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was reading in a nursing magazine about where new grads should work... a small community based hospital or a large trauma center. ANd it said that is better to work in a larger faciltiy first and then to downgrad to a small facility if you choose too. And that its much harder to upgrade from a smaller facility to a trauma center. Is this true? It seems like all of the hospitals I have called in orange county are only community based hospitals. Any help would be grealy appreciated.

A lot of places tell me how many beds they have but that doesn't mean anything to me. And they say acute care.. what is acute care? And they say community hospital.. does that mean its small? Should I be asking if they're trauma centers?

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Specializes in cardiac.

Acute care is medical and nursing care delivered to pts in controlled settings, such as a hospital, where continuous monitoring and interventions are required.The pts are unable to care for themselves. Their conditions need specialized medical treatments or procedures in a hospital setting.ICU, Oberservation Units,General Nursing Units.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I think there is the "ideal" new nurse job - written about in magazines and then there is the "real world" of what is available where the new nurse lives. I think the ideal job is the one where the new nurse has plenty of orientation (6-16 weeks depending on the unit/floor/acuity) and one year of mentoring from an experienced nurse. The ideal job won't be so chaotic or busy that the new nurse can't ask questions. The climate of the unit/floor would be such that the new nurse feels appreciated and wants to come to work.

That is my ideal new nurse job. That way, we would keep new nurses!

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Specializes in Tele m/s, new to ED.

I started in a small community hospital. Neighbors taking care of neighbors. I was on a med/surg, telmetry floor. I was able to gain experience with ortho, surg, cardiac, respiratory, CA, and on and on...all on one floor. We have an ICU, Maternity, Peds and an ED, those are more specialty. From what I've heard from former classmates at larger hospitals is that if they are on a burn unit, all they get are burns, Ortho is ortho, yes there is crossing over, but it never sounds as diverse as we are on our floors. Another thing to consider, in our smaller hospital we get everything, and there aren't the specialists to call at the drop of a dime. So in our ED our staff has to be prepared for everything from the stubbed toe to major trauma. Also consider the size of a community hospital. In a large city nearby, their community hospital is doing valve replacements. Big community, big population, more need, and more $$$$ invested. Just more to think about.

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So acute care wouldn't deal with med/surg then correct? If not, then that is not something I want to be doing as a new grad. So I'll try and stay away from acute care hospitals.

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I started in a small community hospital. Neighbors taking care of neighbors. I was on a med/surg, telmetry floor. I was able to gain experience with ortho, surg, cardiac, respiratory, CA, and on and on...all on one floor. We have an ICU, Maternity, Peds and an ED, those are more specialty. From what I've heard from former classmates at larger hospitals is that if they are on a burn unit, all they get are burns, Ortho is ortho, yes there is crossing over, but it never sounds as diverse as we are on our floors. Another thing to consider, in our smaller hospital we get everything, and there aren't the specialists to call at the drop of a dime. So in our ED our staff has to be prepared for everything from the stubbed toe to major trauma. Also consider the size of a community hospital. In a large city nearby, their community hospital is doing valve replacements. Big community, big population, more need, and more $$$$ invested. Just more to think about.

Which would be easier for a new grad, in your opinion? Community hospital or trauma center? As of right now, when I start out I am probably going to med/surg. I haven't done my ob/peds rotation yet so I'm not sure if that will make me want to change my mind and do one of those. I am working at a small community hospital right now as a nurse extern. Basically if theres any kind of trauma they will be life flighted to a trauma center 20 min away. There are no ob/peds in the hospital I work at. If someone is in a car accident and is hurt badly they will more than likely be life flighted to a trauma hospital.

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Specializes in cardiac.

Acute care means that the pt is really sick and their problem needs to be fixed. There are really sick pts through out the hospital. In my opinion, doesn't matter what floor you work on. There are different levels of how sick they are and as such, would determine where that pt needs to be placed in the hospital. Med/Surg, ICU, Tele,etc. Hope this helps.:wink2:

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
So acute care wouldn't deal with med/surg then correct? If not, then that is not something I want to be doing as a new grad. So I'll try and stay away from acute care hospitals.

No, all hospital care is acute care.

Acute care is a term which differentiates hospital care (of an acute, meaning "right-now", problem) from rehab or long term care (LTC).

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Specializes in cardiac.
Which would be easier for a new grad, in your opinion? Community hospital or trauma center? As of right now, when I start out I am probably going to med/surg. I haven't done my ob/peds rotation yet so I'm not sure if that will make me want to change my mind and do one of those. I am working at a small community hospital right now as a nurse extern. Basically if theres any kind of trauma they will be life flighted to a trauma center 20 min away. There are no ob/peds in the hospital I work at. If someone is in a car accident and is hurt badly they will more than likely be life flighted to a trauma hospital.

The only advice I can give would be to finish all of your clinical rotations and find out which one interests you the most. Look through the specialty forums and see if you can get any insight as to what nurses do in their particular specialty area. As far as "community vs. trauma" hopitals, I've only worked in a community hospital on cardiac intervention unit, and it kept me pretty busy. Most serious traumas involving head and spine injuries were flown out related to not having a Neuro MD on staff at the time. We also did not have Peds where I worked. They were usually diverted. Generally, took care of everything else.

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Specializes in ER/Geriatrics.

I agree that an ideal start to your nursing career would involve an adequate orientation and mentoring by high quality nurses....you also have to decide on what area you are interested in and specialize...it is impossible to be an expert on everything as things change quickly...IMHO

Liz

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Specializes in ER/Geriatrics.

I agree that an ideal start to your nursing career would involve an adequate orientation and mentoring by high quality nurses....you also have to decide on what area you are interested in and specialize...it is impossible to be an expert on everything as things change quickly...IMHO

Liz

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Specializes in cardiac.
The only advice I can give would be to finish all of your clinical rotations and find out which one interests you the most. Look through the specialty forums and see if you can get any insight as to what nurses do in their particular specialty area. As far as "community vs. trauma" hopitals, I've only worked in a community hospital on cardiac intervention unit, and it kept me pretty busy. Most serious traumas involving head and spine injuries were flown out related to not having a Neuro MD on staff at the time. We also did not have Peds where I worked. They were usually diverted. Generally, took care of everything else.

Meaning, the hospital accepted everything else.

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