Hospitals around Houston

[CICUmurse, BSN, RN]

Hello!

I'm currently a LPN in Virginia, I plan on moving to Houston,Tx in the next 3 years. I'm wondering what hospitals are around Houston that are worth while working at, i.e. magnet status.

I'm getting my BSN-RN in 14 months and shortly there after I will be moving their with my soon to be wife *P.A. student*

Any personal thoughts on any hospital in the area, would be greatly appreciated :)

-Joe

[anitaaa]

From my friends who live in Houston, they say St. Lukes is the best magnet hospital. It was also the first magnet hospital in Houston. They have many locations also. There is also Methodist, who is also magnet status. Memorial Hermann is another. I'm not sure what department you want to work at, but if you're interested in Oncology there is M.D. Anderson which is amazing!

Some other hospitals that are great are Ben Taub and Christus St. Catherine. I'm sure there are many others but these are the most I've heard about, and that I remember. Hope this helps, and good luck with everything :)

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Howdy!

Virginia is a lovely state, I hope that the transition to our sub-tropical climate won't be too hard on you. Are you moving here so that your hun can go to PA school? If you haven't yet you spent enough time in Houston to figure out what area of the city appeals to you, I would suggest you stick with a short-term lease at first until you get settled with jobbage and school for your hun... you don't want to have to cope with a horrendous commute.

If possible, I would encourage you to wait on your move until you have some RN experience. Although the job climate may have improved by then, new grad jobs are difficult to land unless you have done clinical rotations at the facility.... this is certainly the case for Med Center hospitals. Be sure to thoroughly research all the implications of working in the Med Center before you spend a lot of energy trying to get a job in one of those facilities. For one thing, there is the issue of 'remote parking' for employees which can add 30 minutes to your commute time.

As for the Magnet designation - it doesn't magically make the entire nursing environment wonderful. There are lots of really great facilities that are not seeking this designation for a variety of reasons... most generally, they can't afford it. You may also want to explore hospitals that have achieved a "Pathway to Excellence" designation (used to be called Texas Nurse Friendly until ANCC took over the program). This is a designation that some great places like CHRISTUS St. Catherine have acheived... basically the same standards as Magnet, but much less expensive.

Good luck on your plans & say "hi" to your GF for us. Keep us posted on your progress.