Choosing or not choosing to work at a hospital based on online reviews?

[michigannurse2014]

Hello everyone. I am getting ready to move to an area that I love, closer to my family. I currently work on a med/surg unit at a large hospital in a suburban area that has a very good reputation. The area that I am relocating to is fairly rural and has very few job options that are local; the closest "big name" hospital is 45+ minutes away with good traffic. There is a smaller medical center in town, but it seems to have a poor reputation, based on the reviews and comments you see online. I'm trying to be objective; I've been in customer service-related fields long enough to know that people are more likely to complain when they have a negative experience. And it also happens to be a place where people often go "up to the lake" or to spend their vacations, so I would imagine having a pleasant experience interrupted with a trip to the hospital would darken peoples' impressions of the care they receive. Or it could actually be a very bad organization that provides poor patient care.

I have visited this medical center, and the people working there all seemed nice and professional, although there was a sense of small-town informality. Sometimes that is a good thing that puts people at ease. The med/surg unit looked clean and well-kept, if a little dated. The nurses did not look stressed out or overwhelmed. However, I have a family member who was recently in the EC and stated that the EC nurses were unprofessional, rude, and asked inappropriate and judgmental questions.

Would it be a mistake to take a job here, assuming I was offered one? Even though my current workplace generally gets good reviews from patients and families, we do get our share of negative comments and complaints (largely due to the hospital promising and then not being able to deliver a "hotel-like experience").

[oceanblue52]

One of the best hospitals I worked at as a CNA had awful reviews, mostly because people were irate with billing. Then I worked another job at a well renowned hospital with great reviews, and all the staff were miserable. When looking at reviews of jobs I've found most agreement with Indeed.com and Glassdoor, not google and yelp reviews.