Hospitals Near Waldorf

dcgrrl, ASN, RN · Jul 28, 2008

This is a pretty straight forward post, as you might have guessed i am looking to find a decent hospital near Waldorf with in maybe 30-45min drive. Any responses would be great.

Waldorf is located in Charles County which (as far as hospitals go) has Civista Medical Center. The next closest hospital to Waldorf is Southern Maryland Hospital. Check out this list to see a full listing of hospitals in MD by county: http://www.mdhospitals.org/mha/Maryland_Hospitals/index.shtml

Toph McGee · Aug 1, 2008

Thanks, I might try and set something up if I end up visiting MD. Heard anything, good or bad, about Civista?

dcgrrl, ASN, RN · Aug 5, 2008

Thanks, I might try and set something up if I end up visiting MD. Heard anything, good or bad, about Civista?

Sorry- - -I haven't. :confused: Perhaps you can search under the Maryland threads for info on Civista. I'll be sure to ask some of my friends who are RNs in Southern MD.

EvelynRN-BSN · Aug 16, 2008

This is a pretty straight forward post, as you might have guessed i am looking to find a decent hospital near Waldorf with in maybe 30-45min drive. Any responses would be great.

Civista (Closest to Waldorf: La Plata, MD)

Southern Maryland Hospital (Clinton, MD) not too far from Waldorf

St. Mary's Hospital (Leonardtown, MD) not too far from Waldorf

In Waldorf:

Civista's Womens Center

Children's Pediatric Center

Sflowerssweeney · Feb 22, 2009

Civista is in a little turmoil right now. I work PRN at St. Mary's -- about a 35 min. - 40 min. drive from Waldorf. Very nice hospital. I also started Agency at Southern MD (not as nice for sure). You can go into town (D.C.) in 45 min. or Inova Mt. Vernon in 45 min. It just depends on shift for traffic problems.

nicole109 · Apr 27, 2009

Civista is in LaPlata (about 10 mins south of Waldorf), as other posters have mentioned. I spent the first 18 years of my life in LaPlata, and let me just say if both my legs were falling off--I would detour to another hospital! I volunteered at St. Mary's ER, def. a few notches above Civista. And Calvert Memorial is another option (both St. Mary's Hospital and Calvert Memorial are about on the same level, and about the same distance from Waldorf). Southern Maryland is in Prince George's County--both in a so-so area, and gets pretty bad reviews from both patients and medical staff (I've been a patient there, and known patients there after becoming a nurse). I'll just say I lived in LaPlata after finishing nursing school, and travelled 72 miles (one way) for my job in Baltimore, bypassing several hospitals to get to work each day, and it was well worth it, if for nothing else the invaluable experiences that you aren't going to find at rural hospitals. DC is a bit closer, but I went to school in Baltimore, and already had an in there. Hope that helps.

*torya* · Oct 3, 2009

I'll just say I lived in LaPlata after finishing nursing school, and travelled 72 miles (one way) for my job in Baltimore, bypassing several hospitals to get to work each day, and it was well worth it, if for nothing else the invaluable experiences that you aren't going to find at rural hospitals. DC is a bit closer, but I went to school in Baltimore, and already had an in there. Hope that helps.

Hi Nicole109, I have a question for you. I am in my senior year at University of Maryland, Baltimore and I have a dilemma. I really like UMMC and have had two clinicals there so far. My G.P.A is a 4.0 and so I very much want to apply for the Clinical Scholars Program because a) it's a little bit of a scholarship and b) (which i care about more) I get to work at the unit I do my senior practicum in which I think would give me a head-start before orientation. The problem is..I live in Waldorf and, since I'm paying for college with school loans, I don't know if I want to move out right after graduation My parents think it would be undo-able to commute from waldorf to baltimore. Since you did that when you first graduated, what do you think about the commute? My take on it is that I would have to leave by 5am to miss the traffic and I would get home by 9pm. Since it's only 3 days a week this doesn't seem that bad. Is this unrealistic? Any feedback would be great! Thanks so much for your time. If anyone else has a take I would love to hear your advice :)

nicole109 · Oct 4, 2009

Hi torya--I think it's all in what you make it--I lived in 2 places when I commuted to Baltimore, first I lived in Prince Frederick, then in LaPlata...both times commuting to Bayview. Both equal distances from Bayview mileage wise, but I think Prince Frederick was an easier drive, only because I didn't have to go through Waldorf with all of the lights, etc. I, like you, had done my practicum at Bayview, loved the unit, was comfortable there, and wanted to stay. I think that's really important, especially right now when new grads are having such a hard time finding jobs. Everyone is really having a hard time finding jobs. I remember getting up around 445 in the morning, leaving around 530, making it to work around 645, and getting home between 845 and 9 each night. I couldn't do more than 2 days in a row, because I was exhausted. Luckily, my unit manager at the time, also lived in Calvert county, so she understood, and our unit does self scheduling, so I never had a problem getting the days/hours that I wanted. I also didn't have to rotate unless I wanted to, so I'm not sure how traffic would be driving to a night shift going through Waldorf. Going from Prince Frederick, not a problem at all, but again, a whole different set of roads. I think all of those things you need to look at before you make a long term committment to the unit/hospital. I did it for about a year and a half. It was tough, I'm not going to lie, but I don't think I could ever do it again. I enjoy that I only live 10 minutes from my job, and I no longer have that kind of commute. However, in your position, as a new grad, I def. wouldn't sacrifice and start somewhere like Civista or Southern MD--perhaps a DC hospital might be closer? Or consider moving to Baltimore in a month?? Best of luck!

EvelynRN-BSN · Oct 4, 2009

Hi Nicole109, I have a question for you. I am in my senior year at University of Maryland, Baltimore and I have a dilemma. I really like UMMC and have had two clinicals there so far. My G.P.A is a 4.0 and so I very much want to apply for the Clinical Scholars Program because a) it's a little bit of a scholarship and b) (which i care about more) I get to work at the unit I do my senior practicum in which I think would give me a head-start before orientation. The problem is..I live in Waldorf and, since I'm paying for college with school loans, I don't know if I want to move out right after graduation My parents think it would be undo-able to commute from waldorf to baltimore. Since you did that when you first graduated, what do you think about the commute? My take on it is that I would have to leave by 5am to miss the traffic and I would get home by 9pm. Since it's only 3 days a week this doesn't seem that bad. Is this unrealistic? Any feedback would be great! Thanks so much for your time. If anyone else has a take I would love to hear your advice :)

I use to commute from Clinton, MD to Annapolis, MD at AAMC to work in their ICU. Loved it and learned a lot. I spent 16 weeks at a Critical Care Consortium for training in the ICU at Harbor Hospital, which AAMC sent me to and paid for it in full, plus they paid for my last year of school up to max of $3000 and I signed a 1 year contract and worked their for three more years. It is a great hospital. I worked three 12 hour shifts, some longer and did rotating shifts. Then I bought a home in Mechanicsville, MD and it took 1.5 hours to get there (that adds another 3 hours to your day). By the time I got home I was exhausted. Especially after working in the ICU with critical patients where it is non-stop. I never had the time to really get a 30 min lunch. I would have my food in my pod, grab a bit here and there when I had the chance. I loved it there and the day flew by because I did enjoy it and I learned so much from working there. It was worth it, but after a few years it took a toll on me and I became exhausted. Especially the drive home, blasting music, freezing myself with the AC, whatever I had to do to stay awake to make the drive home. Let alone the gas prices at that time were the highest, I ended up giving them my two weeks notice and started to work on my Master's as well. I did that the 3 hour drive for another year and a half, before that it was about an hour from Clinton. It was great! You want to learn a lot where a place has a lot of people that believe in TEAMWORK, work at AAMC. I can only vouch for the ICU. I miss it so much. I still keep in contact with everyone there, including the doctors (the 24 hour Intensivists). We had everything there. Wound Care Nurse, IV Nurses, Respiratory Team, Great Pharmacy with nurse friendly medication IVPB that were already mixed for you. The nurses requested what would make their day more effecient and the hospital listened and made many changes. It is simply is a wonderful place to work. If I did not mind the drive so much I would have never left. But I have issues with Sleep so it is not safe for me to do that long drive, especially after a long and exhausting busy day. Not safe for me.

*torya* · Oct 12, 2009

Thanks for the responses guys :) I really appreciate it. Your experiences really got me thinking. I've decided that if given the choice I do want to work in Baltimore. I think being proud of where I work and comfortable is very important. I'm going to try commuting when I graduate (if I get the position! yikes). I drive back and forth between Baltimore and Waldorf all the time already though I'm not sure what it's going to be like after several 12 hours shifts! If it becomes unmanageable I can always try to get an apartment :/ Again, thank you so much for your considerate, thoughtful advice :)