[Chappy2017]

My spouse is an RN-MSN and is a nurse-3 with the VA, with 20 years of experience, he makes 100,000 with NO overtime, he could make more in private, BUT not with the benefits he has with the VA. You could go to nurse 4 or 5 and earn 170,000, BUT with a Ph.D.
I always remind him of the stress level when he was a nurse Mgr. If you are young great, but if your 5 years from retirement, do you need it?
The retirement benefits, my health insurance from his job, as I am retired, but 60 years old.
Job satisfaction is a big consideration and he hates his job. I told him not to change horses this close to retirement. The VA is a union!
Do you like Vegas? Our life here is wonderful, he is much less stressed, BUT, he hates his job. I remember when I had dinner ready and would get the call, that he had to pull a 12-hour. In my 5 years here I have never gotten that call.
100,000+ benefits are not that much, but we have a wonderful life here, other than the fact he HATES his job.

[cmadtmifyb0623]

Unfortunately I am young and I’ve only been a nurse for 1.5 years so I’ve got a long way to go. I graduated and started working as a baby nurse in the pandemic so you can imagine the burnout is real but here I am lol. My fiancé and I do love Vegas and we would love to make it home but I hear a lot about unhappy nurses there but being a happy nurse isn’t always the easiest. What are the typical VA working hours for nurses? I work 3 12s on night shift so my hours are fixed, of course I have worked a handful of 14 hour shifts to catch up on charting though not patient care.

[Chappy2017]

Originally Posted by cmadtmifyb0623

Unfortunately I am young and I’ve only been a nurse for 1.5 years so I’ve got a long way to go. I graduated and started working as a baby nurse in the pandemic so you can imagine the burnout is real but here I am lol. My fiancé and I do love Vegas and we would love to make it home but I hear a lot about unhappy nurses there but being a happy nurse isn’t always the easiest. What are the typical VA working hours for nurses? I work 3 12s on night shift so my hours are fixed, of course I have worked a handful of 14 hour shifts to catch up on charting though not patient care.

Most of the wards do 12 hours, 3 days one week and 2nd week 3-12s and one 8hr to make 40. My spouse is lucky that he does 5-8hr shifts.
He started at the VA right out of LVN school, then got his RN-BSN-MSN. I tried to push him to get his Ph.D. , but he said enough school. He was offered a teaching position at UNLV 2 days a week, 8 hours, 300. each day. When he retires that would be great.
I think he is just going through burnout. With the MSN, he can take a desk job and just bide his time. There was a time he could not sit still and had to be on the floor, but at 58, he's just OLD.
The VA has excellent benefits, but it takes forever to hire someone in, good old fashion red tape. They wonder why they have shortages, but most people can not wait 60-90 days to start work. He transferred from, a VA in Texas, and even the OK on the transfer took 8 weeks.

We love Vegas! I lived in Coconut Grove, Miami, but it just wasn't for me. The best part of Vegas is the weather. In Texas and Fla. the sweat pours off you and you bathe twice a day. The good thing about being a nurse you can live and work anywhere you want.

[Chappy2017]

Sorry, I told you 60-90 days, that was for his transfer. It takes 6-8 months for a new hire. He said if selected for a position, you are sent a questionnaire and to answer all the questions you can, as it means more pay. USAjobs.gov to see the positions open.

[RocketRider]

Originally Posted by WVREDLEG

A registered nurse is not the same as a nurse practitioner. Salaries of one do not compare to the other--no NP would accept RN pay, but every RN would love NP pay.

Things must have gotten better in the last 20 years. I started a NP program but then realized the lack of respect they receive from MDs, the weekends and holidays I would work to cover hospitalized patients, and even though they have much more autonomy than a PA they seldom get to practice it withing a lot of medical groups.

At that time I was able to make NP pay with an extra shift or three during a pay period, OT is a beautiful thing.

When I started traveling the pay was very good, I would say probably equal to or better than some staff NPs.

To the OP, have you considered a travel assignment to LV to see how it is and to get familiar with the area? My last travel assignment was with the IHS in Montana that led to a permanent job and then a transfer to the VA in WA state. And while I am at it, check USA jobs for positions at the VA. the pay may not match the civilian sector but it will be close. Employee saving plan (TSP), holidays, shift differentials and OT may make up the difference. If you want to talk PM me.

bob

[RocketRider]

Originally Posted by Chappy2017

My spouse is an RN-MSN and is a nurse-3 with the VA, with 20 years of experience, he makes 100,000 with NO overtime, he could make more in private, BUT not with the benefits he has with the VA. You could go to nurse 4 or 5 and earn 170,000, BUT with a Ph.D.
I always remind him of the stress level when he was a nurse Mgr. If you are young great, but if your 5 years from retirement, do you need it?
The retirement benefits, my health insurance from his job, as I am retired, but 60 years old.
Job satisfaction is a big consideration and he hates his job. I told him not to change horses this close to retirement. The VA is a union!
Do you like Vegas? Our life here is wonderful, he is much less stressed, BUT, he hates his job. I remember when I had dinner ready and would get the call, that he had to pull a 12-hour. In my 5 years here I have never gotten that call.
100,000+ benefits are not that much, but we have a wonderful life here, other than the fact he HATES his job.

RN job satisfaction at the VA is an issue no matter where it is. I was the Nurse Manager for the ER in Spokane for a few years after being a staff Nurse there about 10 years. I too got a little disenchanted with the Nursing thing so I got a MSN in Nursing Informatics and became a clipboard Nurse. Then came Cerner (first facility) and that job turned to crap over night. I retired.

Even so, I always point people toward the VA for a Nursing Carreer. If they start young enough and manage their TSP properly they can retire as a TSP millionaire. Not to mention the flexibility to try different types of Nursing. I would often hire from within from Behavioral Health, Outpatient and generally anywhere in the facility. Try that in the civilian market!

bob

[RocketRider]

Originally Posted by cmadtmifyb0623

I am a Trauma ICU RN in Florida looking to relocate to Vegas this year. From my understanding, UMC and Sunrise are the only two trauma centers is this right? If not, where else should I look? Not interested in UMC though, I’ve read their Google reviews about their CNO demanding mandatory overtime from their nurses and I’m not about that. Does St Rose have any trauma centers?

The VA pay scales are public knowledge.

https://www.va.gov/ohrm/pay/

I believe Las Vegas is 593. As an ICU Nurse with a BSN and appx 2 years of experience you would come in around a Nurse 2 Step 2 or 3 depending on Certs, etc. Promotions to next step are automatic and happen every 2 years IIRC. Just go to the website and see what the different specialties pay. One thing I forgot to mention was as a Title 38 (RN) you will get 8 hours of annual leave and 4 hours of sick leave per pay period (every 2 weeks) or 208 hours of vacation every year. They do not do PTO like a regular hospital would.

bob

[cmadtmifyb0623]

Originally Posted by RocketRider

The VA pay scales are public knowledge.

https://www.va.gov/ohrm/pay/

I believe Las Vegas is 593. As an ICU Nurse with a BSN and appx 2 years of experience you would come in around a Nurse 2 Step 2 or 3 depending on Certs, etc. Promotions to next step are automatic and happen every 2 years IIRC. Just go to the website and see what the different specialties pay. One thing I forgot to mention was as a Title 38 (RN) you will get 8 hours of annual leave and 4 hours of sick leave per pay period (every 2 weeks) or 208 hours of vacation every year. They do not do PTO like a regular hospital would.

bob

Thank you for this information on the VA. I started in the trauma ICU I am in now in January of this year and before that I came from the trauma intermediate care floor so all I know is trauma lol. But I have been looking at Sunrise's trauma ICU RN job listings. I see they have a ton of openings in the trauma ICU there and they state they require 2 years ICU experience. I'm sure depending on how desperate they are for staff and how well you interview and coming from a level II trauma unit which would be the equivalent to Sunrise may change things. I've interviewed for a few positions in the past that state they want X amount of years experience and I was offered the job without that experience. If that does not work out, I see Sunrise also has trauma intermediate care openings as well so that might be an option for me as well if they are not interested in me for ICU.

[Chappy2017]

Originally Posted by RocketRider

RN job satisfaction at the VA is an issue no matter where it is. I was the Nurse Manager for the ER in Spokane for a few years after being a staff Nurse there about 10 years. I too got a little disenchanted with the Nursing thing so I got a MSN in Nursing Informatics and became a clipboard Nurse. Then came Cerner (first facility) and that job turned to crap over night. I retired.

Even so, I always point people toward the VA for a Nursing Carreer. If they start young enough and manage their TSP properly they can retire as a TSP millionaire. Not to mention the flexibility to try different types of Nursing. I would often hire from within from Behavioral Health, Outpatient and generally anywhere in the facility. Try that in the civilian market!

bob

That is what I remind him of every time he gets disgruntled, his entire nursing career has been at the VA. I remind him that the grass always looks greener on the other side, but the VA has been very good for us.
Here, we live about a mile from the VA, and in Texas, we lived literally across the street from the VA. Living close to where you work cuts down on the stress of driving, especially when you get those 2 AM calls, or pull a 12-hour shift.
It is not a thankless job, we could not go out to eat without someone stopping by our table and thanking him for taking care of their family member.

[cmadtmifyb0623]

I think I have a decent idea on base pay for most of the LV area hospitals. Can anyone speak on differentials (evening, night, weekend, holiday, etc) for their hospitals?