LA hospitals

I am a new grad at UCLA. When I started back in July the pay was $28/hr with no time and a half. The night differential is $4 and the weekend differential is $2.50. The new grad program is good, but I dont really have anything to compare it to. It is a one year program and you must attend a lecture style 4 hour class once every month for the first year. Each individual unit does their preceptorship differently. I work on the acute medicine floor and I had to work with a preceptor for six weeks, was evaluated, then they let me work on my own. If you work on a floor with higher acuity patients your preceptorship will be longer and different, because you may have to attend extra classes or get extra certifications.

I accepted a job with UCLA, but mostly for the benefits and because I like working in a teaching hospital. The pay at UCLA is lower than at many other hospitals. I hear that Kaiser pays really well. The plus for UCLA (for me) is that it offers a pension. I'm planning on working per diem elsewhere after a year of experience in order to earn more money. The new grad program is nothing special, IMO.

I think pay at UCLA and Cedars if roughly comparable. Benefits at UCLA may be a bit better (does each person get a defined contribution, a 403bmatch, AND the defined benefit plan? at Cedars you choose EITHER the defined contrib or defined benefit plan, and also et 403b matching), but for instance the copays for HMO insurance are the same at both hospitals. Didactic at UCLA is 1 yr. long, 48 hours total.

According to my info, here is what Cedars offers new grads:

starting pay avg. 28.49/h for a 12-h shift

6 8-hour workshops in the first 6 months- 48 hours total, like UCLA, less mos.

8-12 weeks preceptored clinical orientation

tuition reimbursement after 1 year ($2,000)

free (after tuition reimb.) RN to BSN/MSN onsite without a waiting list to do it

free ceus (duh!)

additional, optional workshops in the 2nd six months

Specialty training in OR & PACU, ED, Critical care, Telemetry, Oncology, Peds, NICU, L&D, Postpartum, Neurosurgery, Orthopedics

Oh, and you sign an agreement that if you leave Cedars before 18 mos. after completion of new grad program (2 yrs. total), you have to pay them $4818 for the new grad education. They "forgive" it if you stay that long.

My impression at UCLA was that I'd only get a 6-8 week preceptorship. My interviewer let slip that after 6 wks I might just be a staff RN with full patient load (on a specialty med-surg floor, not and ICU) and could switch to my "normal" shift, i.e., nights!

P.S., UCLA had a top rep, but many people tell me, and I even heard it while interviewing there, that there is a very high turnover. Apparently new grad nurses go there, stay a year, and then run. I keep asking myself why.

OK, I quit UCLA one year ago, my friend quit Cedars one year ago. I paid lots more for employee parking at UCLA than she did at Cedars and her parking was closer/better than mine. I paid much more for my health coverage (1 person) than she, but this might not be a fair comparison, since health coverage can be tricky - however, it seemed we had the same plan! Yes, I paid much more per month.

I think that much of the turnover of new grads at UCLA does have to do with pay--specifically, after a year at UCLA, you can go to a lot of places and do the same thing for more money. I've heard that having worked at UCLA is a big plus on your resume, but I've not experienced that because I've not looked for work elsewhere.

Parking for the Westwood campus is $60/month. Plus, there are union dues. For me, the big plus for UCLA is the retirement, though apparently they're going to make us start contributing to that as well with defined contributions. There is no matching for the 403b, but you get a pension.

Before taking a job at UCLA, be very careful to ask about what will happen to your position when you go to the new hospital. My floor is being shrunk and I will have to find a job on a new unit.

anyone can tell me about Community Hospital of San Bernardino? Is it a nice hospital to work?

I need some bird's eye view of this health care facility!!

Your response is highly appreciated.. THANK YOU VERY MUCH