Relocating to San Antonio

TexiSareN11 · Mar 25, 2020

Hello,

I am a nursing student, but I hope I can help you. I am currently applying for jobs myself. In regards, to nursing pay San Antonio is one of the lowest paying cities compared to Houston or Dallas. Many nurses I have worked with as a Tech all have a prn job (psych hospital or specialty hospital) to be comfortable, working about 3 ft shifts and 2 PT or PRN. A nurse I worked with stated she made 25 at UHS (University Health), another said told me they were started with 27. Many nurses have went to UHS and have taken a pay cut, bc UHS have 4-1 ratios (acute) and 2 or 1-1 (high acuity), but you may make less. I was told UHS does not give extra for certain specialties (ICU or oncology) per a current nurse, who transferred there. Other facilities will give you 6, 7, 8-1 (Methodist Main 6th floor, 6-7:1, and Baptist 7-8:1), which is not safe. But you may get a sign on bonus or high pt loads, so think why are they offering extra money? Nurses are running away. (Christus and Baptist). Christus Santa Rosa (babcock) has team nursing (One RN, one LVN and a tech with about 15 patients). I was informed to go for the ICUs, I go to Christus Rosa, a new nurse makes 24/hr not sure about experienced). So I do not have the exact numbers for what an experienced nurse makes, but think about location and trade off. SA has less crime than other Texas cities, good schools, and nice neighborhoods.

careat · Apr 9, 2020

San Antonio nurse here. I am a contract nurse for acute care (MS/Tele/Ortho/CVU). I will say the pay on average is terrible in San Antonio. For a nurse with 2 years of experience the average start pay would be around $27/hr. With 4 years of experience, it may obviously be a little more, but not much. It breaks my heart at how many nurses I know here who wish they had never gone into nursing d/t the low pay and high nurse to patient ratios (Tele: 6:1, PCU 5:1, MS 6-7:1). Now this isn't true of every hospital, but most hospitals. The two hospitals that I know of that tend to have better ratios are University Hospital and SAMMC. The lowest paying system here is Methodist, and the highest paying is probably Baptist. Methodist used to be considered one of the better systems to work for with excellent ratios and perks for staff, so it was worth working there even with the lower pay. But as of the last few years, they've been making financial cuts and increasing ratios, without increasing pay to compensate for the increased workload. When I left, the turnover was over 50% on my unit alone. I have worked for both Methodist and Baptist and can tell you the work environments are very comparable, so if you get a better offer from Baptist, don't be afraid to take it. As iLLyPhilly20 said, don't work for Santa Rosa. I have a friend who works there, and it is accurate that they do team nursing with one RN and one LVN for 11-15 patients, and if you're charge nurse, then you're responsible for charging two floors. Just not safe. Don't do that to yourself.

Once you plant roots at a hospital though, you can do the clinical ladder to make more. Charge nursing is usually an added $1/hr, and night shift differential is usually around $3-4/hr. Most nurses who rely on their incomes (single income households) have to work at least 4 shifts a week to stay afloat. I am fortunate because I just do contracts which pay anywhere from 48/hr to 60/hr. However, you do not have any benefits. I pay for my health insurance out-of-pocket, but I still end up financially on top over taking a full-time position with benefits. That being said, there is always plenty of work available here and usually opportunities for overtime, if needed. I don't regret coming to San Antonio as overall it's definitely been a good experience. However, I also won't regret leaving when it's time ?