hope3456 ASN, RN

I left Fort Collins 8 years ago for better job opportunities. In general Larimer county is a fairly choice place to live/work and it can be competitive - be prepared to expand your job search to surrounding locales (cheyenne, greeley, denver). And im not an expert on NICUs but i think the more severe cases are sent to Denver

Not sure about WSH but the other state facility - Wyoming Life Resource Center in Lander - is extensively advertising all over the region for nurses (and other positions) right now. Avoid them at all costs. I'll bet they have had over 100% turnover of direct care staff in the past year. The administration is all about "human services" and doesn't understand nursing but lays in all on the nurse when there is any kind of incident. And then report the nurse to the BON. It is all around a very dysfunctional system.

I live near a Reservation. i have checked into IHS jobs and they seem to want RNs that have L/D experience. I applied with them and never heard back (i dont have l/d experience). There is also indian preference for those positions. I personally dont like working in rural areas and cant wait to leave.

Do yourself a favor and get a year of experience in MN before trying to relocate to LV. It could be very difficult for you to get into a hospital job as a new grad especially since you don't have the "local" advantage of having done clinicals there, ect.

Can anyone speak of the market conditions for nurses in the southern part of the state - specifically St George? Are they any different than SLC?

Rocking in the same boat, friend. I work in a facility that still uses paper MARS and an outdated computer program for charting. I can't believe it's still legal.

Nothing like reviving a 3 year old thread but I'm really struggling with finding childcare for 9 and 5 year olds and wondering about how to get them into extracurricular activities when I do not have a set schedule.

If given the opportunity to gain the right experience they can be prepared for about anything. RNs and BSNs run into the same problem - it's not all about education.

My employer could care less if I have a BSN. My manager does not have hers. I think it will depend a lot on your geographic location as to what employers requirements will be, as has been stated before in this thread. Educational "requirements" are also largely subject to change. If you are in a saturated area, such as you are describing, employers can be as picky as they want. In some cities even BSNs claim they have trouble finding even a nsg home job. But in some rural areas, you will find that ADNs have no problems securing acute care employment.

State faces in certified nursing assistant shortage I find it interesting that this topic made the news. There have always been staffing problems in nursing homes and CNAs would much rather work in the hospital settings than in LTC.

I believe the OP is referring to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper.

Exactly. In addition, people who aren't even yet in nursing school who think the world will be handed to them on a silver platter once they become a nurse.

Curious to know if this was actually a licensed nurse or perhaps a home health aide...

Post your resume online. Recruiters often will direct you to the underserved critical access hospitals in rural areas.

I live in a rural area...we have 2 obgyn docs that are quite obviously the " leftovers" that probably wouldn't make it anywhere they had competition. There is also a NP who does women's health visits. I just called to get an appt for my annual. The NP was booked a month out (I tried to get her first) but the Dr's schedule was wide open.