How do you know if someplace is good to work?

[badger126]

I am currently a student, hopefully graduating in May with my ASN. Lately I've been putting a lot of thought into where to apply and what jobs to seek when I'm done. My goal is to continue my education and get my CRNA, meaning that I need some critical care experience. It is my understanding that ICUs don't typically hire new grads and the best place to get experience is cardiac units. There are a few hospitals within range of where I would like to be with cardiac units, but what I want to know is, how do I know that they are good places to work?

Money isn't an issue. I've worked in a number of different places for my job as a CNA and in clinicals and I would much rather take a paycut and have a good unit to work for around pleasant people who I enjoy. Is there any way to know this beforehand without actually working there? How do you find a good place to work?

[Aleera]

See if you can talk to nurses from those units outside of their work environment. Most people aren't going to share negative thoughts when a potential new hire is touring the unit during the interview process. One big sign to watch for is how many experienced nurses there are and how experienced the charge nurse is (if you can.. this may be tough). If it seems like almost everyone is a new graduate or was hired in the last year and a half then the floor probably has a problem with staff retention.

I was hired with 3 other new grads and 2 new CNAs... 4 months later we hired 2 new nurses and 3 new CNAs.... and now we have hired 3 new grads and 4 new CNAs....

On the plus side I love my coworkers even though my job is horrible.

Unfortunately, you may have to take what experience you can get. Many times the places willing to hire new grads are the units with retention problems.