Moving to Tampa

HELP!!So right now I live in Hawaii.. My husband and I are moving to Tampa in 8 weeks. I've done tons of research on what schools to go to..I am looking to go to HCC on Dale Mabry..But I cant seem to figure out what is the best pathway..I know there are waiting lists/lottery to get in to places like Erwin but I have no clue what to do. I thought about taking a 6 month Patient Care Technician course(advanced CNA/PCT) to get trained and work while I'm waiting to get into nursing school at HCC but And I am almost done with my prereqs for HCC so I dont know what to do ..Any advice??

TGH (Tampa General Hospital) has a Patient Tech program of their own if you're interested in that. A friend of mine went through it last year after finishing some pre-reqs at HCC (we went to Brandon campus for our pre-reqs though). She became pregnant and couldn't dedicate her body and mind to nursing school just yet but TGH's patient tech program worked fine for her.

At HCC you can do your pre reqs at any of the campuses but only Dale Mabry and Plant City have the actual nursing program so far. When you fill out your app for nursing down the road you'll have to decide which campus you prefer since you will be asked to choose on the app. Also keep in mind if you must go at night then Plant City won't work. Dale Mabry is the only campus with both day and night RN program and it is not interchangable at all unless you can get another student to switch with you based on a hardship case or something.

Which side of town will you live on is something to look at as well. We have some nasty drive times and if you live in Brandon or Valrico then driving to Dale Mabry will be a PIA at certain times.

I think Erwin is for LPN's only but you'll have to double check on that. I'll warn you ahead of time that is located on Hillsborough Ave which is singlehandly the most lopsided road you've ever driven on. I just dont want you to think your tire blew out once you drive down that, you'll think so but I promised you its just crooked and uneven and it will never be fixed :) sounds like you're driving a horse and buggy with all the clip clopping sides. On the other hand there's a nice Farmer's market on Hillsborough Ave but it isn't the nicest of areas that Tampa has to offer. We have some issues here and I think before you buy a house or rent an apartment you should look athe Hillsborough county sheriff's office website for top crime locations so you can avoid living in them. I won't sugarcoat it we have a lot of gangs in Florida and Tampa, Gibsonton, Plant City is a hot bed for MS-13 and the Latin Kings. No point in living next door to them if you don't have too.

I responded about Concorde in your other post. Erwin's has a LPN program and they won't be accepting students until August of this year I believe. They do have a lottery system but nearly everyone who applies gets in because they make room knowing that when it's time for clinicals there will be plenty of room.

hey all!! i;m planning on moving to tampa now in summer 08. i'm a new grad and from puerto rico (but raised in orlando,fl)... well i applied to work at james haley veterans hospital as a soon-to-be rn..... can anyone help me on:

1. is it a good choice?

2. what is the salary?

3. whats the reputation of this hospital???

pleasee help meeee!

thanx:nurse:

hey all!! i;m planning on moving to tampa now in summer 08. i'm a new grad and from puerto rico (but raised in orlando,fl)... well i applied to work at james haley veterans hospital as a soon-to-be rn..... can anyone help me on:

1. is it a good choice?

2. what is the salary?

3. whats the reputation of this hospital???

pleasee help meeee!

thanx:nurse:

1) my husband goes the va. i am more than pleased with quality of care he receives from his nurses and doctors. that hospital is extremely busy though and it's very intense. they have everything from aging war vets some with severe mental health or addiction problems to the very newest vets (many of whom have brain and spinal cord injuries due to the ied explosions) do you want to be a floor nurse or work in one of their many clinics (they have an eye clinic, a mental health one, etc.) the patients are predominately male but they are expanding their services to female vets.

2) salary is negotiable, and it depends on what rung a person enters in on. the clinics are closed for major holidays (which means those nurses are off) as opposed to those who work in the main hospital. it has a federal retirement which means you can do a lateral transfer to another state within their system.

3) the hospital is a pretty standup one. many va hospitals have bad reps, this one is on top of their game so to speak. it is also a teaching hospital so there are a lot of people in and out, parking is non existent. day shift employees park off site at a local mall and are shuttled in. patients also park at the mall or can opt to use valet parking. it is on a street that is literally lined with hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities and eating establishments. it is a high volume traffic coming and going.

when i graduate i plan to put in for there as well. their employees including non medical people are always the same faces. patients are on assigned teams for checkups like alpha, charlie, bravo and the same docs and nurses go with that team. so an alpha or bravo team nurse is not an or or ed nurse and more likely to know most of their patients and the corresponding doctors and pa's pretty good after 6 months to a year.

like i said though, they see a huge volume of people and some people find the place too intense both medical and patients.

Have you moved? How's it going? I'm looking to move to Channelside/Hyde Park in OCT.

Hope to work at TGH, and go to USF.

I worked as a travel nurse at the hospital in Plant City, and found it to be one of the dirtiest hospitals I have ever been in. Go to a teaching or research hospital as a new grad for good introduction to using your skills. And the person stating about the gangs and such in this area are right on. Stay away for your own safety.

VA is a nice choice since they let you work with the PR license. I can tell u is a very busy Hosp. I guess newly grad u will start as Nurse 1 step ? recuerda que aqui hay muchos gastos que no hay en PR asi que pelea por un salario en los $50,000 yo empeze en 41,000 hace 5anos with 4years of experince, pero todo aumentado.Espero que esto ayude!

Hey Yall!

I made the MOVE!!! It's been about 3 months!

Just wanted to let you know some info:

- Applying for boards in FL isn't "that" bad, FL BON website explains everything, and the app is pretty painless. You MUST have your home school send a copy of your "Certified" degree - not just your final transcript! I was delayed 2months, bc Ohio doesn't normally do this.

- FL has Grad. Nurse Status (GN), so you are highly encouraged to interview prior to boards. Most hosp. have GN Fellowships - AWESOME choice, a lot of training, and you end up truly prepared.

-PAY: every hospital I interviewed with said - $21.95/hr, with $5.00 diff. for nights & weekends. Therefore $27.00 roughly. Benefits were very similar, all inclusive, with many perks for working at the larger hospitals.

- In my personal oppinion, I was treated MUCH more respectfully at Tampa General. During my interview at St. Josehps I was offered a job, but they really acted as if I were just a number - there was no "team" atmosphere, nor a feeling of importance. It was as if, as long as I wasn't an axe murderer they'd put me somewhere. In their defense, maybe it was just my interviewer.

Also, both hospitals only requiered 1 interview, no scenerio questions. Both offered me a job.

- Tampa is AMAZING, I am downtown at Channelside - what a place for young singles/couples. I will honestly say that due to the housing market this area was built for the young and wealthy, but since no-one is buying our 1million dollar Condo, we are Renting it for a great price.

So everything is here - but we need a surge in population. We go to the beach every week, ride the trolley throughout the city, and ride our bikes daily. We recently hosted the Superbowel - which brought every celebritiy you can think of!!! We met several! Unfortunatly we are having a cold streak - but in a few days we will be back in the 70's.

- I just keep asking myself "how did I live in Ohio for so long....."

- Cost of living is def. higher - we used to be ridiculous spenders, but now we are cutting coupons. This is just the price of "urban living" as the realators say lol!

Hope this book helps lol!

Good Luck All.

All Best,- Misty