Knoxville Hospitals

Sondra Cash · Dec 3, 2004

Hi there I work at UHS ( THE NEW NAME FOR UTMC).Some one miss informed you I work in the ER there and They have 5 different ICU's Trauma ,Peds , Surgery ,Medical ,and Heart stroke.They have new grads coming to work there all the time.It is a great place to work.

Sondra

cnolan · Feb 5, 2005

Hi there I work at UHS ( THE NEW NAME FOR UTMC).Some one miss informed you I work in the ER there and They have 5 different ICU's Trauma ,Peds , Surgery ,Medical ,and Heart stroke.They have new grads coming to work there all the time.It is a great place to work.
Sondra

Hey! My name is Charity and I'm currently a PA resident looking to relocate to TN after graduation in May. One of the hospitals I'm seriously considering is UHS. It was so good to hear you say it's a great place to work- I'd love to work in the ER or in an ICU there! :)

Sondra Cash · Feb 5, 2005

I am an LPN the call back nurse in the ER. There are all kinds of job openings ,RN's are in great demand , The ER has self scheduling but most work 12 or 10 hour shifts .You have to work 2 weekends a month.Except for my job which is Mon -Fri 8 hour shifts.My sister works at another hospital here and she feels the same way .So when you get here shop around.There is a shortage here.But the hospitals a very careful about who they hire and back ground checks for everthing.I am glad because it weeds out the slackers.Good Luck when you come to Knoxville You will love it,LOL be prepared for lots of orange after all this town is all about the Tennessee Vols.

Sondra

Traveler · Feb 7, 2005

This is off topic, but there were several posters who said they work at UT (I didn't even know the name had changed- you'll never get locals to say any different!) I have an appt this week with pain mgt. for a nerve block. From what you all have seen, is this a pretty good group, busy, etc? I have to check in at op so I assume the procedure is done in the main bldg.

Thanks,

Ann

nursenary57 · Feb 7, 2005

I am an LPN the call back nurse in the ER. There are all kinds of job openings ,RN's are in great demand , The ER has self scheduling but most work 12 or 10 hour shifts .You have to work 2 weekends a month.Except for my job which is Mon -Fri 8 hour shifts.My sister works at another hospital here and she feels the same way .So when you get here shop around.There is a shortage here.But the hospitals a very careful about who they hire and back ground checks for everthing.I am glad because it weeds out the slackers.Good Luck when you come to Knoxville You will love it,LOL be prepared for lots of orange after all this town is all about the Tennessee Vols.
Sondra

I did a 2 month travel contract in their ER last summer. Nice ER, good equipment and clean too. The staff I worked with was great. Out of all of the staff there were only two for whom I didn't care to work with (Sondra can probably name them). The charge nurses were on the ball but damn that place was unorganized! It is a level 1 trauma center and I have worked at another level 1 for two years prior to going there. To say there is a difference would be the understatement of the century. Let me put it this way, if I get injured in East TN, screw the golden hour and take the extra time to fly me to Erhlanger in Chattanooga.

I want to make clear that I'm not downgrading or disrespecting the staff. There are a bunch of good docs, nurses, RTs, radiology etc. Most of these folks were knowledgeable and good at their job. But good God a mighty it was unorganized. I'm only gonna give one example (otherwise my BP will skyrocket and I'll be in the hospital on my only night off). At the level 1 trauma center I came from when we learned there was a level1 patient coming in (very unstable patient) this is the staffing we had to deal with situation. Primary RN, Secondary RN/EMT-P, RN to chart, Respiratory therapist, 2 rad techs, 1 ER attending, 1 ER resident, 3 trauma residents, 1 trauma attending, 1 trauma NP, 1 patient care tech, 1 social worker for family issues and CT cleared for the patient with OR notified to have a room ready. So probably 15 people within ten feet of the trauma bay ready to go. At UTMC the first level 1 I was involved with it was just me and a surgical resident. I could have bitten an oak tree in half with my orifice! That was the worst one. They had the ER set up better than Vandy but the trauma response was, once again, disorganized.

In the ER they do team nursing which I grew to hate within about ten minutes of working there. If you don't know about team nursing, well, it isn't quite the same as teamwork. IMHO, it leads to screwups because continuity of care is compromised. I think they only had been doing team nursing for 6 months at that time.

I only worked the ER so I can't tell you about the rest of the hospital. Once again, the people were great at their job and nice to boot, but disorganization hampered them. I won't pretend to know why they were disorganized. And if any of you guys from Knoxville are reading this, I had a good time and enjoyed working with you. Good luck with your move and decisions.

Pyke

cnolan · Feb 8, 2005

this is kind of a strange question, but coming from Northern PA...haha.

How much snow do you get in the winter down there?

(We get, on average, 2-3 feet! sometimes more! And winters here last from late September until late April!)

nubins397 · Mar 9, 2005

Hi everyone,
My husband and I are moving to Knoxville after I graduate from nursing school in April. I've emailed UTMC and have found out that they do not hire new grads into ICU. Just wondering if this was common here and if not does anyone know of any other hospitals in the area that do-ICU area.
Thank
]hi shirley..Idid a travel assignment @FORT SANDERS REGIONAL in Knoxville..was agreat place to work.

Sondra Cash · Mar 9, 2005

1st Yes We have been still are unorganized,But we have started a zone nursing thing and it is helping.Iam printing off your thread and taking it to work today.:uhoh21: That should shake things up at our staff meeting today.Yes I am sure I can name the nurses you mention ,if they are still there.Did you work 7a to 7 p or 7p to 7a? When were you there?

2nd They are 5 critical care departments not just one ICU,so I would advice just applying on line and then tell them your interest.The ER did not hire new grads but they do now.

3rd SNOW:rotfl: We are suppose to get some snow this week but so far other than the mountains here in Knoxville we have not had any yet,a flurrie here and there.

Sondra