Questions for RN's in Los Angeles (Burbank: 2015, apartment, to rent)

[Shane505]

I'm planning on applying for RN hospital jobs May 2015 in the Los Angeles area. I'm planning to rent an apartment in the Sherman Oaks area or near North Hollywood. I'm planning to attend a songwriting school in Burbank. How long is that commute to downtown Los Angeles or UCLA area at 5 p.m?

I will have 2 years experience Med Surg/Ortho with a little Tele by then with a BSN. Will I be competitive enough for a hospital job in Los Angeles? I have to work in the Los Angeles area because the songwriting school's location, networking purposes, and hopes of breaking into the music industry is the only reason I'm moving to L.A. And I heard you are supposed to live near where you work because traffic is a nightmare.

Okay now let's talk about the union. I work in Texas which is an anti-union state. Mentioning the word union is a good way to get blackballed here lol. But the RNs here could use one with the bad patient/nurse ratios and low pay.

My current interim director is a travel RN and I asked her opinion on union hospitals as she worked in California before. She gave me the pros and cons. The biggest con I heard was that hours are not guaranteed in California because it is state law for California hospitals to be well staffed. So when the census is low they send home nurses. I've never been called off from work because we are always under staffed lol. Having credit card bills and paying high rent in L.A, missing even one day of work a month has me a little worried financially.

Please chime in.

-Will I be able to live a middle class lifestyle (eating out whenever I want and shopping when I want to without worries about the necessities being covered) living in L.A making $75k a year single with no kids in a 800 sq ft studio or one bedroom apt in the Valley?

-What percentage does the union take a bite out of your paycheck?

[nightlysparrow]

Here's a helpful list of area hospitals. RN shortages are listed. However, that does't mean they are hiring. Los Angeles is a huge area. Get ready for lots of driving. Try to to live near freeway junctions. School hours may not jibe with nursing shifts or avoidance of rush hours.

List of Hospitals in Los Angeles County

Unions are not prevalent. The only hospitals in the LA area with unions that I've heard of are the Kaiser and Providence chains and the County. No other information.

Hospitals absolutely and frequently send home nurses anytime they can. You should sign on with some registries to make up the difference. Of course, even they sometimes call you off only 2 hours before a scheduled shift.