student needs advice--Tenet hospitals and jobs

Jolie, BSN · Nov 5, 2002

RUN, run like the wind! Tenet is offering these deals to new grads because no experienced RN in his or her right mind would want to work for them! There is no amount of money that would convince me to go back to a Tenet hospital.

I know it's hard to believe now, especially since you are saddled with debt, but there are considerations far more important than pay in your job search. As a new grad, you need a solid orientation on which to base your future practice. You need an experienced staff to continue to teach and mentor you once orientation is complete. You need a safe and supportive work environment. You need an institution that supports high standards of professionalism and patient care. In my opinion, you will get none of these things from a Tenet facility.

The Philly area hospitals may not (yet) be experiencing the level of turmoil that the CA hospitals are, but it will come in due time. The upper level management and administration is the same for all areas of the country, and without quality leadership, all of Tenet's facilities will eventually sink to the same level.

ratchit · Nov 5, 2002

Tenet and Columbia are both for-profit chains that have bad reps. I think both earned their bad pr, but there are exceptions. I worked at a Columbia hospital that was really good. I have no idea what the Tenet hospital in Philly is like, but I do know that you don't have to work for them to get that money. It's a federal program:

http://www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/loanrepay.htm

I think the way it works is the gov't has a list of "critically understaffed" hospitals (most are on it, I think- LOL) and as long as you work at one for 2-3 years, you get the repayment money. I think the amount varies depending on how long you commit to work at a short-staffed hospital and I am pretty sure you can change jobs and stay eligible, as long as both hospitals are on the list.

If Tenet has an additional $20K on top of the federal money, it might be worth it, but I would be surprised. My hospital advertises big buck tuition payback too- and none of the money comes out of THEIR own pocket.

Find out if they are talking about the federal program- if they are, you have lots of options. The fund website has a list of eligible hospitals on their somewhere.

gambroRN · Nov 7, 2002

Hello new grad - I too am/was apprehensive about working for a Tenet hospital. I decided to give it a try however, and started my orientation this week. If things don't work out - I'll hit the bricks. There are no shortage of jobs out there. Good Luck in whatever you decide.

sjoe · Nov 7, 2002

I see from today's newspapers that the Tenet chain is now under a THIRD set of legal charges, this time for claiming that their patients were more acute than they actually were, therefore the company would be eligible for a higher Medicare reimbursement. Of course, Tenet denies this (surprise!).

EmeraldNYL, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2002

Thanks for all your advice! The 2 tenet hospitals in Philly that I am considering are Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital and Hahnemann hospital. I am still considering it, but I will definitely check into all my other options as well!