the Star-Tribune staff | Posted: Thursday, August 20, 2009 12:00 am
Below are comments from a three-part nurses study conducted by the Research and Planning Section, Wyoming Department of Employment, published 2008.
My husband and I are currently retired and have no interest in moving. Our outdoor lifestyle is best suited for this area and we can travel anywhere we wish. I always look forward to returning to _____. As a nurse, I do feel Casper is a bit behind on the pay scale and I also feel women in Wyoming are not paid equal wages as men. I know the nursing profession is looking at severe shortage and hope some of these inequities will be looked at. I also feel the retired RNs could be a valuable asset if employers will be open minded and creative in the use of RNs.
I have been an RN for 28 years and have lived in many states and countries. This is the lowest paying state. I received more per hour 20 years ago. I don't feel that there is enough activities for adolescent and teenage children to do in this town, therefore we are raising a bunch of mall rats.
I like our community even though there aren't a lot of choices for dining and entertainment. Even with 30 years experiences, I feel insecure in my work environment. Everyone is friendly enough, but there is a clique between some of the docs and staff, which leads to the rest of us feeling insignificant and unimportant. Don't feel they see us as people, nor care about us personally. Don't expect them to be our buddies, but an occasional "how ya doin;" would be nice.
I live and work in Wyoming because I love the place and that is what keeps me here, not the job. Wyoming's rural character and extraordinary recreational opportunities are the best way to attract burned out urban professionals like myself. It worked for me.
I changed jobs from the hospital day/night rotation earning $30/hr with good benefits to an md office because night shifts at age 50 where not possible. I took a $7/hr pay cut which is horrible in a community where the cheapest housing is $250,000. it is a crime not to reward nurses & teachers financially for service to a community.
I live in _____, It's an ugly, unfriendly town in the middle of a dry, parched prairie. The hospital is not by any means adequate, health care wise. The staff is unfriendly, cliquish. I work in _____, as a travel nurse on Med-Surg with awesome people, excellent nurses and would move there in a heartbeat, permanently. My husband was born in _____, his widowed, aging mother lives in _____. I made enough money working overtime as a travel nurse in _____, _____, for 5 mos, in ICU to pay off all the bills and put him in business for himself. I've worked in _____, _____, and now _____ med-surg., and it is the best of all the places I've worked.
When you look at why nurses are not staying in Wyoming, you need to look also at why nursing students are not staying. It is mostly because of pay, opportunities to learn and staffing issues. Physicians also need to learn to work as tem players. I left a position I had in _____ this year because of pay & staffing issues. It appears that some in the medical field do not value experience as worthy of increased pay.
Day care services for a child under 2 is nearly non-existent, medical care is mediocre and seeing a dr in the office for non-emergent care can take 3 wks to 1 month. Mental Health services are barely existent here. Retail shopping is mostly overpriced. There's not much for good restaurants or fairly cheap entertainment. Economic opportunities for single mothers is hard either due to availability of daycare and/or the price of daycare and having enough money to also pay bills.
I recently moved from OR., where I worked in nursing x 8 yrs. I have been appalled by the politics in the medical community here - that ultimately affect patient care. However, I do believe that being in one of those toxic environments is a choice - and that is why I'm going to change positions.
Have been part of this community for 25 yrs - satisfied with current job & husband is now on disability. Would consider moving - but close to retirement & would be easier to wait until them. Have worked in the hospital here - VERY dissatisfied with a clinic - satisfied until the last 2 yrs - then changed to current position. Love the work - but the pay could be better. I've noticed the most satisfying jobs pay the least. The hospitals have low satisfaction with nurses. The job is nothing like it was when I began in the mid-70's. More patients, higher acuity, more paperwork, more stress. Still little respect from doctors & administration. Interaction with the patients is what keeps most of us going.
To keep nurses in Wy., the salary needs to increase to help support mostly women, who are trying to raise a family. These communities are small and most doctors treat nurses with disrespect. Administration will not back nurse because they do not want to displeasure the Dr's that run the facility. As a nurse you are stuck between a rock & a hard place.
Nursing wages in _____ County are SLOWLY rising. In the last calendar year I and 3 other RNs I work with have had to take second, part time jobs to try to make ends meet. None of us lives an extravagant lifestyle. We are just trying to pay our bills. I know that I could make a great deal more money in another state.
I have family out of state & out of town in state. Wages are poor. We cannot build a decent retirement. Nurses are not valued. Wy needs to wake up. To get nurses you will need to increase wages.
I am an RN with 9 yrs of _____ care experience and in this community the wages & benefits offered to nurses are severely behind the other hospitals in the state - and across the US. The cost of living is outrageously high and the wages offered do not reflect this.
With the energy boom the cost of living has skyrocketed & wages have not - the apartment that costs $550 per month 3 years ago, now rents for $1400. Wages in Wyo are particularly low. I made $28/hr in N. Idaho as a new grad. & came to _____ with 5 years experience & was offered $17.00 per hr!
I am desperate for this type of questionnaire. The nursing shortage is critical. My work situation is much worse currently than it was when I started in 1971. I see NO benefit financially or professionally to time and monies spent in earning a bachelor's degree or _____ certification. I will leave nursing after 36 years in august of 2007 - just to go home and recover. Abuse to nurses is rampant and NEVER addressed. I did NOT allow my daughters to attend nursing school. Alternate fields are less abusive to women.
We do not plan to stay in this community after my husband retires in 5 or so years.
I have just started my current position. Prior to this position I have worked in hospitals and at correctional facilities long shifts, poor pay and nursing to patient ration cause an increased rate of burn out and desire to leave nursing all together. This lead to a major cut in pay to have a change while remaining in nursing and entering a less stressful environment.
The cost of housing in _____ is continuing to rise, however the average salary for nurses has not risen. This needs to be addressed.
I have found it necessary to work as a travel RN as I find conditions at the local hospitals unacceptable. I want to live & work in the same community so I may spend more time at home, therefore I am relocating to Virginia.
Coal bed methane and so called economic development have changed the face of Wyoming in the past 25 years since we've lived here. We hate what its done to our land, water, resources and communities. The mountains are the only reason we continue to live in Wyoming.
Our hospital is in a state of flux - community support is dwindling, feeling that our administration is looking at only the bottom line - hidden agendas, trying to force older workers out, no longer a family/community feel. Lots of nurses angry & dissatisfied - afraid to voice opinions, etc. I personally have been threatened by my supervisor with loss of job or LICENSE if I even talk about things going on!! Would I leave if I could?? Oh, yea!! I am already looking at other options, but feel tied to the hospital cause of my salary & need the benefits.
I believe if you are a competent RN it should be difficult to be terminated from employment for no fault of your own. When your family & ties to the community make it difficult to move to an urban area for employment it is difficult to survive. The board of nursing or other agency should make it more difficult for management to surround themselves with friends. If you are not part of the social circle outside of work you are less likely to keep your employment.
I like this small town for raising children due to low crime, but this town is not very friendly. It is almost impossible to make friends, to meet people. Cost of living is getting higher and higher, but salary does not change to match the cost. No shopping malls, no competitions, very small stores, very expensive especially for families.
Plan to leave current community at retirement due to high cost of living, high property taxes, isolation from shopping & cultural activities, far distance from large airport. Will settle near where children are in the future.
The cost of living in _____ has skyrocketed. Property assessment tax went from $850 a year in 2006 to $1150 in 2007. Wages rose 1/5 % - not enough to keep up with the cost of living. MDU [gas company] rose $100 more a month. Water rate rose & gas prices $3.00/gal. Not saving as much money. We are planning on leaving in 2 years. I am a Wyoming Native.
More & more RNs & other professionals are being force to move to other states due to lack of jobs and employers decreasing wages because the demand in these fields are no longer what they were several years ago. The only hospital in _____. Has so many problems and offers no competition for employees as health care professionals nor does it give the patients a choice of where they would like to go for care. The school system here compared to other states is low, keeping many children behind. The school lunches need much improvement as does making elementary school children stay outside in freezing temps until the bell rings.
Community - I feel trapped here living on the 6 acre farm I grew up on. Don't want to sell cause it would break mom's heart though she now lives _____. I would really like to travel again, preferably 13 week contracts but wouldn't want to live anywhere but Wyo. I feel contract nursing would provide outstanding monetary benefits which are not available to nurses in Wy. But the fishing/hunting opportunities I live for are here in Wyo. but not _____ area. Ideally I'd much rather live in _____ or _____. Staffing - Having worked as a travel nurse for a few contracts I've seen understaffing as a "norm." No hospital has ever committed to a nurse patient ration 'til here.
Nurses' salaries lag behind the rest of the country (especially if you factor in the cost of living in a resort community). It seems to me we are headed for a nursing shortage of crisis proportions with more second home buyers and a shrinking working class I this community.
The main thing that caused me to not be "tied to my community" is due to the fact that there is not a vast amount of employment opportunities for my spouse upon completion of his education.
I grew up in _____. I moved back for my father. He died _____. The lack of stuff for teen or children to do here is very poor. Drugs and ATOH is all they have here besides cruising Main. It doesn't mater what religion, status, etc. So I would prefer to move, because my reason for being here is gone and I still have a _____, that I don't want to die.
Due to the nursing salary my husband and I choose to leave Wy and move to state where nurses' wages are more agreeable and cost of living is no different.
Wy is beautiful! However, it's people are not moving towards the future, stagnated and selfish. Predominately, we have the Caucasian & Amer. Indians now & not very well integrated after all these years. Now we have corporations bringing in workers from other countries, buying houses to provide for them. What does that say to us? Then our medical staff Is arrogant, overwhelmed, insufficient. Payments are inadequate for advancements. We all should be very concerned. But most are not. They are here for the fun or for just a summer home. Wyomians need to regroup. Illicit drug use is, for it's population as a whole, out of control! We need to look at Wyoming's youth.
Despite a shortage of nurses, the local hospital management seems to think we have no other choice but to work here because they're the only hospital in town. Pay has stagnated, benefits actually taken away, and worse - continuing education support completely eroded. Our dept. - we have all lost our certificates for lack of hosp. support. A dangerous trend!
I would leave in a heartbeat if my parents would come with us.
Although I do not plan on leaving this community, when our children are grown we plan to travel - better money, more education & sights to see. I feel nursing has had more stringent laws placed d/t the "sue" happy of our nation. The thinking is if its not perfect, the best or the outcome is not to my plan, then "they" did something wrong & who do we blame. I am new to nursing, but have other degrees & have contemplated switching careers d/t the increasing pressure of perfect performance. I do my job to my best each & every time and usually feel there was not enough time spent with my pts or their families. Charting is very time consuming - all for the "sue happy" of our nation.
I like what I do and feel that I am good at it. In my community if you were not born and raised here you don't fit in - Hard to get employment that pays or a job if you're not from here, This is one reason I am a pool/agency nurse - I don't feel it should be RN or LPN, it should be licensed nurse.
2 important issues I feel should be addressed in this community: 1) Lack of respect for profession and education. Management attitude - you can easily be replaced. 2) Low wages in relation to other states, in relation to responsibilities. Thank you for allowing me to voice my opinions.
The biggest problem is nepotism in _____. Too many people hire friends & family and promote based on friendship or family rather than quality employees. This is dangerous, and the #1 reason I will leave Wyoming. It is not safe and it is very prevalent. So long and thanks for all the fish.
I will be leaving this hospital and working miles away in _____. There is too much forced overtime/call, and I am forced to float on a weekly basis. I feel I was lied to when I interviewed at this hospital. Overall staff morale is very low, and management doesn't care! Suggestions for improvement are ignored. This hospital doesn't value its staff. Experience, education and staff preferences of work area are ignored. Instead we are told there are many new Grad Nurses waiting for our jobs. Most of these new grads use this facility to get 1-2 years experience, then leave the area also.
If my family lived somewhere else, I would likely leave _____. _____ is my hometown, but I would like to live where there are more fun things to do i.e. shopping, beach stuff, recreational activities.
I moved from Wyoming to Houston, Texas in June, 2007. I have not began employment at this time. It would be very unlikely to ever go back to Wyoming.
This community offers very little for children - no pools. Have to travel 30 miles to school one way. Mormon community - unaccepting of non-Mormon. Have to travel 100 miles for shopping.
I do not think that I would ever leave nursing. There are too many opportunities to do things within the profession. This community, however, is very limited. As far as opportunities outside of hospital & Dr. office nursing I would leave nursing management.
my kids are all grown (in 12 months) so the only thing keeping me in _____ is my aging parents. When they are gone I would like to be a traveling nurse.
The community is a college town & houses are expensive, there aren't many restaurants or places to shop. I enjoyed the hospital & people I worked with & would have stayed if my sig. other did not have to move for his education. We will be back to Wy. when he is finished in 6 yrs & look forward to coming back.
Commuting to a different community to work is common in Wy. It's an important variable that's not assessed in this survey. Without the ability to commute to a QUALITY facility, I'd have left nursing 18 years ago.
Am strongly considering leaving this community after my husband retires in another year.
My primary reason for moving away would be dislike of the winter climate in current community.
I live in a different town than I work.
This is based on information from a new job I started in Oregon in _____. I left the state of Wyoming because I doubled my salary moving here.
Nursing in my community I love. I have family & financial support from my spouse. If I did not I do not believe I could afford housing on my own. Miners make $30+ hr. as do oilfield workers. The housing market is through the roof and nursing wage is not competitive. This makes affordable housing for nurses difficult & I think some may leave area for that reason.
When first moved to this community I felt that we had good medical care and it was a good place to live. Now the cost of living - everyone is greedy. Medical care is impossible to get unless you use ER for care & staffing in the hospital is continually changing. People go elsewhere to work because the cannot afford to live here on wage paid here. That includes physicians. Especially those that come in to work for 1-2 weeks only every month, but have no vestige in the community or state.
The community I live in is a small town of _____ people. I like it here, like the rural life style, but don't have a restaurant or shopping here - need to drive _____ miles.
Originally from _____. Moved to Wyoming to be able to travel the western states. Working 3 12hr shifts a week allows me to have 3 to 8 days off in a row without taking vacations. My plan is to work in different areas for 3-5 years & relocate. Currently, considering the Montana area. Just finished my third year here.
While talking with nursing students from different settings, it was brought up that one reason why they will not stay in Wy is lack of ed & career opportunities.
I would be interested in exploring other opportunities in the future after daughter graduates from high school to see what other opportunities there are in nursing.
People aren't very warm and caring here like they are in rural Minnesota.
I moved to _____ to be close to my family. I don't miss the stress and worry of a nursing job and due to the fact that _____ has medication techs I may not go back to work as a nurse in _____.
Nursing in WY has limited opportunities and poor pay. That's why I'm going to PA
I am an employee of _____, working in a position not in the patient facility. If I lost my current position I WOULD NOT go back to work in the patient facility. Acuities are too high and staffing is too low. It is an unsafe situation for everyone. I would move away from Cheyenne to avoid working in the facility.
I live in _____ and work in _____. Many RN's, like myself, travel outside our community to work in hospitals other than _____ due to poor treatment & heavy patient loads at that facility.
We located here due to my husband's military assignment _____ years ago. We felt it was a god area to raise our family. We will most likely leave when our daughters finish school.
I live here because my entire family lives here. Without them I would have no reason to live here and would move. For me personally, Wyoming offers me nothing.
I commute to _____ 3 days a week. I work for a new facility where they are focused on magnet status. I feel nurses receive a great deal of respect & are allowed nursing input. Upper management listens to us. The facility provides excellent patient care. Everyone is held accountable for achieving exceptional patient care. The pay scale is higher in _____. Nurses are respected there.
Do not work in Wyoming. Left employment at _____ due to poor management, poor pay, and unsafe working conditions.
Live in Wyoming during the summers. Work in _____ during the winters. The pay is twice as good as it is here and _____
If my husband passed away before I do and none of my children wanted to move here with me, I would move back east to be with them and my 3 sisters who live in _____.
Wyoming needs to support nursing licensure reciprocity to make it easier for nurses to come here. 1) There is a problem with the Board of Nursing. It angered me that they were resistant to my _____ license. So I have chosen to not pursue it here. I keep my _____ license active. 2) I am frustrated with the lack of BSN graduates who choose to stay in Wy.
_____ is a small community, but it's not "home." My spouse and I plan on moving out of Wyoming within the next two years. I do have a year contract with my employer for one year. If not for that, we would have moved. The housing market is unsteady and this could inhibit us from selling our home.
I feel that Wyoming at the time is bringing in a lot of money, but not in some areas, one including medical care. Even though we live here we do ALL of our care in _____ due to the services available. After living elsewhere & working in the healthcare field, we still have a lot of improvement to make to catch up with the rest of the states. Maybe we can look at a nurses' union.
My answers are based on my job now in _____. I have moved from Wyoming in the last year. I continue to work there occasionally. I moved due to the declining work environment at a hospital I worked at. It being the only hospital in the town - I chose to leave instead of continuing to work in institution I no longer believed in.
I stay in this community only for the closeness to my husband's family - cost of living is very high as well as the crime & drug problems.
I wish there were more opportunities for nurses here. The hospital owns the nursing home & several other things; so it is work for them, or for Dr. offices, which are very low paying. And once you have worked for the hospital and left, you are pretty much "shunned" if you try to come back. That is one of the problems with living in a small community.
Plan on moving to a bigger city - husband's job & education as well as employment opportunities to me.
The cost of living has risen considerably in our community over the past few years related to housing & utilities & the pay is not keeping up with the changes. Just two days ago I told a traveler (nurse) that I made between $20-30/hr & her response was, "My God, you guys are really underpaid," as she looked at me with pity. It's very embarrassing. Also makes me want to look into another career or move elsewhere.
Our youngest child will grad UW in 2 yr. He will go to grad school elsewhere, as have our other 3 children. None of our children plan to move back to Wy, so in 2-3 yr we will look for a place. With a airport where we and our children can fly cheaper and where we don't have to worry about family driving Wy winter roads. We will be looking for an area with more diversity.
I am an _____ nurse. Moved here from _____ where I worked at University of _____. It was VERY hard to make the transition from a very large facility to VERY small facility (although the docs here are great). I worked PRN in _____ & _____ & could never get fulltime hours. Now I work very little since my son was born. I see a huge problem in the skills of MOST RNs here when compared to large city hospitals. I don't know how you can fix that problem. The nurses here just aren't exposed to the pts/situations you have in large cities. Another big problem is that you work alone in the ICU/ER here. So you can't learn from other nurses. Also, I HATE that respiratory isn't required to be at hospital 24 hours.
I wonder why Wyoming is behind other states when it comes to furthering education, i.e. Bachelor's, Master's Advanced Practitioner? Why must we as nurses look to colleges and universities in other states for this advancement? We need to bring nursing n Wyoming up to standards higher than all other states. More autonomy. Retention. Opportunity advanced skills.
Moved to Colorado in May 2007.
I feel my husband is overworked due to the lack of physicians in our area. We live in a very harsh weather environment, no choice of schools (no private schools), very high rate of drug abuse, alcoholism and teenage pregnancy. We have no tort-reform here so malpractice insurance for my husband has increased causing many physicians to leave, I am very far away from my family.
Please note that I currently commute 3 hours one way, and am away from home for a week at a time for my job. I do this because of my concerns for patient safety and staffing issues at my former job at _____.
While working in Wyoming 10 months the nurses were great. Most however are planning to leave the area for opportunities elsewhere. Mainly due to the way hospitals' bureaucracy & management treated them. It was one of my worst RN experiences for me in my career the way physicians & management treated me.
I believe wages and insurance should be better for nursing personnel. We all work our time with very little respect or comfort in our futures. I love Wyoming and would like to stay here, but the wages are too low. For all we provide to the community we love our patients and would do anything for them, but we do need to provide our family's comfort as well.
I am aware of nurses' salaries here and I have lived and worked elsewhere and make $12-$15 more an hour but groceries still cost the same at Wal-Mart there as here and housing costs the same there as here yet we make less with a college education than the oil field, methane gas, or coal miners do - just doesn't seem right, does it??
My husband and I were going to move this summer but I couldn't get the job I wanted for the money so we stayed. I plan to leave in about 6 years.
_____ has the opportunity to improve, however, City Council seems to have more members who want this city to remain fairly slow to progress. Nursing salaries are the lowest that I've come across. I've been an RN in _____ and Oregon , all of which are more progressive, especially in mental health which has been my specialty for over _____ years. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to give my input on this survey.
I used to think I had a really good job & it made me want to stay. But after a recent abrupt re-organization, I feel my position is tenuous. They are only looking at saving money to build _____. Nursing is supported but nowhere near as fully as it could be. With our children leaving home, there is little to hold us here & employers at both of our positions (_____ & _____) exhibit absolutely NO LOYALTY to their employees, which will make leaving a lot easier. I will never leave nursing. It is a part of who I am. I plan to work & teach until I am utterly unable.
Wyoming needs desperately to catch up with other areas of the country. Pay for nursing is very low here. Texas pays new grads in nursing $30+ an hour to start. Most places in Wyoming start an RN Grad at $17-20 an hour. Not enough to live on even in Wyoming! It costs an average of $20,000.00 to become an RN. That's a lot to pay back when you have to take care of a family and a home. Especially if you are a single parent!
I wish there were more support for nurses in the communities to get jobs that are satisfying & rewarding.
As soon as son graduates from h.s. and if current job situation stays same, we will leave the state even though I will more than likely make less money elsewhere. I really like my job but the current environment is not tolerable.
Most people increasingly can't afford to live in _____ if not a professional or own their own business. All my children NEVER considered living here after college. They need to go where the money is & that is why we are leaving, to be closer to them, our parents and grandchildren (future). Soon there won't be anyone left to work in the shops and restaurants. The retirees & children of the wealthy don't want to work there. The blue collar workers are being forced out by high land/home prices & how many will want to drive from _____ for a minimum to $10./hr job? Especially with increasing gas prices.
My hospital's administration does not value nurses and our CEO has said we are a dime a dozen & he could find new nurses anytime yet, we are still so short staffed we have 5 travel nurses on my unit alone. We were told we were addicted to travelers like cocaine, like it had nothing to do with wanting to provide safe, good quality patient care. Then all our benefits were cut like no sick time & less vacation time. So I can say I love being a nurse and what I do in my job but I really hate my place of employment and if I didn't have a spouse & children here I would definitely move out of state to make more money & have a better work environment.
I believe Wyo must step up to the plate & improve wages & working conditions in all medical fields. My facility (_____) does not care about patients or staff. They talk the good talk but never walk the talk. This area is truly a good ol boy state & area - too bad - they are losing some great employees with very bright ideas for improvement.
Wyoming has been an excellent place to work for 21 yrs although it is far from our families and friends. We will plan on re-locating closer to family & for our children to attend high school in a university town. We need more nurses with BS degrees here (or ADNs) as I have witnessed shortages throughout my 21 year employment in this town.
I have been considering moving back to Texas only because I miss my family & friends. I love Wyoming so much, I don't think I would.
My husband and I are considering moving to Lander for retirement in 10-15 yrs. Would probably left this hospital if I didn't work in _____ with a good manager. I understand economics is hard for a rural hospital, but it is not much better for the people who work here. The health care community needs to be more flexible and think out of the box to get workers to come to Wyo. & stay. Recruit using our lower crime rate, better environment, lower pt. ratio, better quality of life, etc. _____ is much smaller than Memphis with less variety of nursing, but I like it much better, although like all places it can be frustrating.
If I were alone, I would sell the property and get a senior housing place to live that I can afford on my social security. I may decide to move to SD to be closer to my _____ children and _____ of my _____ grandchildren and _____ great-granddaughter. I may decide to stay near my youngest daughter in _____ and my sister who lives in _____ in Cheyenne, I am very grateful to physically able to work as an RN in a nursing home setting at my age.
Moving from this community depends on many factors. If I did move, it would be to another community approximately this size.
If my husband or myself received a transfer opportunity that would take our family to a bigger community we may consider it.
I love it in the _____ area (except for the high price of housing) but am leaving to work in another state due to management issues in _____ services at _____ Hospital.
Prior to my husband accepting this job in Texas, I worked in _____, first part time then full-time. My job gave us benefits & our only stable income; but I'm 54. The work was physically hard and, as much as we love Wyoming, we moved here for career opportunities for my husband to catch up on saving for retirement.
We have often talked about moving after my daughter graduates from h.s. - just searching for the right area.
Coming from a New England state, the pay scale in this community is very low. It can be discouraging. Having family in a New England state, a move back is not out of the question.
I would move away if my child & grandchild went with me. I would like to live in an area with more opportunity for nursing jobs - more than one hospital to work at so you don't feel trapped.