teaching hospitals?

zacarias, ASN, RN · Oct 24, 2002

Hey!

Well this a short answer, but generally teaching hospitals are big hospitals often connected to a medical school. Med students do their clinicals there and the whole hospital is geared towards medical knowledge and practice acquisition. It's a great location for a new nurse because everyone is (should be) disposed to answering questions. Also heavy research is usually done at these hospitals.

Z

Charity, RN, APRN · Oct 24, 2002

While the official difference may lay in the focus of a teaching hospital being towards, well, teaching and research, I have found other differences too. The first thing that popped into my mind when I read your post was that in a teaching hospital, doctors are not God. Residents are here 24 hours a day. (Okay, dental and urology sometimes make it home.) If I don't worry about disturbing a physician at home at 0200 when I need to speak to one. If one doc is not handling things properly, I can go over his/her head.

I have found that at a private hospital, a physician can have influence over the hiring and firing of nurses. Not a chance where I am now, in a large teachig facility. I make more money than the residents, and they get reprimanded if they "act out."

On the nursing side, teaching hospitals are more likely to have the "interesting" cases. And don't forget tuition discounts!

C

Furball · Oct 24, 2002

There's a HUGE difference. Many docs are in teaching mode at the teaching hospitals. It's great. Plus there are interns and residents around 24/7. You always have someone to call even for something nonemergent that would irritate the hell out of the MD on call at a nonteaching hospital. Pts get their needs met much more quickly at a teaching hospital. Nurses don't debate endlessly, do I call? Do I not call? AAAAAAAH!

renerian, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2002

I worked for a large teaching hospital in Toledo. I think when you have residents around who can come see the patient in the drop of a hat mostly, it is very helpful-IF they are ones you can trust. Like a nursing student they are learning. I have had to protect my patients from bad med orders, wrong doses or in situation a procedure that the resident was doing wrong. You have to be able to understand the different levels of student, residents, and even fellows. Some patients are admitted under a particular service like the surgery or internal med service and the attending makes rounds like you see on TV, a huge swarm of students. It can be very scarey for a patient and you always have the right to ask them to break it up into smaller groups and most of the time they are open to it. I have refused residents myself for my family as you may have 6 people do the exact same thing to a patient. Just my thoughts. Residents can eval a crashing patient and call the attending quickly........................

renerian

Furball · Oct 24, 2002

Many pts find the teaching hospital as their last stop for rx/sx after being rejected by a local pvt hospital because they are high risk. ( which equals losing $$$) You find the sickest of the sick at a teaching hospital also the rare diseases like to crop up as well. There are probs with teaching hospitals as resnerian already explained but there are pluses. One other thing, if you ever look up mortatality rates for certain procedures make sure they are "risk adjusted" in order to get a more accurate picture. Since teaching hospitals accept the "reject" pts their mortality rates tend to be higher. Just a thought......

Gigglesforall, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2002

Thanks everyone for your responses! They're greatly appreciated!