of Zofran in back" Awesome that'll work out great! Floor nurses that want the floor orders read to them for every last detail even though Im on my way to hand them the chart! Pt woke up combative in the OR, anesthesia gives versed and THEN brings them to me in the PACU! other pacu nurses that are conveniently in the bathroom when OR calls to bring the next pt. Thought we were supposed to rotate, or even better pacu nurses that take 2 hours to recover b/c nurse waits an hour to start medicating a 10/10 pain. My favorite is the so called "report" you get from the OR nurse about the patient especially at the end "oh and the pt. is hep. c positive" Could you have said that first!!! Vomiting has ensued, anesthesia orders to give another 4 of Zofran! Never has this drug worked in stopping the vomit! I think I say in through your nose out through your mouth 600 times a day! Can you cough for me?

I have to agree with the majority of posts on here. The only saving grace to nursing is that even despite the economic situation we are in, you will always be able to get a job as a nurse. Thats it, sums it up. I went back to school after getting my bachelors and I dont regret it but I hate the job. Really, its only been 2 years as an RN and I would tell anyone considering it to really research like you are b/c the pay in relation to the work load is not that great like everyone seems to think. Hate to be so negative but you asked:) Good luck!

I was considering a move to Charlotte and got in contact with CMC and presb. hospitals and could not believe what they pay considering Charlotte is not exactly a cheap place to live. What they offered was significantly less than I got paid right out of nursing school. How do you guys do it? The sad truth is that I cant afford to work as a nurse there and so plans have been changed:(

hello!! I am thinking of picking up some agency shifts to supplement my full time RN job b/c the pay for lack of a better word is CRAP! :) I have heard more negative things than positive about working agency and I have developed some fear about what its really like. I have worked as a PACU nurse for 2 years doing both inpatient/outpatient surgery. The things I consistently hear are, you are given the worst patients, the other nurses are mean to you, if something goes bad not even the agency will back you up etc. etc... I really only want to pick up a shift a week to start, Is it really that bad? Also will the agency allow you to specify if you only want to work outpatient? Any advice would be appreciated!

I work 3 twelves minus 30 minutes for lunch. Since I work PACU, we dont do the whole shift change thing because everyone is staggered. So for the most part, when my shift ends i'm done especially since I am the late person. So with my shift differential I gross $49, 816 a year not counting a 3.50/call pay which evens out with what they take out for insurance. I'm [paid every 2 weeks for 6 shifts, not sure what you meant by the 7 day pay period. Anywho, in the end its the career I chose so perhaps picking up some agency shifts to supplement may have to be the answer:(

Thanks, I appreciate your information. I guess my pay is typical then for Houston area. I moved here from Phoenix about 9 months ago and the cost of living is very similar but the pay difference is I think where I lost a bit. I worked my first year in nursing and I was making $25/an hour right out of school, no diff. but I was on day shift. So, now another year and I only went up by .50 plus my night diff. Phoenix pays double time where I worked for anything over 36 hours and insurance was great. Here, I have the worst benefits, almost not even worth it. Dont get me wrong I love Texas and I am glad to be here but I am thinking I need to look into some of the larger hospitals like Methodist or Hermann????

I understand a new nurse is a new nurse and by no means do I think with 2 years experience I am an expert. But thats exactly what I am asking to those nurses that have been in it longer?? Is it a slow climb in pay, at what point can you expect more, do nurses usually top out at a certain amount? I feel competent in my skills with plenty more to learn but is it 3 years, 5 years, etc.. does it take switching to a different hospital b/c I know my facility like others seems to only give 50 cent raise after a year maybe a buck. Ouch!

No the 50k is before taxes, after taxes its somewhere in the 35K give or take range. 67K gross would be awesome. In addition, if I was 22 years old just out of school for a couple years, I would have to agree that 50K is not bad. Unfortunately, im in my thirties, graduated in 1998 with a bachelor's and went back to school as a second career in nursing when I was 29. I realize its all relative to a person's level of education but i guess thats the reason I made the comparison to my waitressing job in college. I can't believe how my wages then are not too far behind what they are as an RN except now I have a hefty student loan under my belt. Also, I have heard as another poster said, that you have to continually change jobs to incease your pay. I have considered agency and the pay is $40/hr which is great but I have mixed feelings about it after to talking to many agency nurses, so still in debate.

I am trying to figure out why the general population seems to think that Rn's make great money. Granted I've only been a nurse for 2 years now but I work 3 twelves plus call as a PACU nurse and after insurance and taxes, I take home less than 50K/yr. I am making 25.50 base plus a 3.50 diff. for part of my shift and i get 3.50/hr. for on-call pay. Sounds not too bad on paper but 48K/year and I work my butt off. When I think back to my college days of waiting tables in a sushi bar, there were many nights when I took home $20/hr. I recently did a salary compare on monster and it says the average pay for nurses in my area is around 60K with the low end around 56K! Hmmm.... I'm not even close! So, now that I'm done with my whoa is me story:) Can someone please tell me if it gets better, is my pay the norm here in Houston, do I need to find another hospital??? I am physically exhausted after my shifts so the thought of picking up over time is not an option. Besides the last time I did that, taxes ate up most of it. I need some advice b/c with student loans due, bills, etc.. this pay barely cuts it! What else can I do as an RN that might offer better pay? Any ideas??? Thanks!!!

Can anyone tell me some hospitals in the houston vicinity that are smaller. Similar to memorial Katy. Are any of the other memorial locations similar. I am relocating and I dont want to work at a huge 300 plus bed facility. I will be living Midtown, or just outside the loop in one of the north/northwest neighborhoods and I am willing to drive out to the suburbs if necessary b/c i am trying to steer clear of the large med center hospitals? They dont have to be memorial hospitals but they seem to be everywhere! Any advice will be appreciated.

Thank you all for your help. makes sense. In Texas, I believe the state regulates the designation of ER status. I will check out that link. Thanks a million!

Hello- I will be interviewing for a level 3 and level 4 ER which I think are good options for me to ease my way in b/c I am definitly not a trauma nurse. I have only been an RN for about 10 months. I understand that these levels are assigned and pertain to acuity level and what the hospital is equipped to handle. Can you explain to me what the difference might be between a 3 and 4? What types of pts. would be seen? This will help me to decide and I didnt even know a level four existed. Thanks for all your help!