Most excitng (and affordable!) place in California for a newly graduated Registered Nurse from Australia! (Los Angeles: fit in)

[AussieNurse]

Hello!
Im from perth, Western Australia and my partner and I are very very interested in moving to California (or Hawaii..but got bad reviews of it??) when I graduate from UNI as a Registered Nurse.. Nurses don't get paid that much over here, and I have heard good things about California. I want to move somewhere bigger and more exciting, with more going on. I was just wondering where is the best place to go, what is the pay rate of a newly graduated nurse, are there any graduate programs (we have one here for a year after graduating), and where is most expensive/least expensive??

Thanks heaps, and I would really appreciate any feedback!!

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

We would love to have you come work for us in Ventura, California. We are about an hour North of Los Angeles and a half hour South of Santa Barbara on the coast. This is a mild climate usually in the 70 to 80 degree range year round. Ventura was picked as the number 2 surf community in the world a couple years ago by Outdoor magazine. With the decline in real estate homes can be purchased easily within the $300,000 range. Many are going in the $200,000 range. Rents are around $1200 and up for a 2 bedroom apartment.

Community Memorial Hospital is a 240 bed acute care hospital. We also operate Ojai Valley Community Hospital and nine county wide urgent care, family health, centers. We have 2 NICU, a ICU, CCU, 3 Cath Labs with a Cath Lab Recovery Unit, The ER can handle 18 patients with a reserve ER for an additional 5 patients. Additionall services are Cardiac center, GI Lab, Major surgery, Same Day Surgery, a Davinci Surgical Robot Center, Womens Diagnostic and Breast Center, and the Prostate Center of America.

Starting pay is in the $25 and up. I know many Nurses making close to $100,000 a year and some that make over that amount. Just depends on where you are in your career I guess. One thing that I joke with the students is that in addition to the RN innitials they can qualify for some more innitials such as BMW or MB (Mercedes Benz)

[Snort]

Oakland is exciting! But it may not be the kind of excitement you're looking for.
For large cities, consider Santa Monica, San Francisco, and San Diego.
For smaller cities near beautiful surroundings, try Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo.

[AussieNurse]

Thanks heaps for all that! Also another thing, do u have any idea what I have to do to become registered within your nursing board?? I heard there is an exam but I dont know much about it and can't seem to find info! cheers

[esmith143]

This is a very good question. I'm not sure about RNs, but medical doctors are extremely well-paid in this country - 200K to 500K/year, depending on the field (one of the main reasons why our healthcare is the most expensive in the world) - and there's chronic shortage of them, and the reason this situation is maintained is in part because it's impossible or almost impossible for a foreign doctor to get a license to practice here.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Starting pay is in the $25 and up. I know many Nurses making close to $100,000 a year and some that make over that amount.

$25 an hour is long way from making $100K a year unless you're constantly working overtime. And, quite frankly, that's pretty pathetic even for new grad pay ... especially for an expensive coastal area like Ventura.

There are regions of the state ... particularly the Bay Area ... that pay really well. However, the cost of living is higher and, many nurses come from all over the country and even the world to work there so ... the market is actually somewhat saturated now.

From what I understand it is difficult for a new grad to get hired in the Bay Area, and it would probably be more difficult for a foreign nurse as well. I don't know all of the details but there is an exam you'd have to take, etc. and most hopsitals don't want to deal with all of that unless they're really short staffed.

There are other areas of the state where hospitals don't pay as well and, consequently, they're going to be more short staffed and will be more inclined to hire both new grads and foreign nurses. However, those areas aren't as "exciting" ... although the cost of living is cheaper.

[mmouwse]

Look online on the California State Website ( Welcome to the State of California ) to find info on State Exams and licensing. If you don't find the link to the page, just query the "search box".
For Americans in California, you can get your RN (Registered Nurse) education at a 2 year community college, giving you a 2 year Associates Degreee. You must take and pass State Board Exams to get licensed to practice (work) here. I am not certain how people from other countries fit into this. I don't know if we recognize your educational certification and just have you test in or if there are specific requirements you have to fulfill before you can take the state board exam and work here.
You can get a 4 year degree such as BSN (Bachelor's Science in Nursing) at 4year universities that have the program. There may be "distance programs" and online courses. All these should be researchable through the main California State website and/or "Google" online.
Don't forget to research outside these conversational forums on this website for statistical data and info on our states and counties and cities and towns This website is more than just a conversational forum, it is also an Almanc full of info such as statistics on land areas, population, cost of living, climate, topography, potential pay rates, crime, schools, etc.
I hope my post has been helpful to you!
Good Luck !