Published Oct 20, 2014
hecallsmeDuchess
346 Posts
Hi Dallas nurses,
I'm looking for a job in the Dallas area and have some experience, mostly med-surg,but I'm looking for other specialties besides med-surg. How is the job outlook there? I've applied to the big name hospitals but have received no call back, just the perfunctory e-mails saying they got my application. The last time I looked for a job was straight out of nursing school and that only took 2-weeks to get so I'm understandably worried that it's been close to a month now without call-backs. Do I call the recruiters or give them more time to get around to calling me? What other non-big name hospitals will you recommend I try? Good pay, benefits and opportunities for growth are what I'm mostly looking for. Thanks in advance.
P.S. I just googled a hospital called Plaza Medical center of Fort Worth and I'll send out an application to them too. Does anyone know anything about them and how they treat nurses?
HCMD.
TheCommuter, BSN, RN
102 Articles; 27,612 Posts
How much experience do you have? Honestly, the Dallas/Fort Worth area nursing employment is somewhat glutted with too many nurses, but you should be able to secure a job without too much trouble if you have acute care hospital experience.
Plaza Medical Center is an HCA facility, if that means anything to you. It has a so/so reputation in the local medical community, but I would pursue job opportunities there. After all, beggars cannot be choosers.
Good luck to you!
How much experience do you have? Honestly, the Dallas/Fort Worth area nursing employment is somewhat glutted with too many nurses, but you should be able to secure a job without too much trouble if you have acute care hospital experience.Plaza Medical Center is an HCA facility, if that means anything to you. It has a so/so reputation in the local medical community, but I would pursue job opportunities there. After all, beggars cannot be choosers.Good luck to you!
Thanks, TheCommuter for your reply. No, HCA doesn't mean anything to me, do they have a bad reputation or what? There are none in my region so I don't know jack about them. I do have acute care experience which is why I'm wondering why no call backs. As much as I want a job, I don't want to jump from a so/so situation to an outright bad one...
Nurse SMS, MSN, RN
6,843 Posts
HCA is a for-profit institution and its policies, staffing etc reflect that in most cases. It isn't always bad, but I would not consider them a sought-after employer.
Thanks for that tip. Will keep my options to the other hospitals then. Is it a tough job market out there or does the fact that I live out of state deterring them? I've heard from 2 recruiters and was told they'll call back but I'm still waiting. I'm almost tempted to relocate without a job offer but I think that would be a silly thing to do. Oh well, I got to keep chugging along and waiting...
Is it a tough job market out there or does the fact that I live out of state deterring them?
Everyone (and their mamas) wants the exalted acute care hospital job. Your chances of securing nursing employment would improve exponentially if you applied to non-hospital jobs such as LTC, physical rehab, psych, home health, hospice, private duty, group homes, blood banks and infusion centers.
The Dallas/Fort Worth area job market is saturated with too many nurses, far more than can be absorbed by all the employers. Essentially, it's a tough job market regardless of where you come from. Many nurses who were born, bred and educated in Texas are also out of work.Everyone (and their mamas) wants the exalted acute care hospital job. Your chances of securing nursing employment would improve exponentially if you applied to non-hospital jobs such as LTC, physical rehab, psych, home health, hospice, private duty, group homes, blood banks and infusion centers.
Again, I thank you, I really do not mind the non-hospital jobs as I've done the acute care dance. I just sort of went with what I know and what I could find online. However, I can't seem to find these alternate places' websites. Any useful links you might have?
Update: Finally, my applications are yielding fruit. I have interviewed with THR, have an upcoming one with a HCA facility and Baylor. Of all three, I haven't heard from Baylor regarding pay but of the other two, the HCA facility has the lower pay but it is closest to me. I'm torn between choices, I really want to go for money but I don't want money and crappy work environment. I guess I'll wait till the end of my interviews before counting my proverbial chicks. Decisions, decisions, decisions...
Thanks for returning with a detailed update of your job search in DFW.