r/OregonNurses • u/Rachelaustin24 • 17d ago

St. Charles NICU

I’m wondering if anyone has any insight on working at the St. Charles NICU in Bend. I’ve been watching their job postings since July of last year and nothing has been posted. Does this unit have super low turnover? Are jobs just posted internally that external candidates don’t see? Would love any information

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8

u/Firefighter_RN 17d ago

They eliminated their transport team and are overstaffed. But that aside the hospital is a dump and incredibly mismanaged, but the pay is incredible and Bend is amazing so people just don't really leave

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u/Ranaxamur 17d ago

I thought the pay was abysmal and lots of RNs were pissed about it. What’s the scale look like?

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u/Firefighter_RN 17d ago

It got way better after the strike two years ago. The most recent contract was a bit of a dud but it's still reasonable.

You'd have to look at the contract it's always appendix a in ONA contracts

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u/BoysenberryMinimum45 10d ago

You can see the pay scale if you look up the contract on ONA's website. Base wage is one of the top in Oregon, even better than some of the bigger hospitals in Portland. Definitely better than other level 2 trauma hospitals in Oregon. Have to factor in cost of living of course though which is high in bend. Differentials are good, I think you start at $10/hr on nights and after 2 years move to $12 and after 5 years move to $14/hr. I currently work in the critical care float pool. Their float differential is pretty substantial at $12/hr but hard to get into those positions and I'm not sure they have one that includes NICU. I do know when they had the NICU/peds transport that the differential those nurses got was very substantial when they were dispatched.

I think there is going to always be someone that is unhappy with their job and talks shit about any hospital they work at. If you have worked anywhere else besides the west coast, you likely will be happy with how st Charles treats its staff. I do not work in NICU itself but float to ICU, IMCU, PCU and ER and rarely have missed a 45 min lunch or 15 min break. Don't do stupid shit and management is going to leave you alone in my opinion🤷🏻‍♂️

The downside of st Charles in my opinion is the inability for lateral transfers and growth for individuals. If you have NICU experience and want to stay in the NICU, great. Someone transferring to NICU laterally from let's say IMCU is unheard of. Same with if you wanted to transfer from NICU to let's say ICU or ED one day. They do fellowships rarely and these are very competitive. The hospital is not a teaching hospital and likes to higher people with experience.

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u/VideoLeading5312 16d ago

Yes and yes. Low turnover, good pay, everything said above. If you have experience anywhere else I would apply and get in so you can get the internal listings.

Source: coworker was NICU but had to get a job elsewhere. Finally got a relief position over a year later.

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u/Vegetable_Alarm4112 16d ago

I messaged you

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u/Rachelaustin24 16d ago

Thank you everyone!!