cheriet

Hi. I'm graduating from an associate's degree-RN program this spring and am considering UT, Fort Sanders Regional, Baptist downtown, and St. Mary's. I'd be curious to hear any unofficial opinions on these hospitals from people who work (or worked) there. All I can get from the recruiters is the sales pitch. I've heard good things about the work environment at Baptist, but it also sounds like that hospital's management is about to change. UT has a lot of residents and other students working there. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? St. Mary's has 8-hour shifts. Do people there like that? Is Covenant Health a good company to work for? Any opinions/answers for any of these questions is welcomed. Thanks!

Thanks for the info. Is there anything in particular you like about JCMC, TNNurseCCM? I haven't done any clinicals there, but it did seem nice the one time I visited. It's a teaching hospital, isn't it? (Is Holston Valley a teaching hospital, too?) Does anybody have any idea what the nurse-patient ratios are on the med-surg floors at these hospitals? The The Tri-Cities area is so nice with the mountains close by and the generally friendly people. It would be great to find a good hospital there, too. I plan to talk to nurse recruiters at both hospitals, but the unofficial insider view is generally more of the unvarnished truth... Are there any pro-Holston Valley people out there?

I'm going to graduate with an associate's degree in nursing in May 2007 (God willing!) and am trying to decide between hospitals in the Tri-Cities and Knoxville. Thanks for all the inside scoop about these hospitals in upper East Tenn. Basically I just want an entry-level Med-Surg position at a hospital where the nurse-patient ratio isn't insane, there is a decent orientation, and the work environment is supportive. Pay and benefits are important, but I need to find a place that won't overwhelm me as a new grad and will not burn me out prematurely. Between Holston Valley and JCMC, Which is better for a new grad: Holston Valley, JCMC, (or neither one)?