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Discussion

Questions and concerns for my significant other

Ok, I guess I will give a little back round info first.

I am not a nurse and will never be one, but my significant other is about to graduate with her BSN. I am very proud of her and she has worked so hard to get it. Anyway I am here to find out some info since she seems to be confused...

Anyway, I finally got accepted into a flight school in the Vero Beach/Port St. Lucie area in Florida and am almost ready to fulfill my life long dream of being a professional pilot. This is something I have been working towards my whole life.

Ok, so since I got accepted into the school we will need to move down there in a little over a month as soon as the wife graduates.

My concerns are that we have called most of the hospitals in the area and none of them seem to have the same needs and programs for her as they go here in Valdosta, GA.

My wife's ultimate goal has been to become a nurse anestatest (think I spelled that wrong). So she wants to work in the ICU as soon as practical. Here in Georgia they have many hospitals offering bonuses and training programs aimed to get her into the ICU within a year or so. Down in Florida they have pretty much laughed in her faced when she inquired about the same type of training programs.

So, now she doesn't want to move and I can't blame her at all. She has worked for this for a while and I see no reason for her to be miserable after sacrificing these years of school.

So is there anything I should know? Is there less of a need for nurses in Florida? My wife seemed to think that it wouldn't be difficult to find a training program for the ICU, but now we are on a tight rope.

I don't want to make her move somewhere that she will be stuck on a med surge floor for ever. I know she will have to do her time, but still.

I am extremely sorry for the long post, but I figured I needed to give backround...

Thanks,

Chris

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  • Expert

welcome to allnurses! :balloons: We hope you'll find the site useful and interesting.

Florida seems to be very much a "buyer's market" for nurses, same as every other occupation. So many people want to live in Florida (and the area you're talking about is even more desirable/popular than many other areas in FL), and many of those people happen to be nurses -- so the hospitals are able to pick & choose, salaries are low, limited opportunities for new grads, etc. There are a number of older threads on this site about this.

Sorry; I know that's not what you want to hear. :( The same is true in other popular, more desirable areas of the country to live -- we've had a number of discussions here lately about how new grads in the LA and Bay area of CA can't find any jobs, period, let alone a specialty they want, because those areas are completely saturated with RNs and the hospitals don't have to bother hiring and orienting new grads ...

It's not just nursing -- my sister (in an entirely different occupation, not healthcare-related) moved back to FL within the last few years, to be close to our elderly parents, and, although she had been very successful in her career in another state, found, after an extended job search over an extended area of the state, that she had to take a BIG step down/backwards professionally (including financially!), and settle for living much farther from my parents than she originally planned, simply because there was so much competition for the few available jobs.

I hope you and your wife can work out a plan you both feel good about! Or maybe someone else will come along (here) with better (happier) info for you than I'm aware of. :) Best wishes --

  • Author

Thanks for the info. Our other backup would be moving back to Seattle. The only problem is I would have to be gone for 6 months of training and Seattle is REALLY EXPENSIVE!!!

Yeah, it varies a lot depending on the area of the country you are in. In some areas, there really isn't a shortage at all. In others, they are desparate for nurses and RN's can basically choose their job. I live in the midwest and have discovered through my job search (graduate in may) that it is kind of difficult to find a new grad job period, let alone in a specialty area. I have found a job, thank goodness, but only through connections I had made during my preceptorship and people I know in the unit. Moving to a new area, she will not have any connections and that is key to getting a job where you want. She may have to settle for what she can get to get experience and try to get into ICU later. It would be very difficult for a new grad around here to get into ICU. Not impossible but really hard. To get in, you would probably have to know someone plus have some "in" like a current job in an ICU (tech, NA) etc. You couldn't just apply as a new grad and get a job easily. Starting in med/sure would probably get her in the door with a hospital and then if she proves herself, she can apply internally for an ICU job, if there happens to be openings. good luck!

Maybe instead of moving back to Seattle, she stays where you guys currently are and where she knows her options as a new grad are good and plans to stay at least a year to get the experience she wants. Then maybe she'd have a bit more leverage in getting into a unit that she wants near you in Florida. And she'd be closer for visiting you than if in Seattle. Just some thoughts based on very limited information of your situation.

Are hospitals in that area hiring at all? If so, she may have to settle for another area, such as med-surg or ER. get some experience, then transfer to an ICU.

Sometimes, life is what happens when we have other plans!

Congratulations to the both of you!

Personally, I believe that new grads should get experience in med/surg before they try the added stress of ICU. She would be much more likely to obtain a med/surg job in that area, as the need for nurses to care for the elderly population is high. And most of the elderly will be on a regular floor, not an ICU. Once she has honed her skills on med/surg, it will be much easier for her to get into the ICU as well as another hospital or specialty. There is no reason why she would be "stuck" in med/surg forever as you put it. If she really wants to go with you, she will take the jobs available to her. There is plenty of time to become a critical care nurse.

With you starting this new school, which will be stressful on you and her, her starting a new job which will be stressful, not to mention the stress of a move, you guys need to slow down and re-prioritize or you won't achieve your personal, career, or relationship goals. Step back and look at the big picture.

Relationships have a diffiult time lasting when people experience numerous stressors including the stressor of being apart as you have mentioned is an option. Stop trying to push ahead no matter what. Sometimes a slower route to a goal is the better choice. Your posts sounds as though you are afraid of her resenting you if she moves with you. The move must be her choice. A relationship is give and take. I recommend that you first look at your long term goals as a couple. Once you have defined those, then write out your long term career and personal goals. Find a way for everyone to meet those personal goals while still meeting the goals of remaining a couple. If you can't compromise then perhaps you need to review the entire relationship again. There is no room for selfishness in a healthy relationship.

seattle is expensive but about 20 min north or south is very affordable. The hospitals here are very good with new grads. UWMC and Harborview are among the best in the country. Good luck in whatever you decide.

I love seattle :) I have a great life here.

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