[nrsFran]

Hi everybody,

I am soon moving to AZ (Surprise area) by first week of June from WI (Madison). I have few years of experience in CT ICU at the biggest hospital there. I have some job offers already, which, some of them are from Banner Thunderbird, Arrowhead, and John C. Lincoln. All of them are for CVICU/ICU areas. I am really hoping to have some inputs about the hospitals (pros and cons), best route to get to them,and any information regarding Surprise surrounding (fun things to do). I am a single mom with a boy full energy. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

[KatieRN04]

I am soon moving to AZ (Surprise area) by first week of June from WI (Madison). I have few years of experience in CT ICU at the biggest hospital there. I have some job offers already, which, some of them are from Banner Thunderbird, --> dont know too much except for this is a community hospital in Glendale, nice area for a hospital but would avoid this hospital system

Arrowhead --> dont know too much about this hospital system either but havent head good things about it either

and John C. Lincoln --> have heard they treat thier nurses good and know some people who work there who love it, I would go here.

Other places for CVICU to consider are Mayo and St. Joes. St. Joes is the biggest of these hospital, in fact, is the biggest hospital in AZ. The rest are average sized.

[nrsFran]

Thank you KatieRN04, I had a really good feeling about JCL at Deer Valley. St. Joe's is offering, too. I don't know...St.Joe's the furthest of the four.

[KatieRN04]

Well, the CVICU at Mayo does VADS and heart transplants.

The CVICU at St. Joes does lung transplants.

Deer Valley CVICU, well I havent worked there, but it is a rather small hospital overall, so I imagine the cases there are simple ones, with minimal overall surgical risk. The riskier cases I would think would be at St. Joes or Mayo.

Hey, if DV doesnt work out, there are lots of hospitals around here, you can always move on.

[nrsFran]

I am working at University hospital that does heart & lung tx, and also VADs. It is kind of disappointing to find the pay is not comparable between two states. Plus the benefits being considered as a state employee, nobody can beat that but maybe VA hospital. I am considering the pay, benefits, and the drive to the hospitals and also most importantly how each of them treat their nurses/employees.

[RainDreamer]

If benefits are a big factor for you, then check out the county hospital (Maricopa Medical Center), as they have the AZ State Retirement System which is one of the best retirement plans in the country.

CHW (Catholic Healthcare West, which is comprised of St. Joes in Phx and Mercy Gilbert/Chandler Regional (both of which are in the east valley) has good benefits, in that they have both a 403b and a matched pension. They're also well known for treating their employees well.

Good luck to you!