oahufish

The majority of Hospital's here in Hawaii are Union and all Nurses have the same base pay upon making the "Job Rate" regardless or type of Degree. In our hospital there are also longevity rates which kick in after 5 and 12 years, that pay an extra few bucks and hour. The majority of ADN and Diploma RN's I know are a bit older, and most all newer Nurses hired during the past 10 years are BSN. So I think that probably accounts for the ADN/Diploma salaries showing up higher than BSN.

Hawaii/Union Critical Care 10+yrs Base 56.24 hr Night Dif 3.50hr Charge 3.50hr No weekend Diff. 2-3% raise each year. $108,000 in 2014 Health Insurance $140 mo Family Coverage Dental $14 mo 403b+Pension Plan High cost of living area, but would be nice if everyone were comparing apples to apples and showing price for a 4 bedroom home or 2 bedroom apartment across the Nation. As with most places it really varies upon where one is located. Just taking some numbers off Craigslist a one bedroom rental in a shared home can start out at $600 mo, a 1 bedroom apartment $1200 mo, 3 bedroom home $3000 mo. To own a 4 bedroom 2 bath home, the average home price is around $700,000 at current levels or payment of $2900mo on 30yr with 10% down. Prices have fluctuated greatly throughout the years though, so many of us have home mortgages much less then the current average. Electric is high with average .35 kwat/hr or around $400 mo for 4 bed home. Property tax rather low at $1300 year on $650k 4 bedroom home.

47 and have been an RN for 23 years, 20 years Open Heart/Surgical ICU and way to long till Retirement age!

I've had kind, appreciative, demanding, rude, dramatic, and polite patients from all backgrounds and walks of life. Although certainly I think cultural background can influence how patients and families interact with healthcare workers (for instance, whether they view us with trust or suspicion, and whether they see us as authority figures or subordinates), most of it seems to come down to individual personalities and situations. [COLOR=#000000]Some people react to the fear and loss of control of being a patient by become polite and hypercompliant, some by becoming demanding and aggressive.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000]Agree with Emmy, I work here in Hawaii where we deal with a whole assortment of different Cultures. I see a pattern where some seem to become very polite/hyercompliant when sick and others very demanding and almost aggressive! [/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000]I'm also curious if "White"folks with this "Superior"attitude is are more on the "East Coast" then other Regions of the Country? I've worked mostly in the Midwest/Mountain Regions and Hawaii, and have never noticed "White" patients displaying the superior/entitlement attitude more than any other race.[/COLOR]

No problem with maybe one visible tattoo, but don't believe the entire sleeve look is very professional. I've also seen several Nurses around the Hospital with lip piercings, eyebrow piercings and ear hoops...definitely not professional unless your running a Tattoo/Piercing Parlor or in a Bike Gang !

I am right in the middle of this. I am 57. I got my LVN last year and my RN this year. I haven't found a job yet. Just a "Thanks but no thanks...", "We are reevaluating this position..." or "We are looking at someone who might be a better fit...". It is frustrating for me. I worked in avionics in the Navy, I am computer literate, a BS in Computers, and I can say that I gutted it out through two gruelling years of school and I never had to remediate or retake a board. Sounds arrogant, doesn't it. No! I am proud I did it. With all the people who started and dropped from the program, I never let it get me down. I am already heading towards either a BSN or MSN. Still deciding. I will add that I have been out of the workforce for over a decade. I was so burned out in the computer field, I just didn't go back. It is hard to talk about a work history that is over a decade old. I do have great references from instructors, floor staff, friends and others... I just want to work. I don't think God would put me through all this to sit on my duff to look at a diploma on the wall! Really would love some advice if you have it. usnretired1997, I know this may not be ideal but have you considered taking a job as a Monitor tech, Unit Clerk, NA etc... just to get into a hospital system? In our area there are not many opportunities for new grads, so I've seen many folks get their foot in the door this way. Once you're in the system, Managers see your work ethic, willingness to learn and when they find out you have computer skills as well, you might land an RN position pretty quick. I know this has worked for many new grads in our hospital.

Several weeks ago our Manager was discussing a new Call in that she'd hired to try out in our unit. She then stated "He's older but we'll see if he works out, if not we can let him go before his probation period is up" and that she does not like to hire "older nurses" because they "just don't catch on as quick" in regards to our computer charting system! It's also a well known fact that she tells every new employee to "write up UOR's" on certain "experienced" RN's in our unit because she'd like to get rid of them!

Occupations with set age limits for retirement like Airline Pilots, Military, Police, Firefighters etc...all have great pension systems that kick in at that set retirement age. Most hospitals have no set pension system or like our have pushed back the eligibility for full pension to age 65! I'd be more than happy to retire at a mandated age 55 or 60 if I received a great benefit and pension package like these other professions.

New Grad jobs are still few and far between here! We have 3 Nursing Schools all pumping out lots of New Grads. Most of the New Grad's get their foot in the door by working for a year or more as a NA or Tech! If you do land a job the pay rate is pretty good, even as a New Grad you'll be near $50/hr after your first year. Experienced RN"s are making $53-$55 base rate at most hospitals on Oahu, with a charge or night differential taking that up to nearly $60/hr. The biggest expense in cost of living here is the housing...if you plan of buying a house at current median price of $700k, you probably won't be able to do it! If you're content with just needing a place to crash, maybe with a roommate or two you'll be able to find something for under $1k/mo and be able to live very comfortably! Other cost's of living are not that outrageous, especially compared to the West Coast...maybe 20% higher and I think our gas is even cheaper than California right now at around $3.45 gallon. If you shop at Costco and catch things on sale, even groceries are not that much more expensive. Hit the Happy Hours otherwise you'll pay a fortune for drinks!

I often wonder if there any RN's here who actually work in FL or are they all just students! Rarely see responses to inquires about pay, benefits and work environments!

I wonder sometimes about this Forum. Does anyone actually work as a Nurse in FL or all they all just students! As a person considering a move to Fl sometime to be closer to family and friends, I'm also interested in pay, best places to work and live etc...but all I see are student and school associated topics! The post I do see asking about work related topics rarely receive a response.

Probably not! I'ts been really my only career other than a few odd jobs in High School and College. I can't complain too much, I spent a few years in the Military, then landed in a pretty good Hospital with decent pay and benefit's. It's given me the flexibility have off four days a week and spend time with family, boat, fish and do some other things I enjoy doing. After 23 years though I can't say I really enjoy the career, I never look forward to going to work! I'm a bit of an introvert, like working alone and with my hands and being creative. Love watching the shows on HGTV, House Flipping etc... I probably would have enjoyed a career in Landscape Design, Interior Decorator or Carpentry! I've also looked at the retirement benefits offered to Police and Firefighters with great pension plans after 20 or 25 years and thought that might have been a better career choice.

I've worked at Kaiser for 15 years and it's not a bad place to work. The advantages at working at Kaiser would include the commute, which is a much better choice traveling from Waipahu than Queeen's or Straub. I live in Kapolei area and it takes me between 30-40min in traffic to reach Kaiser MOA, would probably take twice as long to travel to the other facilities. As someone already mentioned the parking is much much better, $15/month to park in a lot located about 50yds from the entrance or in the garage if you work nights! The pay is very competitive and maybe the best on the island, once you get through the probation period and hit full pay grade it's around $51/hr plus night and charge differential. I'm not quite sure what employees of other facilities pay for their Health Plan, but for a Family Plan I pay $70 per pay period with a $15 office visit and $10 prescription copay. Most of the Hospital is also newly remodeled with updated monitors, equipment, Epic Computer charting etc... The majority of our physicians and staff are very friendly, helpful and easy to work with! Some of the Negatives of working at Kaiser include: The fact that just like many other facilities here in the islands we've been hit hard by the new Health Care Mandates and have cut costs wherever possible. Meaning many ancillary and support staff have been downsized or entirely let go. The Hospital Transporter's were downsized and combined with the lift team, so now it can take up to several hours to get assistance from either one and Nursing is expected to pick up the slack. Hospital Aides are hard to come by and you'll often work without one. Same thing with the Ward Clerks/Secretaries, as they leave or get sick they are not replaced. You'll often not have them and be expected to do without. We used to have Dietary Aides who would come around and take patients orders, now it's a phone system and if the patient is not able to order themselves, guess who get's to place the order for them...you do!!! Management is not very supportive, and often run most units on a skeleton staff. If at all possible they will combine patients from several units, shut one down for several day's and place everyone on call. I'm sure this may happen in other facilities as well, but don't be surprised if you don't always get your full 72hrs each pay period. In my unit alone last year many of us lost between 150 and 200 hrs of work. Another downside has been the fact that the Education Dept has been discontinued. If you care to advance your career and move into OR, Critical Care or some other specialty it's very difficult at Kaiser since these advanced classes are not offered. Even certifications like EKG, PALS, BLS, ACLS etc...are not available in house, they have to be taken elsewhere and your supervisor will not approve ED time! Lastly, is the new 24/7 visitation policy which Kaiser is very proud of, but never bothered to run by any of the staff. Unlimited visitor's of all ages are allowed to visit anytime day or night, and staff members are not allowed to ask them to step out for assessments, report, shift change etc...it becomes quite overwhelming sometimes! Other than those issues Kaiser is a pretty good place to work.

As all the previous folks have stated on the HI Board the job market is not great here. If your husband has a great job...meaning $100k yr+ or you have close family connections then maybe consider a move here. Unless you have multiple years experience in a specialized area like ICU, OR, Cath Lab it's going to be very hard finding a job that pays well enough to enjoy life here. If you have children you'll have to pay for daycare which is very expensive or put them in a school system which is rated one of the worst in the Nation. I would not recommend moving here with school age children unless you have family already here as a support system or are in the Military and living on base or post where you have the support of other families in the same situation. You might want to get more experience in your home area or a larger city in your region, then if after your children are out of High School and you still have the desire to move here see about getting a Travel position. I've been here 20+ years, and can't complain about the weather or job at my local hospital, both are great. I'll also tell you that here are many many challenges to living out here so far away from family support. It's an expensive trip back to the Midwest to see family and friends and the culture here is so very different. In the years I've been here I've seen 100's of friends come and go...and the majority end up going back after 3 years!!!

Job market for RN's is very tight here right now, we have many BSN's/New Grads doing Ward Clerk and NA work the past few years. If someone extensive experience in ICU, OR, Cath Lab or similar specialized area's they can probably pick up Call in work. I've been at Kaiser for 16 years and it is generally a great place to work, but we're not hiring much the past few years and those who are already in the system as Clerks, NA's, Tech seem to get the few jobs that come up. If I were you, with your wife being in the Military...I would recommend getting into the GS system as soon as possible. You already have time that can be applied toward retirement and that will carry over with you wherever you may be stationed during her career. Benefits such as pension, leave, sick time will carry over wherever you go. If you take civilian jobs throughout her career, you'll always be starting over with each move. Even if you have to take a job which is Non Medical for a while, I would still stick with the GS system.