How do you learn hospital reputations before you hire on?

[Big5-Oh!]

If you're a new graduate, or new to an area (like I am in St. Louis), how can you realistically go about learning about a hospital's reputation within the medical community?

I'm not talking about the paid advertising or the "top 100 hospitals according to such-and-such magazine" ratings. Those are bought and paid for.

I'm talking about how nurses feel about different hospitals. I mean, come on, we all know the good ones and the bad ones, but if you're new, how do you find out?

In St. Louis, I know Barnes is the biggest, but does that make it the best?

St. Luke's was in the paper yesterday for a prosecuting attorney suing it because his wife died there, but does that make it bad? I mean, people die in hospitals, and the hospitals get sued, every day, right?

And what about the littler hospitals, like Duibuis or Anderson?

How do you know beFORE you get stuck working someplace how the nurses really feel about it?

Anybody???

[Mr Ian]

Staff vote with their feet.

Check the employment adverts. Those that advertise the most positions (unless there's a new unit opening or something) are often the most in turmoil.

Ask the HR dept how many nursing vacancies they have.

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

posted openings do not give the entire story. many times hr will post positions in anticipation of an opening that may never happen. the best way to know of a hospital's reputation is by working in a hospital.

as a worker bee you find out what hospitals and floors have to offer you and where you might wish to work upon graduation. asking people (friends) can be helpful at times too but there is no guarantee you will get the inside scoop. for example, your friend may say he/she does not like such and such hospital or floor that you would not have a problem with due to having a different personality, tolerance level, rep, goals etc. thus, unless you have been working for the a hospital of interest while in school, you may not be able to gauge a good fit until you have started to work as a new grad. as a nurse extern and tech i learned of the reputations of various floors, directors, co-workers, etc. and made an informed decision. if i was in your situation i could honestly say i would have made a mistake.

all is not lost, you can use the interview process as an opportunity to learn. although everyone will be on his/her best behavior, try your best to gain as much as you can during interviews and meet the staff (walk the floor and keep your eyes and ears open as you take a tour). keep in mind, if you do not make the right decision for you now, you can always move on in a year or so…. gl!

-new grad

[Jules A, MSN]

I have always done a share day before accepting a job. Not that you will know everything but it gives me an idea of the workings of the unit. I'm very particular about my team and this has worked well for me in the past. Good luck.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

I have always done a share day before accepting a job. Not that you will know everything but it gives me an idea of the workings of the unit. I'm very particular about my team and this has worked well for me in the past. Good luck.

What is a share day? Sounds like observation?

[Big5-Oh!]

What if they don't offer that? Like the smaller hospitals (Dubuis, Anderson) don't offer it, or at least they didn't offer it to me. Is it o.k. to ask for it?????????

[highlandlass1592, BSN, RN]

Sure it's ok to ask for it. Just ask them to set-up a shadow time on the unit you're interested in and see what they say. If they say no, I'd be curious why. I've shadowed at facilities before without a problem.