Texas

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Specializes in Dialysis Acute/Chronic.

Hi All,

Getting ready to start travelling. I am an RN from Canada looking to specialize in dialysis. So far I have a Minnesota licensure and working on Arizona licensure. I am wondering if I should have several licenses before I start travelling. Mostly looking to travel either south west (Arizona, Utah, Southern Cali) or north east (Maine, Mass). Any travel company I have spoken with so far seems to be pushing me towards Texas which is not somewhere I was planning to go (at least for now). What is the pay like in Texas? Also wondering why there are always so many jobs available in Texas. Is it an undesirable place to go or is it simply such a large population?

Thanks.

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Bad working conditions, bad board, generally low pay, no unions, red state (conservatives).

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Specializes in Nephrology, Dialysis, Plasmapheresis.
Hi All,

Getting ready to start travelling. I am an RN from Canada looking to specialize in dialysis. So far I have a Minnesota licensure and working on Arizona licensure. I am wondering if I should have several licenses before I start travelling. Mostly looking to travel either south west (Arizona, Utah, Southern Cali) or north east (Maine, Mass). Any travel company I have spoken with so far seems to be pushing me towards Texas which is not somewhere I was planning to go (at least for now). What is the pay like in Texas? Also wondering why there are always so many jobs available in Texas. Is it an undesirable place to go or is it simply such a large population?

Thanks.

Tons of dialysis jobs in Texas. Maybe it's just our specialty. I have yet to see a job in a Minnesota in the 2 years I've been looking! Best pay will most likely be Oregon, Washington, California, Massachusetts. I have seen very few jobs in Utah also. I think getting a few licenses is never a bad idea. I got CA, FL, OH, and SC before traveling. My first assignment was in Texas, San Antonio. Pay was low- $22/hr taxable plus per diem. There seems to be tons of work there for dialysis. Every dialysis traveler I have worked with says they worked 50 or more hours a week in Texas and made a lot of money with overtime, but had no personal life and couldn't wait to leave. Make sure you get a good overtime rate, maybe ask for double time for OT. Maine has very few jobs and Massachusetts is somewhat limited as well. If I could recommend, I would get at least one license in a very large state, such as Texas or California, that way, you will always have a back up plan in case there are no jobs in the states you are looking. You def don't want to be switching companies between assignments if you don't have to, so with a highly specialized field like ours, you can always find work in CA or TX.

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You won't be able to get a Cali license without your American SSN, and I'm thinking TX may be the same. I'm also Canadian and started with my MN license bc it's the easiest for us to write for. Before you apply for any licenses make sure you read through all the application requirements as they vary widely from state to state, with many tossing any appliction without your SSN, requiring you to have a visa in hand, no temp licenses for foreign grads, complete course breakdown from your university, etc (and your recruiter likely doesn't realize the differences for Canadians). I was able to get my NC license with my Canadian SIN last year and got my first assignment there which gave me my visa and American SSN which I used to get my other licenses. Good luck!

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red state (conservatives).

Your point is?

And from what I gather there are bad working conditions in every state. Bad board? Personally never had any issues & don't know of anyone that has. Low pay? Yea, lower than some but higher than others. Cost of living here is cheap and we don't have a state income tax. Nope, no unions - pros & cons.

As far as the number of available jobs in Texas, depends on what area of the state you're referring to. If you're thinking it's an indicator that something is "wrong" that would be incorrect. Texas continues to increase in population due in large part to a healthy economy. More people means more jobs for everyone. In my community we have a new hospital that just opened = more nursing jobs. Because the grass is always greener on the other side (wink, wink) we lost nurses at our hospital to the new one therefore we've had to hire travelers to fill in temporarily.

If the travel company is pushing you toward Texas it's possibly bc you're a new traveler and it will be easier to get you a job here. But if Texas isn't where you want to travel right now then hold out for where you would rather go.

Where ever you go, good luck! And come visit Texas at some point. It's a great state with great people!

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Specializes in Dialysis Acute/Chronic.

Hi NurseRies, Just an FYI, not sure that you would actually be interested in Minnesota, but there are two positions currently being advertised via Foundation Medical Staffing which you recommended. Sadly, they do not sponsor Canadian nurses coming to work in US but the people I spoke with there were as wonderful as you had said they are.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Dialysis, Plasmapheresis.
Hi NurseRies Just an FYI, not sure that you would actually be interested in Minnesota, but there are two positions currently being advertised via Foundation Medical Staffing which you recommended. Sadly, they do not sponsor Canadian nurses coming to work in US but the people I spoke with there were as wonderful as you had said they are.[/quote']

Oh wow! That's great news then. I didn't know it was tricky for certain states being Canadian. But I am glad to hear foundation is working out for you as we'll as possibly Minnesota jobs. There's just a few states that it seems like I've never seen- Idaho, Wisconsin, Delaware, and Minnesota. But then again, I'm very new! Only been doing research a couple of years. I guess the key would be to get a first job under your belt and then go from there, see how you like it. The biggest disappointments for me are that agencies are all about profits and I thought the money was gonna be better. It's not bad, but it's not what I had been led to believe. I wish that the travel field wasn't becoming monopolized by these big name agencies that run exclusive deals with many hospitals. That's why I try to support the little guys. I currently am working with 4 travelers in my field, they all come from same big name company, and they're all making different rates. Completely different rates, tell me how that's possible?! Ned? Haha

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Your point is?

Where ever you go, good luck! And come visit Texas at some point. It's a great state with great people!

I certainly agree with visiting Texas. It is all that, but it is not a great place to work in. As far as political comments go, I don't want to get into a big political discussion, but Texas is very red indeed. It is relevant to nurses, as most folks entering our profession have a fair amount of compassion. Conservatism has changed a lot in the last, well just 10 years, and there is very little compassion left in even mainstream conservatism. It is difficult to go to a place such as Texas where the governor refuses to let its own citizens have access to information about federally sponsored healthcare benefits.

Politics are not as important as the working conditions, but I think even blue states are somewhat to the right of the average Canadian, so red states are really out there.

The same could be true for the Tea Party supporter to have to work in San Francisco of course, just uncomfortable to their values. It doesn't have to be about right or wrong politics generally, just wrong for the individual.

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I currently am working with 4 travelers in my field, they all come from same big name company, and they're all making different rates. Completely different rates, tell me how that's possible?! Ned? Haha

Something to do with Texas and the rights of big business over workers I'm sure!

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Specializes in Nephrology, Dialysis, Plasmapheresis.

Something to do with Texas and the rights of big business over workers I'm sure!

Haha well, I'm in Colorado! Don't know if you were joking.. But I guess that's why they don't want us travelers to talk to one another. Maybe they should have thought about that before they sent 4 travelers to same location. I'm the only one working with a small agency and I am happy, making out better then all of them!

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Specializes in Dialysis Acute/Chronic.

Hi globetrotterRN, thanks for the info. I hadn't thought of a NC license but I will look into it. How are the wages there? Also, have you applied for a California licensure? I've heard from some other Canadian RNs that it is difficult to get a license there because of their educational requirements regarding peadiatric and psych clinical hours. Have you heard anything like this?

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I have my CA license now.. I applied 3 years ago and was rejected bc of my missing SSN (they changed the rules between when I printed my forms and sent them in post NCLEX.. uggh). I reapplied in late March and had it in hand in early June this yr with no real issues (I forgot to send a copy of my degree). I just had to have my university send in transcripts and a break down of course content/hours etc- all the forms are in the application packet.

NC wages are kinda low, but cost of living is low too. I loved it there.

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