Van425

Just wondering what people think about nursing being unionized in Colorado. A group of us were talking the other day how while we like our hospital, it astonishes us how little we get paid compared to other parts of the country that have lower cost of living. Don't get me wrong, it could be worse, but still not on par with the cost of living. At my current hospital our benefits are pretty crappy. I believe that UCH and DH pay decently well and do cost of living raises, but elsewhere in the Denver area COL raises are virtually unheard of. I'll be lucky if I even get a 1% raise this year (meanwhile my benefits have raised higher than 2% of my current salary, so I'm effectively making less than I did last year). Then I read an article how HCA made 8 billion in profit last year. So someone's getting paid... During this conversation one nurse mentioned there was an effort to get a union going in Colorado a few years back. It never materialized and the nurses at my hospital who were attempting to start a union were eventually "let go". Hmmm... I am not an expert in unions and it seems people have a pretty strong opinion either for or against them. It seems like a good thing to have someone having our backs, fighting for fair wages and hours. What is the drawback of a union? Why have they never materialized in Colorado? Not trying to start a heated debate, just interested in some opinions on both sides of the line.

Experienced nurse here--7 years on LDRP/NICU. I am thinking about a career switch to the OR, but have heard horror stories about the call time. What is an acceptable amount of call time in a 1-2 week period?

I am getting burnt out by bad management and low paying hospitals. The place I currently work has one of the lowest pays in the Denver area, with horrible insurance to boot (high deductibles and out of pocket maximums). I have worked at hospitals with horrible management--layoffs, mismanagement of money, poor staffing. I want to find a hospital that treats their nurses well. I want to find a hospital and stay there for awhile, where I have the support to be a good nurse. Someplace where I don't have to work extra shifts because my doctor's bills are outrageous. I hear that UCH is a great place to work. Can anyone tell me what it's like? What are the benefits like--do they offer good insurance? Anything you can tell me would be great :)

I work at an HCA hospital and I would not recommend it. I hear Healthone was better before HCA bought them. The health insurance is the worst of any hospital in the city. So even if your payscale ends up being the same as another hospital (which it probably won't) you'll shell out more for your monthly premiums, deductibles and out of pocket maximums. Maybe it's not a big deal because you are single, but once you have a husband or family it will bite you in the butt!

I think you would find a job here in NICU here. Denver has multiple level III NICUs. I can say first hand I love the staff at Exempla St Joe's NICU working there I always felt they respected me and treated the nursing staff well. However their management has done a horrible job and is currently doing their second round of layoffs in two years. Denver Health has a higher NICU and pays well, it helps to know Spanish there. P/SL has a very high level NICU and are currently building a new fancier unit. However P/SL is one of the lowest paying hospitals in the Denver area. I hear University and Children's Hospital are great, with high level NICUs. I also hear Centura is great to work for.