Relocating to Austin

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Hi all! I'm an RN in New York State and want to relocate to Austin Texas. I saw some threads on here about Austin but they seem years old and outdated so I thought I'd ask for any advice available about the job situation there now. I've got around 2 years experience working nights on a MedSurg (heavily skewed towards Surg esp Ortho) floor and although I love my job and coworkers, I'm not thrilled with the region (Albany, NY) and I'm looking for a new challenge in my work. I know Seton and St David's are the big players in town and was wondering if anyone could give any details about how they compare in terms of tuition reimbursement, work environment, opportunities for advancement etc...I'm also worried that as an RN with ASN I may have trouble getting hired (I do have a BA & MS in unrelated fields but I'm not sure anyone cares). I also considered getting a travel position in order to get down there and have a place to stay already arranged and then look for a permanent position but I'm not sure which agencies staff the hospitals in the region and if they are traveler friendly. So what's the scoop? Any info/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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Hey there. I currently live in Austin. Well, I have all my life. Best city ever and it is becoming heavily populated. Overly populated so be prepared. You are correct in that seton and St Davids are the big hospitals here. Both, I believe, are moving towards BSN prepared nurses. This is what pushed me to get my BSN. They will hire nurses who have associates with the condition that the nurse will get their bachelors after so many months or years. I'm not sure about seton, but St. Davids has a tuition reimbursement program with UT Arlington if you sign a contract to remain with them after you graduate for like a year or two maybe. Not sure. Both hospitals are very reputable. I used to work at St. Davids and it is a great hospital. I think seton is a non profit. However, there are MANY free standing clinics, surgery centers and the like to get a job at. I really don't think that you will have an issue at all.

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Thanks for your response! I'm looking for a big bustling city where it's easy to meet new people so crowds don't freak me out (actually if it was at all financially feasible, I'd move back to NYC where I got my nursing degree).

Can you tell me any little details about St Davids where you used to work? Do they have a specific scrub color nurses are required to wear? Do you do bedside hand off report between shifts? Is there mandatory overtime? The current place I work is the only RN job I've ever had so I'm really curious how things are done in other places.

Do you think it would be prudent for me to get my Texas license before applying for jobs? New York isn't part of the consortium.

Thanks again!

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Well it's been 5 years since I worked there. When I did yes we had to wear specific colors to represent we were the nurse and it had to have St Davids and registered nurse sewed on it. The color was navy blue. All the uniform shops here in town know all the color codes and requirements for both hospitals and have everything you need so all you have to do is ask. With shift change we did bedside report. Well you are supposed to at least. No required overtime, but if you wanted to you just had to sign up for it and they would let you. The nurses I worked with were very helpful. They didn't have many techs and it was usually a 6:1 ratio. At least the floor I worked on which was a med surg/telemetry floor.

I really do not know the whole process of getting your license endorsed in another state. I would go to the Texas BON and go from there. I would definitely start working on it though. Who knows how long it will take!

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Thanks! That sounds a lot like where I work now. We have one tech if we're lucky and I'm used to doing a lot of bed changes, cleaning, helping to the bathroom etc. I'm sort of a control freak that way so I love knowing all the details you can sometimes miss if someone else is doing your I&Os or personal care. Of course, that is only feasible with a decent ratio.

I'm excited to make the move. I really appreciate the info!

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No problem! Let me know if you need anything else!

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