Moving to Los Angeles, thoughts on best hospital to work for as an RN?

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Nov 4, 2016

why LA?

sherrisl · Nov 4, 2016

because that's where I'm planning on living with my friends.

trumpetlove17 · Nov 5, 2016

Hi Sherri,

I'm a CA native and went to nursing school here. My best advice is to apply EVERYWHERE and I mean everywhere in the LA/OC area. It's true what everyone says-- this is probably one of the most competitive areas in the entire country. The good news is there are a lot of new grad programs popping up. Bad news is 1000s are applying including out of staters. I hope this helps. Good luck on your search!

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Nov 5, 2016

To answer your question. There is no best hospital, I never heard of such a thing. There might be a really good unit within a hospital and thats it.

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Nov 12, 2016

Don't move here without a job. New grad positions are super competitive. As a new nurse you pretty much have to get into a new grad program although smaller hospitals sometimes just do a lengthened orientation. I'd be applying now to everywhere because most new grad programs only open up a couple times a year with early deadlines because they have to weed through 100s and sometimes 1000s of applicants.

caliotter3 · Nov 12, 2016

Best hospital is the one that hires you.

NICUismylife, ADN, BSN, RN · Nov 12, 2016

Unfortunately, in SoCal, you can't be picky. You take whoever will hire you. I'm in the central valley and we often have new grads from the LA area come here to work for a year or two because they can't find jobs down south. All of our new grad application period for the cohort starting in March 2017 have all already closed. They are finishing up the interview processes over the next week or two and we will have offers before we graduate. Unfortunately, it may be the same in LA, which would mean you would have to wait for the spring application period with cohorts starting in summer.

db2xs · Nov 14, 2016

I'm from California and have been living/working in Los Angeles for the past three years. I started off as a new grad. This is my second career. I was living in San Francisco but went to school out of state because it was easier to do so. I came back to San Francisco after graduating but couldn't get a job up there so moved down here.

Just to let you know, it took me eight months to get into a new grad program. I was able to survive because I was still working in my previous career. I met people in my new grad program who had been out of school for more than a year (and from California) and this was the first time they had gotten accepted. I also met people who were accepted right out of nursing school into a new grad program.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the reality is that the choices for new grad programs in this state are few and extremely competitive--what to speak of Los Angeles. The new grad program that I got into, I applied three times before I was accepted.

There is no "best" hospital with a new grad program, although I would say some of the hospitals are better than others. Like others are said, the "best" hospital is the one that hires you! Here are the ones I know that had or have new grad programs:

Keck Hospital/USC, City of Hope, Ronald Reagan/UCLA, Cedars (the first four are prob the most competitive), White Memorial, Centinela, UC Irvine (Orange County, not LA), Children's Hospital, Citrus Valley, Fountain Valley, Kaiser

LTC and SNF is also another way to get your foot into the door. If you're itching to work acute, you can always transfer out.

It is expensive in Los Angeles, as I'm sure you've heard. Make sure you come with a lot of money in your savings account because you don't know how long you'll be searching for work. The traffic is from hell, so choose your housing situation carefully. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. Good luck!

barcode120x, RN, NP · Nov 18, 2016

^

All true! Although I'm not in LA, I live about an hour east from LA in the Inland Empire and I think life is much more sustainable here...lol. Definitely not as expensive as LA and the job market doesn't seem as tough compared to LA. I went an ADN program around here and most, if not all my 60 cohorts found a job within a year whether it was hospital or LTC/SNF. LA County stretches far and wide so if you are looking to join an "LA" hospital for the higher pay, you don't necessarily have to live in LA to get that pay as a new grad. Keep your options open and don't focus in one spot. In regards to hospitals in LA, poster db2x seems to have gotten a good list for you.

Remember, some of us posters in your topic are Cali natives so we should/do have experience on what it's like down here. Last thing you want to do is come down here, not find a job for 6+ months, and then be owing your friends rent money that can't be paid any time soon