Career Resources / Best Nursing Opportunities in Portland, Oregon
Nursing is among the most ethical professions. No matter your background or the reasons you chose to become a nurse, when you did so, you knew that the job required empathy, honesty, and integrity, and the longer you’ve worked in the field, the truer that has become. As a nurse you are dedicated to preserving human dignity and helping those for whom you care to achieve the highest possible level of both well-being and autonomy. There are few places where you can work that embodies that belief system more than Portland, Oregon.
Portland has a cherished and well-earned reputation for being friendly and eccentric — “Keep Portland weird” is a local motto— but that’s just another way of expressing the overall sense of joy and energy that imbues the city. Located in the Pacific Northwest, Portland is a city surrounded by natural beauty and loaded with charm and things to do. The city has just over 600,000 residents whose interests range from hiking or snowshoeing on Mount Hood to enjoying strolls through the city’s quirky neighborhoods or visiting the oldest art museum in the Pacific Northwest.
Portland’s residents enjoy all of the benefits that come from being home to many startups: as Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have moved to the city, it has brought many jobs, as well as all of the coffee shops, boutiques, and culture that comes with a young, well-educated population. The town is known for great food, great wine and beer, an efficient and wide-ranging public transportation system, and a bustling bike community: Portland has more residents commuting by bike than any other city in America and has a bike share program provided by Nike.
Types of Healthcare Jobs in Portland
Nurses considering Portland as their future home will benefit from more than the city’s many attractions. They will also find themselves in great demand: Oregon is among the states that have been most impacted by the nursing shortage, and the state is currently working on a program to attract more nurse educators. The facilities that hire nursing professionals hold their skill and knowledge in high esteem and reward it in countless ways. They’ve also been highly ranked in terms of their treatment of diverse patients and employees.
The metropolitan area, which extends to Vancouver, Washington, is home to hospitals that are nationally ranked or highly rated in several specialties and conditions by U.S. News & World Report. It also boasts two nationally ranked children’s hospitals. The Commonwealth Fund, a foundation that advocates for better health care policy, has ranked Oregon 14th in the country for overall health, a measure in part attributable to efforts to improve cost savings and access to employer insurance for ambulatory care.
Portland has many great facilities where registered nurses can find meaningful, rewarding work. Below, you’ll find a few of our top picks for facilities offering generous salaries, benefits, flexibility, and opportunities.
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Legacy Health
Legacy Health is a locally owned, nonprofit health system that provides comprehensive health care services across the Portland and Vancouver metropolitan area. With six hospitals, a full-service children’s hospital, a round-the-clock mental and behavioral health services center, and dozens of primary care, specialty, and urgent care clinics, the system has won the most five-star ratings of all hospitals in the region.
In addition to the services that it provides to the community, Legacy Health is one of the Portland area’s largest employers. Its 14,000 employees and nearly 3,000 healthcare providers take pride in knowing that Forbes named Legacy one of the best large employers in America. The organization embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion, and also believes in rewarding its staff. Nurses are acknowledged as essential to the system’s mission, and this is reflected by the system’s unique R.N. Residency Program to prepare new graduate nurses for their transition into the workplace. Nurses are also offered generous salaries with shift differentials, as well as bonus and relocation assistance. They also offer competitive total benefits packages including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, retirement 403b, paid time off, sick time, and vacation time.
OHSU
OHSU is Oregon’s public academic health center and a premier national research hub. Combining its schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and public health with its affiliated hospitals and clinics throughout Oregon and southwest Washington, it has been named the top hospital in Oregon by U.S. News & World Report and has six specialties ranked among the best in the nation. It also is home to the Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, which is among the top 50 U.S. pediatric facilities in multiple specialty areas. OHSU was designated a Magnet hospital in recognition of the quality of its nursing program.
Nurses working for OHSU receive generous pay, paid time off, health care coverage, and a choice of retirement plans. Many positions are offered hiring bonuses, relocation assistance, and retention incentives.
Cambia Health Solutions
Cambia is a non-profit organization headquartered in Portland and offers multiple health plans to consumers. It employs almost 5,000 employees, including nurses, and has won multiple awards, including being named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, one of the Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America by Springbuk, a Best Managed company by Deloitte, and having earned a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index for LGBTQ+ Workplace Equality by the Human Rights Campaign. In addition to its health care plans, the organization has a palliative care and caregiving division that helps people live as well as possible for as long as possible, and supports family caregivers.
Nurses working for Cambia can expect their compensation to include base pay as well as an exceptional 401(k) match, bonus opportunities, and other benefits. The company offers comprehensive well-being programs and benefits, including annual employer contribution to a health savings account, up to 12 weeks of paid parental time off, furniture and equipment allowance for employees working from home, and up to $225 in Amazon gift cards for participating in various well-being activities.
Beyond these hospitals and employers, Portland’s health care employers include clinics, behavioral health centers, private practices, schools, and more. For information on some of the many exciting opportunities available in Portland, visit Incredible Health’s nursing job search page.
