Anyone work at Medical City in Dallas????

Fun2, BSN, RN · Nov 30, 2005

Is this really one of the best places to work for RN's????? Is it true they have a 2 day/wk 16 hr plan?? You work 32 hrs/ wk, but get paid for 40, and they pay your hotel cost for staying overnight for your second day????
Thanks

I'm not sure about working there, but as a patient, I think Medical City is one of the best hospitals around.

I was really pleased with the nurses and non-nursing staff there with each surgery. (Maybe 6 or 7 out of 18????)

I would really like to know what the pay rate is for a new grad for Medical City or other HCA hospitals in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. (Do they all offer the same pay for new grads?)

Anyone know???????

kidrn65 · Dec 16, 2005

I worked as a pedi nurse there about 5 years ago...it was hell! I still have friends who work there and I wouldn't recommend it. I cannot speak for the adult side of the hospital, though.

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Dec 16, 2005

I work next door at Green Oaks (a psych hospital) which is also an HCA facility.

You are talking about "weekend doubles." You work two eight hour shifts on Saturday and two on Sunday (back to back). (Fridays are also considered weekends for the purpose of weekend doubles schedules.) You get a special differential for that. At Green Oaks it is $7. Probably the same at Medical City (MCDH).

You don't get paid for 40 hours, though. You get paid for 32. However, that's full time and you get your benefits, PTO, etc.

And typically new nurses don't get weekend doubles schedules, as that's considered a "plum" schedule. Some unit directors believe that weekends must be shared, no matter what the staff would like, or who works out what with whom.

Check into Baylor if you are interested in creative scheduling. They recognize that nurses have lives, and they have something called TDA (I forgot the exact words those letters stand for) that means you work weekends (12 hours each Sat & Sun), get paid for 32 (instead of the 24 you worked) so that you are still "full time." You can also work a strict weekday schedule, and have every weekend off. However, I don't think they get a special differential for either schedule, unless it is for nights....

I interned at MCDH for about 6 weeks. I was disgusted with the quality of care my preceptors displayed. They took care of themselves (gloves, breaks, lunch, etc.), but had little concern for patients. They were openly critical and judgmental, and tended to operate on rumor rather than fact. (We're talking about the patients here, not each other.)

One shoved food into a man's mouth before he had finished swallowing--he was diabetic and had bad CHF, and his arms were so swollen he could not bend them enough to get the food to his mouth, even if he could have held a fork. Another didn't bother looking at or touching a patient when she did an intake assessment--and so she indicated pupils were 3 mm and PERRLA, when in fact the lady had been blind for years (diabetes again), and her pupils were blown to about 9 mm. They certainly weren't PERRLA.... Another example? One picked up and attempted to reuse an IV cath that had been laying on the bedside table for five minutes after being used for an unsuccessful stick. I was criticized for talking with patients' families--they asked questions, I provided answers. We were supposed to be "service oriented" and "client friendly." I guess I put too much stock in what nursing was about, or what the administration said they wanted us to do and how to be.

All of this was in service of "time management." By the way, on interview, I was told nurse to pt ratio was 1:4. It was more like 1:7 most of the time for regular nurses--not for interns though.

I spent a large amount of time searching for equipment--no pulse ox's available, couldn't find the BP machine. I finally brought my own cuff in; would've gotten a pulse ox too but they are very expensive. Never could find a pill splitter--the "coach" (and by now you know why I use quotes) would just use a scalpel blade, which she would then hide in some corner of the room, or stick into the seam of the window casing. I bought my own cutter, and she said I would lose it--so I put my name all over it, and just made sure I always knew where it was.

My coaches didn't stay on the unit until I was finished, they left on time. Reports were usually given half in Tagalog (I speak English). One coach gave report on my patient and she never even saw him, much less took care of him. Another time there was a doctor's order to hold BP meds if pulse was less than 60 or systolic was lower than 100 or diastolic was lower than 60. The woman's BP was 100/49, so I withheld the meds. I was relieved to find that the pharmacist had noted each of the meds to be held, with that note on it. My coach, however, got all upset. Didn't I know what was a BP med and what was a heart med? Logged onto my computer under my name, she proceeded to force administration of the meds.

All this happened working only 2 12 hour shifts on a tele floor. (Yeah, you read that right--it was telemetry!)

I left, disgusted, and frightened I was going to learn things that I wasn't smart enough to know were wrong, and fearful that I might hurt someone. In my exit interview, I was told two rather interesting things: 1) that my coaches hadn't attended "coaches training" (then why was I assigned to them?) and 2) that seasoned nurses don't like new nurses telling them what to do (interestingly, except for the IV cath incident which needed immediate intervention, the rest of it I had just shared with my manager).

Okay. So that was my experience. Maybe it was unique. But I can tell you that I had wanted that internship so bad I could taste it, and obviously it took a lot for me to feel forced to leave. I was in tears at times, out of frustration, lack of support and plain old empathy for my poor patients!

I am presently at Green Oaks. It has its ups and downs, but the quality of nursing care and the compassion is 100% better than what I saw at MCDH. I am happy there. And I am respected there, treated decently. HR sucks and the administration (front office nonnursing higher ups) all need to be gone, but you know, when they leave you alone to do your job, that's a good thing. My supervisor is tremendous, and the DON is spectacular. And the physicians are very, very competent, take good care of the patients and treat the nurses with respect.

As for starting pay, every Dallas hospital I (or any of my newbie buddies) checked on has started new RN's at $19. After you have a year in, you can pretty well go anywhere, and you can get a slightly higher rate of pay.

A downside of psych nursing as your first year--although you will learn a lot of the nuts and bolts of functioning in an acute care setting, there are things about med surg type nursing that you won't get there (IV's, wound care, drains, etc.). I suggest that you humble yourself, go for a med surg internship, either get a therapist or a really good friend you can dump to regularly, and put in your time.

Then you can go almost anywhere. (Unless you are an older nurse, but that's another story.)

Good luck. (Boy, do I feel better!)

BTW, if you are in the Dallas area, email me your phone number and I'll be glad to talk with you.... Not until Tuesday though, I got called in today to work an extra shift 3-11, I have my weekend doubles and I refer to Mondays as "my stupid day" for a very good reason..... :rotfl:

sjt9721, BSN, RN · Dec 19, 2005

TDA = Two Day Alternative

IWant2Believe · Dec 30, 2005

I have it on good authority that the E/R is a "toxic" environment.