I have been thinking for many months now about moving abroad. After a sad refusal from the New Zealand gov’t I have been considering Puerto Rico to ease the process of immigration, and because I love the culture, beauty, and atmosphere of the island. I work in health care (imaging) but can not find any information about job opportunities. Anybody have some input?
What kind of job market is there for health care professionals in PR?
I have been thinking for many months now about moving abroad. After a sad refusal from the New Zealand gov’t I have been considering Puerto Rico to ease the process of immigration, and because I love the culture, beauty, and atmosphere of the island. I work in health care (imaging) but can not find any information about job opportunities. Anybody have some input?
3 Responses
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Are you from NZ?
Just to let you know, the salaries in PR are much lower than in the USA. PR is considered a poor territory, although it’s more developed than many of the islands of the Caribbean. In the medical field, you could go with a private company, or some of the private hospitals as well. Here are some names of private hospitals in the San Juan area: Hospital Auxilio Mutuo, and Ashford Presbyterian Hospital. The first one is in the Hato Rey area (banking district) the second is in Condado, very touristy, ritzy area. I worked right in front of the hospital and also used it many many times!!!!
As for the private offices, there are several in the Condado area, near the Roosevelt Ave area, and Guaynabo city. I would do an internet search through
Here are some places I know of:
Open M R I of PR
1501 Ave Fernández Juncos
Santurce, PR 00907
Specialized Radiology Associates
617 Dr Manuel Pavia
Santurce, PR
Dr. Tomas Jimenez Robinson
Ashford Medical Center
Santurce 00907
San Patricio Open MRI CT Center (this was very good)
1508 Ave Roosevelt (Hato Rey area)
San Juan
Dr. Roberto J. Sein (excellent radiologist/owner of office)
San Francisco Shopping Center
Rio Piedras
Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital
1451 Ave Ashford
Santurce 00907
tel: 787-721-2160
Hospital Auxilio Muto
Switchboard: 787-758-2000
Radiology Ext. 1358/1216
I moved from PR about 5 yrs ago because of the economic situation of the island. I do know that it’s worse now, even since the gov. almost declared bankrupcy a year ago. They are still in big financial debt, although they imposed a sales tax with the excuse that it would alleviate the economic issues. Just make sure you do the right move!
March 6th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Well, I have good and bad news.
Good news first! Here on the island there are MANY MANY different schools for heathcare. You see, PR has different.. higher standards to get a degree in health care here. Nurses have to know how to perform surgical procedures.. that’s how much you have to know. Therefore, the US loves to get nurses and doctors from PR because they are required to know much more things. Once the US picked up 30 some doctors and nurses to take to the US and work at various VA hospitals around the country.
Bad News
you are competing with people educated in PR. The US doesn’t have as high standards as PR and therefore when you bring your qualifications to the island, many times you will be overlooked. Many many many american students come here to go to med schools around the island. They then have the advantage of taking their higher education to the US and making really good money.
My advice, choose a place to go where the medical standards are lower than the states. This will ensure that your education and qualifications surpass the competition in the other country. ♥ hope this helps.
March 7th, 2009 at 7:14 am
I am not sure where you are from, but US citizens are allowed to live in PR, b/c it is a US territory. It is a beautiful place, but the job market is not great. You do not need to know spanish but it will be hard to get a job if you are not fully bilingual. My mother in law is LPN in puerto rico, however she works in a nursing home, so she doesnt make what she can. she gets somewhere around $8/hr(USD). I am going to give you some links below so you can see open healthcare jobs available see for yourself. GOODLK!