New Grad Moving to Great Falls

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Hello. I am a new grad moving to Great Falls Montana in mid June. I am interested in Labor and Delivery and wondered if anyone knew what the schedule was like for L&D at Benefis. Thanks!

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I'm also moving to Great Falls in June. I applied to a couple of positions there, but no one has called yet. Have you gotten a position there or found out any more information about Benefis and new grads? Thanks!

Julie

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Specializes in Ortho, Patient Educator, Neuro, Med-Surg.

I worked at Benefis for >6 years and left in 2006. Nothing much changes in small towns, even though it is Montana's largest hospital.

If you can honestly stay out of the politics of the place, it is a great place to work for. The hierarchy gets a little over-whelming some days. Someone is related to someone everywhere and there are no nepotism rules for any department.

I never worked L&D, always wanted a patient I could see...lol. So, I can't be much help there.

Almost every unit tries to work 12 hr shifts, but some managers work with you and your needs, which is great.

It is most definately a "patient centered" philosophy for nursing expectations. It is what "drives" the management...which was just fine for me, as I prefer this type of service delivery for nursing.

They will fill your days, nights, weekends and days off with this and that committee or xtra work if you let them.

I really enjoyed working there. The unit where I worked was truly a "family" feeling. Some of the people I still keep in contact with there were just like family....most of us where a cohesive group that truly cared about each other and got along well. If I were to go back, I would.

Best of luck...and keep us posted on what happens.

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I haven't applied yet because I don't want to start work until after my kids start school in August. The only thing I did was look at the position openings on Benefis' website and then I posted here hoping to gain some insight into shift hours for L&D. Where are you coming from and what area are you hoping to get into?

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Thanks so much for the information. Have you ever heard of the hospital hiring new grads from out of state?

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I'm actually moving there from Las Vegas, NV. It sounds like a great hospital, I wasn't really worried about that though. Are there enough nurses to fill their open positions, and do they hire new grads? That's my main concern, because if I don't get hired there I'm not sure what else I could do as a new grad RN since the next hospital is quite a ways away. Thanks for all the info! I actually did get a call from a nurse recruiter today about an application I put in to ER (or ICU, I'm not sure which one she was calling about). I will let you know how it goes :) I hope I get a position there, I moved to Las Vegas from Ft. Collins, CO and I am so excited to get back around more honest and down to earth people and away from the city.

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Well that's great news about the recruiter call, I wish you the best of luck! Sorry to hear about your experiences in Vegas and Colorado. I live in Kansas and the people here are really great.

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No I have just had a bad experience in Vegas :) Colorado and Iowa before that were amazing...great people! So I have been trying to get ahold of the recruiter that called me but I keep getting voice mail. I left a message on Wednesday and still haven't gotten a call back. I called Thursday and Friday and got voice mail each time. I guess I will hope for a call back tomorrow :)

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UGH!!!!! I would say keeping trying...the hospital here does the same thing...I had several friends graduate last fall and it took them over a month to hear anything definitive about a position. Best of luck. I am ready to start working but I owe it to my family to take the summer off and get settled before our life becomes so busy again. By the way, what brings you to Great Falls? Mine is a military move.

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The nurse recruiter and I finally got in touch with each other :) I have an interview with Benefis on June 9, 2009. She explained to me that the interview is actually for the organization as a whole. My resume/application gets forwarded to all the managers and then I have one interview and if I qualify for a position in a certain unit, I am matched with that unit. Sounds good...the less interviews the better :)

I have another question for you Great Falls residents now...My husband and I are officially going to be there on June 1, 2009, my interview is 9 days later...is it hard to find childcare? I have a 2 1/2 year old and I don't like the whole daycare thing, I would much rather have someone come to my house or take her to a person watching 2-3 kids. Any recommendations? I can't wait to get out there!!! Thanks for all your help guys and girls!

~Julie

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Congrats! That's great news. Best of luck on your interview. I remember you saying you wanted an ICU or ER....I hope you are able to get one of those locations.

And best of luck on daycare....I have a 14 month old and understand where you're coming from....

Take care

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Hey Julie. How did the interview go?

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