Mission Hospital Vs. UCI

[fauxpaus]

Hey fellow nurses,

After submitting 5 apps and getting 5 offers, I have narrowed down my top 2 choices to UCI and Mission Hospital (Mission Viejo main hospital) in OC.

I was hoping to hear from someone of you who have worked at one or both of these hospitals to get some insider feedback. Any (really, any..."I worked at ___ and it was a wonderful 3 years") information is fine! If you have worked in the ORs, that's extra great, but honestly, I'm looking for any information from any RN.

Has anyone gotten relocation or a signing bonus for either of these two hospitals? Plus...

- general happiness level of employees

- culture

- benefits - are you happy with them?

- overtime policies

- Tuition reimbursement, raises/bonuses

- do you feel like management in general really cares about you

- Mission is not union, but UCI is - how do you feel about either?

- teaching hospital vs. non-teaching hospital

- training opportunities

- anything else that you guys might think could help me with my decision

- Location - I'll be moving close to the beach either way, so if anyone has comments regarding commute, areas to avoid...

Here's a basic rundown what I know/feel so far -

- UCI is a level 1 trauma center (which might look slightly better on a job app but they don't do liver transplants, one of my specialties)

- Mission (level 2 trauma center) with a great vibe, the people, newer technology. Faith based (doesn't bother me).

- From the brief tours that I got from both, there wasn't that much difference in the cases done (that I could tell based on a brief tour).

Thanks in advance.

[fauxpaus]

I would love to live close to the beach but I don't think it's feasible given the whole traffic situation. I keep reading about horrible crime near the hospital though, is this just a couple people complaining or is this a huge problem? If it's not a huge issue I'll just live really close and not chance the traffic, since I get really anxious about possibly being late.

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

I worked at St Joseph of Orange not too far from UCI and the surrounding area was definitely suspicious. I saw likely gang members nearby and wouldn't want to live over there. Irvine is nice, but pricey. Unfortunately I'd stay away from Santa Ana and too near the hospital. Usually the UC hospitals are built near a bad area because it ensures a good amount of traumas will roll in.

[fauxpaus]

This sounds like a darned if you do darned if you don't situation Live close to work and avoid traffic/being late, end up in a crime area...

live outside the super close commute zone and risk horribly long commutes and daily anxiety. I contemplated Irvine... I know it's pricey, but assuming that I can come up with the money, is it what you guys would consider a relatively risk free commute? And by that I mean, google maps says 15 minutes for instance, but it's usually an hour to get that 13 miles...

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

No commute is risk free in OC. One accident can ruin you. I usually have myself an hour before work and was fine. I was only late once. I'd rather commute a few miles though than have to worry about being shot/mugged/assaulted.

[fauxpaus]

Darn it. I hate these types of decisions. I looked at some Irvine complexes online and saw some safety concerns posted there as well. The spectrum does not have safety concerns but would the commute be unreasonable?

[Banana nut, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

If you get familiar with the local area around uci you can find some pretty nice areas. Right off the city Dive there are some new town houses/apartment that look really nice. If you do your homework and look around you can find something close to work that is also safe.

[fauxpaus]

The problem isn't so much of a lack of willingness to do the homework, so to speak, as it is the lack of ability to casually peruse the area whenever I want because I don't live within a casual drive to the area yet. I'm asking for advice so that I can narrow down my search radius and potential options when I do get a chance to do a 3-4 hour round trip survey of actual apartments. In order to truly get familiar with the area surrounding uci I would have to spend a lot of time there, and unfortunately I don't have the time to spend before actually getting an apartment. So I really appreciate everyone's suggestions as to good or bad areas, complexes, cities, freeways to avoid, etc. thank you all very much for taking the time to respond. I will look at those apartments off city drive :)