Atlanta area hospital comparisons

[mn3000]

I'm looking at relocating to the Atlanta area. I'm trying to get a feel for the best hospitals to work at. I've read bad things about wellstar. I've heard good things about piedmont and northside. I've heard emory pay is very low. I've heard Grady gives a breadth of experience and offers competitive pay. Is there any information anyone could offer about any hospitals in the area based on their experience. And how is pay in the area? With 3-5 years of experience what would be a reasonable pay for the area. Also considering taking travel positions to get a feel for the area as well.

[mnolasco]

I can't offer any input on the pay because I'm not a nurse yet. As far as hospitals go, here's my breakdown:

-Wellstar Paulding is the newest and honestly they're always so nice and caring. The nurses ALL have great bedside manner. And the place is clean

-Cobb Wellstar on the other hand... stay away. I might be a bit biased though,I worked in the kitchen and you don't want to know. But even the floor staff is rude, which I could understand since it seems they're understaffed and probably having to do double the work. They're always packed

-Wellstar Kennstone is hit or miss. I've been on their good days and bad days.

-Grady is in the heart of Atlanta, you would definitely get experience there. But also deal with alot of the homeless. The area looks a little rough and the hospital could use some updating, its old & not very clean. I believe it's also a teaching hospital

-Emory University Hospital is actually rated number one here. I don't know about the pay but you always hear about some new breakthrough. Followed by Emory St. Joseph's in 2nd

-I can't really speak for Piedmont because I've never been, but it looks like a smaller hospital at least the Atlanta location anyway.

- Northside has some newer locations in Cheerokee county and the place is really nice.

-If you're into peds, Children's Healthcare of atlanta is the way to go. They have various locations Eagleston in Atlanta down the street from Grady. Scottish Rite right across from Northside in Sandy Springs is such a great place. Its big, colorful, clean, the team works as a team, and you can tell everyone there enjoys what they're doing.