Need advice please-moving to Maryland

kanling · Sep 7, 2009

Sounds like a few trips might be in order to get familiar with the area. Where will your fiancee be working?

geclipse81 · Sep 7, 2009

As a matter of fact I told him yesterday about taking a few wknd trips up to see the areas. He was there a short while ago for a week (redskin training camp). But like I said I have never been there. He's a firefighter/paramedic so he too will be looking in the same areas as i will. Just thinking about all this is overwhelming! Anyones advice will be much appreciated!!

ukstudent · Sep 7, 2009

Although this area has not been hit with the reseccion as hard as some other areas of the country due to multiple military camps and the federal government. It has still been hit. Hospitals in this area are decreasing the amount of new grads that they are accepting.

The area as you have seen is very expenssive please have jobs prior to coming unless you have a lot of money to burn though. With traffic you would have to know which area you are going to live in to know which hospital's to apply to stay with a commute of less than 30 minutes. You could do it the other way around, apply for jobs, get jobs and then look for a place to live close by.

CoffeeGeekRN · Sep 8, 2009

Hi! I currently live in Florida and will be finishing nursing school in December. As soon as I obtain my nursing license (which im hoping no later than March 2010) I will be moving with my fiance' and 4 year old to Maryland. We are looking around Silver Spring or Laurel. I have never been to Maryland, however, my fiance was born there and his family used to live there. Right now the only people we know that live in Maryland are 2 close friends. Can anyone please give me some advise on hospitals or safe places to live in, near good schools? I've been looking at houses and see that housing is expensive. Houses that we've been interested in are in or around Upper Marlboro, Silver Springs, Laurel, Fort Wash., and Gaithersburg. I was also told that traffic is crazy there so if anyone can guide me towards the hospitals that would'nt be farther than a 30 min drive I would really appreciate it.
The hospitals in Maryland that I am most interested in are:
Holy Cross hospital, Silver Spring
Prince George's Hospital Center, Cheverly
Howard County General hospital, Columbia
Laurel Regional Hospital, Laurel
If anyone has any advise, or other suggestions PLEASE let me know! I have read other threads and am aware of how long it might take me to obtain a Maryland license thru endorsement. I just want to try and make this move/transition as smooth as possible. thanks in advance :wink2:

I live near Gaithersburg and am familiar with most of those hospitals. Many of the hospitals have limits on how many new grads they will hire and are preferring to take experienced RNs. It is a good idea to start applying now.

Holy Cross is an excellent teaching hospital. They are in the process of gaining magnet status so if you are graduating with your BSN you may get an interview.
PGHC - not the best place to work, and Cheverly is not that great of an area to live in, IMHO.
HCGH - its part of Johns Hopkins, and has been very accepting of new grads. It's a smaller community hospital, but the staff are friendly and supportive. Columbia and surrounding cities like Ellicott City, are nice places to live
LRH - very small hospital that is part of Dimensions Health Care. I did a few clinical rounds there and hated it! Lots of medical mistakes, nurses who eat their young. I would avoid it if all possible!

Gaithersburg is in Montgomery County and there are hospitals here you might also consider:

Montgomery General Hospital in Olney - its a community hospital that is part of Med Star Health. They have been open to hiring new grads, but I would avoid the med-surg floors. The ED, IMCU, ICU, and mother-baby are good places to work. Olney is a nice community with good schools and activities for kids.
Suburban Hospital in Bethesda - it is a level 2 or 3 trauma center and is located across the street from the National Institutes of Health. I believe it is also a teaching hospital. In this economy, they have preferred to hire BSN over ADN. I believe they are working on gaining magnet status.
Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville - I am biased on this one because I work there :nmbrn:. It is part of the Adventist Health Care System and is a sister facility to Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park. It is a very friendly hospital. The staff from the house cleaning crew up to the physicians and hospital president are courteous and approachable. Patient care is the top priority. RNs in mosts departments are supportive and helpful to each other. Great benefits.

Feel free to pm if you need more information.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2009

I am a Florida girl transplanted to MD, but am closer to Baltimore. Welcome.

I used to be a traveler, and can recommend Suburban and the NIH in Bethesda, in those areas.

I resided in Rockville at the time, near Shady Grove. As someone that went through Shady Grove as a pt, I had issues there and will leave it at that.

CoffeeGeekRN · Sep 8, 2009

I am a Florida girl transplanted to MD, but am closer to Baltimore. Welcome.
I used to be a traveler, and can recommend Suburban and the NIH in Bethesda, in those areas.
I resided in Rockville at the time, near Shady Grove. As someone that went through Shady Grove as a pt, I had issues there and will leave it at that.

Before becoming an RN I was a fed working at NIH. NIH does not generally hire new grads. They do have 2 internship programs for new grads though but they are very competitive. One is the oncology internship and the other is med-surg. I applied for the med-surg and got an interview but I wasn't selected. Each program had only 6 slots available and there were well over 200 applicants. In November NIH will start posting openings for the internships and I would highly recommend applying to them. I still have the contact information for the recruiters if you are interested.

As for pt care at SGAH, caroladybelle, I remember when SGAH was one of the worst hospitals and was referred to as "Shady Grave". I had been a pt there during those times and had friends as pts. In recent years they have made a complete turn around and I have been a during this time too even before I was in NS. I have seen the big changes. And now seeing things from the other side as a RN, I see even more how they continually strive to make pt care top priority.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2009

I was a pt there in August 2007....Have there been that many changes in the last two years?

MissBrittanyRN · Sep 8, 2009

I just wanted to say that I agree with UKStudent. I am a new grad (May 2009) with my associates, and although I did not start filling out applications until May, I have not been able to get a new grad position. There are actually several hospitals currently seeking magnet status in Maryland, as well as hospitals that are magnet status, so it hopefully will help if you have your BSN. So I too recommend that you choose your residence based on the location of your employment. Traffic can be crazy, but the closer you are to D.C and 495, the worse it usually is. I am not incredibly familiar with the area, but those are the areas that you hear about on the radio traffic alerts. As for schools, I do not want to offend any residents, and I again am not that familiar with the area, but Prince George's County has the worse reputation - deserved or not. Hopefully this helps, and good luck to you.

CoffeeGeekRN · Sep 8, 2009

I was a pt there in August 2007....Have there been that many changes in the last two years?

Caroladybelle, what unit were you a pt on?

terps97 · Sep 8, 2009

I have lived in MD since I was 5 and I grew up in Silver Spring. My husband and I moved from Silver Spring to Columbia in 2004 so that our daughter could attend better schools. We were both products of Montgomery County schools, which are fine, but Howard County Schools are a bit better. Certain parts of Montgomery County are better than others, but of course the better school districts are in more expensive neighborhoods. My advice is to look in Columbia/Ellicott City. HCGH is a nice hospital, and as previous poster said, they are pretty welcoming to new grads. Also use http://www.greatschools.net to look at the schools in the areas you are considering. Olney is another nice area with good schools and reasonable housing costs.

Good luck!

geclipse81 · Sep 9, 2009

THANK YOU All for your wonderful advice!! Hopefully I will be able to get a job in Maryland smoothly. I will be staying at the hospital where I work at now until I get my license endorsed and job hunt. So I'm sure to have a few months of RN experience. Today my bf ran into some people that used to live in Silver Springs and happen to know his grandparents; and happen to have a few family members in the healhcare field in MD (small world). They said that they would help us! I will surely keep in touch with you all if it's ok. Thanks again