Moving to Pittsburgh

sunneeRN · Mar 17, 2007

Glad you are considering Pittsburgh! There is the West Penn/Allegheny Health System, and West Penn has just become magnet, but I work for UPMC. So really, I can only tell you about what I know...UPMC has a TON of hospitals all over Pgh and surrounding areas. What type of nursing are you interested in? Magee Women's Hospital of UPMC specializes in womens health and OB, there is Children's Hospital of UPMC, Presby(lots of trauma and transplants), Montiefore, and a lot of other smaller UPMC hospitals all over. They also have Western Psych if you are interested in psych nursing. My starting pay as a new BSN grad was 20.03/hr and that was around 2 years ago. UPMC always hires new grads. Now the hospital that I work for has its problems, just like any other hospital...but I find that I work with a lot of supportive, smart nurses and that made starting as a GN very nice. I would suggest going to www.upmc.com for nursing info. I just got a list of all of the hospital's HR departments and started calling. It helps if you know someone, though. If you are ever in the area, the best thing to do is to just go to one of the hospitals and speak directly with nursing unit managers. a lot of times, HR says that they aren't hiring, but the unit managers beg to differ!

As far as apartments, there are a ton everywhere. I'm sure you will have no problem at all finding one of those. Good Luck with your nursing career in pittsburgh! its a great place for research and learning!

Here is a website for upmc that summerizes what each hospital specializes in: http://www.upmc.com/HospitalsFacilities/HFHome/Hospitals/

coles2 · Mar 17, 2007

Thank you so much for your response, it helped a lot. I have never been to Pittsburgh before, so moving is very overwhelming...but also exciting. I am defiantely going to look into UPMC :)

Shamira Aizza · Mar 18, 2007

There are many opportunities for RN's in Pittsburgh; I'd suggest focusing on a specialty that interests you, and going to a facility that excels in that specialty. For example; Children's for pediatrics, UPMC-MaGee's Womens for Neonatal, UPMC-Mercy for Burn Trauma, or West Penn for just Burns...and so on.

I used to work cardiothoracic at UPMC-Presby. Some of the most brutal nursing I've ever done, but a popular place for aspiring anesthesia students or flight nurses, etc.

I'd stay away from the hospitals in the McKeesport/Braddock area...but that's just me. I'd rather work downtown in Pittburgh. If you live in Moon (near Rob/Morris), you might check out Sewickly, or Ohio Valley, Mckees Rocks (or maybe not).

mawst73 · Mar 31, 2007

I worked as a new grad for UPMC, with some of the sickest patients in the world. I stayed for about 5 years, mostly b/c i wanted the experience (now I am in grad school). UPMC does not not pay enough, and every year the cost of health benefits rises. When the new grad starting salary rises, salaries for the 2-5 year employees do not rise equally, so by the time I left new grads were making about 50 cents/hr less than I was. Parking in Oakland (the hub of UPMC) is absolutely horrendous. Despite the fact that the quasi-non-profit organization makes record breaking profits year after year, budgets on hospital units are crunched tighter and tighter every year. This December, all prescheduled overtime was unceremoniously taken away, leaving nurses who were counting on the extra money for the holidays out in the cold.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently published a large article: "50 Best Places to Work in Pittsburgh", and UPMC was not on it. In fact, I doubt they recieved one positive comment from a RN working on a floor or in an ICU.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07079/770715-334.stm

St. Clair Hospital (independent- located in the S. Hills), Mercy Health Care System, the VA, and Jefferson Regional Hospitals were all on the list for companies > 500 employees. I would suggest working at those places before UPMC (especially the VA).

danh3190 · Apr 1, 2007

Over in Sewickley (near Moon Twp and Coraopolis) there's Sewickley Valley Hospital, part of the Heritage Valley system. I don't know too much about them, but you could probably Google the Heritage Valley system and get some more info.

kaycee · Apr 1, 2007

Sewickley Valley Hospital is a nice size community hospital. I don't know what positions are available there or what starting pay is for a GN.

Allegheny General Hospital is a level 1 trauma center on the north side of Pgh across the river but not far from the Moon Twp area. They have many positions open and hire new grads. They are part of the West Penn Allegheny Health System. They also have a suburban campus which is called AGH Suburban, located in Bellevue, which is extemely close to Moon Twp. It is a small community hospital that has positions open for Peds, ICU, PCU, PACU, and ER. I think they hire new grads, again I don't know starting salary.

Ohio Valley Hospital is not in a health system. It's a small community hospital all by itself. It's in McKees Rocks which is next to Coraopolis on the same side of the river. McKees Rocks is not the best of areas.

Then as someone else aready mentioned UPMC has a lot of hospitals. They are all a little farther away from where you are moving but may offer good possiblities.

Welcome to the Burgh and good luck with your job search.

K98 · Apr 8, 2007

I worked as a new grad for UPMC, with some of the sickest patients in the world. I stayed for about 5 years, mostly b/c i wanted the experience (now I am in grad school). UPMC does not not pay enough, and every year the cost of health benefits rises. When the new grad starting salary rises, salaries for the 2-5 year employees do not rise equally, so by the time I left new grads were making about 50 cents/hr less than I was. Parking in Oakland (the hub of UPMC) is absolutely horrendous. Despite the fact that the quasi-non-profit organization makes record breaking profits year after year, budgets on hospital units are crunched tighter and tighter every year. This December, all prescheduled overtime was unceremoniously taken away, leaving nurses who were counting on the extra money for the holidays out in the cold.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently published a large article: "50 Best Places to Work in Pittsburgh", and UPMC was not on it. In fact, I doubt they recieved one positive comment from a RN working on a floor or in an ICU.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07079/770715-334.stm
St. Clair Hospital (independent- located in the S. Hills), Mercy Health Care System, the VA, and Jefferson Regional Hospitals were all on the list for companies > 500 employees. I would suggest working at those places before UPMC (especially the VA).

Suddenly, there are UPMC nurses applying for casual and part-time positions at AGH and West Penn because there is no longer any overtime at UPMC. However, the patient population remains large and staffing shortages still exist .

chrys243 · Apr 9, 2007

I currently work at upmc. The population there is very sick and while I have learned a lot, the pay is poor, and the politics aggravating. It is true all prescheduled overtime was taken away unannounced right before Christmas, leaving most nurses in an uproar and some positions were also eliminated (not direct patient care positions). I understand that every hospital has its problems but the nurses are considered a dime a dozen with all the nursing schools in the area which is probably why we get paid so little. There are no incentives for retention of already hired staff. Over the past few years I have seen hospital morale at an all time low. Instead of work being a happy professional place most shifts are spent hearing fellow coworkers complain. I have no idea why I still work here as most of the people I have loved working with quickly left after their sign ons expired.

K98 · Apr 16, 2007

I work at AGH in an ICU. There are a good number of nurses on my unit that have been there 15-20 years. This is not to say that AGH doesn't have the very same problems recruiting and retaining staff, but the fact that RNs are unionized has led to better treatment of nursing staff due to contract obligations, etc. It would seem that nurses are undervalued and underpaid pretty much everywhere.

wonderbee, BSN, RN · May 5, 2007

Agreed UPMC Presby is a brutal nursing experience. My career began there and I was out by my one-year anniversary. The patients are sick, the morale is low, parking sucks, the pay is substandard. A tee-shirt should be made that says "I survived a year at Presby". But if you want experience, you will see everything in the book and tons of procedures. My first day, my first patient at the crack of 7A, I observed a bedside insertion of an ICP drain. I suddenly knew I was in for a rough ride.

NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN · May 5, 2007

Another important thing to consider when looking at different hospitals around the area is length of orientation. I work for a hospital within WestPenn Allegheny health System. I spoke to recruiter with UPMC before I had made a decision to work anywhere. What made me decide against UPMC was that the orientation for a Level 1 Trauma Center (in trauma ICU)for a new grad was 6 weeks. :eek: I said to the recruiter that that seemed awfully short and didn't think I would be ready to be on my own that soon. She replied that as a new grad, I would feel like that regardless of where I was working so I would probably be okay. :rolleyes: My orientation on a regular floor/step-down wound up being 12 and a half weeks and was pretty good. I probably could have been on my own a week or two sooner, but not after only six weeks.

Kathy-after hearing your posts, I feel like my instincts have been reenforced. Thank goodness you're out of there!