Moving From Tampa, FL to Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale, FL area

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Jan 13, 2010

Learn Spanish FLUENTLY!

BChapp3182 · Jan 14, 2010

You should give yourself at least 3-4 months to get another job. I have friends who work at Baptist in Miami and say it's good, I also have friends in west palm that have good reviews of the hospital systems up there.. Memorial in Broward county I have a friend at and she likes it. I would not leave Tampa until you've got another job here. Most people here are moving to other parts of FL, like Tampa and Orlando because the market is actually better than here. There are several local schools here pumping out students 2 or 3 times a year, the market is flooded here, getting a job won't be easy. I actually had to take a temp job in Orlando and commute there because I could not get work here.

Good luck. And yes, if you speak spanish fluently your chances will be increased. Creole is also big in Miami.

passion4people · Jan 15, 2010

It would really be wise to get a job first. You are actually in a better place to maintain employment. Best Wishes if you must....:)

Lil_Mama4sho1 · May 16, 2010

Thanks for the advice. What about aventura hospital? Any reviews

passion4people · May 19, 2010

Have u moved yet ? I haven't heard anything bad about Aventura.

Lil_Mama4sho1 · May 20, 2010

Not yet but I'm waiting for a solid job first before I make the move. How is the pay down there. Tampa sucks to me it ranges 20 to 23 dollars in hour base pay.

TiffanyRN09 · May 20, 2010

I went to school at UM and did my clinicals at most of the hospitals down there. I liked Baptist and South Miami the best. I did one day at Aventura for hospice, it was really nice. Jackson Memorial is good depending on what floor and unit. Definitely not Univ of Miami Hospital though. If you want a hospital like TGH, closest in match would be Jackson Memorial. I have a friend that works at Broward and really likes it. I have another friend at Cleveland Clinic and she likes that too. And you will DEFINITELY need to know spanish if it's in Miami. Most of the hospitals down there are better than the ones up here in Tampa (I work in New Port Richey), with the exception of TGH of course. Miami Children's (loved it) is pretty much the same as All Children's.

Pay is only slightly higher down there, cost of living will cancel it out...too expensive! Which why I moved back to Tampa when I graduated.

ZeppHead8 · May 27, 2010

Tiffany, what have you heard about U of Miami hospital?

TiffanyRN09 · May 27, 2010

I did clinicals there. It's improving but it's just ...eh. I was put into a huge ethical situation in I believe it was the medical ICU which I'd rather not discuss but what happened disgusted me and the sad part is they got away with something pretty bad. (You can PM me if you really want to know). A lot of my friends I graduated with work there and it was mostly just a way in for them to get experience since they were the only ones in the area hiring mainly UM grads. I (think) they like it, but they don't love it. The pay is okay, they're only making a couple dollars more than I am here in Tampa and the cost of living is sky high down there compared to here so it kinda equals out. They're remodeling or were remodeling when I had my last clinical there and the new floors were really nice. As far as patient care though...it's not horrible but it's not wonderful either. Baptist and South Miami are definitely better in my opinion.

Ace587RN, RN · May 31, 2010

If you work in the Ft Lauderdale area, Spanish isnt that common unlike Miami. Broward General is think is like TGH

phosphorus · Jun 9, 2010

People are hyping the spanish requirement. It's not an issue, though it should be. I work at a hospital in the downtown area (not naming which one) and most of my patients are spanish speaking, a sizeable portion though are native english speakers latino or not. I am one of 3 nurses who can speak any spanish on my floor! I took 3 years in high school, and am pretty bad. That said so few people speak spanish they try to use me as a translator. its nuts. I've had 2 patients who spoke kreyol but no english and they both had family who translated. Most of the nurses on my floor speak kreyol anyway. I think Haitians go more to Jackson or somewhere in N Miami, but I'm not sure.

Jackson until recently was amazing to work for. Union contract with staffing ratios, best pay, best benefits, international patients, rare cases, great docs, etc... and tough nurses who don't take smack from management. The government, free marketeers, and management conspired to crush Jackson, and now they're hobblying along with layoffs, pay cuts, and declining service.

The market is super saturated for new grads. Most wait 6mo to find a position. Many grads I knew started in home care, or had to move to broward or west palm. With how bad things are right now honestly, I would really research where has a strong united workforce, safe staffing, etc. My hospital is better than most, and it's bad! It worse in many parts of florida in terms of safe staffing, working conditions, etc., than in the best of miami's hospitals.

Personally I've met some VA nurses and they made it sound amazing. Safe staffing, strong union, good seniority, etc. Hard to get into. UM is trying to bill itself as a sparkly clean institution but inheritted Cedar's problems. It's improved leaps and bounds from 2 years ago, but like all area hospitals has unsafe staffing. Management writes up people frequently, takes a disciplinary edge, is cutting costs, and runs the place on the bottom line + lots of ad space. They were hiring lots of new grads, not sure about now. Sylvester I know just had a backdoor wage cut for RNs but they are non-union, and UMH is SEIU though the RNs aren't organized and the union is weak.

My coworkers tell me Baptist can be much worse than UMH, Jackson, etc., in terms of safe staffing and working conditions, and it thrives on all smiles and shiny equipment. That said I know only 1 person there and he loves it. People speak highly of Mercy.