Comparing Pittsburgh hospitals

[MissBrn, ADN, RN]

If anyone would like to share their views on the variety of nursing facilities in Pitt. PA please post. I would like to compare them as far as pay rate, patient acuity on medical units, nursing satisfaction-----anything. I work on a BUSY regular nursing floor now, which at times isn't unlike the trauma unit--lol. The patients are more complicated now than ever it seems and we are responsible for many different aspects and teaching that we aren't educated on (unless it is self-education). For example, an enterostomal nurse can make a up to 37.00 an hour, depending. Where I work we are at times "enterostomal" nurses without the pay and the title. This is just one example. Pt. acuity is so high. We get many ICU transfers who aren't ready to leave the unit, (related to bed availability) they crash upon arrival and our med-surg floor does not have the means to adequately monitor these patients. With each experience it seems as a risk to any good nurses licensure. I often think about leaving but I don't have any comparisons. Depending on status, Incentive pay, OT hours, etc. this varies greatly but where I work a nurse with 1-3 years experience wage is 20.63 to 21.02 per hr. for non-BSN and 21.24 to 21.63 for BSN-----not a big difference. This is reflecting recent changes and pay increase we have received. I enjoy caring for complicated patients---but not on a medical floor where we don't have the means to do so! I get the feeling that each level of staff is completely frustrated with the way things are right now. Any input ?

[JoshuaAdamsRN]

Here's a very general breakdown for you based on the 3 major hospital systems in Pittsburgh.

UPMC Presbyterian-Shadyside is the flagship of the University of Pittsburgh health system. It is actually two distinct facilities, Presbyterian in Oakland, and Shadyside. UPMC is known for being an innovative academic medical center and it ranked 13th in the country in the U.S. News 2007 rankings. It has specialties (or has bought up specialty hospitals) to cover every need and is noted for trauma, transplantation, oncology, neurosurgery, and cardiology.

Allegheny General Hospital on the North Shore is part of West Penn Allegheny Health System. It is also a regional referral center for level I trauma. It is the sister hospital of West Penn, in Bloomfield, which has an advanced burn unit, neonatal nursery, oncology unit, and performs a large number of cardiac catheterizations. West Penn happens to be the only Magnet hospital in Pittsburgh right now.

Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh is Uptown next to Duquesne University. Presently in negotiation to become part of UPMC's health system, they have level I trauma, an advanced burn unit, an innovative stroke program, and provide a number of community outreach services as the area's only remaining Catholic hospital.

There are also, as I said, a number of specialty hospitals including Children's (of UPMC), Magee-Womens' (also of UPMC), Western Psychiatric (of UPMC) and even still some neighborhood hospitals that aren't part of the mega-UPMC health empire (St. Clair, Jefferson, Ohio Valley).

Long story short - almost anyplace you go will have a relatively high acuity of patients. If they weren't sick, they wouldn't be in the hospital. Salaries are fairly competitive in the Pittsburgh healthcare job market. One hospital might offer you a fuzz more per hour, but another could have better benefit package.

I've worked at West Penn for 3 years, so if you have specific questions about them, let me know.

[K98]

I graduated in 2006, and work at AGH. I have classmates working at West Penn, UPMC Presby, Shadyside, St. Margaret's, AKMC, and Forbes. Everyone echos the same sentiments re: patient acuity, pay, etc.. Patient acuity is high, pay is low, and 12 hour shifts are hard on your back/legs/feet. AGH is the only major facility in Pittsburgh where the RNs are unionized. That said, every time we get a contract raise, most of the other facilities match it.

The ICU that I work in is a pretty good place to work as units go. A lot of the nursing staff has been there 10-15-20 years, and are a wealth of information for the rookies (me). The patients are extremely ill, but as has been said, that's why they are in the hospital.

All of the hospitals in Pittsburgh have positive and negative attributes. I guess you just need to weigh them when deciding where you would like to work.

[Logos]

$20 to $21 does not sound like very much money- I was hoping it would be more-

[K98]

$20 to $21 does not sound like very much money- I was hoping it would be more-

Wait till you see that 20.00-21.00 after taxes...

[aml87]

Hi everybody!

I'm currently in an accelerated program and will be graduating in August. We're being encouraged to apply for jobs soon...and I absolutely no idea which hospitals or types of units I want to apply for. As of right now, all I know for sure is that I want to work with adults and I don't want to go into ICU straight out of school. Can anyone give me any suggestions for hospitals and/or units? I've only had experience at UPMC, so I'm really interested to see how it compared with WPAHS (specifically West Penn and AGH) Thank you all so much!!

[JoshuaAdamsRN]

If you want to get a variety of experiences, it's best to work in an intermediate care unit or "step down" which is a level of care between ICU and med-surg. At West Penn, there's E7 progressive care and T6 and T9 cardiac progressive care. They are still sick patients with a lot to do and learn on, but not the level of care required in an ICU.

[pawashrn]

in pgh everyone talks about umpc/west penn, because these two institutions dominate the medical landscape. If you like inner city, then they would be the place to work,(poor parking/low wages/alot of politics) On the other hand, going outside the city is a little better. Jefferson Hosp. washington Hosp, Cannonsburg Hospital(owned by west Penn Allegheny) they are all about 30 minutes outside the city. For me to leave my suburban hosp and work for UPMC, I would have had to take a 2 dollar an hour cut and pay for off-site parking and increase my nurse to patient ratio. No thanks.

[Mytime2shine]

what great information for a student torn between working in pgh or moving out of state. why would you want to work for a hospital with no union? 20-21 bucks/hour!?not worth the commute into the city. thanks for helping me make my decision on moving to new hampshire.

[LaeDeesNP]

I'm going to be echoing the sentiments of those posted before me but, it was my experience (with UPMC) that they do not pay very well, comparatively speaking. I was employed by them at a branch campus (outside of the city) for 13 months. Prior to deciding on the branch campus in my hometown, I interviewed in the city. They were only willing to pay me $1.00 more than what I was offered at the branch campus. My commute was an hour, easy, not mention the parking fee. It wasn't worth it. I'm not sure if it's still this way but, Pittsburgh was not known for it's payrate while I was still living and working in PA. If you're able to, move. That's my advice. I had friends working in eastern PA making, at least, 2-3 dollars more than me when we were GNs. I realize that the decision is not just about money, but it's a pretty influential factor.

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

I understand that Western PA wages are lower than Eastern PA because the medicare reimbursement rate is regional. Western PA, for reasons I don't understand, is the poor stepchild. Is this true?

[K98]

I can't comment on the medicare reimbursement rates anywhere in the state. However, the cost of living in the eastern part of the state is much higher (housing, taxes, rent) than it is in the west. I believe that is part of the reason for higher wages in the east.