Published Jan 1, 2006
Billy5949
45 Posts
Hello,
Just wondering, what are the best hospitals to work for in the Miami/Ft.Lauderdale area? Best orientation, etc...
bluesky321
10 Posts
jackson memorial hospital, mount sinai in miami, aventura hospital, north shore medl center
jillyk*rn
859 Posts
hi
it depends on what area of nursing you are interested in.
i work at joe dimaggio childrens hospital in hollywood, which is part of the memorial healthcare system.
memorial is great:wink2: . the main hospital is great (in hollywood). great cardiac:redpinkhe . all around good.
we also have 3 others smaller hospitals, in the neighboring areas (memorial pembroke, memorial west, memorial miramar) if you are looking for a smaller place.
lots of opportunity for movement and change.
good luck.
jill:nurse:
hi it depends on what area of nursing you are interested in.i work at joe dimaggio childrens hospital in hollywood, which is part of the memorial healthcare system.memorial is great:wink2: . the main hospital is great (in hollywood). great cardiac:redpinkhe . all around good.we also have 3 others smaller hospitals, in the neighboring areas (memorial pembroke, memorial west, memorial miramar) if you are looking for a smaller place. lots of opportunity for movement and change. good luck.jill:nurse:
jill, this is the kind of info i need! stay with me here! most people really bash their facility. what's so great about your hospital? right now i am a newbie -6 months into an ortho/neuro/trauma med-surg floor. it's tough. i am not sure if i should continue on a med-surg floor, or hop into a ccu training program. which at some point is the plan -i just know (or have been told) med-surg provides optimal learning and organizational skills. but i honestly don't like it. juggling 8-10 pts., transfers, admissions! i don't know the pts., i just hand them pills. so what/where do you think? i've been into cedars and mt. sinai -no real reason. it's going to be hard to make a choice when i really know nothing of s.florida hospitals! i don't want to make a mistake. i'm looking at things like self-scheduling, pt. load, how much help from aides...i suppose i can find out more in interviews -but people tend to tell you what you want to hear.
from what i remember about interviews--they lie:chuckle :chuckle .
interview them...ask them the questions that you want to know. there are enough hospitals down here that there is always something else out there.
i work peds, so i can't really tell you what the other floors do. and there are days (woops..nights:uhoh3: ) when i swear to the heavens above that i will never walk through the doors again. so, i am not a delusional person. the other hospital i worked at...i was there for almost 10 years and it was terrible. you don't realize it until you go somewhere else.
if you are interested in critical care...see about taking the course. you have some experience, so i wouldn't see that it would be a problem. do you get the florida nursing spectrum paper?? they list the job openings and classes going on.
try to figure out if you like the feel of a small hospital, or a larger, and the area. dade or broward.
Erika627
1 Post
Hello Everyone! Im an LPN from NYC seriously considering moving to Miami. I'm a little concerned about the pay. Right now Im making about $26 an hr. Due to child care issues, I will only be able to work during the day & no weekends. Is this possible lol? Here in NY there are some facilities that offer Mon-Fri schdules. Is it like that over there? I really dont want to find myself stuck in a doctors office for $10/hr. Any advice is greatly appreciated. And how are the nursing homes? Whats the ratio like? Here its 40:1
Miamimom
12 Posts
Im still in school, but I am planning to work with Baptist Hospital.
You can check them out.
www.baptisthealth.net
Thanks Jill. Very helpful. I have to look into the Spectrum Florida paper.
Erika -the people on this site have been so helpful to me, and I want to be helpful to you -but I have no idea what LPN's get paid. I do know starting for RN's is anywhere b/w $17-24. Seems to me NY to FL will be a huge pay cut.
nursing 101
485 Posts
Please do not choose Memorial... At least not the medical-surgical floors. They are very understaff and they lie to you. I would say about 95% of the staff there is nice but you work your tail off. 1:8 is the normal patient ratio but they will tell you 6 when you interview. They promise you one thing regarding orientation and they switch and rush you into the floor because they are soo understaffed. People who got scholarships with them are paying back money instead of working there.
As I said if you really want to work there try anything but a medical-surgical floor. Oh and transferring is very hard, The floors that are o.k. are ICU, ER, PEDS (ER or PICU), CCU and L/D.
So if you want to give it a try do it at your own risk but don't say someone didn't warn you.
And I am not bashing! People have this misconception regarding Memorial but to me it is just like every other hospital.
AuntMeggie
47 Posts
I am also planning a move to Ft. Lauderdale in the next couple months and would love to pick up my current hospital and take it with me. I work in a small level II NICU (Special Care Nursery) and love it. Does anybody know of a hospital in the area where they split up level II/III into separate units? I'm not a big fan of level III and newborn nursery isn't really my favorite. I like right in the middle. Let me know if you have any ideas.
LNeonurse
30 Posts
Comparing the salary in NYC to most places in the country and to Miami in particular, is like comparing apples to oranges. Miami is not cheap by any means but the cost of living in Miami is still lower than that in NYC. Just keep that in mind.
It depends on what you specialty is. I worked at Miami Children's for two years in the NICU and I have to say that I felt it was a really good experience. Of course I have met other NICU nurses from other facilities that did not like MCH's NICU, but I feel that I got a experience and I feel comfortable walking into a new environment with the skills I learned there. Before leaving to do travel nursing, I did agency in Miami. I have to say that I felt that I had been exposed to so much more than other NICU nurses with the same amount of experience or more. So, in terms of getting good pediatric experience, l would recommend it.