Maine is a good example of a state struggling to deal with its nursing workforce. Perhaps the biggest challenge is attracting nurses to rural healthcare at the same time the staffing shortages are addressed at more metropolitan areas, like Portland, Augusta and Bangor. Rural nursing is more heavily impacted by far and less positioned to provide the financial incentives that many urban hospitals are able to afford—ie. sign-on cash bonuses, performance bonuses, and tuition reimbursement.
Maine Medical Center in Portland is the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the state and draws a large number of new nursing grads, as do other major metro hospitals. In fact many student nurses complete their clinicals in these large hospitals. Why? Facilities like these have strong recruitment programs, educational experience, good salaries plus benefits, financial leverages like those mentioned above, and offer younger nurses, especially, the opportunity to work in exciting—teaching centered-- patient care environments and alongside world class physicians and ultra-experienced nurses.
The Maine Board of Nursing is a vital resource for both student nurses as well as professional nurses. Information you’ll find on the website:
The ANA Maine Nurses Association provides professional advocacy to professional nurses working in the state. Members have access to CEs and providers, conferences and educational events, new and important healthcare legislation affecting state nurses and more.
A staff RN in Portland earns an average salary range of $54,800 to $66,500. In Bangor that average range falls a few thousand dollars less. And for an LPN in Portland the average earning range is $35,000 to $42,400.*
*Salary.com