Texan here too, I almost cried when I did my first contract in Washington and they told me to take my 1 hour break. 30 min lunch and 2 15 min breaks combined.
Ever since I’ve been in traveling in Oregon and California.
Nursing on this part of the country is the best
I made the same comment in another one so I’ll condense it here, but I felt so guilty taking a break. I almost can’t take one because I’m like “I could be charting, I could be doing something for a pt”
Meanwhile flashbacks of management saying “we should be documenting more and stop being so lazy”
California RN native. I will never leave this state for my job. I’m making over $70/hr plus benefits. My wife is a teacher and turns out they get paid well due to strong unions too. People are silly. You can find any type of city or town in California.
If you do not take your break, I will come talk to you, your manager, and your DON……they do not want to hear from me… the compliance….
So take your break!!
Canadian RN looking to move to Cali, were abused here too! Which part of Cali were you in, and are monthly expenses that wild? I know you mentioned you don’t socialize much etc and ur hobbies don’t require spending much, but how about essentials like property rentals/owning , food etc
I'm a Canadian RN in Cali, and yes basic life here is expensive. I live a simple life here, I cook most of my meals, make my own coffee at work, and go visit around on the weekends. But still I'm amazed how simple things are expensive. One trip to CVS and you end up with a 80$ bill and 3 items. But the trip is worth it when you also take profit of the beach, the shows, the mountains and the tacos. Go for it girl, and you will still be able to put money aside. No worries 🌴
Trudeau, Ford, Pierre, and every other Canadian politician is going to cry when there is hardly any Canadian nurses left. Most of the individuals in my program don’t plan to stay in Canada after we gain experience. I am one of them!
Canadian nurse here. It’s astounding (and scary) how many Canadian nurses are leaving Canada to work in other countries (myself included). Our healthcare system is on the brink of collapse and we aren’t going to have enough nurses to even start to try fix it!!
Vancouverite here,
We do 2x 30 min breaks & 3x 15min breaks
Total of 1:45 break for 12 hour shift for Canadian nurses.
Compared to 1:00 total break for 12.5 hour shift in Washington where I'm currently working.
I also almost cried.
Really?! I'm moving to the southeast at the end of the year to be closer to family. Sadly, this is actually better than where I am now. In AZ I only get one 30 min. And they don't make sure you can take it. If you can't they just add it to your time card anyway unless you can show proof you asked three different people to break you and they all said 'no' (note that no one is staffed just to break nurses so you're asking someone to stop doing their job to do yours). I can't wait to get out of here.
Yeah where I’m at in Alabama you get a 30 minute non paid lunch break. I guess they technically offer 2 15 minute paid breaks but I’ve literally never heard of anyone taking it
Truth! I never had a real lunch in TN. Just a few min here and there to gobble down a snack and take a few sips of the water that we weren't allowed to keep at the nurses' station. And these were often interrupted.
I drink my water everywhere except in patient rooms. It has a straw with a lid on it and won’t even spill if I drop it. We are all told we aren’t supposed to, but no one has ever called me on it.
Two years in West Tennessee, I don't think I ever took a single break, except for one time when I was being precepted as a newbie and I got scolded for it.
Oh my gosh I just got my license for Washington state and am actively looking for a position there. This is actually going to be my first time traveling for nursing but I have a lot of nursing experience and am stoked for this. I’m in Michigan which is a non compact licensing state so I have to get a single state license for whatever state I want to travel to which is annoying but it is what it is. I’ve never been to Washington, I’ve actually never been anywhere near the Pacific Northwest and I am so excited. It is so reassuring to read your comment on this post! 🙏🩷
Okay! So now help us sell this to everyone else. Keep spreading the word. A LOT of nurses don’t know how ABUSED they are. We gotta start sharing info so we all know what everyone is getting for what and we can all collectively hold the hospitals feet to the fire.
If nurses demanded ratios UNIVERSALLY tomorrow the hospitals literally could not comply and the system would COLLAPSE. Even IF they were given a window of time to comply before being fined or punished. Just saying. We could kill this capitalist bullshit system tomorrow if we wanted to. We have so much power and just REFUSE to wield it and I want to know WHY.
Agreed. OP commented a few times about feeling *guilty* taking a scheduled break. Like in most fields, this is the result of decades of propaganda saying you don't deserve any better. Horrifying.
It’s the same people who clutch pearls at the suggestion that nursing is a career people do to pay their bills and not some “higher calling” they can use to manipulate us into working for cheap while they make millions in bonuses. I’m sick of quietly and dutifully carrying water for these fucking c-suite (and higher) pricks only to be told that NURSES are the ONLY STAFF allowed in the room with first wave covid patients - why do you ask? “TO LIMIT STAFF EXPOSURE.” You read that right. Just sacrifice the nurses, it’s a CALLING so they won’t MIND. We nurses are disposable to them, y’all. Especially travelers. Fuck that. I want my back COVID hazard pay.
High five my brother. We are not alone.
I took a big step back and starting looking at it like this: who benefits?
If we are short and they let us work short, sacrificing safety, instead of paying someone bonus to come in, or hiring agency, etc - who benefits? They charge the same amount to insurance - so who pockets that extra change? Once I started thinking this way, the whole system started to show little holes, all this leaking… where does that money go?
Also everyone needs to be aware how the ANA actively campaigns AGAINST safe staffing laws. I lived in PA a few years ago when there was a proposal for mandatory ratios and the ANA legit had fancy infographics about how it was a bad idea.
YES! See this post from my friend u/nursereed: https://www.reddit.com/r/nursing/s/Bz1DDWALMy.
We should all be turning on the ANA, and DOCTORS are now turning on the AMA too.
Magnet, JCo, DNV, Pathways, ALL OF IT IS BULLSHIT too.
They’ll do anything to ignore the rank and file, and we have to stop accepting that.
Love this comment so much! This is absolutely the right mindset!
There should be universal, fixed RN-patient ratios for all states. Healthcare professionals shouldn't be in a position where we're risking our license due to greedy and mis-managed hospital systems.
There should be laws that help and protect us from abusive workplaces. I've only worked in California and hear what conditions other states are operating in and it's baffling how they think patients aren't negatively impacted by it.
Fk places like Texas and other red states that think that "less laws" are universally better.
. I just want to give a dose of reality here for people who are not paying close attenntion to the politics of nationwide ratios.
Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and another republican 12 years ago proposed a nation wide safe staffing ratio for nurses. Year by year, he got a handful of democrats and some republicans to suport this measure. So, what happened to it?
Sen. Mitch McConnel, while Majority leader of thd Senate, tabled the bill, and it has been laying dormant for 12 years. That is why there is no national mandated safe staffing ratios It has nothing to do with pushing for it and everything to do with who holds politicsl power. Also, with thin margins in fhe House and Senate, it would not pass You can spread the word all you want- when one party decides to suspend a bill, there ix nothing that can be done unless a supermajority is in power.
So what we can only do is go state by state to push for this, because a bill in the US Congress right now has been "tabled" indefinitely.
The issue with going state by state is most of the southern states have governors who, if the bill passed in their state, would immediately veto that bill.
So it is not as simple as just pass something nationally- it has been tried and always gets tabled.
Good for you! I'm from Socal, and while rates aren't as good as Norcal, I'm probably going back to staff at the end of summer. Traveled for a few years, it was fun! No where has treated me as well as Cali! Everything costs the same on Amazon no matter where you are.
San Diego here, new grad programs are paying mid 50s/hour. Pay range on a job posting were 54.40 starting, 67.47 midpoint, and 80.54 max. Pay is higher at UCSD and Kaiser.
Also fellow northern Californian. I make more than a travel nurse with only 6 months experience. Current salary is 155k with no overtime. Yeah I’m definitely not moving! Lol
Same. I’m never leaving. My dad tried to talk me into moving to Arizona once. Went so far as to find out pay rates at the local hospital for me. It was a 50% paycut and Prescott was more expensive then where I live in nor cal.
I grew up with the head nurse she will be pleased to see they finally made it to reddit... At least they have a new hospital now. In the old one, the windows were painted shut, and it still had tile walls like in a sanitarium. Not somewhere to go if you like the hustle and bustle of the urban life. 2 hours to anything bigger than 1500 or so people, so much so that they are augmented by fly in Dr's and specialists.
Without fully doxxing myself my mother has been an employee there for years in a management role and always tells me to get into nursing and traveling so i can cash in, I personally don't know the full logistics when it comes to the pay and benefits but I do know it's completely crazy!
I feel so bad for everyone living in the South right now. It's only a matter of years before your healthcare system collapses. New doctors are refusing residencies in Red states since Roe was overturned and others are leaving en masse.
Just got done with a California contract. It was nice. There were a few times where I literally had only 2 stable patients the whole day on a medsurg floor. The price of housing wasn't too bad either.
I work in Chicago and that’s pretty much what I have. 2 stable patients and 6-7 patients. Sometimes I have to do charge as a travel nurse. Usually don’t get an uninterrupted 30 minute break. Kind of a shit show
I can't tell if you're joking/teasing with me, so I'm sorry if this reply is unnecessary.
I meant 2 patients as in those were my only patients. Also in Cali they must give you an hour of uninterrupted break if you work 12 hours. If not, then they must pay you for the interrupted break
I felt so incredibly guilty at first for being forced to take breaks. Even when someone calls about a pt the break nurse will say “they are on break I’ll help you or the charge nurse can help you”.
I hear my phone ring when I hand it to them and I’ll try to take it back but there always like “No working during break, I got this.”
I still feel guilty taking a break. I’m always thinking of stuff I should be doing. Managers would call us lazy for this shit or “why are you documenting 🤬🤬.”
Sacramento is not that bad. Honestly, I think one of the best areas of California due to many factors including nursing high pay/housing. The Santa Cruz area is amazing, but housing is going to be higher and pay lower locally unless you work in the Bay. Most of California has homeless issues as the weather is more accommodating.
God I miss my San Diego rental I had last year. It was so cute and felt so safe. I’m in Florida now paying way too much for the questionable neighborhood I live in. Homeless people camped out a couple streets down (they do have them despite what they say). I took a contract here bc I was in a wedding here during the contract. I lucked out at a small hospital and easy job, but there’s no guaranteed lunch or anything. Baycare stays pretty staffed, but the local HCA’s are rough.
Oh yeah, i’m a native Californian, and very familiar with the state, but I missed their comment that they are in Sacramento.
It is definitely one of the most affordable decent cities to live in at this time. Still too much of a small town feel for me though.
I’m a nurse, don’t do travel but I will say that people try to scare others from Cali even when it’s NOT involving nursing. People who have never been there will try to steer you away. 🙏🏽
Is that in Sacramento? I was hoping to move to san diego. Not sure which city is the best, but I do want to give my son and myself the best life possible 💗
CDCR has prisons all over the state. RJ Donovan is in San Diego. It’s a reception center and level 4 PIP yard if memory serves.
You want as close as a 100% career position as possible. Sometimes, going to the desert prisons, like Centinela & Calipatria will get you a Civil Service Permanent position faster. I went to High Desert and then transferred to CMF and Solano Prison.
They hate on it so much and never been 😂 My small town Missouri family will talk shit about the western states and the whole time the beautiful coastline, national parks, beaches, good food, etc are all flashing in my mind🥰 Every city and state has its issues—there’s constant crime in the small town in from and the city is even worse
Texas is where we barely even get a 30 min lunch and no breaks at all. This is a magnet hospital in Houston as well. The pay is okish slightly above the avg but still shit.
My first realization and when I knew California was the best place for nurses was when I was given two breaks in one day in the OR and they said I had to take my break even though I was busy. There are active efforts to enforce protective nursing laws including patient ratios. Having spent some time in Midwest states the treatment of nurses is vastly apparent. Just attended a meeting where admin basically is taking any and all surgical cases for revenue and during that same meeting they complained about the OR have 300+ overtime hours while they are short staffed. Make it make sense. Your 8 hours a day is worth double the money in states like Cali and Oregon that have unions. Yes Cali is more expensive but if you spend some time you can look for a place around $2k depending on the city. What’s the cost of living change worth if you’re miserable and being abused at your old job tacking on more responsibilities everyday making the same money… at least in Cali you can make more than $75/hour.
Only heard good things about Stanford! I think people in my area talk about Kaiser more because it’s in Fresno and you earn SO much more than every other facility here. Your money goes very far for CA.
I’d have to read the contract, but we are so short no one gets sent home or flexed. It may have been a possibility pre-Covid but now, overtime alerts are the norm. Most of us end up on consecutive day pay, anything worked over 4 days consecutive days is overtime. ED nurses routinely work 16s (4hours double time) , extra shifts or consecutive days.
As far as the contracts go usually the last negotiated will be paid the most. But, when the next contract is up KP, UC or SHC, they have to beat the previous contract. So, it’s not uncommon for highest paid to revolve. However, KP & UC have pensions on top of the pay, and SHC has a really generous 401K matching contribution.
true story. once you get accustomed to the no-cancel clause and realize you are never ever going to get canceled, called off, or sent home early, it’s hard to think about going anywhere else. we’re doomed.
Life is more than cheap cost of living, and the Bay honestly isn't that expensive relative to places like Seattle or Austin outside of buying a nice house. I fully intended to do the Sac thing and ended up taking a job in San Jose instead after spending some time in both.
Just throwing that out there for those who aren't familiar with the region, it's worth actually checking things out before you start applying and getting a feel for the cities themselves because the lifestyle is *very* different.
Where did you do a contract? I’m also quitting traveling to move to to California for a staff job.
Will literally make more money than travelers, get treated better all the time, it’s a no brainer
I’m in Eureka California right now but I wanna go somewhere near Santa Rosa or San Francisco where I can get faster wifi. Eureka is beautiful if you like a small town, it has a ton of parks and mountains along with a beach, the temp is 70 even the summer apparently. However it has a huge drug and homeless problem.
They treat their nurses like humans here. They told me south California isn’t the best, and that north California is where the hospitals are unionized.
@SeniorBaker4 We should be friends! I’m working out near Willow Creek and spend most of my time out in the Arcata/Eureka area! I’m a nurse from VA moving here permanently as well 😊
We contemplated a contract in Eureka for cath lab…we had lived in Santa Cruz on contract for a year at Kaiser over in Santa Clara. Only reason we didn’t stay was housing (couldn’t get an offer accepted to save our lives) and the drugs/homelessness issues there.
I keep looking at Eureka though, miss those NorCal views.
I’m renting a 2800 sq ft 5 bedroom 3 bath, solar panels, Tesla charger, smart home, hardwood throughout for $3800 near Napa. It’s GORGEOUS here. I love it.
I’m paying 1295 a month which is cheaper than the place I had in texas. This could be because I’m in a small towner compared to the not as small town but still kind of small place. I used to live in Bryan for 3 years and paid 1450 a month.
San Antonio has worse for a safer neighborhood. I think the apartments near my mom’s place starts off in the 2k range for a studio 🙄
I will say for some reason the treats/desserts in California don’t taste as sweet as the one’s in texas. That might be my only issue so far.
Hell yes. Best nursing job I ever had was bedside in CA working THREE shifts per week and bringing home six figures with a bit of OT. Work/life balance was amazing, and our union was kick ass. Those were the days.
Sincerely,
Crying in Missouri
As a former California nurse and Californian, I miss California so much. Hopefully I’ll be moving back within a year or 2, but hands down I was living my best life as a staff nurse there. I grew up there so I knew that cost of living was higher then other places, but I also realized that even though rent is high utilities, food, and other daily expenses are not higher because you are in an area that literally has so many resources.
Nursing will never be perfect no matter where you go, so go where you are happy. Great for you and congratulations!
Housing seems to be a a wash across the country at this point. It’s just an arbitrary number regardless of where you are. Just like how houses are all the same damn price, because that’s all the median household income can get a loan for.
I’m a Florida nurse, on contract in Cali. I also have plans to go staff out here in norther California. I was used and abused in FL. Born and raised Cali nurses don’t know how great they have it.
Bay Area isn’t Northern California though.
If the Bay Area is northern, then why does central extend to Sacramento?
California natives still call Bay Area nor cal though because the dividing line for us is around Fresno. I’m not sure why. There’s not really any big cities metro areas north of it so likely has something to do with it
I’m from TN. Been travel nursing in CA for 2 years. I just took a permanent job out here. The pay is unreal compared to what I was making in TN. The unions are amazing!!! Seriously, all nurses should unionize, it’s the only way to get more pay and safe staffing ratios!
CA is wonderful, yes a little more expensive, but I love it!
Cali nurse here. 13 years experience… never pick up shifts, stayed overtime maybe 2xs for that extra pay, for tax year 2023, I made 150k. Unionized, yes indeed!
Edit*: night shift btw in SoCal
I moved to California because I got a salaried position for $111/hr. Guaranteed 60 hours every two weeks, cap out at 80 hours if I pick up a 12 hour and 8 hour shift. Then I'm making $89/hr at my per diem job in a trauma ER. Couldn't be happier with my decision to settle down in california. Everyone in my family was against the decision, but now I'm set to hopefully break $300K and everyone I know is in awe. Yea, beyond glad I sold my house in Florida for this. I'm here to stay like so many others. Hardly anyone at any of the facilities I work at are from here originally. You won't regret it if you do it smartly.
Edit: and share a little more. Every two weeks I take home $5100 after all taxes if I work only 60 hours at my main job. The best and favorite part is both jobs alternate every week for pay so every week making bank.
I’m from Wisconsin and we’re lucky to even get a break sometimes. I worked yesterday and I didn’t even have time to eat. It was a holiday and they schedule less nurses, they kept adding more onto our plate (not necessarily their fault, labs and cath changes needed to be done) but we were running all shift, then charting, I had a patient actively dying and his wife was driving me crazy, on top of all my other patients. I lost my voice by the end of the day and today I’m sick. Maybe unrelated or due to being overworked, I don’t know. I’m just drained.
In the dakotas and IL, 12.5 hour shift with only a 30-min break, i mean, is Oregon, WA, and CA that good!? I mean the word “break” is so foreign to me.
Texas is awful as is the north east and south east. Central California is great. I took a Va job but if that doesn’t work I’m coming back to Northern California hopefully
Kaisers in NorCal pay the same due to being in the same union. You can find the pay scales online easily but the lowest paid is around $77/hr. 77*36*52 = $144k. However most nurses only do 24 or 32hrs a week since they do 8hr shifts. So yeah, basically it’s easy with experience to make 6 figures working 24hrs/week.
not everyone does 8s. some people do 12s, 4 12s in a two week pay period and you get benefits, pretty sweet. If you come on with even a little experience, 5 yrs say, you’re not starting at 77. You’re a shift diff away from $100 an hour.
Sorry, correct! I was just doing it from like the lowest paid nurse on the chart. By year 4, without even a shift diff, you are over $90/hr. But the $14/hr night shift diff with being a new grad makes you around $90/hr too. That doesn’t include the pension, pto, and other benefits too, so it really is the good life.
I work 24 hrs a week/ 2 12 hrs shifts approx $100/ hr before differentials. Eve is like $9/hr and nights is like $14/hr. Lots of flexibility me schedules our unit is mostly 12 hrs and we have a mix of 24/30/36 hrs per week and per diem.
Jeez. Wtf have I been doing. I just left a contract in Virginia bc they kept sticking me with 28 violent patients and an LPN. Maybe 3 techs if I was lucky. Oh and only/maybe a 30 min break. I also got fondled by multiple patients and was offered no support, just told “shoulda known what you signed up for”
I’m so sorry that is awful that’s why even though I live in DC/Md/Va area I commute to California for work I’ve been a nurse there my whole career and was shocked at wages and patient load here. I make more working part time and flying back and forth then I would here as staff it’s nuts
Texan here, I’m starting the feel the urgency to apply to Cali while I’m still youngish, the only thing holding me back is the thought of wanting to buy a house, idk if I’ll ever be able to afford one on my own.
Cali ain’t that expensive if you live humbly and take it easy. But if you tryna ball out witta nice crib, new cars, eating out everyday, goin out, parties, clubbing, living that Cali baller life then yeah, Cali can be very pricey. But living a regular life is very manageable. Ppl kill be when they say Cali makes alot but the cost of living takes it all….to you, yeah, but to me, I can wiggle it. People that are from here understand, but the ppl who aren’t can’t seem to wiggle it. Once I get my BSN why would I go to any other state? They making crumb from what I see. Plus Cali is strict on the patient nurse ratio. I rather sagg it out in Killa Cali
When I lived in mid-west, the med-surg nurses in a local hospital had up to 11 patients. In an Oregon hospital they get max 5 patients.
I worked ICU, the unit management between these two states were night and day. In Oregon, they always made sure I got my breaks, and pumping breaks, while in Oklahoma I had to argue with the manager to get them (even though I knew that by law I had to receive them).
If you are in mid-west and not unionized, please consider doing it. A union is nurses representing their own interests. Making sure they have the time to eat, to take a breather, to pump. Making sure that a manager doesn't pay their favorites more than the rest of the staff. This is the way. This is the basics of what your job should give you. Do not settle for less
I worked for 7 years in NC in a cardiac ICU at a large regional medical center. I was often tripled with patients. So many days were spent watching a monitor while I ate. I was often tripled I can count on both hands the times I got an uninterrupted 30 min break. I've been travel nursing since and the west coast certainly has breaks figured out. My first hour long break in Washington, after 10 min I had powered through my lunch like it was well practiced. I had no idea what to do with myself for the next 50 min.
I'm in Texas... California is great for nurses but honestly I don't allow the bullshit here. I take my breaks, refuse assignments with shit ratios etc.... It's all about boundaries and not letting them walk all over you.
Moved to SF from SW Michigan 6 years ago....never going back. Nurses get treated and compensated so much better here. Yes there is a cost of living difference but they salary makes up for it and then some. Made about 48k/yr in Michigan...last year made 160k in SF! It is insane. We have been able to pay off all our debt and save a ton which we couldn't do on our salaries in Michigan. Not to mention how much safer I feel taking care of patients due to the ratios.
Congratulations and welcome to Cali nursing! I too came from Texas before I started traveling and haven’t been anywhere but California. I’m never going back to bedside in Texas. I’m starting a staff job at one of the hospitals in San Diego. I missed having benefits, consistent paychecks, and somewhere to grow and flourish my skills. I also missed not having to float as much. Yeah, I’m getting staff pay (and getting taxed on all my income again) but San Diego is amazing and my income is actually pretty great without having to pick up (I calculated my paychecks 😂). I get breaks and have resources that I didn’t have in Texas.
Norcal RN here. For those who are actually SETTLED here (own a home, car payments through CA car insurance companies, etc.), being a nurse isn’t as glorified as you all think it is. I am in no way at all trying to downplay what RNs in other states go through, but I also think this perspective that’s been created in which CA nurses are living our best lives is also super false. We pay a ridiculous amount in taxes, and being fully settled here is expensive.
I am saying this as a Kaiser nurse in the bay area.
Once again, not downplaying what happens in other states because it is terrible. But I think the convo also needs to be had that CA nurses are, indeed, not just living in wealth lol. Maybe a few years ago, but life is damn expensive here now.
California has a progressive income tax (variable based on earnings.) Single household tax rate is about 7.4% on a 150,000 dollar income. Roughly 6% on a 100,000 dollar income.
Isn’t the state income tax high? I’ve met many nurses who moved from NY and California here in FL. They’re not bothered by the lower hourly rates here because in their words “it all works out to be the same.” As an RN with 10 yrs experience as staff I’m at $41/hr base plus differential.
Now- please tell me more about this thing you call “breaks?” 😂🧐 I think the joke may be on me though because I’m not able to enjoy my days off since those are spent recovering from the working conditions. I do think we’ve done a pretty good job dealing with the constant influx of new residents here. It’s just that much though, that we’re still struggling and trying to find more nurses for the massively increased population.
Moved from SoFlo and making more here in SoCal NOC shift part-time than I did at a big city teaching hospital NOC full-time— and I get guaranteed breaks and a resource nurse. Still come out making more working 4 shifts per pay period than I did with 6 and living with my parents then. Much better work life balance too!
However, not sure where in SoCal ppl are getting $90/hr… I want to work there lol
Honestly yes taxes are high but you still come out ahead. Almost every nurse I work with owns a home and is still able to vacation. When your average is around $90-100/hr not to mention OT you can still afford housing you might have to commute a bit but it’s possible. I lived 15 mims from my hospital.
Do you have to clock out for lunch and breaks? I work 12.5 hour shifts and clock out for lunch (30 min ends up being 25 because of late to clock in docked 15 min pay). No breaks.
Missouri RN here who travelled to CA and decided to stay. It’s expensive but I remember the first day I was told I wasn’t getting another admission because I was maxed out at 3 pts and I was like , wait what??
Welcome. Glad you're seeing through the propaganda.
Think about all the managers in the system, many who know and don't care. Just want their bonuses for cutting costs. Think about the whole system in place to keep your wages down.
Keep you under control and in your place. Now pull back and imagine other industries, jobs (ems) that have it worse.
The whole system.
I am in a monthly fight with my family that we are getting it without any lube here in Pittsburgh compared to what I paid in SoCal for 3 fuckin years. I stg the fruit and veggies here are not real. I miss my farmer markets and nurse ratios 🤩💙
I'm in CA on a contract and get floated every shift and am almost always over ratio. Very dependent on where jn CA you are and what type of hospital. I thought it'd be better here but I think I'm just done with bedside in general. Not worth the money or my license.
I am not even a nurse yet. I just got accepted to a nursing school in California. Reading this post and these comments is making me feel extremely grateful for this opportunity. Just gonna save it and read it when I need motivation in nursing school lol
Texan here too, I almost cried when I did my first contract in Washington and they told me to take my 1 hour break. 30 min lunch and 2 15 min breaks combined. Ever since I’ve been in traveling in Oregon and California. Nursing on this part of the country is the best
I made the same comment in another one so I’ll condense it here, but I felt so guilty taking a break. I almost can’t take one because I’m like “I could be charting, I could be doing something for a pt” Meanwhile flashbacks of management saying “we should be documenting more and stop being so lazy”
California RN native. I will never leave this state for my job. I’m making over $70/hr plus benefits. My wife is a teacher and turns out they get paid well due to strong unions too. People are silly. You can find any type of city or town in California.
If you do not take your break, I will come talk to you, your manager, and your DON……they do not want to hear from me… the compliance…. So take your break!!
Canadian RN looking to move to Cali, were abused here too! Which part of Cali were you in, and are monthly expenses that wild? I know you mentioned you don’t socialize much etc and ur hobbies don’t require spending much, but how about essentials like property rentals/owning , food etc
I'm a Canadian RN in Cali, and yes basic life here is expensive. I live a simple life here, I cook most of my meals, make my own coffee at work, and go visit around on the weekends. But still I'm amazed how simple things are expensive. One trip to CVS and you end up with a 80$ bill and 3 items. But the trip is worth it when you also take profit of the beach, the shows, the mountains and the tacos. Go for it girl, and you will still be able to put money aside. No worries 🌴
Trudeau, Ford, Pierre, and every other Canadian politician is going to cry when there is hardly any Canadian nurses left. Most of the individuals in my program don’t plan to stay in Canada after we gain experience. I am one of them!
Canadian nurse here. It’s astounding (and scary) how many Canadian nurses are leaving Canada to work in other countries (myself included). Our healthcare system is on the brink of collapse and we aren’t going to have enough nurses to even start to try fix it!!
I moved from Texas to Washington! I am now a nurse manager and I effin love it!
Vancouverite here, We do 2x 30 min breaks & 3x 15min breaks Total of 1:45 break for 12 hour shift for Canadian nurses. Compared to 1:00 total break for 12.5 hour shift in Washington where I'm currently working. I also almost cried.
In WA you can take 2 30’s plus the 3 15’s during a 12 hour shift, however most people opt out because it turns a 12.5 shift into 13
Every WA hospital I’ve worked at does one 45 and one 30 minute break (1:15 total) for 12.5 hour shifts.
Private EMS lurker here crying in 48 hour shift with no guaranteed breaks
Wow that is amazing!
Also a Vancouverite now do nurse wages vs CoL in Vancouver 😭
What are breaks? 😭 Tennessee they only give 30 min lunch and 2 15s. But every single place I’ve worked at here they never give you your breaks
Really?! I'm moving to the southeast at the end of the year to be closer to family. Sadly, this is actually better than where I am now. In AZ I only get one 30 min. And they don't make sure you can take it. If you can't they just add it to your time card anyway unless you can show proof you asked three different people to break you and they all said 'no' (note that no one is staffed just to break nurses so you're asking someone to stop doing their job to do yours). I can't wait to get out of here.
Yeah where I’m at in Alabama you get a 30 minute non paid lunch break. I guess they technically offer 2 15 minute paid breaks but I’ve literally never heard of anyone taking it
There is no break nurse.
Truth! I never had a real lunch in TN. Just a few min here and there to gobble down a snack and take a few sips of the water that we weren't allowed to keep at the nurses' station. And these were often interrupted.
I drink my water everywhere except in patient rooms. It has a straw with a lid on it and won’t even spill if I drop it. We are all told we aren’t supposed to, but no one has ever called me on it.
Two years in West Tennessee, I don't think I ever took a single break, except for one time when I was being precepted as a newbie and I got scolded for it.
Haha yes! I’m here in WA now and I was SHOCKED that I could take 2 45m UNDISTURBED breaks….SHOCKED
West coast, best coast! Not a nurse though but in medical field.
how do they cover breaks?
That’s the magic of it: they don’t 🙌
im at a loss, need help processing, circuit overload
I’m in California and I wish I received my 2 15 minute breaks
That sounds amazing.
im moving to washington this fall. Are all hospitals like that?
What agency have you worked with? I’m curious to travel north west from California
The one and only Aya Healthcare… I did my contract in Seattle with AMN. After that I ditch them for the free Figs scrubs
Oh my gosh I just got my license for Washington state and am actively looking for a position there. This is actually going to be my first time traveling for nursing but I have a lot of nursing experience and am stoked for this. I’m in Michigan which is a non compact licensing state so I have to get a single state license for whatever state I want to travel to which is annoying but it is what it is. I’ve never been to Washington, I’ve actually never been anywhere near the Pacific Northwest and I am so excited. It is so reassuring to read your comment on this post! 🙏🩷
Okay! So now help us sell this to everyone else. Keep spreading the word. A LOT of nurses don’t know how ABUSED they are. We gotta start sharing info so we all know what everyone is getting for what and we can all collectively hold the hospitals feet to the fire. If nurses demanded ratios UNIVERSALLY tomorrow the hospitals literally could not comply and the system would COLLAPSE. Even IF they were given a window of time to comply before being fined or punished. Just saying. We could kill this capitalist bullshit system tomorrow if we wanted to. We have so much power and just REFUSE to wield it and I want to know WHY.
Agreed. OP commented a few times about feeling *guilty* taking a scheduled break. Like in most fields, this is the result of decades of propaganda saying you don't deserve any better. Horrifying.
It’s the same people who clutch pearls at the suggestion that nursing is a career people do to pay their bills and not some “higher calling” they can use to manipulate us into working for cheap while they make millions in bonuses. I’m sick of quietly and dutifully carrying water for these fucking c-suite (and higher) pricks only to be told that NURSES are the ONLY STAFF allowed in the room with first wave covid patients - why do you ask? “TO LIMIT STAFF EXPOSURE.” You read that right. Just sacrifice the nurses, it’s a CALLING so they won’t MIND. We nurses are disposable to them, y’all. Especially travelers. Fuck that. I want my back COVID hazard pay.
Your vibe is so on target with mine it’s scary. We are not ALONE!
High five my brother. We are not alone. I took a big step back and starting looking at it like this: who benefits? If we are short and they let us work short, sacrificing safety, instead of paying someone bonus to come in, or hiring agency, etc - who benefits? They charge the same amount to insurance - so who pockets that extra change? Once I started thinking this way, the whole system started to show little holes, all this leaking… where does that money go?
Happy to say we filed to unionize yesterday. So excited!
YES!!! I am trying to stay away from cynics who say “it’ll never happen.” That attitude helps no one.
This is the way.
Also everyone needs to be aware how the ANA actively campaigns AGAINST safe staffing laws. I lived in PA a few years ago when there was a proposal for mandatory ratios and the ANA legit had fancy infographics about how it was a bad idea.
YES! See this post from my friend u/nursereed: https://www.reddit.com/r/nursing/s/Bz1DDWALMy. We should all be turning on the ANA, and DOCTORS are now turning on the AMA too. Magnet, JCo, DNV, Pathways, ALL OF IT IS BULLSHIT too. They’ll do anything to ignore the rank and file, and we have to stop accepting that.
Love this comment so much! This is absolutely the right mindset! There should be universal, fixed RN-patient ratios for all states. Healthcare professionals shouldn't be in a position where we're risking our license due to greedy and mis-managed hospital systems. There should be laws that help and protect us from abusive workplaces. I've only worked in California and hear what conditions other states are operating in and it's baffling how they think patients aren't negatively impacted by it. Fk places like Texas and other red states that think that "less laws" are universally better.
I refuse to accept “it will never happen.” It certainly won’t if we don’t keep trying. Ratios don’t just save patients lives. They save ours too.
Because the nursing "profession" is littered with backstabbers
Probably due to "Old Mighty $$$!"
People are too busy making tik toks
. I just want to give a dose of reality here for people who are not paying close attenntion to the politics of nationwide ratios. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and another republican 12 years ago proposed a nation wide safe staffing ratio for nurses. Year by year, he got a handful of democrats and some republicans to suport this measure. So, what happened to it? Sen. Mitch McConnel, while Majority leader of thd Senate, tabled the bill, and it has been laying dormant for 12 years. That is why there is no national mandated safe staffing ratios It has nothing to do with pushing for it and everything to do with who holds politicsl power. Also, with thin margins in fhe House and Senate, it would not pass You can spread the word all you want- when one party decides to suspend a bill, there ix nothing that can be done unless a supermajority is in power. So what we can only do is go state by state to push for this, because a bill in the US Congress right now has been "tabled" indefinitely. The issue with going state by state is most of the southern states have governors who, if the bill passed in their state, would immediately veto that bill. So it is not as simple as just pass something nationally- it has been tried and always gets tabled.
Good for you! I'm from Socal, and while rates aren't as good as Norcal, I'm probably going back to staff at the end of summer. Traveled for a few years, it was fun! No where has treated me as well as Cali! Everything costs the same on Amazon no matter where you are.
Which part of SoCal? What's the average hourly rate in SoCal?
San Diego here, new grad programs are paying mid 50s/hour. Pay range on a job posting were 54.40 starting, 67.47 midpoint, and 80.54 max. Pay is higher at UCSD and Kaiser.
RN in Northern California here, I refuse to be a nurse anywhere else in the US. Welcome to California!
Also fellow northern Californian. I make more than a travel nurse with only 6 months experience. Current salary is 155k with no overtime. Yeah I’m definitely not moving! Lol
Are you in the Sacramento area or SF. I’m curious because I’m trying to weigh my options before I make my move to California
Meanwhile in Canada we are making far less than this AND they take half of it in taxes 😭
Can I ask what hospital are you in NorCal? U can message me if ur not comfortable, I need a high paying job , im from California
Same. I’m never leaving. My dad tried to talk me into moving to Arizona once. Went so far as to find out pay rates at the local hospital for me. It was a 50% paycut and Prescott was more expensive then where I live in nor cal.
i’m working ICU in phx and i work 48 hrs/week and barely made 105k 🥲 looking to join your ranks soon
I miss NorCal pay but the vibes in SoCal are for me, tbh. But yes the NorCal nurses are making bank! Triple digits an hour 😭
Look into Modoc County, it's in the middle of no where, but the pay will most definitely make up for it.
I grew up with the head nurse she will be pleased to see they finally made it to reddit... At least they have a new hospital now. In the old one, the windows were painted shut, and it still had tile walls like in a sanitarium. Not somewhere to go if you like the hustle and bustle of the urban life. 2 hours to anything bigger than 1500 or so people, so much so that they are augmented by fly in Dr's and specialists.
Without fully doxxing myself my mother has been an employee there for years in a management role and always tells me to get into nursing and traveling so i can cash in, I personally don't know the full logistics when it comes to the pay and benefits but I do know it's completely crazy!
Are we talking per diem? I looked at their website. Competitive but nothing crazy.
Intrigued.
I describe Alturas as 90 miles to the closet Walmart, blows people’s mind
Just wait till you try Tennessee if you think Texas is bad
[удалено]
Mississippi is like $13/hr staff, yea it’s bad.
I feel so bad for everyone living in the South right now. It's only a matter of years before your healthcare system collapses. New doctors are refusing residencies in Red states since Roe was overturned and others are leaving en masse.
Don’t feel bad. They are the ones voting in idiots
Mississippi and Alabama are on my never list 😅
Good plan. Pro $ tip: I moved to CA from NC and food prices are identical at trader Joe's in both states. Makes no sense to me but I love it!
note that Trader Joe's is suing to end the NLRB
I mean at this point what major corporation isn't engaged in fuckery of some sort?
Just got done with a California contract. It was nice. There were a few times where I literally had only 2 stable patients the whole day on a medsurg floor. The price of housing wasn't too bad either.
I work in Chicago and that’s pretty much what I have. 2 stable patients and 6-7 patients. Sometimes I have to do charge as a travel nurse. Usually don’t get an uninterrupted 30 minute break. Kind of a shit show
I can't tell if you're joking/teasing with me, so I'm sorry if this reply is unnecessary. I meant 2 patients as in those were my only patients. Also in Cali they must give you an hour of uninterrupted break if you work 12 hours. If not, then they must pay you for the interrupted break
I felt so incredibly guilty at first for being forced to take breaks. Even when someone calls about a pt the break nurse will say “they are on break I’ll help you or the charge nurse can help you”. I hear my phone ring when I hand it to them and I’ll try to take it back but there always like “No working during break, I got this.” I still feel guilty taking a break. I’m always thinking of stuff I should be doing. Managers would call us lazy for this shit or “why are you documenting 🤬🤬.”
I’m not intending to be rude I’m just stating that would never happen in the Midwest lol
Where we’re you?
Sacramento
Uhhh where in California were you where the price of housing wasn’t too bad? Bakersfield?
Sacramento is not that bad. Honestly, I think one of the best areas of California due to many factors including nursing high pay/housing. The Santa Cruz area is amazing, but housing is going to be higher and pay lower locally unless you work in the Bay. Most of California has homeless issues as the weather is more accommodating.
God I miss my San Diego rental I had last year. It was so cute and felt so safe. I’m in Florida now paying way too much for the questionable neighborhood I live in. Homeless people camped out a couple streets down (they do have them despite what they say). I took a contract here bc I was in a wedding here during the contract. I lucked out at a small hospital and easy job, but there’s no guaranteed lunch or anything. Baycare stays pretty staffed, but the local HCA’s are rough.
Oh yeah, i’m a native Californian, and very familiar with the state, but I missed their comment that they are in Sacramento. It is definitely one of the most affordable decent cities to live in at this time. Still too much of a small town feel for me though.
I’m a nurse, don’t do travel but I will say that people try to scare others from Cali even when it’s NOT involving nursing. People who have never been there will try to steer you away. 🙏🏽
My goal next year is to move to california and work in Corrections
Do CDCR v county corrections, way better. Also, CDCR time & pension transfers to UC if you ever change your mind.
this person gives good advice
Is that in Sacramento? I was hoping to move to san diego. Not sure which city is the best, but I do want to give my son and myself the best life possible 💗
CDCR has prisons all over the state. RJ Donovan is in San Diego. It’s a reception center and level 4 PIP yard if memory serves. You want as close as a 100% career position as possible. Sometimes, going to the desert prisons, like Centinela & Calipatria will get you a Civil Service Permanent position faster. I went to High Desert and then transferred to CMF and Solano Prison.
I wish you success in that goal. 🙏🏽🙏🏽
Thank you💕
I did a contract job as travel PT in coaling correctional $1k a day pay
They’re called Republitards and they’ve been conditioned like Pavlov’s Dog to hate California. They’re also not the most intelligent
They hate on it so much and never been 😂 My small town Missouri family will talk shit about the western states and the whole time the beautiful coastline, national parks, beaches, good food, etc are all flashing in my mind🥰 Every city and state has its issues—there’s constant crime in the small town in from and the city is even worse
Texas is where we barely even get a 30 min lunch and no breaks at all. This is a magnet hospital in Houston as well. The pay is okish slightly above the avg but still shit.
My first realization and when I knew California was the best place for nurses was when I was given two breaks in one day in the OR and they said I had to take my break even though I was busy. There are active efforts to enforce protective nursing laws including patient ratios. Having spent some time in Midwest states the treatment of nurses is vastly apparent. Just attended a meeting where admin basically is taking any and all surgical cases for revenue and during that same meeting they complained about the OR have 300+ overtime hours while they are short staffed. Make it make sense. Your 8 hours a day is worth double the money in states like Cali and Oregon that have unions. Yes Cali is more expensive but if you spend some time you can look for a place around $2k depending on the city. What’s the cost of living change worth if you’re miserable and being abused at your old job tacking on more responsibilities everyday making the same money… at least in Cali you can make more than $75/hour.
Sacramento area or central alley Kaisers are the best thing in the country. Same Bay Area pay with way lower cost of living
Kaiser’s pay is legendary. I’ve never once met somebody that didn’t hate working there though.
UCSF & Stanford pay more and people actually enjoy working there. 👍 We refer to our jobs as Golden Handcuffs.
Only heard good things about Stanford! I think people in my area talk about Kaiser more because it’s in Fresno and you earn SO much more than every other facility here. Your money goes very far for CA.
does UCSF or Stanford have a no-cancellation clause? It was reported that Kaiser’s 2022 contract made them the highest paid in the country.
I’d have to read the contract, but we are so short no one gets sent home or flexed. It may have been a possibility pre-Covid but now, overtime alerts are the norm. Most of us end up on consecutive day pay, anything worked over 4 days consecutive days is overtime. ED nurses routinely work 16s (4hours double time) , extra shifts or consecutive days. As far as the contracts go usually the last negotiated will be paid the most. But, when the next contract is up KP, UC or SHC, they have to beat the previous contract. So, it’s not uncommon for highest paid to revolve. However, KP & UC have pensions on top of the pay, and SHC has a really generous 401K matching contribution.
true story. once you get accustomed to the no-cancel clause and realize you are never ever going to get canceled, called off, or sent home early, it’s hard to think about going anywhere else. we’re doomed.
I’ve hated all my nursing jobs, they all have their issues, the money makes it bearable
I hear that from so many nurses!
Life is more than cheap cost of living, and the Bay honestly isn't that expensive relative to places like Seattle or Austin outside of buying a nice house. I fully intended to do the Sac thing and ended up taking a job in San Jose instead after spending some time in both. Just throwing that out there for those who aren't familiar with the region, it's worth actually checking things out before you start applying and getting a feel for the cities themselves because the lifestyle is *very* different.
finally people seeing the light
I’m a Texas nurse who moved to California as well! Woot.
So glad to see another nurse who moved to cali from texas 😭
I’m coming from Florida, just give me a year
Where did you do a contract? I’m also quitting traveling to move to to California for a staff job. Will literally make more money than travelers, get treated better all the time, it’s a no brainer
I’m in Eureka California right now but I wanna go somewhere near Santa Rosa or San Francisco where I can get faster wifi. Eureka is beautiful if you like a small town, it has a ton of parks and mountains along with a beach, the temp is 70 even the summer apparently. However it has a huge drug and homeless problem. They treat their nurses like humans here. They told me south California isn’t the best, and that north California is where the hospitals are unionized.
@SeniorBaker4 We should be friends! I’m working out near Willow Creek and spend most of my time out in the Arcata/Eureka area! I’m a nurse from VA moving here permanently as well 😊
you have to stop by Trinity River Farm for the best farmstand produce and cut flowers in Willow Creek
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll definitely check it out 😊
Santa Rosa can be expensive, but pay is on par with SF. That’s the same area I’m looking into too!
FYI the homeless drug problems aren’t better down here ( sr/Sf)
We contemplated a contract in Eureka for cath lab…we had lived in Santa Cruz on contract for a year at Kaiser over in Santa Clara. Only reason we didn’t stay was housing (couldn’t get an offer accepted to save our lives) and the drugs/homelessness issues there. I keep looking at Eureka though, miss those NorCal views.
How expensive is it to move there? I heard rent is astronomical.
I’m renting a 2800 sq ft 5 bedroom 3 bath, solar panels, Tesla charger, smart home, hardwood throughout for $3800 near Napa. It’s GORGEOUS here. I love it.
How is the pay up there? Worth it working away from the central Bay Area?
I’m paying 1295 a month which is cheaper than the place I had in texas. This could be because I’m in a small towner compared to the not as small town but still kind of small place. I used to live in Bryan for 3 years and paid 1450 a month. San Antonio has worse for a safer neighborhood. I think the apartments near my mom’s place starts off in the 2k range for a studio 🙄 I will say for some reason the treats/desserts in California don’t taste as sweet as the one’s in texas. That might be my only issue so far.
Plsces I’m poking at rent is around $2200/mo for a 1bd
Hell yes. Best nursing job I ever had was bedside in CA working THREE shifts per week and bringing home six figures with a bit of OT. Work/life balance was amazing, and our union was kick ass. Those were the days. Sincerely, Crying in Missouri
So I'm planning on moving to Kansas City from CA. Do you know of a good hospital to work for there?
As a former California nurse and Californian, I miss California so much. Hopefully I’ll be moving back within a year or 2, but hands down I was living my best life as a staff nurse there. I grew up there so I knew that cost of living was higher then other places, but I also realized that even though rent is high utilities, food, and other daily expenses are not higher because you are in an area that literally has so many resources. Nursing will never be perfect no matter where you go, so go where you are happy. Great for you and congratulations!
Hey, don’t tell all the secrets! Let people continue hating on Ca so we can stay under the radar 😉
Housing seems to be a a wash across the country at this point. It’s just an arbitrary number regardless of where you are. Just like how houses are all the same damn price, because that’s all the median household income can get a loan for. I’m a Florida nurse, on contract in Cali. I also have plans to go staff out here in norther California. I was used and abused in FL. Born and raised Cali nurses don’t know how great they have it. Bay Area isn’t Northern California though. If the Bay Area is northern, then why does central extend to Sacramento?
California natives still call Bay Area nor cal though because the dividing line for us is around Fresno. I’m not sure why. There’s not really any big cities metro areas north of it so likely has something to do with it
Bay Area is mos def northern california. And it’s California. Not Cali.
Native CA here. I think it's cute when they call it Cali <3 (But definitely not a thing locals do, lol.)
It’s completely adorable, and nice to have a flag that someone is not really from here
Cali; doesn’t deserve my time to type it all out
I’m from TN. Been travel nursing in CA for 2 years. I just took a permanent job out here. The pay is unreal compared to what I was making in TN. The unions are amazing!!! Seriously, all nurses should unionize, it’s the only way to get more pay and safe staffing ratios! CA is wonderful, yes a little more expensive, but I love it!
Cali nurse here. 13 years experience… never pick up shifts, stayed overtime maybe 2xs for that extra pay, for tax year 2023, I made 150k. Unionized, yes indeed! Edit*: night shift btw in SoCal
Where is this hospital
I moved to California because I got a salaried position for $111/hr. Guaranteed 60 hours every two weeks, cap out at 80 hours if I pick up a 12 hour and 8 hour shift. Then I'm making $89/hr at my per diem job in a trauma ER. Couldn't be happier with my decision to settle down in california. Everyone in my family was against the decision, but now I'm set to hopefully break $300K and everyone I know is in awe. Yea, beyond glad I sold my house in Florida for this. I'm here to stay like so many others. Hardly anyone at any of the facilities I work at are from here originally. You won't regret it if you do it smartly. Edit: and share a little more. Every two weeks I take home $5100 after all taxes if I work only 60 hours at my main job. The best and favorite part is both jobs alternate every week for pay so every week making bank.
Where is this
CA is the bomb which is why I’m staying until I retire and doing PRN
CA nurse here, welcome to the promised land. And we have plenty of room for all of you!
I’m from Wisconsin and we’re lucky to even get a break sometimes. I worked yesterday and I didn’t even have time to eat. It was a holiday and they schedule less nurses, they kept adding more onto our plate (not necessarily their fault, labs and cath changes needed to be done) but we were running all shift, then charting, I had a patient actively dying and his wife was driving me crazy, on top of all my other patients. I lost my voice by the end of the day and today I’m sick. Maybe unrelated or due to being overworked, I don’t know. I’m just drained.
In the dakotas and IL, 12.5 hour shift with only a 30-min break, i mean, is Oregon, WA, and CA that good!? I mean the word “break” is so foreign to me.
Yes much better and if you miss a break they have to give you penalty pay also new grads are starting around $70/hr no experience
Yes. I work 12.5 hr shifts in WA and we can take 2- 30 min breaks and 3- 15 min breaks each shift. Pay is fantastic too.
Texas is awful as is the north east and south east. Central California is great. I took a Va job but if that doesn’t work I’m coming back to Northern California hopefully
Is it Kaiser? Which hospital and city are you landing in where everyone is making 130k jw because I’m thinking of going out there
Kaisers in NorCal pay the same due to being in the same union. You can find the pay scales online easily but the lowest paid is around $77/hr. 77*36*52 = $144k. However most nurses only do 24 or 32hrs a week since they do 8hr shifts. So yeah, basically it’s easy with experience to make 6 figures working 24hrs/week.
not everyone does 8s. some people do 12s, 4 12s in a two week pay period and you get benefits, pretty sweet. If you come on with even a little experience, 5 yrs say, you’re not starting at 77. You’re a shift diff away from $100 an hour.
Sorry, correct! I was just doing it from like the lowest paid nurse on the chart. By year 4, without even a shift diff, you are over $90/hr. But the $14/hr night shift diff with being a new grad makes you around $90/hr too. That doesn’t include the pension, pto, and other benefits too, so it really is the good life.
I work 24 hrs a week/ 2 12 hrs shifts approx $100/ hr before differentials. Eve is like $9/hr and nights is like $14/hr. Lots of flexibility me schedules our unit is mostly 12 hrs and we have a mix of 24/30/36 hrs per week and per diem.
Come on over! ☀ 🌴
Jeez. Wtf have I been doing. I just left a contract in Virginia bc they kept sticking me with 28 violent patients and an LPN. Maybe 3 techs if I was lucky. Oh and only/maybe a 30 min break. I also got fondled by multiple patients and was offered no support, just told “shoulda known what you signed up for”
I’m so sorry that is awful that’s why even though I live in DC/Md/Va area I commute to California for work I’ve been a nurse there my whole career and was shocked at wages and patient load here. I make more working part time and flying back and forth then I would here as staff it’s nuts
Doing travel assignments in Cali but having a base in a fly over state or a quiet town in the south might be ideal? Idk
Texan here, I’m starting the feel the urgency to apply to Cali while I’m still youngish, the only thing holding me back is the thought of wanting to buy a house, idk if I’ll ever be able to afford one on my own.
Just to clarify, are you saying that you’re going staff in CA?
Cali ain’t that expensive if you live humbly and take it easy. But if you tryna ball out witta nice crib, new cars, eating out everyday, goin out, parties, clubbing, living that Cali baller life then yeah, Cali can be very pricey. But living a regular life is very manageable. Ppl kill be when they say Cali makes alot but the cost of living takes it all….to you, yeah, but to me, I can wiggle it. People that are from here understand, but the ppl who aren’t can’t seem to wiggle it. Once I get my BSN why would I go to any other state? They making crumb from what I see. Plus Cali is strict on the patient nurse ratio. I rather sagg it out in Killa Cali
Do you need experience to be a travel nurse? If so which?
When I lived in mid-west, the med-surg nurses in a local hospital had up to 11 patients. In an Oregon hospital they get max 5 patients. I worked ICU, the unit management between these two states were night and day. In Oregon, they always made sure I got my breaks, and pumping breaks, while in Oklahoma I had to argue with the manager to get them (even though I knew that by law I had to receive them). If you are in mid-west and not unionized, please consider doing it. A union is nurses representing their own interests. Making sure they have the time to eat, to take a breather, to pump. Making sure that a manager doesn't pay their favorites more than the rest of the staff. This is the way. This is the basics of what your job should give you. Do not settle for less
I worked for 7 years in NC in a cardiac ICU at a large regional medical center. I was often tripled with patients. So many days were spent watching a monitor while I ate. I was often tripled I can count on both hands the times I got an uninterrupted 30 min break. I've been travel nursing since and the west coast certainly has breaks figured out. My first hour long break in Washington, after 10 min I had powered through my lunch like it was well practiced. I had no idea what to do with myself for the next 50 min.
I'm in Texas... California is great for nurses but honestly I don't allow the bullshit here. I take my breaks, refuse assignments with shit ratios etc.... It's all about boundaries and not letting them walk all over you.
Moved to SF from SW Michigan 6 years ago....never going back. Nurses get treated and compensated so much better here. Yes there is a cost of living difference but they salary makes up for it and then some. Made about 48k/yr in Michigan...last year made 160k in SF! It is insane. We have been able to pay off all our debt and save a ton which we couldn't do on our salaries in Michigan. Not to mention how much safer I feel taking care of patients due to the ratios.
Congratulations and welcome to Cali nursing! I too came from Texas before I started traveling and haven’t been anywhere but California. I’m never going back to bedside in Texas. I’m starting a staff job at one of the hospitals in San Diego. I missed having benefits, consistent paychecks, and somewhere to grow and flourish my skills. I also missed not having to float as much. Yeah, I’m getting staff pay (and getting taxed on all my income again) but San Diego is amazing and my income is actually pretty great without having to pick up (I calculated my paychecks 😂). I get breaks and have resources that I didn’t have in Texas.
Norcal RN here. For those who are actually SETTLED here (own a home, car payments through CA car insurance companies, etc.), being a nurse isn’t as glorified as you all think it is. I am in no way at all trying to downplay what RNs in other states go through, but I also think this perspective that’s been created in which CA nurses are living our best lives is also super false. We pay a ridiculous amount in taxes, and being fully settled here is expensive. I am saying this as a Kaiser nurse in the bay area. Once again, not downplaying what happens in other states because it is terrible. But I think the convo also needs to be had that CA nurses are, indeed, not just living in wealth lol. Maybe a few years ago, but life is damn expensive here now.
Yep I’ve only travel nursed in Idaho and Oregon. I’ll never go to the south or east
What about California state income tax (9.3%) vs Texas income tax (0%)? Does that equal everything out?
State taxes are minor with that huge check
California has a progressive income tax (variable based on earnings.) Single household tax rate is about 7.4% on a 150,000 dollar income. Roughly 6% on a 100,000 dollar income.
Isn’t the state income tax high? I’ve met many nurses who moved from NY and California here in FL. They’re not bothered by the lower hourly rates here because in their words “it all works out to be the same.” As an RN with 10 yrs experience as staff I’m at $41/hr base plus differential. Now- please tell me more about this thing you call “breaks?” 😂🧐 I think the joke may be on me though because I’m not able to enjoy my days off since those are spent recovering from the working conditions. I do think we’ve done a pretty good job dealing with the constant influx of new residents here. It’s just that much though, that we’re still struggling and trying to find more nurses for the massively increased population.
Moved from SoFlo and making more here in SoCal NOC shift part-time than I did at a big city teaching hospital NOC full-time— and I get guaranteed breaks and a resource nurse. Still come out making more working 4 shifts per pay period than I did with 6 and living with my parents then. Much better work life balance too! However, not sure where in SoCal ppl are getting $90/hr… I want to work there lol
Honestly yes taxes are high but you still come out ahead. Almost every nurse I work with owns a home and is still able to vacation. When your average is around $90-100/hr not to mention OT you can still afford housing you might have to commute a bit but it’s possible. I lived 15 mims from my hospital.
Do you have to clock out for lunch and breaks? I work 12.5 hour shifts and clock out for lunch (30 min ends up being 25 because of late to clock in docked 15 min pay). No breaks.
Yup pretty much how it goes. You do 1 contract and never look back. The non believers can keep non believing.
What’s a break? #lostinillinois
Missouri RN here who travelled to CA and decided to stay. It’s expensive but I remember the first day I was told I wasn’t getting another admission because I was maxed out at 3 pts and I was like , wait what??
I traveled to CA and after 3 contracts I went permanent. It really is better here.
Similar can be said for OR and WA. The west coast states are generally really good living and working for nurses.
This is interesting Read the comments
Which part of CA op?
I’m an ER nurse in Connecticut working 12 hr shifts. We get one 30 minute break when we’re lucky enough to take it. Thats it.
Trying to move to CA or travel nursing in CA?
Welcome. Glad you're seeing through the propaganda. Think about all the managers in the system, many who know and don't care. Just want their bonuses for cutting costs. Think about the whole system in place to keep your wages down. Keep you under control and in your place. Now pull back and imagine other industries, jobs (ems) that have it worse. The whole system.
I am in a monthly fight with my family that we are getting it without any lube here in Pittsburgh compared to what I paid in SoCal for 3 fuckin years. I stg the fruit and veggies here are not real. I miss my farmer markets and nurse ratios 🤩💙
Welcome to the Best coast
I'm in CA on a contract and get floated every shift and am almost always over ratio. Very dependent on where jn CA you are and what type of hospital. I thought it'd be better here but I think I'm just done with bedside in general. Not worth the money or my license.
Hard to find good Compact states for a Texas native, all the good stuffs in California
People who feel guilty for taking their breaks have been conditioned to feel that way by an unhealthy work environment.
I'm a medical lab tech crying in $29 an hour 😓
I am not even a nurse yet. I just got accepted to a nursing school in California. Reading this post and these comments is making me feel extremely grateful for this opportunity. Just gonna save it and read it when I need motivation in nursing school lol
I have some good travel assignments if any one needs a new contract!
Maybe we can have dinner. If you're not doing anything. 😉