Best places and hospitals for nurses

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Specializes in babysitting.

I'm not sure if many of you have read those Newsweek stories like places rated or best places to work etc. I was thinking to myself what the best places for nurses could be. I suspect they would be in the larger cities like San Fran. , NYC or LA for instance. I'm curious what the best hospitals to work for are. Would you rather work for a large or small hospital? I think working for a large hospital might be better because they pay more and you get more experience because there are more patients there.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
I'm not sure if many of you have read those Newsweek stories like places rated or best places to work etc. I was thinking to myself what the best places for nurses could be. I suspect they would be in the larger cities like San Fran. , NYC or LA for instance. I'm curious what the best hospitals to work for are. Would you rather work for a large or small hospital? I think working for a large hospital might be better because they pay more and you get more experience because there are more patients there.

During NS, we did our clinicals at a larger hospital in the region. They have many different specialized units, which is interesting....

I however, work for a very small hospital on the Med/Surg unit. So far, I have had many opportunites that my former fellow students (who work in the Larger hospital) have not.

I work with Peds pts 30 days and up

adult-geriatric pts.

Telemetry Pts

post-surgicals (ex: post colon resection with ostomy; total hips; total knees; appys; choles; TURPs; T&A, etc)

Managing an epidural for pain control

managing a PCA for pain control

managing a feeding/NG tube

blood administration

orthopedic rehab pts

hospice pts

post MI

COPDers

CHFers

AND sometimes if another dept is short-handed and we are overstaffed, I've been floated to OB, ICU and ER. (always to be the tasky person-not the one in charge!)

My friends at the larger hospital are on specialized units, so they may work with peds, but not surgicals; or are on a Telemetry unit, and don't have the surgicals, hospice, etc....

I feel that my small hospital is really giving me a well-rounded nursing experience. Just my :twocents:

Oh, and my little hospital pays dollars more an hour than the big one does!!!

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Specializes in babysitting.

For some reason I keep getting in my head that smaller hospitals are less stressful than larger ones.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
For some reason I keep getting in my head that smaller hospitals are less stressful than larger ones.

Well, I guess it depends on your perspective. Yes, larger hospitals do care for pts who are more ill...

However, I find it stressful to not have an MD at my disposal on-site (other than the ED doc). I have to call the on-call doc and hope they will respond in a timely fashion. No hospitalists on-site for us.

When we get in a major trauma to the ED-STRESSFUL!!! They have to stabilize the pt and get them ready for transport...or the cardiac pt that needs to be transferred to the nearest cardiac cath lab 45 minutes away....

We don't have a NICU...again-very stressful for the OB nurses to get that pt transported...

ETC....

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Specializes in trauma, ortho, burns, plastic surgery.

Are not good or bad places and hospitals for nurses ;). Are just one good or bad managed and any one will not tell you what they are.

Now my two cents for you like a new grads or for you like a new employee... DON'T RUSH! If you like a hospital and a place be open with it and go there and volunteer for a while. You will fell the "breath" of the place, looooool.

You are a nurse ...after assesing the the breath of that place, you will know what is happen in that place and if it's for you or not! Be open look around look at people how they do their job and how they talk each other and with you, talk with people.... you will know it if you are in the good place or not!

Now depend of your expectations also... looooool! Good luck, one day you will find your spot!

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I live and work in the Cleveland Ohio area. The two big employers here are the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. University Hospitals is by far the best place for a Registered Nurse to work in my opinion.:yeah:

I would much rather work for a large inner city teaching hospital than a small suburban hospital. I have done both and feel that at the small surburban settings the doctors do not give the nursing staff the respect that they deserve.:bowingpur There is the tendency for them to treat nurses as their personal hand maidens.... :angryfire

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Lola...I couldn't agree more!!!

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