Land a Nursing Job in Seattle, Washington!
Living and working in Seattle is a dream come true for many people. There’s gorgeous scenery, from the Puget Sound and Lake Washington to Mount Rainier and the Cascades, and more coffee shops per capita than anywhere else in the United States. The region boasts a diverse music scene, fabulous dining, competitive professional sports teams, lovely mild summers and high-tech headquarters of companies like Amazon and Microsoft. And of course, the area is home to tourist spots like the Space Needle, a number of museums, and there’s the Pike Place Market, the area’s most popular visitor destination, which features more than 200 vendors and farmers selling their wares.
With a population of more than 700,000 people, Seattle has a booming healthcare industry. There are more than 10 hospitals and a number of health clinics that offer a wide variety of nursing opportunities. From the University of Washington Medical Center, one of the country’s leading medical research institutions, to Seattle Children’s Hospital, the pediatric referral center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, nurses have many different opportunities to work in Seattle.
Nursing Jobs in Seattle
If you’re interested in working as a nurse in the Seattle area, there are a number of different potential nursing assignments available. That may include nurse practitioner jobs, travel nurse jobs, nurse technician jobs and other types of nursing jobs in Seattle.
Nurse jobs are available in hospitals, specialty practices, family offices, schools and even in sports facilities in the Seattle area. For instance, Soliant currently has needs for interventional radiology nurses, cardiovascular operating room nurses, general OR nurses, ICU nurses, oncology nurses, critical care nurses, and medical-surgical nurses in Seattle. Click here to find available Seattle nursing jobs.
The nursing jobs available in Seattle offer a taste of the Emerald City, with views of surrounding mountains and waterways, and close proximity to the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Museum of Pop Culture, Olympic Sculpture Park and other attractions. For coffee lovers, there are plenty of coffee shops to experience before and after your shifts.
Nurse Salaries in Seattle
Nurses who work in Seattle earn competitive salaries. For instance, an average registered nurse salary in Seattle is $33.37 per hour, or about $5,339 per month and $64,000 per year, according to Payscale. Those with more experience may make more, while those with less experience may make less.
A nurse practitioner salary in Seattle averages about $117,000, but ranges from $108,000 to $127,000, according to Salary.com. Your salary within that range will depend on the type of nursing you’re doing and your level of experience.
Licensing Requirements
To work as a nurse in the state of Washington, you’ll need to acquire a Washington state nursing license. You can do this through the Nursing Commission of the Washington State Department of Health. If you’re a recent nursing school graduate, you’ll need to ask your nursing school to send transcripts to the Department of Health, complete an application, and take the National Council Licensure exam.
If you’re already a licensed nurse in another state (or more than one state), you’ll just need to have your licensure endorsed by the state of Washington, which is a relatively simple process. Once you’ve received a nursing license in Washington, it’s your responsibility to renew it each year, and you can do that up to 90 days prior to your birthday each year.
Washington requires nurses and other health professionals to complete six hours of continuing education in suicide assessment, treatment and management. So if you haven’t completed such training, you may want to get that done if you’re considering a nursing job in Seattle. The state’s Department of Health offers an online list of acceptable suicide training programs to help you fill the requirement.
If you’re already a licensed nurse in another state, you don’t necessarily need to scramble to get a license endorsement in Washington before you’ve been hired; many travel nurse opportunities in Seattle will allow you to interview before completing licensure requirements. Once hired, however, you’ll need to complete the steps to become licensed in Washington. You’ll also need to complete an I-9 form within three business days of starting your travel nurse assignment in Seattle.
