Any info on west houston medical center.

Kyrshamarks, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2007

I can pretty much tell you that you will hate it there. It does not have a great reputation and is not nurse friendly.

ICURN7 · Aug 29, 2007

I just passed my rn boards on the 16th of july.I am thinking of relocating to texas. I have applied at a couple of places. I did receive postive feedback from west houston medical center. has any one worked there or have any info on the hosp reputation.

It depends on what you are looking at. I have to be very honest with you, West Houston is a good place to start as a new grad and learn your skills especially when you are unable to get a place as a new grad. So, I would say to go there, learn your skills and if you think you don't like the place, you move on, there's nothing stopping you from moving on except you sign a contract with them for specific yrs.

I remember when i graduated, i was looking at something like that too but soon came to discover that the reputation is not all that matters, what matters most is ability to learn my skills. When i learnt my skills and was more qualified to take on good jobs, I moved on to do what I really wanted to do. So, think "skills" first before anything else. Goodluck

sbyramRN · Aug 31, 2007

I am starting clinicals there on Thursday. I went for my orientation today. It seems to be a very busy hospital. We were told it is a "mini Ben Taub". I don't know how the nurses are, but I have to say the nurse educators that gave us our orientation today were fantastic. My clinical instructor is a N.P there and really seems to love her job. Good Luck

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Aug 31, 2007

We were told it is a "mini Ben Taub".

If the qualifications for a "mini Ben Taub" are that it's a hospital with a 24 hour emergency room, then it's definitely one. Outside of that, I'm not sure what they were referring to. Your patient volume, severity of trauma, and access to subspecialists are all going to be far more limited at West Houston than they would be at Ben Taub.

As an EMT-Intermediate student several years ago I did a shift there. I got a few IV attempts, did CPR twice (once in the ER and once in the ICU) and had three good patients for my PCR's. I had a good experience that day. I just think that any comparison to Ben Taub is going to be a pretty big stretch.

sbyramRN · Aug 31, 2007

How long ago was several years ago? I agree, it is not a high level trauma center, but the clientele is very similar, and from what I saw there yesterday in the ER, OR, PACU, Med Surg and Psych wing, it is PACKED. So there is a lot going on and there is a lot of skills that can be learned. I will be there for sixteen weeks, so I guess in the end I will be better able to judge what type of hospital it is.

NurseRotten · Aug 31, 2007

If you are seeking a Nurse Internship consider some of the hospitals in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. A number of the hospitals have magnet designation, so you can trust that they are dedicated to nursing. I would also try to interview with Methodist, St. Luke's, and Memorial Hermann before making a final decision. Each of the mentioned hospitals have fantastic internship programs.

Don't be so quick to look down on Ben Taub either. The Harris County Hospital District offers excellent learning opportunities for new nurses and have excellent benefits packages.

brooke0428 · Sep 3, 2007

I just graduated and was there for clinicals Jan-Aug and was happy for the most part. However, I spoke with a lot of the nurses I got to know and they recommended I not apply there. From what I hear it isnt very nurse friendly and several people were in the works of leaving. I went ahead and applied with their sister hospital in the medical center.. which is The Woman's Hospital of Texas and was hired as a level III NICU Nurse. They have GREAT internships and I've heard they are very nurse friendly. It is in the medical center but the pay is good, parking is free and I've heard nothing but great things about them. It's something to look