San Diego has a well-earned reputation for being a leader in medical research and filling nursing jobs with top-level candidates. It is the home of excellent university hospitals, facilities and research institutes, and San Diego State University is the largest producer of baccalaureate nurses in the county. Some of the major hospitals in the San Diego area are Scripps Mercy Hospital, Sharp Memorial Hospital, and UC San Diego Medical Center.
Parish nurses, also known as church nurses, combine their nursing skills and religious faith to care for fellow members of their religious community. One resource for parish nurses is the International Parish Nurse Resource Center run by Deaconess Parish Nurse Ministries, LLC. The American Nurses Association (ANA) calls parish nursing, faith community nursing. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts excellent, overall job growth for registered nurses. The median annual salary of registered nurses is $62,450; annual salaries are greatly influenced by specialty, experience, region and industry.