Registered Nurse | Observation Unit

Centra Care

Saint Cloud, Minnesota

Centra Care is a community hospital.

Eligibility: Sign-on bonus

Posted Jul 7

Shift and hours: Days
Unit and setting: ER · Hospital
License: RN licensemn rn license
Term: Permanent

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License: mn rn license

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What it pays

Against similar roles: In range for Saint Cloud staff RN rolesSaint Cloud staff RN postings that state pay run $40/hr to $43/hr, the middle half $43/hr to $43/hr, across 50 postings.
Sign-on bonus: $3,500

Benefits

The role and schedule

Charge: Charge shifts are part of the role
Floating: Floats to other units
Weekends: Every other weekend

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On your path

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Original listing

Posted on Centra Care’s careers page.

Read full text

Help make a difference in the lives of our patients and find your purpose providing care and dignity to the Observation Unit patient population! The Observation Unit team works closely together on the 14-bed unit. Unit flow is fast-paced with average patient stay less than 24 hours.

Adult patient population has a large variety including medical, cardiac, surgical, post-procedure and outpatient services. Previous experience lending well to this environment include Med-Surg, Emergency Room and Urgent Care. Unit manager is engaged on the unit, working Charge Nurse shifts and pursuing improvement projects identified by nurses.

Schedule Part-time | 32-48 hours every two weeks | Onsite Rotating shifts | 8 &

12 hour shifts | 7am-3:30pm, 7am-7:30pm, 3pm-11:30pm

Every other weekend (Fri-Sun) | rotating holidays Pay and Benefits Pay based on experience and degree Associate/Diploma in nursing starting at $42.86 per hour Bachelor's in nursing starting at $44.34 per hour Master's in nursing starting at $45.82 per hour Pay range: $42.86 - $71.51 per hour Earn extra pay for working evening/night/weekend shifts $3,500 hiring bonus and $5,000 relocation bonus for eligible candidates! Full time

benefits

medical, dental, PTO, retirement, employee discounts and more! Qualifications Graduate from a nursing program and current MN RN license required BSN required within three years Current American Heart Association (AHA) BLS Healthcare Provider card required “I regularly hear staff from outside of our department say that they like floating to the Observation Unit because the teamwork is good. The patient turnover is faster than the inpatient units .” - Manager, Observation Unit To be eligible for the hiring and relocation bonus you must be an external candidate who is hired into an eligible full or part time benefited position.

Previous employees qualify if they have not worked for CentraCare for at least 9 months at the date of hire. To be eligible for the relocation bonus, you must currently reside more than 50 miles away from St. Cloud Hospital and relocate to within 30 miles of it. CentraCare hiring incentives to include but not limited to, hiring and relocation bonuses may be discontinued at any time.

Please apply below so we can start the conversation. You're also welcome to contact our recruiter for this role before or after you apply. Patty McNary can be reached at 320-251-2700 x 54745 or mcnaryp@centracare.com

What's around it?

In Saint Cloud, MN

Saint Cloud, MN

Living costs about the same as the US average

Life in Saint Cloud, MN

NeighborhoodsNurses and other young professionals commonly look at in-city neighborhoods such as Lake George, Centennial, Southside, West Side, Wilson Park, Hester Park, Lincoln School, and the Clemens and Munsinger Gardens area, which mix residential streets with downtown-adjacent and college-town housing. Downtown one-bedrooms have averaged around $878, with citywide one-bedrooms nearer the mid-$900s, so living in town is relatively cheap versus the Twin Cities. Reddit locals often steer movers instead toward St. Joseph, St. Augusta, St. Stephen, and Rice/Royalton—towns they describe as better day-to-day places to live with a 20–30 minute drive into St. Cloud. St. Joseph in particular is recommended for food, breweries, parks, and the Lake Wobegon Trail.

Nurses and other young professionals commonly look at in-city neighborhoods such as Lake George, Centennial, Southside, West Side, Wilson Park, Hester Park, Lincoln School, and the Clemens and Munsinger Gardens area, which mix residential streets with downtown-adjacent and college-town housing. Downtown one-bedrooms have averaged around $878, with citywide one-bedrooms nearer the mid-$900s, so living in town is relatively cheap versus the Twin Cities.

Reddit locals often steer movers instead toward St. Joseph, St. Augusta, St. Stephen, and Rice/Royalton—towns they describe as better day-to-day places to live with a 20–30 minute drive into St. Cloud. St. Joseph in particular is recommended for food, breweries, parks, and the Lake Wobegon Trail.

Sources

As of Sep 11, 2026Source 1: apartments.com Source 2: reddit.com Source 3: reddit.com

Getting aroundGuides describe commuting as easy: mild traffic, a compact city footprint, and surrounding towns such as St. Joseph, St. Augusta, St. Stephen, and Rice/Royalton sitting a 20–30 minute drive from town. A car is treated as essential—local write-ups list needing a vehicle as a core con and do not name a practical transit alternative. Healthcare is the city’s largest industry, with hospitals and specialty practices spread across St. Cloud, so most work trips are short intra-city drives rather than a long suburban haul. Minneapolis–St. Paul is about 65 miles southeast, framed as a day trip or weekend getaway rather than a daily reverse commute.

Guides describe commuting as easy: mild traffic, a compact city footprint, and surrounding towns such as St. Joseph, St. Augusta, St. Stephen, and Rice/Royalton sitting a 20–30 minute drive from town. A car is treated as essential—local write-ups list needing a vehicle as a core con and do not name a practical transit alternative.

Healthcare is the city’s largest industry, with hospitals and specialty practices spread across St. Cloud, so most work trips are short intra-city drives rather than a long suburban haul. Minneapolis–St. Paul is about 65 miles southeast, framed as a day trip or weekend getaway rather than a daily reverse commute.

Sources

As of Sep 11, 2026Source 1: oaksatbentonshirestcloud.com Source 2: reddit.com Source 3: apartments.com Source 4: mntrips.com

OutdoorsSt. Cloud maintains 95 parks on about 1,400 acres, with Whitney Memorial Park and riverside Munsinger and Clemens Gardens—the latter often listed among notable public gardens—as the showpieces. From Riverside Park on the east bank, a footpath follows the Mississippi beside the Beaver Islands, a natural cluster used for kayaking and canoeing. Downtown Lake George has walking trails, fountains, and year-round community events, and the Lake Wobegon Trail toward St. Joseph is the named cycling and walking corridor. Outdoor recreation is a stated local strength across all four seasons, provided you are equipped for heavy snow.

St. Cloud maintains 95 parks on about 1,400 acres, with Whitney Memorial Park and riverside Munsinger and Clemens Gardens—the latter often listed among notable public gardens—as the showpieces. From Riverside Park on the east bank, a footpath follows the Mississippi beside the Beaver Islands, a natural cluster used for kayaking and canoeing.

Downtown Lake George has walking trails, fountains, and year-round community events, and the Lake Wobegon Trail toward St. Joseph is the named cycling and walking corridor. Outdoor recreation is a stated local strength across all four seasons, provided you are equipped for heavy snow.

Sources

As of Sep 11, 2026Source 1: apartments.com Source 2: mntrips.com Source 3: visitstcloud.com Source 4: reddit.com Source 5: oaksatbentonshirestcloud.com

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Moving costs

Relocation assistance offered

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Living in Saint Cloud

Saint Cloud—Granite City, a Mississippi river town of roughly 71,000 to 73,500 about 65 miles northwest of Minneapolis—is a healthcare-and-college hub where nurses will find the region’s largest industry already built around hospitals and specialty clinics. What sets it apart is below-national rents (about $935 for a one-bedroom as of September 2026), 95 parks plus riverside Munsinger and Clemens Gardens, and 20–30 minute drives from quieter towns such as St. Joseph and St. Augusta. In town, Lake George, Southside, and the gardens neighborhoods put you near Lake George events, the 1921 Paramount Center for the Arts, and dinner at Anton’s or the Blue Goose Speakeasy; St. Joseph adds breweries, the Lake Wobegon Trail, and a local reputation as the better place to actually live. You will need a car, winters bring about 48 inches of snow and stretches near 0°F, and nightlife is quiet. The tradeoff is mild traffic, kayaking the Beaver Islands, and housing costs about 17 percent below the national average.

AI area guide

Sources

As of 2026Source 1: oaksatbentonshirestcloud.com Source 2: apartments.com Source 3: mntrips.com Source 4: visitstcloud.com Source 5: travelawaits.com Source 6: reddit.com Source 7: reddit.com Source 8: sroa.com

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