"ratios"? and pay in California?

[NewJA]

I keep seeing some mention of "ratios" in the "everybody moving to California" thread. But I have not seen any explanation of what that means. I'm wondering if someone could tell me.

Also I am wondering what is thry typical pay in California for a starting R.N.... I have seen everything from high twenties per hour to 40 per hour in that thread. Is there really that drastic of a fluctuation from one place to the next?

[GoodAsGoldRN]

i don't know if there's really such a thing as a 'going rate' for nurses in the bay area. people i've talked to when i was working up there tell me that how much you are able to get depends on how much experience and training you actually have. when i was working registry there i was making $605 per shift (including the time and a half rate after 8 hours). i knew people who were working per diem staff there who told me they were making more, and i believe it. the bay area is one of the highest paying area for nurses in the country, and the reason is probably because it costs a bundle to live there. if some bay area hospitals are paying new grads in the 70s per year to start, then its reasonable to believe that experienced unit nurses will make more.

pay in the southern part of the state is less, but, depending on where in socal you are, the cost of living is cheaper than it is in the bay area.

i did marketing and recruitment for a local agency for awhile last year. (i have one favorite agency that i work for every once in a while as an rn.) i can tell you from personal experience that the hospitals have gotten smart in their staffing practices.

it used to be that you made more money as a traveler/agency nurse than as a staff nurse. not anymore. it pays to find a hospital to get hired on with versus working for an agency in this neck of the woods.