Lehigh Valley Hospital

cc_nurse · May 11, 2008

Hi! I have worked there for a little over 2 yrs (Cedar Crest site) I really like it. The benefits are very very good, most of the units are nice environments, magnet designation etc. The pay is average to slightly above for the valley, but its a very large, learning network so you get a lot of great experiences.

sunny17 · May 11, 2008

Thanks for the response. I'll be starting there in August and it seems like a really wonderful place. What counties or areas does it primarly get patients from?

cc_nurse · May 11, 2008

It really is a regional hospital. They transport from as far north as Pocono Medical and stretch pretty far in the other directions. A pretty good mix of demographics for the most part. Good luck, where will you be starting?

sunny17 · May 12, 2008

I'll be starting in August in NICU

cc_nurse · May 16, 2008

Hey thats great! I have worked in the NICU since before I graduated, I love it

If you have experience the orientation won't be too overwhelming, night shift is great, lots of teamwork and camaraderie. I likely won't get to meet you, we are planning on moving to the midwest at the end of July, but if that falls through we will be co-workers eventually!

good luck!

sunny17 · May 20, 2008

wow, what a small world:) So how has your experience been at LVH? It seems like a great place to work! What are your typical patients you admit?

Iamtraumanurse · May 20, 2008

I also work at Lehigh Valley hospital in the trauma CC unit, as well as the ER. I thoroughly enjoy it, the people are freat, benefits and pay are adequate. The only thing that I wish was that they paid you extra for specialty certifications (CCRN, CEN, etc.) The hospital is very new and everything is automated (Charting, etc). All the nurses I know of are very educated and at least in my unit have a great deal of independence towards patient care. In my experience the residents actually listen to you and most of the time agree with your recommendation.

gemini901d · May 26, 2008

Well I worked at Lehigh Valley's Muhlenberg (Regional Heart) campus and for a few months and HATED it. While some of the night staff were pretty nice there were a few coworkers, mostly really snotty day shift nurses who made it simply unbearable. If you get in with the right unit you would probably be fine. Some of the other units at least seemed kinda happy and close. That however was not my experience there. I guess that's why that particular unit has had so many problems, managerial and otherwise in the recent past.

cc_nurse · May 26, 2008

We run the gamut for little ones- sugar babies from MBU, chorio, micro-premies, GI issues. We have been admitting quite a few

sunny17 · May 27, 2008

CCNurse,

Sounds very similar to where I work now...what would you say your daily census is? When I interviewed the director said that the core numbers for nurses was 11 per shift, so I was guessing your census was anywhere from 20-30?

dekagirlsRN · Jul 19, 2008

Just wondering how you landed such an awesome job and how is it going? I would LOVE to work in the NICU when I graduate, have a year of school left. Do you have any suggestions for me? Thank you!!