Nursing connections in the mountain west?

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Cmcraw - Thanks for the tips. The lady is psyched, hopefully she will pass the assessment, these areas eager to hire a gringo? Will hit you up after the new year for sure!



I am here. Dig it so far. But in love with Interior BC. Want to make some turns?

phish - Sebastian? Awesome. Did he have a canadian girlfriend or something? Very cool.

He's making it work by living/working in CO for the summers and back up to BC every winter. I think this is his 4th season up there.

[cmcrawfo]

Too bad CRNBC doesn't want to recognise your NP designation? I've wondered about doing the NP thing at some point myself, but I'm also just stoked to ski powder.

If CRNBC could get and keep their shit together, it would be much simpler. Their requirements for out of province NP's has changed 3 times in 4 years....the last change was not in my favor. They are also the only Canadian province to require their NP's to write the american exam. I think the BCMA is highly influential and negatively affecting NP practice in the Provence. In comparison to other Provinces (On, AB), BC is easily 10-15 years behind in terms of employment opportunities and acceptance in the medical community ... although, they have had one of the broadest scopes of practice until recently ...... Even if I had credentials today finding a job would challenging, they just dont exist. I think in 2012 they boasted less than 200 practicing NPs (2000+ in Ontario, 600+ AB).

I have no regrets, right now I am just stoked to get back in the POW POW.... besides, primary care is a 9-5 job... and all the pay and autonomy in the world wont make 9-5 appealing to me. 12hr shifts, weekday pow, and the ability to check all responsibility at the door on my way home are things that I will truly enjoy again. The nice thing about nursing, is there is such variety and opportunity.

[montanaskier]

my wife is a NP. I'll echo what GR said in that sometimes pure mountain town gigs can be found simply because it's tough to live in Vail or Aspen so the number of qualified candidates is small and turnover can be high. Keep looking and if we can ever be of any help, let me know.

Summit- are you done now?

[BigMontana]

Most of the jobs in Montana are listed on Jobs.Mt.gov It's a good website. I think the big takeaway from this whole conversation is don't move and expect to get hired in the mountain west, get hired and then move.

[Flyoverland Captive]

I think the big takeaway from this whole conversation is don't move and expect to get hired in the mountain west, get hired and then move.

Yep. And get a specialty. My wife's a WOCN, and she can get a job just about anywhere. I have a friend who is a nurse anaesthetist; she makes over $200k a year, working every other week, and can pretty much live wherever she wants to.

Bedside nursing is a solid foundation to a shitload of opportunities that pay better and have better working conditions.

[montanaskier]

Yep. And get a specialty. My wife's a WOCN, and she can get a job just about anywhere. I have a friend who is a nurse anaesthetist; she makes over $200k a year, working every other week, and can pretty much live wherever she wants to.

Bedside nursing is a solid foundation to a shitload of opportunities that pay better and have better working conditions.

My sister is a CRNA as well, great money. However in some places, like here in Vail, they don't use CRNAs at all.

My wife specializes in Oncology, she's never had an issue finding a job. That being said, she doesn't change jobs often either. Only 2 since she became a NP.

[BC13]

BSN is not better...but the academicians and Nursing elite who are masters or PHD prepared Nurses believe BSN should be the entry level degree. It is too bad, as many BSN Nurses come out of school with less clinical time than associates degree Nurses.

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[BC13]

BSN is not better...but the academicians and Nursing elite who are masters or PHD prepared Nurses believe BSN should be the entry level degree. It is too bad, as many BSN Nurses come out of school with less clinical time than associates degree Nurses.

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To WG

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[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Update:

She was just elected President of the State Board of Student Nurses! So, we are stuck in NJ until at least May 2015 now, but its huge for her career/resume.

[summit]

Hadn't checked this thread in a while!

Summit- are you done now?

Yea finished a while ago! Enjoying the ICU.

many BSN Nurses come out of school with less clinical time than associates degree Nurses.

This simply isn't true. In most areas they are near equal for hours. In many areas, the BSN programs have more clinical hours and more externship opportunities; around here this is certainly the case. Some ADN programs are having trouble finding enough clinical placements for the state minimums.

So. My girl is going up to vancouver to take the SEC assesment to get her nursing license for BC Dec 3rd. Has all the above.

AND? AND? AND??? Tell us! You moved to BC yet?

Update: She was just elected President of the State Board of Student Nurses! So, we are stuck in NJ until at least May 2015 now, but its huge for her career/resume.

Being a state Student Nurse Association officer is a great way to make connections in your state

[BS720]

So, I don't want to start a new forum for this, but I'm curious as to what you view as appropriate attire for interview. Staff Nurse? Nursing Sup? Nurse Manager? DON?

In my mind(in San Francisco):dress jeans/chinos and collared shirt, tucked, for staff nurse; nursing sup, add a jacket; nurse manager, suit without tie; DON, with a tie.

Your thoughts? I have done quite a few interviews, and I really didn't pay attention to what the candidate was wearing. Except, the chick in the suit made me uncomfortable, and the slutty one in the short tight skirt had a drug problem.

[Harry]

the slutty one in the short tight skirt.

pics please.

[BS720]

^^"So, we are conducting interviews this week, and we will be getting back to you the beginning of next week. Say, do you mind if we take a picture to put a name with the application? Great. So, smile and say cheese! No, the vertical one."

[Flyoverland Captive]

^^^ I've seen hundreds of resumes from Philipinos; they almost all include a picture, and list marital status and religious affiliation. And mind you, some of them are smokin' hotties... Nurses should be hired based on hotness. If I'm getting a sponge bath, I'd prefer it not be done by someone who looks like Ernest Borgnine.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

She graduates in a couple weeks. She is valedictorian of her class. She took two practice NCLEX exams and scored in the 99th percentile nationally. She already has multiple hospitals in the area contacting HER via LinkedIn, etc. Roughly 11 months till we can make a move out west

[Cocximus]

Good luck.

Me and my GF are in the same boat. She's ripping and our backs are packed... just two years left

[MontuckyFried]

FWIW, Bozeman Deaconess is building a little local hospital in Big Sky pretty soon. Maybe get in contact with them asap if you're interested. I also heard from a nurse friend of mine that they were hiring at the Bozeman hospital, too. Being a "small" town, you'd probably have a great shot at getting hired straight outta school as opposed to places like Denver and other major cities.

[summit]

Curious: what do they pay in nurses at Bozeman?

Metro areas are competitive, but they have 1000s of inpatient beds needing nurses.
Aren't there the MSU-Bozeman BSN and ABSN programs pumping out nurses? There is one 86 bed hospital for the whole region.

[Sirshredalot]

Curious: what do they pay in nurses at Bozeman?

Metro areas are competitive, but they have 1000s of inpatient beds needing nurses.
Aren't there the MSU-Bozeman BSN and ABSN programs pumping out nurses? There is one 86 bed hospital for the whole region.

I used to know/still know some Bozeman RNs. I think they do okay by Bozeman standards but worse than nurses do in larger cities.

[wildmanwillie]

Thing is for a new graduate it's extremely difficult to get a job in a hospital w/o acute care experience unless you have a connection. When I graduate I'll be willing to accept pretty much any pay in order to accumulate acute care nursing experience.

[Kevo]

Thing is for a new graduate it's extremely difficult to get a job in a hospital w/o acute care experience unless you have a connection. When I graduate I'll be willing to accept pretty much any pay in order to accumulate acute care nursing experience.

5-8 years ago everyone was being told to be a nurse. All the boomers will need nurses as they age, etc.

Is there just some huge oversupply now?

Nursing is still the go to "I'm not sure what to do with my life/ I have a degree that I don't know how to monetize" thing to do amongst friends and acquaintances in their mid 20s to early 30s.

Seems like so many people with 4 year degrees in whatever go back for another 2-4 years to be a nurse. Most of the people I know in this demographic are still in nursing school, but it sounds like it could be a rough road ahead for them.

[summit]

5-8 years ago everyone was being told to be a nurse. All the boomers will need nurses as they age, etc.

Is there just some huge oversupply now?

Nursing is still the go to "I'm not sure what to do with my life/ I have a degree that I don't know how to monetize" thing to do amongst friends and acquaintances in their mid 20s to early 30s.

Seems like so many people with 4 year degrees in whatever go back for another 2-4 years to be a nurse. Most of the people I know in this demographic are still in nursing school, but it sounds like it could be a rough road ahead for them.

People get all excited about nursing because they are "bored" or have suffered job insecurity. "There's money in nursing and it is a safe bet!" They hear that from their family members who read some 10x recycled jobs advice article from someone who graduated last in their journalism school. They heard "There will be a nursing shortage!" They all pictured glamorous shots from Scrubs and ER. Nobody read the small print where it said, "shortages highest in long term care nursing and around about 2020 or 2025 assuming that we don't have advances in efficiency through technology or by hiring minimum wage folks with 200 hours of votech school to replace the college professionals wherever possible." But, many people got that "nursing your safe middle class career memo." You see some nursing schools rejecting a higher percentage of applicants than some medical schools and new nursing schools opening and expanding all over the place, many of them shady for-profits.

Nursing is not a present-and-accounted-for desk job, but some combination of physical work and injury hazard (among the highest back injury rates out there), long/weird hours, emotional burdens, dirty work with continuing education thrown on top, a new industry emphasis on customer satisfaction scores, and as much managerial pressure to document care into the computer as to actually care for the patient.
Depending on the specialty, there may be complex analysis and critical thinking and snap-second decisions with major consequences.
A lot of people don't realize this and leave the profession after 1-3 years. Yet, nurses need experience before they are efficient and effective.

So, there is a lack of experienced nurses and there is an overproduction of less desirable new nurses with false expectations who then have to fight each other for rotating part time night shifts at the nursing home hoping that in a year they can maybe get on night shift with the hospital.

Yes, your friends are probably in for a rougher road than they thought. Best of luck to them!

[Z]

Curious: what do they pay in nurses at Bozeman?

Metro areas are competitive, but they have 1000s of inpatient beds needing nurses.
Aren't there the MSU-Bozeman BSN and ABSN programs pumping out nurses? There is one 86 bed hospital for the whole region.

Hey Aaron - never responded to you. She took the test, but in order to get her BC license they are requiring her to take 2 4-day courses at the university. And then take their NCLEX. 3 years to do it. Still undecided there. A bit of money required to make it happen for her.

As for Bozeman, I think Montana is not tops on the pay scale. Even though deaconess has a union.

[Flyoverland Captive]

Anyone have connections in the Bend area? Contemplating a move and my wife is putting out feelers. She's WOCN, currently working in home healthcare...

[Dromond]

People get all excited about nursing because they are "bored" or have suffered job insecurity. "There's money in nursing and it is a safe bet!" They hear that from their family members who read some 10x recycled jobs advice article from someone who graduated last in their journalism school. They heard "There will be a nursing shortage!" They all pictured glamorous shots from Scrubs and ER. Nobody read the small print where it said, "shortages highest in long term care nursing and around about 2020 or 2025 assuming that we don't have advances in efficiency through technology or by hiring minimum wage folks with 200 hours of votech school to replace the college professionals wherever possible." But, many people got that "nursing your safe middle class career memo." You see some nursing schools rejecting a higher percentage of applicants than some medical schools and new nursing schools opening and expanding all over the place, many of them shady for-profits.

Nursing is not a present-and-accounted-for desk job, but some combination of physical work and injury hazard (among the highest back injury rates out there), long/weird hours, emotional burdens, dirty work with continuing education thrown on top, a new industry emphasis on customer satisfaction scores, and as much managerial pressure to document care into the computer as to actually care for the patient.
Depending on the specialty, there may be complex analysis and critical thinking and snap-second decisions with major consequences.
A lot of people don't realize this and leave the profession after 1-3 years. Yet, nurses need experience before they are efficient and effective.

So, there is a lack of experienced nurses and there is an overproduction of less desirable new nurses with false expectations who then have to fight each other for rotating part time night shifts at the nursing home hoping that in a year they can maybe get on night shift with the hospital.

Yes, your friends are probably in for a rougher road than they thought. Best of luck to them!

Don't forget the possibility of frivolous lawsuits by insane patients and being lorded over by 1st year medical residents who know much less than you do!

This seems to mirror what I have heard seen through my SO and her class mates. I'm just glad that she made it to a great hospital, loves the job and is very good at it. It is a really tough job that I couldn't imagine doing. Also, night shift is often required for new nurses - often for many years - and is not a lot of fun.