I am from Philippines and I am a registered nurse here, I would just like to ask what country is the most suitable place to work? I mean to compare UK, USA, NZ, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, where can i have my practice and grow as a the best nurse as i can be and salary, benfits are not compensated...do you know any site where I can compare taxes and salaries etc? thanks so much.. Defently canada, i use to live there. It is easy to find a job and pays great. Crime rate less too there. There are some sites like salarywizard (?) but for real info you hve to research the individual places and jobs
A beginning nurse isnt going to make the same as an experienced so consider that as well in those sites. In the US there are areas of higher pay(ie Ca,,the NE,) but it comes along w high cost of living.In the south, its the other way around...depending on the city etc. The areas in most demand with higher pay in the US are specialty areas like ICU/CCU/NICU.The highest pay will be in acute care hospitals on the evening and or night shifts. The ability to advance depends more on whether you want to get more education.If not already at a masters level, most places will pay you to go to school in the same field, but you are going to have to find the energy and time for it. Hours are punishing and flexibility is not all that great. Areas that have unions are more likely to have better working conditions, but dont count on it anywhere for sure.Once you get on a job you will see more what to look for, as anything they advertise will be mostly hype. The more experience you get, the more you can negotiate for higher pay. Sadly working conditions wont improve after experience.
Working on a contract for a company rather than the hospital itself pays well most offer some benefits,you may need to switch hospitals after 3 mo or so or travel to a new area if you wish.
To get a manager position you dont really need much education, just the ability to do what management wants you to do, which may not always fit intot he values of a dedicated nurse. Providers, (such as MD's), are taught ina culture of disrespect to nurses, though many dont follow exactly that norm, it is still nurtured and tolerated and overlooked by managementand the established ones. Im sure that can be worse inother places, though Ive heard from a Canadian nurse friend that is not as common there.Watch the movie SICKO with Michael Moore to get a clue about the US health system. You will get health insurance but it will not cover everything that the socialized medicine in other countires covers.
The other oddity is that any increase in numbers of male nurses working on a unit generally causes an increase in respectfor nurses and working conditions. Now thats the US. Hurry up, you are needed!
BTW, this is from the front lines after 30 years. There will always be anti-union sentiment,especially in big business-nothing surprising there.
A foreign national such as yourself from a socialized medicine system needs some frame of reference for outr system,so I reference the Sicko movie ,it stimulates discussion.I saw no untruths in it, but there are many views of how and why we got to this point. The US system works to make all players resentful and confused -not knowing who will pay or if it will be paid for is a problem for businesses and consumers,costs spiraling up daily. No system is perfect , ours is very sick now...I think most can agree on that..Take a deep breath and consider your options from objective sources by researching and asking those tough questions and Im sure you'll find something great for you.Don't go crazy on this answers thing! Its all good. The responder no has made some valid points, and some glaring inaccuracies.
You can use cbsalary.com to get an estimate of salaries in certain areas of the US, but understand that their salary surveys are not current estimates. They are, however, in most cases very close.
The salaries are generally higher in the most populated states, as is the need for RNs. Thus the need for RNs is highest in California, as are usually the salaries, but unfortunately the cost of living is also higher. Texas also has a significant shortage of nurses, which is driving the salaries up, but the cost of living in Texas remains moderate.
Most hospitals in the US pay all nurses in the facility on a scale based on experience, thus a new graduate will make less than an experienced nurse. The responder no stated -
"The areas in most demand with higher pay in the US are specialty areas like ICU/CCU/NICU." Usually the nurses working in these areas are the more experienced nurses, they are being paid, in general, for their experience and knowledge and not based on the area of the hospital they work.
No stated - "The highest pay will be in acute care hospitals on the evening and or night shifts." These shifts are considered less desirable as are weekends and holidays so the hospitals pay a differential bonus for working these times.
"The ability to advance depends more on whether you want to get more education." Many nurses advance by moving into supervisory positions, if they want to work in an education or administratrive or advanced practice capacity then they may wish to get a graduate degree in the field of their choice.
"If not already at a masters level, most places will pay you to go to school in the same field, but you are going to have to find the energy and time for it." Due to the need for increasing education in nursing there is usually a federal government program which will pay for the tuition for any nursing field masters, and you don't have to stay in the same area.
"Hours are punishing and flexibility is not all that great." Nurses in the US can work when and where they want. There is a tremendous need for RNs in all areas of health care, and RNs can work the schedule that fits their needs.
"Areas that have unions are more likely to have better working conditions, but dont count on it anywhere for sure." Studies have shown that the presence of unions in the nursing arena have decreased nursing autonomy in those facilities, placed a blue collar mentality into the nurse's minds and decreased the overall feeling of professionalism. Overall the job satisfaction of union nurses has been shown to be lower than that of non-unionized nurses in the US.
"Once you get on a job you will see more what to look for, as anything they advertise will be mostly hype." You can read this statement for the inflammatory intent it obviously shows.
"The more experience you get, the more you can negotiate for higher pay. Sadly working conditions wont improve after experience." All hospitals automatically increase pay based on experience, you can negotiate a salary with any facility where you apply, it is a free market economy. Studies have shown that there is decreased autonomy and professional attitudes in more expereinced nurses who do not further their education.
"Working on a contract for a company rather than the hospital itself pays well most offer some benefits,you may need to switch hospitals after 3 mo or so or travel to a new area if you wish." Often independent contractors and those working as contractors make higher pay in general, but they often have less benefits and the compensation balances out.
"To get a manager position you dont really need much education, just the ability to do what management wants you to do, which may not always fit intot he values of a dedicated nurse." Most health care facilities require a BSN for low level management and prefer a masters for upper level management. In general, while working as a nurse in hospital administration, the nurse will have to make decisions which are in the interest of the health care facility as a whole. This is often a viewpoint not understood by bedside nurses.
"Providers, (such as MD's), are taught in a culture of disrespect to nurses, though many dont follow exactly that norm, it is still nurtured and tolerated and overlooked by management and the established ones. Im sure that can be worse inother places, though Ive heard from a Canadian nurse friend that is not as common there." There will always be some people who do not respect other people. Generally the MDs who are disrepectful of the RNs are also disrespectful of other MDs and DOs and hospital administration. You can't make a person respectful just by telling thm to be nice. Unfortunately, the personality type that generally goes in to medicine in at least borderline narcisistic. But I'm sure that all people are wonderful in Canada.
"Watch the movie SICKO with Michael Moore to get a clue about the US health system. You will get health insurance but it will not cover everything that the socialized medicine in other countires covers." If you want to support an arguement you need to quote someone less controversal and who slants his "documentary" movies. There are issues with US health care, and there are people who do not pay for insurance. The issue becomes for the 67% of the US citizens with health insurance, paying more taxes to receive less efficient health care does not make sense. For the people without health insurance, they feel the US government should pay for health care, but that percentage of the population would not pick up the tax burden for the health care cost. There is no perfect system. It is bad that insurance doesn't cover everything, but at the same time, I don't want to be on the 3 year waiting list for a hernia repair.
"The other oddity is that any increase in numbers of male nurses working on a unit generally causes an increase in respect for nurses and working conditions." This is not an oddity, sociologist will tell you that diversity in the workplace generally improves conditions. In 1978 the US had 1% male RNs, this year a survey of 2 nursing programs showed 24% of the nursing students were males.
Now thats the REAL US.
Finally, RNs are needed in the US. The average salary in moderate to low cost of living areas of the country is $58,000 a year. There is a wide variety of options for RNs to work, and they are used in many capacities. There is a very good market for advanced practice nurses, and Nurse practitioners and Nurse Anesthetist, when working in optimal areas make well over $100,000 per year.
Hope you get the information you need about the other countries, without as much inflammatory information as the responder above provided. I would think the first thing you would need to check would be whether your degree and licensure could be used with retesting in these countries. Otherwise, the other questions don't matter. |
