vonjo27

Staff and travelers do the same work. Occasionally you'll hear stories of travelers being treated unfairly, but it's unlikely. Salaries for permanent staff in Northern California are on average higher than travelers. Kaiser, for example, pays its benefited staff on average $80+/hr plus a $7-$12/hr differential for evening and night shifts. I'm making $96/hr with my differential. Per diem employees make over $100/hr. This is a base pay, and doesn't include overtime, holidays, consecutive days/weekends, etc. Holiday pay alone is double time and a half (about $200/hr for benefited staff). I believe travelers average about $50/hr plus a nice housing allowance. Many travelers come back to work as permanent staff. Many even live out of state and fly out monthly to work per diem. I don't think travelers need much experience- maybe a year or two, but a permanent position is what you should be aiming for. Get a CA license if you can, and take any position in Northern California. There's a need here.

Not true at all. Last year I worked back to back 16hr shifts (4-5/week) in SF and made a killing. 36k-40k/ month. It's not just OT (1.5 after 8hr, 2.0 after 12hr), but also working consecutive weekends. If I work a weekend day that's not mine, even if it's only 4hrs, I'd make double time the following weekend I'm normally scheduled for. So if I worked 16hr shifts on sat/sun, that's 32hrs of double time in two days. It can be exhausting, sure, but management tends to look after those staying over, meaning I'm usually picking my assignments, giving breaks- whatever. Making more, working less. Smarter, not harder.

God I hope that's not accurate. I'm moving from California to SW Florida in a couple of months. I know I won't make anywhere near the same money as I do out here, but I was hoping to make closer to $40/hr. I'll be keeping my job out here in the meantime.

You'll never make more as a nurse than you will in NorCal. Dignity doesn't pay quite as well as Kaiser or Sutter, but you'll still be starting out at $50+/hr, probably more. Sutter starts at $60ish for newer nurses (I make about $80 there now per diem), and I'm making $96/hr benefited (that includes the $12 night differential) at Kaiser with 6 years experience. Per diem at Kaiser averages $100/hr plus differential, depending on experience. Bottom line- take any job here. You can always transfer out of Dignity in the future.

I'm sure you've been asked 100 times, but how in the world did you get the proper papers to make the move? Are you married to a British citizen? Short of that, I've been told it's practically impossible. Any I'm currently a nursing student here in the states and I've wanting to practice somewhere in Europe. I'm even looking at master's programs in Dublin and London to possibly increase my chances. Any advice would be very helpful!! Thanks, Joe

@ nbryant18 -I called the office and asked about printing the manual. ------------ said you could bring a laptop, but doesn't know if any outlets are available. The orientation is from 8-1pm- I might just print it out.

Sounds good Connie- we'll all chat more at orientation. Congratulations to everyone!!

Me too! I start in February! Congrats!

Adia- I just checked out AV Hosipital- looks like fun! I didn't know it even existed- I thought we did everything at Palmdale Medical Center. 7/70 for males is still above average. Hey Leanna- I'm dreading the commute too! But at least we miss traffic driving in to AV in the morning. We should keep in touch.

To everyone else- are there any students coming from outside Antelope Valley? I'll be driving from Sherman Oaks

Thanks for the advice!!! 10 out of 70 is still sad, but I was actually expecting the number to higher. I plan on being one of the lucky 60 that pushes through! Another question- at what point do students start interacting with patients? Where are the clinicals? Are they all at Palmdale Medical Center? Sorry for all the questions- I'm just getting real antsy. Were there many males in the program when you were studying? I'm hoping I'm not the only one!!

Congratulations Adia!! Good luck in the field!! What was you're overall experience like? What did you find to be the most difficult/easiest about the program? Were there a lot of drop-outs? Any advice for us newbies would be greatly appreciated!!

Got my packet!!! It's getting really exciting now!!! Question- does anyone plan to work while they're enrolled?? I'm hoping I'll be able to work a few shifts a week and still have enough time to study. Has anyone heard about how difficult the program is? The book list is insane!!! I see lots of late nights and a serious caffeine addiction in my near future!!

Congratulations! It's exciting, isn't it?!?! I'll be looking out for my packet today.

I'm still waiting for my packet. I live in Sherman Oaks, so it should arrive tomorrow. What did it say?