[RedHead23]

Hello all,

I will be graduating in May & I am interested in Pediatrics. I am looking at hospitals in the NJ/PA area, including CHOP & A.I. duPont, also looking at smaller community hospitals (although I am afraid I won't get the exposure I am looking for as a new grad).

Does anyone know anything about either of the hospitals that they could share with me? Is there a big pay difference in Delaware?

Any advice on where to start in Peds for the best transition from GN to RN?

Does anyone know anything about which hospitals in the area have the best orientations?

Any other hospitals I should look into?

Thanks to anyone who answers... I know I have a lot of questions, but what else can you expect from a new graduate?!

[MissJoRN]

I assume you're looking at St Chris's, too? I've had homecare pts and family at St Chris's, CHOP, and DuPont and I prefer St Chris. I ran into an aquaintance there one day and found out she works there and loves it. I has a community hospital feel- small and friendly. Staff makes pts feel at home, explains care, and gives good care. Even though it's small, they offer a wide range of services. The major downside is the neighborhood- the campus is nice and has a safe feel to it with a nice garage but you do drive through some questionable neighborhoods to get there. Nothing horrific, there are worse areas of Philly, but I wouldn't go wandering around aimlessly, either. The other downside might be that they are a Tenant hospital, if that means anything to you. I don't know much about that company. (actually, I've worked for "non-profit" hospitals that care more about money and less about pts than they seem to)
If I lived within commuting distance of Philly (or had a chronic kid of my own), I'd chose Chris's, hands down.
Also, I'm not sure where you are but a couple years ago I was considering working at Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's at Robert Wood Johnson. Staff there seemed great and it seemed like they would work well with new nurses. I had limited experience with them, though, and never on the patient side like with homecare. I ended up moving before I could pursue it further.

[RedHead23]

Hey, Thank you for the reply MissJoRn. I actually go to school at Rutgers and work for Robert Wood right now. I have my final clinical starting at the Bristol Myers Squibb hospital in two weeks so I wanted to have some more exposure to the hospital before I applied (hopefully it will not be too late) It is very nice though & I am looking into it. The only thing is that I have heard they are not always so thrilled with having new grads, but of course that could just be a rumor. I actually was not looking into St. Chris's but I will now. Thanks again!

[rnsrgr8t]

Hi Redhead23 congrats un your upcoming graduation. I work at AI Dupont (as an PNP) and love it! From my friends who are staff nurses they tell me the salary is comparable to CHOP when you factor in the cost of living (no sales tax in DE) and no city wage tax like in Philly. Check out their website and also check and see if you can maybe get a clinical rotation here. The website is www.nemours.org . Here, new grads are on the general med surg floor before they do any specialty areas. Good luck and let us know what you decide and how it goes!