Nursing Jobs... (Mesa, Maricopa: insurance, lawyer, job market)

[kbeany]

I'm sure this question has been asked before so I apologize in advance. I'm thinking of relocating next summer to the Mesa area. I am a LPN. I plan on doing a bridge program from LPN to RN once I'm settled in. Does anyone know the average salary for LPN's and is there schools around that do bridge programs?

Thank you,
Kathleen

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by kbeany

I'm sure this question has been asked before so I apologize in advance. I'm thinking of relocating next summer to the Mesa area. I am a LPN. I plan on doing a bridge program from LPN to RN once I'm settled in. Does anyone know the average salary for LPN's and is there schools around that do bridge programs?

Thank you,
Kathleen

The biggest bridge program would be (all) of the Maricopa community colleges (they're all affiliated + classes transfer between them). You take your pre-reqs at any of them, then apply at your favorite for "advanced placement" into block 2 or 3 of the RN program. You can go from ADN to BSN at ASU after that if you want. That's the least-expensive option.

The for-profit colleges have their own programs, at a significantly higher cost.

As for Lpn wages, they're all over the place - depending on your background. Figure $20- $30, tipped heavily towards the $20, unless you're a rock-star with lots of experience & skills. You're probably going to be working in LTC - we graduate a lot of nurses in the area, so the hospitals can be picky & most don't want LPNs.

[kbeany]

Awesome! Thanks for the reply. How is the job market for nurses in AZ?

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by kbeany

Awesome! Thanks for the reply. How is the job market for nurses in AZ?

With experience, it isn't bad- if you're new, expect a lot of rejection.

You really need to make a connection in-person for most jobs, sending resumes into the interweb won't get you hired here.

[kbeany]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

With experience, it isn't bad- if you're new, expect a lot of rejection.

You really need to make a connection in-person for most jobs, sending resumes into the interweb won't get you hired here.

That's understandable. My aunt lives in the Mesa area. Plan on going back out there in a few months. Thank you again

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by kbeany

Awesome! Thanks for the reply. How is the job market for nurses in AZ?

I just had a colonoscopy yesterday and during recovery I was speaking to my nurse and I asked him what the current outlook in nursing is as I have a teenage daughter that has expressed some interest in nursing.

He stated that the market is tight if you don't have experience and said several of the RN's he graduated with could not get nursing jobs for two years after they graduated. He stated he just ran into one of his classmates that he graduated with at the mall and was told that person still was not able to land a nursing job. He said there are a lot of jobs if you have experience.

[Vinny536]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

With experience, it isn't bad- if you're new, expect a lot of rejection.

You really need to make a connection in-person for most jobs, sending resumes into the interweb won't get you hired here.

my wife is a new grad, and this is exactly what we are experiencing. it's taking longer than expected for her to find work.

[kbeany]

Originally Posted by Vinny536

my wife is a new grad, and this is exactly what we are experiencing. it's taking longer than expected for her to find work.

Wow, that really sucks. I hope she finds something soon. I would of never guessed it would be difficult to find a nursing job in Arizona.

[Zippyman]

It really isn't the subject of the thread, but for the benefit of those who are considering getting an LPN license, I really need to say a couple of things.

The issue isn't *getting* an LPN license, nor is it *getting* a job. It's tough to get a license, and it's tough to get a job, but that isn't an insurmountable barrier. It is possible to make it through nursing school and get a job.

The real issue in Arizona is, what happens after you get that job & you try to do that job.

Hospitals in the area really don't want LPN's, so you're *going* to be working in Long-Term-Care.

Long-Term-Care facilities in Arizona are owned by a handful of for-profit companies that make their profits primarily by under-staffing those facilities.

There is no legal standard for how many patients a nurse can be assigned, and there are no repercussions for giving a nurse an impossible number of patients. Thirty patients is pretty common, and I know nurses that have had fifty patients assigned to them. That gives you a whopping two-four minutes per-patient to pass medications, assuming you did nothing else, and you will be doing other things. It might sound do-able, but remember, you're checking blood-sugar levels, giving shots, checking bp's & heart rates, crushing meds, giving supplements etc. during your medication pass. In the real-world, you're either taking shortcuts which endanger you license, or working through breaks and lunch periods, and working after the end of your shift - off the clock - which endangers your license.

If the nurse can't handle the patient load, the legal obligation is on the nurse to not accept the assignment. (and in the real-world, you'll be fired for refusing an assignment).

So we have an endless supply of new-grad LPN's, trying to keep those hard-to-get jobs, mega-companies with a profit-motive to under-staff, and no repercussions for putting these nurses into impossible situations.

If you're going to take a job as an LPN in Arizona, you should strongly consider some liability insurance. A policy from NSO is about a hundred bucks a year, and it'll at least pay for your lawyer to help you keep your license in the event something bad happens & you get sold-down the river. Standard operating procedure when something bad happens is to blame the nurse, fire them, and report them to the board of nursing. So you won't get unemployment (you were fired "for cause"), and you'll have to defend your license with $0 in income.

The board of nursing in AZ is primarily a disciplinary board, they are no friend to nurses. The law gives them little leeway for understandable, minor mistakes - so your license is at risk every day you work. If a complaint is filed against you, it is instantly put on the board's website, right next to your name - so finding another job is going to be difficult, and that complaint often takes a year or longer to resolve. The most "minor" complaints take the longest to resolve, so a nurse accused of stealing gets a "speedy" trial, and a nurse accused of a med error gets their license smeared for a year. Most attorneys that represent nurses before the board want a $2,000 retainer for minor cases.

Professional Liability Insurance for nurses, nursing medical malpractice.

The best bet is to stay in school, get the RN, and never go anywhere near LTC in Arizona.

[kbeany]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

It really isn't the subject of the thread, but for the benefit of those who are considering getting an LPN license, I really need to say a couple of things.

The issue isn't *getting* an LPN license, nor is it *getting* a job. It's tough to get a license, and it's tough to get a job, but that isn't an insurmountable barrier. It is possible to make it through nursing school and get a job.

The real issue in Arizona is, what happens after you get that job & you try to do that job.

Hospitals in the area really don't want LPN's, so you're *going* to be working in Long-Term-Care.

Long-Term-Care facilities in Arizona are owned by a handful of for-profit companies that make their profits primarily by under-staffing those facilities.

There is no legal standard for how many patients a nurse can be assigned, and there are no repercussions for giving a nurse an impossible number of patients. Thirty patients is pretty common, and I know nurses that have had fifty patients assigned to them. That gives you a whopping two-four minutes per-patient to pass medications, assuming you did nothing else, and you will be doing other things. It might sound do-able, but remember, you're checking blood-sugar levels, giving shots, checking bp's & heart rates, crushing meds, giving supplements etc. during your medication pass. In the real-world, you're either taking shortcuts which endanger you license, or working through breaks and lunch periods, and working after the end of your shift - off the clock - which endangers your license.

If the nurse can't handle the patient load, the legal obligation is on the nurse to not accept the assignment. (and in the real-world, you'll be fired for refusing an assignment).

So we have an endless supply of new-grad LPN's, trying to keep those hard-to-get jobs, mega-companies with a profit-motive to under-staff, and no repercussions for putting these nurses into impossible situations.

If you're going to take a job as an LPN in Arizona, you should strongly consider some liability insurance. A policy from NSO is about a hundred bucks a year, and it'll at least pay for your lawyer to help you keep your license in the event something bad happens & you get sold-down the river. Standard operating procedure when something bad happens is to blame the nurse, fire them, and report them to the board of nursing. So you won't get unemployment (you were fired "for cause"), and you'll have to defend your license with $0 in income.

The board of nursing in AZ is primarily a disciplinary board, they are no friend to nurses. The law gives them little leeway for understandable, minor mistakes - so your license is at risk every day you work. If a complaint is filed against you, it is instantly put on the board's website, right next to your name - so finding another job is going to be difficult, and that complaint often takes a year or longer to resolve. The most "minor" complaints take the longest to resolve, so a nurse accused of stealing gets a "speedy" trial, and a nurse accused of a med error gets their license smeared for a year. Most attorneys that represent nurses before the board want a $2,000 retainer for minor cases.

Professional Liability Insurance for nurses, nursing medical malpractice.

The best bet is to stay in school, get the RN, and never go anywhere near LTC in Arizona.

That is exactly how it is in Ohio where I work. Most LPN's work in LTC (that's where I work) It's nothing to have 30 to 35 residents to care for. Very sad. I work 12hr shifts 3 days a week. Mistakes happen often. It's a hard field and it's not for everyone.