Mission or Sharp

Definitely take your commute into consideration. Going north to Mission won't have the traffic going south will.

I don't know much about Mission but Sharp is a top hospital as far as acuity...they're a trauma hospital and do transplants, open heart, etc.

Sharp is a community hospital so you see all types of patients, including Spanish speaking. Mission might have less but you can't avoid it in CA.

Not sure about the retention bonus thing...it's my understanding that it's a favorable place to work. They might just focus on retention because it's hard to find that caliber of ICU nurses.

Again, don't know much about Mission but Sharp is well-respected. They're San Diego's largest civilian employer and there are a lot of benefits to working there.

Mission is a trauma center too, but I don't know what level...I do know it has a good reputation and is the highest paying hospital in this area (but Sharp isn't considered in this area so it may be higher, IDK). My concern about Sharp is similar to yours. They put TONS of classified type ads out on all kinds of sites. Almost flooding the job search sites. It just makes me wonder if they can't keep anyone or what. I mean, all places have a turnover, but a high rate indicates something bad. Not to sound simplistic, but why not call and ask what the turnover rate is? And what the acuity of the ICU is. I am sure the nurse recruiter would know that info. Good luck. (I do know that I think San Diego is a great place to live, but Mission Viejo is a good inbetween with tons of stuff surrounding it. I live in Lake Forest which is right beside Mission Viejo. The perks include being close to several cool beaches-Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, being almost midway inbetween San Diego and LA, and a safer, smaller, more relaxed locale. But San Diego is an exciting and big city. So depends on your taste. I guess I didn't help nearly as much as I'd like. But I hope I gave you something to think about!!