In range for California staff rolesCalifornia staff postings that state pay run $34/hr to $91/hr, the middle half $43/hr to $72/hr, across 3097 postings.
Registered Nurse (RN) delivering compassionate, high-quality care in a Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) setting. Responsibilities include assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation, documentation of the nursing process, and performing sponge, needle, and instrument counts according to policy. Position is at Plaza Surgery Center, a multi-specialty Ambulatory Surgery Center in Santa Maria, California, managed by Dignity Health. The center operates Monday-Friday with no weekends or holidays.
Neighborhoods+Healthcare professionals frequently settle in the Palisades neighborhood due to its direct proximity to Marian Regional Medical Center, or in nearby established residential tracts such as Cimarron, Hidden Pines, and Preisker Park off Johnson Drive. The Downtown and Town Center area around High Street offers a walkable grid with apartment living near retail corridors, while suburban buyers often favor Tiffany Ranch or cross into unincorporated Old Orcutt and East Orcutt along Clark Avenue for quieter, semi-rural subdivisions.
Healthcare professionals frequently settle in the Palisades neighborhood due to its direct proximity to Marian Regional Medical Center, or in nearby established residential tracts such as Cimarron, Hidden Pines, and Preisker Park off Johnson Drive. The Downtown and Town Center area around High Street offers a walkable grid with apartment living near retail corridors, while suburban buyers often favor Tiffany Ranch or cross into unincorporated Old Orcutt and East Orcutt along Clark Avenue for quieter, semi-rural subdivisions.
Getting around+Daily commutes within the city average under twenty minutes, with Highway 101 serving as the primary north-south artery connecting to surface routes like South Broadway, Main Street, and Clark Avenue. Marian Regional Medical Center is centrally accessible by car, and hospital parking is readily manageable compared to coastal metropolitan hubs. While local Santa Maria Area Transit operates bus lines connecting through the transit center with stops near major shopping and healthcare facilities, overall public transit ridership is minimal and personal vehicles are essential for outer residential tracts and regional travel.
Daily commutes within the city average under twenty minutes, with Highway 101 serving as the primary north-south artery connecting to surface routes like South Broadway, Main Street, and Clark Avenue. Marian Regional Medical Center is centrally accessible by car, and hospital parking is readily manageable compared to coastal metropolitan hubs.
While local Santa Maria Area Transit operates bus lines connecting through the transit center with stops near major shopping and healthcare facilities, overall public transit ridership is minimal and personal vehicles are essential for outer residential tracts and regional travel.
Outdoors+Recreational life revolves around community green spaces like Waller Park, known for its disc golf, duck ponds, and local landmarks, as well as expansive open-space preserves like Los Flores Ranch Park for hiking and mountain biking. Families frequent Preisker Park for its distinctive concrete pirate ship playground, while sports enthusiasts use the Robin Ventura Tee Ball Field and Rotary Centennial Park. Within a half-hour drive, residents access the dramatic coastal dunes of Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve alongside more than a dozen Central Coast beaches.
Recreational life revolves around community green spaces like Waller Park, known for its disc golf, duck ponds, and local landmarks, as well as expansive open-space preserves like Los Flores Ranch Park for hiking and mountain biking. Families frequent Preisker Park for its distinctive concrete pirate ship playground, while sports enthusiasts use the Robin Ventura Tee Ball Field and Rotary Centennial Park.
Within a half-hour drive, residents access the dramatic coastal dunes of Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve alongside more than a dozen Central Coast beaches.
Check the commute at your shift’s start and end, upfront housing costs, and whether moving assistance must be repaid if you leave.
Living in Santa Maria
Santa Maria stands apart from its tourist-heavy Central Coast neighbors as a grounded, working community where healthcare and agriculture anchor daily life. For healthcare professionals joining Marian Regional Medical Center, living in the valley offers unmatched convenience: residential neighborhoods like the Palisades sit right beside the medical campus, while family-friendly enclaves in Preisker Park, Cimarron, and Hidden Pines are mere minutes away. Commutes along Highway 101 or South Broadway average under twenty minutes, bypassing the grueling congestion common in major California metropolitan centers. Life here moves at a relaxed tempo oriented around regional outdoors—from trail runs at Los Flores Ranch Park and afternoons at Waller Park to excursions across the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve. Old Orcutt along Clark Avenue and spots like Naughty Oak Brewing provide welcoming gathering points alongside the region's famous Santa Maria Style barbecue. The city's tradeoffs include modest commercial retail, an understated nightlife, and seasonal agricultural dust, but for nurses seeking short hospital commutes and an authentic Central Coast home base, Santa Maria offers practical stability.
