valkyria

You have to apply to Baptist for their scholar program. But, you also have to apply to and be accepted by Miami Dade College. Then you may have a choice as to whether to attend Miami Dade College on their Medical Campus downtown by Jackson Memorial or to attend classes at the Main Baptist Hospital Campus on Kendall Drive. You may apply to Barry, UM, or Fiu and if you are accepted by FIU, Baptist will pay the whole way for school at FIU and if you are accepted by UM or Barry, and you receive the Baptist Scholar Scholarship, you will get a portion of it. When I was a Baptist scholar and I attended and graduated from UM in 2004, I received $7500 from Baptist toward my nursing education. I worked for Baptist for one year after I graduated and they considered that paying them back. If you do not work for them for the time they designate, then you have to pay back whatever Baptist invested in you. If I can help with more information, let me know.

baptist has an agreement with miami dade college. that is where the professors come from. baptist is a good place to get your basic years in but they do have a way of making you think they are doing you a favor. i went over this in a previous posting. you have to be true to yourself and if you did not feel in your heart, that is the place for you, i wish i would have had someone tell me these things before, you have to follow your guy. it is their loss. i believe that they should not want "followers" who spew all the same rhetoric. older, seasoned people with world experience would add to their pool of employees. i am older too but, whether it is because of my brain injury or what, i did come accross with the wide eyed naive reflections of an idealistic person. you will find your place. but mdc medical is a mill too. do not be fooled. you will be in a great enviornment but it is becoming a factory. hold on to your individualistic outlook and you will stand out well enough. i wish you the best.

i have worked at tenet health, baptist health, the university of miami and the public health trust ( jackson memorial hospital). tenet was not bad. the pay was better then the other 3, the enviornment was family oriented, but i worked at coral gables hospital. now palmetto has a ridiculous number of nursing jobs open but that is not a good sign. beware of a mass exodus that leaves a hospital so bare. um has poor pay but good benefits, especially if you want to continue your education. jmh has good pay and great benefits but it is very political and those who have been there for a while no longer think that they have to work to keep their jobs so you are very often doing your job and others. south florida has terrible pay and alot of competition with all the nursing schools in the area. i have spoken alot about my baptist experience and it is summed up in, "do not believe the hype". you have to decide what you want and what you will accept. what is important to you and what are you flexible on. if you know that ahead of time, the job search is much easier. i am moving to orlando next year, if that tells you anything about what i think.

oops. most hospitals that are government affiliated (va,etc) or teaching hospitals that are state affiliated ( jackson in the public health trust here in miami), have programs for repayment/forgiveness of student loans that were acquired in nursing school.it does not matter how you get there, as long as you get there. "purest" folks just prefer to do things the regular way and many times, are fortunate that they do not have to find another way there. the journey is the story and the struggle makes it more appreciated when you reach your destination and it gives you a heck of a story. good luck in whatever path you find/chose and welcome to the family.

good morning,

yes, baptist puts alot of weight in the interview but remember how many they have to chose from so you have to come up with something that will make you stand out and make them want you. i know there is alot of competitiion because they will pay for school ( fiu or mdc) and give you a "scholarship" for a private university. that is what they i got from them. but i gave them back much more in effort and work do not let them make you think they are doing you any favors. they are getting as much if not more than they are giving to you. they gave me $7500 and i went to um and graduated. i only went for 2 years and did graduate because i had a bs degree from barry. but, if you do not graduate and/or you do not finish the time you owe then, you have to pay them back what they have "invested" in you. i posted another response to another question about baptist. if you have some other question that i can help you with, let me know.

i was a baptist scholar in 2003 and 2004. do not let them see you sweat. they need you as much as you need them. do not listen to the hype about how great baptist is, every place has it draw backs. understand that you will get what ever position is open once you graduate, usually the ones no one wants, night shift mostly. even though night shift pays a bit more, it messes up you circadian clock. they are manipulative and try to throw you off. practice with someone else ( a mock interview). the questions are standard for you by now: why do you want to be a nurse, why do you want to work for baptist, what do you think your best quality is, what is your worst quality, tell me about a situation when you had to settle a dispute, tell me about the worst experience you ever had in nursing school, tell me about the best experience you ever had in nursing school, where do you see yourself in 5 years, in 10 years, why should baptist want you to work for them? see things from the point of view of the organization, you are a great team player, you are willing to go the extra mile, you have a strong work ethic, you want to learn as much as you can so you can contribute to the unit, be the best nurse you can be for yourself and for the patient and be an asset to the organization. but, understand that the organization, baptist, is trying to get all that they can out of you for the least investment. it is harsh but true. that does not go only for baptist but for tenet health, columbia hca, university of miami, public health trust ( jackson memorial) or any other organization. even though baptist is non profit, they are still a business and still concerned with the bottom line. you will get from baptist good training, you will put in your first few years with them and get a strong foundation. do not be concerned with specializing yet. first get a foundation in med-surg. there you will see a little bit of everything. then once you have a feeling for pulmonary issues, cardiac issues, patients coming from the or and the er then you can specialize. spend the first few years learning as much as you can and doing as much as you can or watching as much as you can. if i can help anymore, let me know.

i have a different opinion. i had a degree (bs) in sociology/education and an aa in psych before i got my bsn. organizations seem to believe, those that are bright enough, that it makes you more well rounded and accomplished. if you are so close, it would be a shame not to finish. what are your grades like for your undergrad? many organizations, here u of m is one, will take you if you have an undergrad degree. they understand that you can set goals and eventually get there. all that you have so far should mean something. it was not without effort, right? just one woman's opinion. oh, i have a masters in education and i am going for my arnp/ms and not my phd. that is what i have found, i wanted to teach clinicals and cannot without an msn. good luck whatever you decide.

Baptist Health South FLorida is different than any other "Baptist Health System" in Florida. The organizational culture is different and, of course, so are the locations and treatment of employees, old and new. However, there is something to be said about getting your RN license for little or no expense and getting the first two years of foundation/ experience in a large organization that does not coddle you. It all depends on what your priorities are, where you live and what you are willing to live with and tolerate. Nothing is for free and there are no short cutes, no matter what it looks like from the outside. And, there is a lot of rhetoric surrounding Baptist health south florida and as long as you go in with your eyes open and do not believe everything you hear, you will be fine.

Trust me I know that our ED is beyond critical care. If anything I would worry that you would become bored but if you get bitten by the teaching bug and you fall in love with it as you did with adrenaline, you will be an asset to any school and a blessing to any student. There is alot to be said for gratification from your career but there are many kinds of gratification. There is alot to be said for watching someone perform under pressure who you taught. There is no feeling like that.:redbeathe

Yes and anything that is a risk to me I will not due, not with so much at stake. Ordinarily I would do it but not now.

SanDgroovy, Yes, I suppose it is. It has been a few years since I went back. Atlanta Medical Center is a level one trauma center is it not? Also, is it true that Grady is closing its doors? Please let me know about both. Thank you in advance.

I too work in trauma now but I have other focuses in my life now and I want to slow down. I have a MS in education and I am going for my ARNP in critical care. So much for slowing down. But, this way I can have both. I can teach and I can work with my patients but I do not have to be in the unit running codes. The problem is, money. What they pay professors compared to what you can make at the bedside or working with a physician, that will make it more difficult. Perhaps this will cause folks to look for homes elsewhere. For instance, I used to live in Georgia, outside of Atlanta. I have been looking at going back there. More home for less money, less taxes, lower cost of living and still all the advantages of a large metropolitan city. Food for thought.

i work at a level one in a large city, a gateway city to latin america. i take my job very seriously. i fought hard to become a nurse and i am proud to be one. however, i am in fertility treatments trying to have a baby and no matter what my heart may say, i will not do anything to endanger my chances to be a mom. my employer may not support this and that will be unfortunate. but i will not cross that bridge till i get to it.:heartbeat

Hello all! I am a nurse now and have been for a few years. Is there someone who can give me an email address or regular address to write to them and say thank you. Where do they post available jobs? Back in 1987 I had a severe Traumatic Brain Injury and Life Flight had to come and get me from VIlla Rica. I was not supposed to live. I would like to work there for a while to say thank you or at least, say thank you.