Seeking my first aide/tech job...what should I be looking for?

[dianacs]

I want to get an aide/tech/student nurse position in one of the local hospitals after this semester. There are a ton of hospitals around here. I need to narrow it down. What should I be looking for in a hospital/employer? What are the warning signs of a not-so-good place to work?

Here's one thing I'm concerned about: One facility's application that I'm looking at requires you to agree to arbitration; the fine print also states that you may be required to different days/shifts/more or less days other than what you are scheduled for depending on census, and by signing, you agree to all this. Is this typical? Do most hospitals have this type of contract? Also, the particular hospital in question is unionized. Does this make a huge difference at this point seeing as I'm only a student nurse?

By the way, tuition reimbursement is nice but not necessary; I don't want to get stuck somewhere I hate if it doesn't work out. Thanks for any tips you can give me.

[RainbowzLPN, LPN]

Good luck with finding a hospital that you like! As far as what to look for, if anything, trust your eyes & your gut!

[cna on her way]

I have came to realize that if a hospital is "non profit" they don't have you signing agreements about census, however privately owned hospitals do. I work for a non profit hospital now and have for a little over a year ( as a CNA) and have never had to switch shifts unless I chose to or take less days. I have been asked if I would like to stay home since the census was low but thats about it. As far as unions I'm not familiar with those.