BOregon and Minnesota top the list of best states for nurses, according to a report released in April by WalletHub. The personal finance website ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 21 key metrics related to nurses’ opportunity, competition and work environment.
Washington, New Mexico and Maine rounded out the top five.
The most nursing job openings per capita were found in the District of Columbia, New Hampshire and Maine, while the fewest were in Arizona, Nevada and California. The highest annual nursing salaries (with adjustments for cost of living) are in Nevada, Michigan and Minnesota; states with the lowest salary are Maryland, Vermont and Maine.
No matter where they practice, however, nurses face challenges, such as mandatory overtime, overstaffing, unionization and disrespectful behavior. The pay and employment rate are positives.
Janet Rico, Ph.D., assistant dean of Nursing Graduate Programs at Northeastern University’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences, encouraged recent nursing school grads to consider less traditional practice settings such as long-term care and home care programs.
“You will be able to practice to the top of your license, and grow in your ability to think and act independently and collaboratively,” she said.
From the June 6, 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
