Anyone know anything about current demand for RNs?

[Tgo01]

My sister will be graduating at the end of December with her BS in nursing. Lately she's been talking about how she's going to move to California because it's really easy to get a job as a nurse there and nurses start out at over 50 dollars an hour and as an RN she doesn't really do much work, she pretty much just delegates work to LPN's. She really has it in her head that she'll basically sit behind a desk all day and just tell everyone what to do. She'll also be almost 40 with her only real experience in the medical field was taking people's blood pressure and weighing them at a doctor's office for a couple of years.

Does she have her sights set a bit high here or does all of this sound likely? I wish her the best and all I just hope she won't be disappointed because she plans to move to California a couple of weeks after graduation and to my knowledge hasn't even looked for a job there yet much less has she been offered a one.

Also her husband has it in his head he's going to move there and make 30 dollars an hour as a tow truck driver.

[Rallorick]

well, she'll be in California, so if the nursing doesn't work out, you know, there's always porn.


(I apologize)

[Tgo01]

There's porn in California?

[Rallorick]

now you want to go too, huh?

[Gelston]

I hate tow trucks, so by association, I also hate your brother in law.

[Tgo01]

now you want to go too, huh?

Maybe...


I hate tow trucks, so by association, I also hate your brother in law.

Where did the bad tow truck touch you?

[Taernath]

RNs = medical field = constant/increasing demand

Both my parents were RNs for, I dunno, 30+ years. For the most part it's not a walk in the park or a sit behind a desk job, especially if she's new to the field.

[Gelston]

Maybe...



Where did the bad tow truck touch you?

On my undercarriage. From my own numbered parking spot. Where I had my parking pass placed exactly where it was supposed to be.

[subzero]

RNs = medical field = constant/increasing demand


Let's see how that holds up with the ACA and socialized healthcare.

[Gelston]

I knew a dude that was an RN on an offshore oil rig. Made pretty damn good money. He stayed out for like 6 months at a time though.

[kutter]

She is completely incorrect in her assessment. LPN's are very limited in what task they can perform, she will not be sitting behind a desk supervising, unless she is working at a nursing home or hospice, in which case she will not be making anything close to $50/hr. California is a union state for nurses, there tend to be a lot of strikes so just tell her to be prepared for work stoppages. If she is flexible and wants to make the most money, she should look into travel nursing or strike response.

[Parkbandit]

I hate tow trucks, so by association, I also hate your brother in law.

Seriously. I love them when you need them.. I just hate it when they are in parking lots, trolling for victims.

[Atlanteax]

I know a nursing graduate who lives in California that has not been able to find a job in nursing. Incidentally, she seems to blame not knowing Spanish well as a reason why.

Edited to add California reference.

[rook rook]

The west coast/pacific northwest/new england job market are not an extremely friendly markets for new graduates at the moment. If she picks up a few years of experience or if the job market changes drastically in the next year or two, she may be able to find something but it's going to be difficult.

RN's in California CAN make ~$50 hour, but unless she seriously lucks out, it's not going to happen. On top of that, landing a $50/hour job in California isn't living high on the hog. Shit is expensive, very expensive, in California.

Doing hardly any work while delegating tasks to LPNs is complete bullshit. I don't know what she has been taught in nursing school, but this perception is absolutely incorrect. If she attempts to do this, the work environment will go toxic on her extremely quickly. If she seriously believes this, she hasn't learned shit in nursing school.

It sounds like she has an idealized view on what being an RN will be and most of her information is either completely wrong or very inaccurate. Unless she deals with these incorrect expectations, she'll likely wash out of the profession with a swiftness.


All that said, there are some places in the country where the RN job market is booming. The midwest and south are particularly strong. I'll be wrapping up an AD:N this spring and I was just offered a job this week at a state psychiatric hospital where I will work as a CNA until I get my RN license. At that time I will be transitioned into an RN position. Easy, peasy. While the pay isn't $50 an hour, it's not shabby and I have state benefits. This scenario would not have panned out in California, Oregon, Washington, or anywhere in New England.

[Jace Solo]

I have to agree with Rook.

Although, in my time in CA I've met more than a few traveling nurses and they do make a pretty good living, but hours are long and hard and she will be paying top dollar for anything in CA.

For example, rent in the midwest/south east is half what it is out here...easy...and that's before utilities, parking, internet, etc.

I'm curious as to what she thinks Doctor's do. Sit behind a desk in an office and delegate to RN's what to delegate to LPN's?

[Parkbandit]

My sister will be graduating at the end of December with her BS in nursing. Lately she's been talking about how she's going to move to California because it's really easy to get a job as a nurse there and nurses start out at over 50 dollars an hour and as an RN she doesn't really do much work, she pretty much just delegates work to LPN's. She really has it in her head that she'll basically sit behind a desk all day and just tell everyone what to do. She'll also be almost 40 with her only real experience in the medical field was taking people's blood pressure and weighing them at a doctor's office for a couple of years.

Does she have her sights set a bit high here or does all of this sound likely? I wish her the best and all I just hope she won't be disappointed because she plans to move to California a couple of weeks after graduation and to my knowledge hasn't even looked for a job there yet much less has she been offered a one.

Also her husband has it in his head he's going to move there and make 30 dollars an hour as a tow truck driver.

Where abouts in California. It's a big fucking state and the cost of living is very different from city to city there.

[4a6c1]

Ooof. I don't know about Cali but here in Rick Perry land healthcare workers barely if at all felt the recession. RN's are in crazy high demand, get neat benefits and even neater on the job specialized training at our research hospitals or countless emergency room/specialized care facilities. And experience would not matter in Houston. The demand is so high the healthcare workers get hired straight out of community college, GPA irrelevant as long as they can pass that board. Many of our female hourly workers have left for this reason and I miss them so much I go to visit them at their hospitals. I go to gloat but always end up "borrowing" those nose tubes that bypass the throat and hurt real bad going in. Real bad. Even with lube.

[Taernath]

Why would you need to 'borrow' an NPA? Do I want to know?

[4a6c1]

What a stupid question. To play of course. Have you ever even *been* to a hospital?! It's just the place they keep toys for grownups.

[Taernath]

I think you and I have very different definitions of the word 'play'.

[4a6c1]

Psh. You act like everyone doesn't want to recreate their favorite episodes of Grey's Anatomy.

[Shaps]

I would not recommend California for anyone honestly. Lived there a few years myself, and I think it's batshit crazy. Find a good midwestern/southern state and make a good living, affordable housing/taxes, nice communities etc.

It's not about how much you make an hour, it's about how much of that you take home and what you can do with what you earn. There are plenty of locations in the US where your $ will go a lot further.

Congrats on her choosing a great career field though. But I do have a concern of an RN that "doesn't want to work to much". Hopefully she is caring enough to provide the health care people deserve, and I'm sure she will once she starts.

[Atlanteax]

I go to gloat but always end up "borrowing" those nose tubes that bypass the throat and hurt real bad going in. Real bad. Even with lube.


I think you and I have very different definitions of the word 'play'.

Welp, at least we now know how Rojo practices her gag-reflex.

[AnticorRifling]

Obviously she never read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

[Latrinsorm]

I have to agree with Rook.

Although, in my time in CA I've met more than a few traveling nurses and they do make a pretty good living, but hours are long and hard and she will be paying top dollar for anything in CA.

For example, rent in the midwest/south east is half what it is out here...easy...and that's before utilities, parking, internet, etc.On the other hand... you have to live in the Midwest/Southeast.

[Gelston]

Obviously she never read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

I read the kid's edition of that when I was 6.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

For the life of me I cannot imagine why anyone in the world would want to live in California. If it fell into the ocean, the world would be a better place for it.

[Gelston]

For the life of me I cannot imagine why anyone in the world would want to live in California. If it fell into the ocean, the world would be a better place for it.

I didn't care much for Cali either. Some people swear by it though. Mostly people from Northern California.