RNs in South Texas??

Kasper1014 · Oct 4, 2004

hi,
i've just been wondering if there were any rns from south tx in general and victoria, tx in particular reading these boards. i'm originally from victoria but live abroad right now. i'd like to hear what ya'll think about nursing in our neck of the woods. how it may compare to other areas, whether or not you're satisfied with the salary to cost of living ratio. also, how important is speaking spanish in your area ... and anything else you might like to share.
thanks, leslie

i am not an rn yet, i graduate this december. :balloons: but i live in san antonio. right now i am working as a nurse extern in the or and will be hired on when i graduate for the intership. i do not speak spanish. added, it is a bonus. but i have not had any problems with wanting hospitals to hire me due to my not speaking spanish. i hope this helps at least a little. :)

kassy : )

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2004

I worked as a RN in The Rio Grande Valley 2.5 years ago. I worked med-surg and usually had 8-10 pts. I was the only caucasian nurse on my shift, and would go weeks without having a single English speaking pt. It was pretty rough.

leslieanne · Oct 4, 2004

kassy and hellllo nurse

thanks for your replies. i would imagine that the further south you go the more spanish or "tex-mex" is spoken. i went down south of corpus christi once, to "the valley", and felt like i was in another country. so i guess nursing in tx is the same as other places then...?

thanks again, leslie

Kasper1014 · Oct 4, 2004

kassy and hellllo nurse
thanks for your replies. i would imagine that the further south you go the more spanish or "tex-mex" is spoken. i went down south of corpus christi once, to "the valley", and felt like i was in another country. so i guess nursing in tx is the same as other places then...?
thanks again, leslie

i would guess so. to be honest i have never been further south then corpus christi. i do know in san antonio, i don't even think it is asked if yo speak spanish. i could be wrong though. lol i noticed that you are in denmark? will you be moving to texas in the future?

kassy : )

dazzle256 · Oct 4, 2004

I am not an RN yet, I graduate this December. :balloons: But I live in San Antonio. Right now I am working as a nurse extern in the OR and will be hired on when I graduate for the intership. I do not speak Spanish. Added, it is a bonus. But I have not had any problems with wanting hospitals to hire me due to my not speaking spanish. I hope this helps at least a little. :)
Kassy : )

I just got back from San Antonio. What a beautiful city you have.

UTRN2005 · Nov 30, 2004

Hi,

My grandparents live in Yorktown. I'm currently in achool at UT Austin but I do know that there's a big shortage of nurses in Victoria, especially advanced practice. They're particularly desparate for CRNAs. My parents are actually going to be moving back to that area in the near future. (I grew up in Houston.) I personally like the area although I've never worked there. I wouldn't mind moving there after I get a bit older and finish with school and grad school. Good luck abroad.

Foxfour · Dec 2, 2004

I worked as a RN in The Rio Grande Valley 2.5 years ago. I worked med-surg and usually had 8-10 pts. I was the only caucasian nurse on my shift, and would go weeks without having a single English speaking pt. It was pretty rough.

I can soooo relate to what your wrote. I'll been here for 14 years, and I don't see an end in sight as to when I will be able to leave. My husband is not leaving his secure, decent-paying job, and I'm don't see myself leaving him. At least one time a day, everyday I dream about getting out of this self-imposed prison sentence. I have long blond hair, blue eyes, and I was born and raised in Dallas. I don't, can't and never will fit in down here. Everyday, I can't wait to go home-the pacific northwest. :crying2:

mattsmom81 · Dec 2, 2004

I can soooo relate to what your wrote. I'll been here for 14 years, and I don't see an end in sight as to when I will be able to leave. My husband is not leaving his secure, decent-paying job, and I'm don't see myself leaving him. At least one time a day, everyday I dream about getting out of this self-imposed prison sentence. I have long blond hair, blue eyes, and I was born and raised in Dallas. I don't, can't and never will fit in down here. Everyday, I can't wait to go home-the pacific northwest.
Hi Foxfour..I'm in the Fort worth area myself...nice to meet ya! :)
My lil sis worked for the government many years in Laredo, Eagle Pass and McAllen and she told me it was a whole different world down there...she told me the strangest stories and how people treated her because she was a 'blondie' with blue eyes. Mexicans would cover their eyes when she was around...LOL! they would talk about her too..not realizing she could understand what they were saying...very rude.
She did find some good friends there though and hope you have found some too to get you through.
To the OP: I find Texas nursing VERY different than my home state of Mn. We are employment at will, anti union and the health care industry in my area (DFW) has nurses under their thumb, using Group One to legally blackball 'undesirables' who speak up, are injured on the job, etc. Nurses have little power here. I'm a Yankee union agitator who speaks up...so I'm always teetering on the edge of that 'undesirable' list...LOL! JMHO of nursing in my parts.
Like Foxfour, I am stuck here with DH's job, but may be traveling soon. :)

leslieanne · Dec 7, 2004

Hello again,

Well I have to say that when I come back to the states one day, I don't think I'll be going south of my hometown!! We have alot of mexican-americans in Victoria, but they've mostly all been there for awhile. Of the mex-am. friends that I have, most of their families have been americans longer than my own family has. I can't imagine having people cover their eyes because they saw a blond - how weird. Those people- are they the mexican equivalent of hillbillies?? I've never heard of such a thing.

Kerry - yes, obviously I do plan to return to texas one day. I miss my family alot. I'm getting my nursing degree over here tho, and the work environment over here is alot different, alot better I think. I'm kind of getting cold feet about coming back.

thanks to everyone for their replies, I'd love to hear more. Les

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2004

I can soooo relate to what your wrote. I'll been here for 14 years, and I don't see an end in sight as to when I will be able to leave. My husband is not leaving his secure, decent-paying job, and I'm don't see myself leaving him. At least one time a day, everyday I dream about getting out of this self-imposed prison sentence. I have long blond hair, blue eyes, and I was born and raised in Dallas. I don't, can't and never will fit in down here. Everyday, I can't wait to go home-the pacific northwest.

OMG!

I have long blonde hair and blue eyes, too! I am also probably one of the palest people you could ever see. Living in "The Valley" was a long, lonely nightmare for me. My husband called it "the vortex of weirdness."

I called it living on another planet. Many times, the hispanics there felt that had to physically touch me so that they would not give me the "ojo." I got used to allowing strangers to touch me at school, at flea mkts, in stores, etc. The witchcraft and mojo that even educated people believe in there is nuts.

I was born and raised in AZ, like Dallas, there are a lot of hispanics there, no problem. But- The Valley is just different. Anyone who has ever lived there knows what I am talking about. I finally did find a decent job there that I enjoyed, but it was rough for me trying to communicate with my spanish-only pts. Over 50% of the people there are spanish only- even bank tellers, retail cashiers and hospital staff are spanish only. The anti-caucasion racism there is rampant and right out in the open. Things like just trying to buy new tires for your car or order cable TV are so hard because no one speaks english. I counted once, and The Valley has 14 spanish-only local radio stations and one semi-rock english station.

I have lived in many areas of the U.S. but the Rio Grande Valley is not anything like the rest of The U.S. I'm glad to be back in "America", even if there are no nursing jobs here.