ICU's in GA

rn29306 · Apr 3, 2005

Get CV or SI at either of the hospitals you mentioned. MI will do, but you will see more invasive monitoring generally in a CI or Surgical unit than a medical.

Both hospitals you mentioned are well-regarded in the Altanta area.

CougRN · Apr 3, 2005

Get CV or SI at either of the hospitals you mentioned. MI will do, but you will see more invasive monitoring generally in a CI or Surgical unit than a medical.
Both hospitals you mentioned are well-regarded in the Altanta area.

if you go to emory i would suggest trauma icu. you will see so much it will scare you. any icu in a large hospital will give you the experience you need. pick what interests you most

blee1 · Apr 3, 2005

Thanks guys, Im asking because I will be attending Emory for my BSN (Im in Hawaii) and I will most likely end up working in GA for a few years post grad. Im just trying to get a heads up about these hospitals because both offer tuition repayment scholarships...

Also, how's Grady's ICUs?

CougRN · Apr 3, 2005

Thanks guys, Im asking because I will be attending Emory for my BSN (Im in Hawaii) and I will most likely end up working in GA for a few years post grad. Im just trying to get a heads up about these hospitals because both offer tuition repayment scholarships...
Also, how's Grady's ICUs?

Grady is awesome too. You won't go wrong with picking Grady or Emory. Grady is a county hospital and you will see a ton there. But you will at Emory also. I have friends who have worked at both and I can tell you that you will get excellent experience at both.

I just ask, why Atlanta from Hawaii? If it is a must then you have picked two of the best hospitals in the area for experience. Just a question. Best of luck.

blee1 · Apr 3, 2005

I just ask, why Atlanta from Hawaii?

I have lived in Hawaii my entire life and I just thought a different environment would be nice. I decided on GA because I have family there so atleast I wont feel too alone..

CougRN - do you have personal experience with any of these hospitals, are you from GA?

rn29306 · Apr 3, 2005

Lived in Atlanta for 3 years working in units, then got into UTC at Chattanooga with Erlanger. I would suggest not working at Grady's units. Everyone knows in the region that you get stabilized in the ER and then transfer to another hospital. Have had multiple friends that worked there and even agency pay wasn't enough compensation for the physical conditions of the facility and to top it off, the attitude is malignant at best. I'm very serious about this, 5 friends saying the same thing is no joke.

From my experience, I still say SI over trauma but that is up to you. It is an open market for you, you certainly have the choice to make. Go look at the units and see the type of patients they have that day and the amount of monitoring involved. Over half of our current class is from SI, none from trauma. Same with the upcoming class and only one from trauma. The SI in Chattanooga, both Erlanger and Memorial, is known for being a farm for potential anesthesia students.

You may also want to look at WellStar Kennestone Hospital. http://www.wellstar.org

A level II hospital, teaching hospital only in the open heart portion, actually the busiest ER in the state 2 years ago, beating Grady, AMC, and even Memorial in Savannah for number of patients seen. Excellent hospital, just opened an open heart program in affiliation with Emory. Multiple units in addition to open heart.

Let us know how it goes.

Trauma Tom · Apr 3, 2005

While I agree with some of what rn29306 said about Grady I do not totally agree with everything. I am an SRNA and worked at Grady for over 2 years. Six months in the ER as a nurse extern and then 4 months in the SICU as a nurse extern prior to working there as a RN. I agree that the work in the ER can cause burnout and the turnover is high there. The units are a different matter. As far as number of admissions in the ER is concerned, I do not feel the number of admissions is as important as the acuity of the patients you are going to see. Without a doubt, whether in the MICU, SICU or burn units, the sickest of the sickest are in the units at Grady. If you are an adrenaline junkie, you will find no other place like Grady in Atlanta. However, Grady has its fair share of problems. When I worked in SICU I never experienced the kind of problems that the floor nurses or ER nurses experienced. I liked the SICU because we got the trauma, open hearts, as well as some overflow from MICU. We also got a ton of experience in Neuro. We were well paid and most of the time we were fully staffed. Plenty of opportunity for overtime if you wanted it. However, there are other units in Atlanta that give good experience as well. I would check out Emory's transplant unit as well as the heart unit. I also would check into Atlanta Medical Center. They get a lot of the overflow from Grady for some trauma patients. You need to go where you are going to get a lot of experience with ventilated patients, on multiple drips with as much exposure to invasive monitoring as possible. Between, Emory, Grady, and AMC I feel that you will get all you need. Another advantage to these three hospitals is that they are teaching hospitals, so there is a learning environment. I know of numerous individuals, from all three of these hospitals, who were admitted to anesthesia school. I personally loved working at Grady and am seriously considering returning there when I finish school. Despite its problems I enjoyed it. It seems to get in your blood. However, Grady is not for everyone. In my experience you either love Grady, or hate it. There doesn't seem to be any in between. Good luck whichever way you decide to go.

Lived in Atlanta for 3 years working in units, then got into UTC at Chattanooga with Erlanger. I would suggest not working at Grady's units. Everyone knows in the region that you get stabilized in the ER and then transfer to another hospital. Have had multiple friends that worked there and even agency pay wasn't enough compensation for the physical conditions of the facility and to top it off, the attitude is malignant at best. I'm very serious about this, 5 friends saying the same thing is no joke.
From my experience, I still say SI over trauma but that is up to you. It is an open market for you, you certainly have the choice to make. Go look at the units and see the type of patients they have that day and the amount of monitoring involved. Over half of our current class is from SI, none from trauma. Same with the upcoming class and only one from trauma. The SI in Chattanooga, both Erlanger and Memorial, is known for being a farm for potential anesthesia students.
You may also want to look at WellStar Kennestone Hospital. http://www.wellstar.org
A level II hospital, teaching hospital only in the open heart portion, actually the busiest ER in the state 2 years ago, beating Grady, AMC, and even Memorial in Savannah for number of patients seen. Excellent hospital, just opened an open heart program in affiliation with Emory. Multiple units in addition to open heart.
Let us know how it goes.

rn29306 · Apr 3, 2005

As far as number of admissions in the ER is concerned, I do not feel the number of admissions is as important as the acuity of the patients you are going to see.

While I agree with you generally, but do you honestly think all the healthy, ASA I people in Atlanta line up at Kennestone's ED doors? Number seen gives insight to who is admitted.

As the OP can see, there is a difference of opinion here, but the take-home point is that it is hard to go wrong in Atlanta if acuity is what you seek. The market is certainly on your side and there are plenty of sick patients to be cared for. Some of the teaching hospitals, Emory for sure, has some units, SI I think, that are managed by MDAs. I don't know the specific units, but that is something to also look at and the teaching by these individuals would be a great learning opportunity for you.

Good luck.

blee1 · Apr 4, 2005

Thanks guys, all of you have been extremely helpful, this board is awsome!!

babynursewannab · Apr 4, 2005

St. Joseph's ICU's are awesome. I have personal experience with the CVICU (ignore my screen name). St. Joe's is the leading cardiac hospital in the SE. It is also the second (I believe) hospital in the nation to obtain Magnet status and has been awarded three times, thus far.

The CVICU is post open-heart with some CCU spill-over so your experience with invasive lines and monitoring with come with pretty much every single patient. (I haven't had one yet without). The people are also fabulous. They are so friendly and bend over backwards to help you when you need it. Two of my friends in my unit are starting CRNA programs this fall and I believe two more from other ICU's in the hosptal are going as well. There is the CVICU, CCU, NICU (neuro), and the MSICU...Lots of options.

Personally, I think all of the hospitals mentioned are good bets, but you couldn't pay me enough to work at Grady. No one I personally know who has worked there (and there have been many) stayed very long. The general concensus was stress, stress, nurses eating their young (and their not-so-young), staffing/scheduling problems and stress. It IS the number one trauma facility here if that is what you are interested in.

Hope that helps a little. Good luck on your search.

-Alyssa