Labor deliv RN moving to the triangle

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Hi, sometime in the next few months, my husband, myself and my 3 young children, 5,3 and 3 weeks will be headed south from Annapolis md to the triangle to be closer to family in holly springs and clayton. I have a few years of labor Delv exp and currently work in a high risk level 3 NICU labor delivery Unit with 24 rooms,5 triage and 3 OR's. We handle triage, antepartum, and infusions of mag etc for ante and post partums that get sent back down to us. I love my job which makes this move hard. I have heard amazing things about wake med, UNC hosp and Duke hosp. I've heard unc benefits are awesome and they are prob closest to what I am coming from i terms of high risk w NICU and volume/population.

My parents moved to clayton and the housing out there is enticing. Johnston county health hospital has a women's wing or a new l&d department I heard. Can anyone give me some insight on any of the hospitals and how the nurses like working there..I would really appreciate it! Also looking at travel assignments in those areas too. Thank you!

Apex (which is kind of like Holly Springs and sort of near it) is a lovely, lovely area and is booming financially and real-estate wise. It has good schools and is a nice community. With the toll road, you can get anywhere pretty quickly, and in my opinion, it's worth it. I have friends who live in Apex and work in Cary, Durham, and Raleigh. Rex, Wake, and Western Wake are all good options for you to consider from that location.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

LOL, based on your post, I think we can figure out which hospital you work at.

Without disclosing where I currently work (sorry, I like to keep that private), I will give you a basic break down of the larger hospitals and their satellites in the area as far as L&D is concerned. If you do a search here and look on Glassdoor.com, you'll find lots of opinions on each hospital.

Duke is a tertiary referral center with a very large L&D unit (21 beds last count) and a separate mother/baby and antepartum unit, all housed on the same floor. They have a level 4 NICU in house, and specialize in care of micro preemies and critically ill neonates. They have a dedicated women's anesthesia department, so you don't have to "share" with the rest of the hospital. It is a teaching hospital, so you get all that comes with that as well.

UNC is a tertiary referral center as well, and I believe their L&D has 15 beds. They also have a separate antepartum and mother/baby unit. They have a level 4 NICU in house, and also specialize in the care of micro preemies and critically ill neonates. I don't know their anesthesia department is dedicated women's or if they share anesthesia with the rest of the hospital. It is a teaching hospital, so again, you get all that comes with that. UNC is unique in that while they are a tertiary referral center and a teaching hospital, they also have a birthing center specifically for lower risk midwifery patients who wish to have lower intervention births. I hear lots of nice things about that.

Wake Med is a tertiary referral center and not only has a level 4 NICU, but also has an OB ICU unit in house, and has an OB trauma team as well. I don't know how many labor suites they have, but do know that they have a separate antepartum and mother/baby unit as well. Wake Med is also a teaching hospital.

UNC Rex is not a tertiary referral center, but has a large L&D unit with I believe 12 (possibly 15? not sure...) beds. It has a separate unit that is combined antepartum and mother/baby together. They have a level 3 NICU/Special care nursery, and typically ship out the micropreemies and very sick babies to either Wake or Duke (or wherever there is a bed available). Although Rex is owned by UNC, it is not a teaching hospital.

Wake Med has 2 satellite hospitals that also do L&D: Wake Med Cary and Wake Med North. Wake Med North just opened a year ago, and is a smaller hospital. I'm not sure how many labor beds, but do know they have a combined antepartum mother/baby unit with a level 2-3 special care nursery. It is not a teaching hospital. Wake Med Cary has been around much longer, and from what I hear is quite busy. I'm not sure how many labor suites they have, but they also have separate antepartum and mother/baby units. Their nursery is level 3 special care.

Getting a job here if you are an experienced L&D nurse will not be hard. There are plenty of jobs to be had, even if not at your first choice hospital. Hope this helps!

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LOL, based on your post, I think we can figure out which hospital you work at.

Okay, which one? :D

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

I am one of those crazy people. I drive from JoCo to Duke. 43 miles each way. i am a weekender so traffic is not so bad. My weekday, I leave a little earlier. It is worth it to me :)

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Specializes in ICU, Military.

One thing to keep in mind - Southeast Raleigh (which is coincidentally where WakeMed Main campus is located) is not the best area to think about buying a home. High crime there. avoid that area. even parts of Garner are sketchy. I bought my first home right outside of Garner in SE Raleigh and hated it. My home got broken into, i was lucky to sell it after 2 years and get out unscathed (thankfully as others have said the Raleigh real estate area is booming). do your due diligence and research neighborhoods. I own a home in Apex right outside cary/holly springs and it is pretty awesome there.

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