New BSN Nurse with Hard Decision - Teaching Hospital vs. Community

suzanne4, RN · Sep 10, 2005

If you are doing a 40 hour week, it means that you are commuiting that distance five days per week. I would definitely go with the facility one mile away. It will make absolutely no difference in the long run, you may actually even prefer it there. You have to watch out for your health first, that should be number one.

elkpark · Sep 10, 2005

I agree with suzanne4. 1.5 hours each way is a terrible commute! You are giving up 3 hours of each (work) day -- 15 hours a week! -- just driving (let alone the expense involved in driving that distance). I once worked for a couple years at a facility where I commuted almost an hour each way (I live in a v. rural area and everything is pretty spread out), and that nearly did me in over time -- I can't imagine driving farther than that.

It will just get more tedious and draining as time goes on. I am a huge fan of big teaching hospitals, but I would not consider commuting that far every day to work at one. There are advantages and disadvantages to both big teaching hospitals and smaller community hospitals, and teaching hospitals are not always, automatically, the better choice. You will get plenty of experience at the closer, community hospital, and not kill yourself in the process ...

CVRNof4 · Sep 12, 2005

I have worked in both settings over my 18 years of nursing. Both have their benefits, but with the cost of gas and your health the community hospital is a much better choice. You may not get all the experiences you would in a teaching hospital; however there are other benefits. The smaller community hospitals seem to really care for their employees and you will see the longevity of the nursing staff. You may also get great support in your early career as a nurse. Good luck and take care of yourself first!!

Celia M, ASN, RN · Sep 12, 2005

Stay close to home, if the community hospital is magnet status then the care is excellent, you will learn much. Your family will love having you home more, you will be more rested, less stressed and if you're driving better off!

lee1 · Sep 13, 2005

I am a second career new grad from a BSN program. I am on my 6th week on a cardiac access floor at a large teaching hospital. I enjoy the work, and the floor is challenging yet supportive - however, my problem is that I have a very long commute (1.5 hours each way) and am working a 40 hour day/night rotation. I am exhausted and have already become ill from being so run down. I have an offer from a small, but magnet status, community hospital that is 1 mile from my home. The thought of giving up the experience at the teaching hospital seems awful, however for the sake of my health and my family's health I wonder if I should stay local for a while. Experienced RN's - please give me advice on whether not having experience at a large hospital as a new grad will hurt me in the long run. New nurses - anyone else working in a community hospital - what has been your experience? This decision is literally tearing me apart so any advice/thoughts would be much appreciated!!
Thanks!

No, it will not hurt you in the long run as long as YOU yourself read, stay current, try to engage in conversations with the small community docs in the CCU about their patients, attend seminars, get your CCRN.

Your commute will definitely wear you down, put you at risk for an accident. In my opinion it is not worth such a long commute------gas prices, wear/tear your car, etc. etc.

Vance · Sep 29, 2005

Community hospitals are wonderful. The gap isn't as wide as it's made out to be. What will you miss really? In turn, you'll reduce your stress, expense and maximize your time. Yes, indeed, get the CCRN and every other certificate that's important. Then, when there's nothing left to do locally, consider per diem or P/T at the teaching hospital to fill in that last piece of the puzzle. Hope this helps. You know what 'they' say about free advice