Overall, the nursing shortage may not be as acute in the Midwest as it is in some other parts of the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics even cited Lima, Ohio as a metropolitan area with one of the highest concentrations of RNs in the country. The May 2007 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, the bureau's most recent statistics available, show that RNs' annual salaries in the Midwest are averaging below the national figure of $62,480 (except in Minnesota, which averages $67,510). Some examples of these salaries are $57, 320 in Ohio, $49,140 in Iowa, and $61,030 in Michigan. The cost of living in many Midwest communities, though, is reasonable, and opportunities are still available.
Minnesota has enacted a state law that limits the amount of overtime nurses can be required to work and prevents hospitals and clinics from discriminating against or dismissing nurses who turn down overtime. Similar legislation is pending in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio, according to the Service Employees International Union Web site.
Midwest hospitals are also well represented in Thomson Reuters Top 100 Hospitals Performance Improvement Leaders 2007, just released by Modern Healthcare. This annual list shows which U.S. hospitals are improving faster than other comparable hospitals. In the category "major teaching hospitals" is University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. The "teaching hospitals" category lists OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois; Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center-South Bend in South Bend, Indiana; and Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas. Among the Michigan hospitals appearing in the "teaching hospitals" category are McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint, Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, and St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac. Meriter Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, also makes that category. Listed among the "large community hospitals" are Rockford Memorial Hospital in Rockford, Illinois; Allegiance Health in Jackson, Michigan; and Genesis HealthCare System in Zanesville, Ohio. Other Midwest hospitals are included in the categories "medium-sized community hospitals" and "small community hospitals."
Your Guide to Job Opportunities in the Midwestern States
Tucson Medical Center
5301 E. Grant Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85712
Contact: Wendy Hendrickson
(800) 526-5353, ext. 43684
Fax: (520) 324-5277
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.tmcaz.com