mommyRN09

No, I don't work at Parkland, though I would love to. Parkland is notorious for not calling people back. They get hundreds upon hundreds of applicants for maybe four or five spots sometimes, and can afford to be picky right now. I applied for three of the residencies and never heard anything back. I even called the recruiters several times a week. (I'm pretty sure they wrote me off as a stalker, but hey, it's hard not to be when you're desperate...) I did numerous clinicals there and even had a couple of their managers make a recommendation call for me, but no luck. Keep trying if that's where you want to be, but definitely be looking elsewhere as well. Hang in there; I was there 6 months ago and I know how frustrating it can be right now!! If you find a job somewhere else you can always apply to Parkland again later after some experience. That's my plan right now. Good luck!

The Level I trauma centers in Dallas are Parkland and Baylor University Medical Center. JPS in Ft. Worth is also Level I, and Children's, right across the stress from Parkland, is a Level I pediatric trauma center. Parkland is a state hospital and known for being very busy where you will see a LOT. They also have one of the largest burn units in the nation.

LOVE this! Thanks for sharing! :)

Thanks for the info! I'll start looking there! :)

Hello all you MN nurses! I'm a native Texan whose hubby may be taking a job transfer which requires moving to the Minneapolis area. I've lived in Dallas my entire life, and know absolutely nothing about this area; any general tips appreciated! I've been working on a women and children's unit, which includes some L&D and nursery. I'll probably be looking for an L&D job and will have about a year's experience once we get up there. Can you tell me about some of the hospitals around the area, especially any knowledge you may have of the different L&D departments? Thanks y'all!

Thanks for the input! :)

So not sure if anyone can answer this... but here's the deal. I graduated in Dec. '09 with my BSN and considered AF at the time, but timing wasn't right for my life. (Had a baby after graduation, etc.) Now I'm about to start working as a civilian RN on a Women's and Children's floor. My passion is L&D, but didn't have any luck getting a job there in this job market. I know (correct me if I'm wrong) that to skip NTP you have to have > or = 6 mos experience. I also know that as a new grad going through NTP you can choose the OB track or the Med-Surg track. Is there such an option for experienced RN's? Or if you join AF with one type of experience are you doomed to stay in that area since you skipped NTP? If I decide after a year at this job that I want to do AF but haven't gotten any L&D experience, will I be able to transition to and get training in L&D or an "OB track" once in the AF? Or if I really want to do L&D do I need to try to get civilian L&D experience first and then apply for AF? Thanks for any expertise :)

I live in Dallas, so I have experience with a few of the L&D's here. But I will say that L&D jobs in general are pretty hard to come by. Parkland is an extremely busy state hospital, delivering more babies per year than any other hospital in the country. I did my OB rotation there in school and it was a lot of fun. Very high Hispanic population, big plus if you speak Spanish. Most people say you can get more experience there in one year than you would in several years anywhere else. Not exactly classed as "nice", but a great experience. I did my senior internship at Baylor Dallas "big Baylor". It also stays busy, and is a really nice private hospital. Voted several times as "best place to have a baby in Dallas". I worked at THR Presby Dallas L&D for a year and loved the nurses there. Also pretty busy, nice facility, and THR is a good company with lots of branches all over DFW. I myself had my baby at Medical City Dallas and had a great experience with all my nurses. Hope that helps! :)

I volunteered at Presby Dallas all throughout high school in the ED and women's services and loved it! I also worked there as an extern, and loved that as well. It's a great hospital, and all the volunteers I've ever had contact with have been a wonderful. Medical City is also a great hospital, as I had my baby there and had a great experience with all my nurses. I don't really know much about their volunteer program, but the staff is great and I would definitely recommend the hospital. Don't think you can go wrong either way! :)

honestly i've gotten so frustrated with parkland and their shoddy hiring process that i've pretty much given up hope on them. i applied for the NICU one along with several others, and haven't heard back anything. i think they feel that as a super mega hospital with hundreds of applicants per position, that they have the upper hand and don't really have to be courteous or give you the time of day unless they decide you're one of the chosen few at the end. quite sad...their HR is anything but helpful, and yes, they tell me the same thing every time i stalk them... hope you find something!!

Thanks for the input! I am willing to commute, and have been applying to several outlying suburbs as well. I guess I'll just keep trucking along! I mean, seriously, with like 250 copes of my resume floating out in space something has to come up eventually, right? I'm a job application MACHINE right now. Must...keep...applying....

I'm trying very hard to remain optimistic...BUT...I started thinking about what would happen if I don't get an internship for June. I mean, what then?? Do I have to wait around and then try again for the next round? There's not really any other way anyone hires a new grad in DFW. I graduated in Dec. '09 (I do have my license..), but had to wait to apply for family reasons, so I'm already a semester behind. But do employers really hire "new grads" that have been out of school for a year already with no RN experience yet? And I know I'm not the only one...just venting and trying not to panic...**practices breathing techniques**

Hate to break it to you, but almost all of the internships posted in jan/feb, and have already been filled for this round (ones starting in june). Your best bet would probably be to check each hospital's individual website or call their HR. Even then it's tough out their right now. I applied for dozens early on and don't have an offer yet. Good luck!!

Updates anyone???

I'm a Dallas native, so of course I'm biased, but I've always loved it here. I live in far north Dallas, but drove south to downtown everyday to Baylor nursing school for two years! (BSN and NP programs...) There's also UTA and TWU for other BSN nursing programs in the area. I'm not very well versed on the school systems, my son isn't old enough yet, but there are nice neighborhoods in pretty much every suburb, just depends on how far you want to drive. I do know there are several private Christian schools in a lot of the suburbs as well. Heading north from Dallas there's Richardson, Plano, Allen, McKinney, respectively. There's also Frisco, Addison, Arlington, Irving to the west, and Mesquite, Rowlett, Rockwall to the east, just to name a few. Honestly while the traffic CAN be bad, if you live close enough to I-75, 635, the tollway, or George Bush turnpike, you can get to pretty much anywhere you want without too much trouble. Especially with 12 hr shifts, since this normally puts you driving before/after peak rush hour. I drive from north of McKinney to Dallas almost everyday, and while it does cost a small ransom in gas, it's really nice having the best of both worlds; rural and urban, within less than an hour's drive. (And of course there's always the ever expanding DART light rail train system...very convenient) There are also hospitals in every suburb. The big ones are in Dallas (BUMC, Parkland, Children's, Presby Dallas, Medical City), but there are smaller branches of many of the systems in each suburb. I have worked at Big Baylor (BUMC) and THR Presby Dallas, both as nurse externs, but am applying for RN internships right now at nearly every hospital in Dallas. (In this job market I don't really care how far I have to drive...) Hope that helps a bit, and good luck! :)