Job potential for new grad RN wanting to relocate to St. Thomas.

there are a few posts on here that deal with hospital jobs, might be a good idea to do a search under the search function-a lot of your questions can be answered there probably

Why don't you look into a travel nurse position first? A 3-6 month stint will give you the perfect opportunity to see if living and working here is the right fit for you. It's an opportunity which people in very few professions can take advantage of and you should leap at it!

Very few, if any travel nursing companies will hire a new graduate with no experience. As a well seasoned Critical Care Nurse considering the move myself,....my advice would be to find a hospital job willing to train you in the highest acuity setting possible in the States, work for a year or two to get the BEST experience possible and then consider an island move. The more skills you bring with you to the island, the better your chances of landing a good job. Maybe someone already working on island will have first hand knowledge for a new graduate wishing to move. My guess is that the hospitals in the USVI probably won't want to pay for the year long training a new graduate requires to be self sufficient. Best of luck!

annie: Have you looked at the SRMC website? http://www.rlshospital.org/Home.aspx
I do know they hire new grads from UVI and have a mentorship program for them. In the old days, travel nurses were prevalent. The new CEO is working hard to increase permanent staff. I think pdmargie has some good advice, but if you are still set on the VI, please look into SRMC! 🙂

thank you! i will look into it, i figure if i save enough money and apply for a VI Liscense months before hand, eventually I find a job that it is a good fit.

Good idea to apply for licensing well beforehand if you decide to make the move as sometimes it takes forever.

http://dlca.vi.gov/

You didn't mention it but have you actually been to the islands? If you've read the vast amount of information available on the pull-down menus top of this page you'll see that a PMV (pre-move visit) is highly recommended before making any serious commitment to moving here.

If you WERE able to secure employment before moving here it would be rather catastrophic to get here and realize within a week or so that you've made a mistake. As has been said many times over on this forum, island living simply isn't for everyone and the attrition rate of newcomers is very high. A concentrated PMV (not a vacation) and, of course, a tour of the hospital, would be well advised.

I'm rather in agreement with Pdmargie that you continue your learning experience stateside for a while. During that period you can make a PMV to see if living and working here really would work for you.

I agree with the idea of acquiring some experience before starting a career here in the USVI. Over the years I have known more than a few medical professionals who have returned to the states after some years here because they felt that the lack of the most up to date equipment available was going to render them feeling obsolete if they had plans to further their career stateside in the future. It may be something to consider and make a PMV even more worthwhile.

I don't know if this is still true --- certainly conditions at SRMC have been steadily improving in my 40 yrs here and do know that the Kimelman Center especially, gets very high praise from many people here.

http://www.rlshospital.org/about_us/three_facilities/charlotte_kimelman_cancer_institute.aspx

you all are pointing out very valid points indeed,

however i feel very strongly about moving there and have well over a year before graduating to do a PMV, and save enough money. I do not intend on this being a permanent move, just a great experience and adventure until progress into my later 20s. I am currently working as a CNA and getting that experience, along with my clinical rotations... will give me enough experience (i think) to be hirable... I am pretty tough girl, and I think any obstacle there would be okay for me. I am just really excited to live such an adventurous lifestyle. There is so much to do...and see in the usvi