If you’ve never seen Utah’s red rock canyons or its open fields, then you are in for a treat. Hikers, skiers and other sports buffs can find activities in the great outdoors or in cities such as Provo, Park City and Salt Lake. Utah’s health care industry matches its geography – diverse and broad, and they need nurses to work in their hospitals, clinics and other facilities as much as any other state in America. Nurses can find many career and educational opportunities in Utah.

Becoming a Nurse in Utah

The University of Utah in Salt Lake is the place to be for nurses who seek a BSN, MSN or doctoral degree in programs such as acute care, community health and home health. Another large university includes Brigham Young University in Provo, where students can earn their MSN in family care or surgical nursing. Associate degrees are plentiful, and a sampling of schools that offer this degree include Weber State University in Ogden, Salt Lake Community College, and College of Eastern Utah in Price.

Nursing Jobs in Utah

Utah’s largest health care employers include Intermountain Health Care, a nonprofit health system based in Salt Lake City, with over 26,000 employees; Huntsman Cancer Institute, which operates a hospital-based patientcare center in association with the Health Sciences Center at the University of Utah in Salt Lake; and, University of Utah Hospital, which operates three facilities – one of which is the Huntsman Cancer Institute. University Health Care also operates University Hospital and the University Neuropsychiatric Institute as well as 80 general and specialty clinics. These include free-standing facilities like the John A. Moran Eye Center, the University Orthopaedic Center, and the Utah Diabetes Center. The Intermountain Burn Center at University Hospital is the only service of its kind in the Intermountain West. LPN salaries statewide range between $22,000 and $44,000 per year, and RN salaries in Utah range between $42,000 and $93,000 per year. An RN clinician can earn, on average, $61,000 per year.