Quick Comparison of Hospitals in Triangle Area

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 17, 2019

"pay back some of your student loans (not a significant amount) so that's a plus." Last I heard was $30K. That's not a significant amount of money?

UNC just got put on probation from Joint Commission.

Duke paid my ADN loans off, most of my BSN and when I completed my MSN, they paid 75% of tuition so I could go there.

Duke does not pay the least. They are all fairly competitive. They do have great benefits. Duke Reg and Duke Raleigh are both in the Duke system so the benefits and pay are the same.

Rex is part of UNC.

But if you have "had enough of Duke" please go somewhere else. I am there because I want to be. It is a fine hospital and I enjoy working there. There are many opportunities to look at.

plus, I drive from JoCo to work at Duke. It's worth it to me. #ForeverDuke

rubyagnes, BSN · Apr 17, 2020

On 9/17/2019 at 4:53 PM, mmc51264 said:
"pay back some of your student loans (not a significant amount) so that's a plus." Last I heard was $30K. That's not a significant amount of money?
UNC just got put on probation from Joint Commission.
Duke paid my ADN loans off, most of my BSN and when I completed my MSN, they paid 75% of tuition so I could go there.
Duke does not pay the least. They are all fairly competitive. They do have great benefits. Duke Reg and Duke Raleigh are both in the Duke system so the benefits and pay are the same.
Rex is part of UNC.
But if you have "had enough of Duke" please go somewhere else. I am there because I want to be. It is a fine hospital and I enjoy working there. There are many opportunities to look at.
plus, I drive from JoCo to work at Duke. It's worth it to me. #ForeverDuke

@mmc51264 are you still at Duke? I'm moving with my bf to the triangle area in the fall, and Duke is #1 on my list of places to apply. How early would you recommend I start submitting apps? I have 5 years inpatient hospital experience as an RN, have my BSN, and currently working at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. What is the estimated salary/differentials at Duke? Any other info that would be helpful? I'd love to take advantage of their generous MSN discounted tuition as well. Did you go back to school after you began working at Duke? The more I look at their site and their benefits, the more excited I get

Thanks in advance!

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 17, 2020

I would highly recommend Duke. The way they have acted and treated us during all this Covid mess has been unbelievable! They are amazing!!!

Shift diffs are approx (I don't have them memorized) weekday nights $4-5, weekend days $5-6 and weekend nights $12 ish). Please don't quote me LOL

I would apply sooner rather than later. It is a process and with non-essential people working from home, it can take a while.

As for the Duke tuition reimbursement. After 2 years I believe, you can get reimbursed $5200 per calendar year for any education (RN-BSN, MSN) and after 3 years, you can apply for reimbursement to go to Duke (75% of Duke's tuition is paid). I did my MSN that way. What I had to pay/borrow was not much more than a state school. I did it because that was part of my "bucket list" . ?

I have been there 7+ years and am really, really happy there. In the area, there are many hospitals and there are a lot of people that job hop, but many come back. Some don't, but I am old enough to understand that sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side because there is more fertilizer (BS ? )

If you have any other questions, let me know!

rubyagnes, BSN · Apr 21, 2020

On 4/17/2020 at 7:42 AM, mmc51264 said:
I would highly recommend Duke. The way they have acted and treated us during all this Covid mess has been unbelievable! They are amazing!
Shift diffs are approx (I don't have them memorized) weekday nights $4-5, weekend days $5-6 and weekend nights $12 ish). Please don't quote me LOL
I would apply sooner rather than later. It is a process and with non-essential people working from home, it can take a while.
As for the Duke tuition reimbursement. After 2 years I believe, you can get reimbursed $5200 per calendar year for any education (RN-BSN, MSN) and after 3 years, you can apply for reimbursement to go to Duke (75% of Duke's tuition is paid). I did my MSN that way. What I had to pay/borrow was not much more than a state school. I did it because that was part of my "bucket list" . ?
I have been there 7+ years and am really, really happy there. In the area, there are many hospitals and there are a lot of people that job hop, but many come back. Some don't, but I am old enough to understand that sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side because there is more fertilizer (BS ? )
If you have any other questions, let me know!

Thank you so much for your response! I'll definitely look into applying to some positions soon. I've definitely browsed all of the job postings on their site many times. I have a background of a few years in the ED and most recently have been working inpatient Psych focusing on neurocognitive/neurodegenerative disorders (dementia, Alzheimers, Parkinson's, MS, rare congenital diseases, etc) I've been interested in finding a Neuro unit that focuses more on the neurocognitive and degenerative disorders. Do you know anything about the various Neuro units at Duke, particularly 4100 Neuro Stepdown, Neuro Trauma Stepdown, and 8W Neuro Stepdown.

I'm not 100% set on Neuro - I've just been very underwhelmed with Psych. I sometimes miss the ER but I don't miss getting completely mentally/physically/emotionally worn out every shift. I'd love to find a unit where I can grow, keep learning, feel challenged, etc. (though I might be floated to a COVID unit soon due to my ED background and being ACLS certified)

I also saw on the nursing benefits page that Duke offers loan repayment for prior Nursing loans up to $25k for a 2-3 year commitment Have you heard of anything like that? It may be for select nursing positions. I've tried calling the nursing recruiters without much success... likely a result of the COVID chaos.

Thanks again! I honestly wish I could move tomorrow. I've very excited for a change ?

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 23, 2020

I work the orthopedic unit and there are 4 units in my surgical care group-the other 3 are the neuro units. 41 is ortho spine and neuro, I can't remember which is which, but 8E and 8W are neuro ICU and neuro SD. I'm pretty sure East is ICU. Duke is Joint Commission certified in Stroke so I am pretty sure they are on top of their game. The 8E & 8W are in the newer building (41 and 61, where I am, is in the older tower and our rooms are a little smaller but we are moving to the new tower in the Spring).

I don't think you have to worry about floating to a Covid unit, they have 3 dedicated units plus an ICU with a 4th ready to go if need be. We are all ACLS certified because we don't have central tele anymore-we monitor on the floor.

As far as the student loan forgiveness. I know for new grads it is staggered ($5K after year 1, $10K after year 2 etc). Not sure of those details. Mine was different when I started.

I'm sorry the recruiters aren't answering. Do you have anyone's email? That is the easiest way to get someone to answer.

rubyagnes, BSN · Apr 27, 2020

On 4/22/2020 at 9:27 PM, mmc51264 said:
I work the orthopedic unit and there are 4 units in my surgical care group-the other 3 are the neuro units. 41 is ortho spine and neuro, I can't remember which is which, but 8E and 8W are neuro ICU and neuro SD. I'm pretty sure East is ICU. Duke is Joint Commission certified in Stroke so I am pretty sure they are on top of their game. The 8E & 8W are in the newer building (41 and 61, where I am, is in the older tower and our rooms are a little smaller but we are moving to the new tower in the Spring).
I don't think you have to worry about floating to a Covid unit, they have 3 dedicated units plus an ICU with a 4th ready to go if need be. We are all ACLS certified because we don't have central tele anymore-we monitor on the floor.
As far as the student loan forgiveness. I know for new grads it is staggered ($5K after year 1, $10K after year 2 etc). Not sure of those details. Mine was different when I started.
I'm sorry the recruiters aren't answering. Do you have anyone's email? That is the easiest way to get someone to answer.

@mmc51264 Thank you again for your thorough response! The more I learn about Duke, the more appealing it is to me.

The student loan forgiveness is a huge incentive as I have a heavy amount of student debt that feels like an anchor weighing me down at all times.

I like the idea of moving to a speciality where I'll be challenged and expand my knowledge. I've felt very underwhelmed in Psych and I assumed being at Hopkins would've been more cutting edge - it definitely hasn't been at all. I miss the medical world and I miss being pushed out of my comfort zone.

I only saw a phone number for recruiters on the Duke site and when I've called no one has answered yet, but I can keep trying. I'd love to apply to some positions soon even though I'm not moving until the fall I want to be prepared and feel secure about the move. Hoping some of the COVID frenzy dies down soon as well.

Thanks again!

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 28, 2020

I would apply now. It can be a long process. We are opening a new tower and new ambulatory surgical center so there are going to be a lot of jobs!

tgreene22, BSN · Nov 23, 2020

On 4/17/2020 at 7:42 AM, mmc51264 said:

I would highly recommend Duke. The way they have acted and treated us during all this Covid mess has been unbelievable! They are amazing!

Shift diffs are approx (I don't have them memorized) weekday nights $4-5, weekend days $5-6 and weekend nights $12 ish). Please don't quote me LOL

I would apply sooner rather than later. It is a process and with non-essential people working from home, it can take a while.

As for the Duke tuition reimbursement. After 2 years I believe, you can get reimbursed $5200 per calendar year for any education (RN-BSN, MSN) and after 3 years, you can apply for reimbursement to go to Duke (75% of Duke's tuition is paid). I did my MSN that way. What I had to pay/borrow was not much more than a state school. I did it because that was part of my "bucket list" . ?

I have been there 7+ years and am really, really happy there. In the area, there are many hospitals and there are a lot of people that job hop, but many come back. Some don't, but I am old enough to understand that sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side because there is more fertilizer (BS ? )

If you have any other questions, let me know!

HI! So I just applied at Duke and was wondering how competitive you could tell me it is? I applied for like 5 positions at the Children’s hospital. I have one year of inpatient pediatric experience, two bachelors degrees (one being my BSN), my PALS certification and like 9 years of working with children which will be good for peds! Any info would be great! ?

tgreene22, BSN · Nov 23, 2020

17 minutes ago, tgreene22 said:

HI! So I just applied at Duke and was wondering how competitive you could tell me it is? I applied for like 5 positions at the Children’s hospital. I have one year of inpatient pediatric experience, two bachelors degrees (one being my BSN), my PALS certification and like 9 years of working with children which will be good for peds! Any info would be great! ?

I also am studying for my CPN (certified pediatric nurse) certification

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 24, 2020

I am pretty certain you would have a great chance! With building a new tower, we are going to need much more staff, including experienced nurses!!

DeLynn, RN · Sep 21, 2021

Having worked at both Duke (Raleigh) and WakeMed, I can confirmed that WakeMed does pay slightly more. Also, their weekend shift diff is great, $12 an hour for days. They have both recently given an extra raise this year on top of the annual due to Covid. WakeMed has a Happy to Help program to help out on the Covid floors, anything above your FTE hours is paid $18/hr more. So a weekend Happy to Help shift is paying $30 extra, not sure how much longer that program will be. In my opinion I feel that WakeMed values their nurses a little more, Duke's mentality, is well were "Duke" that's the way we have always done things. Also, I work part-time and the insurance at WakeMed for part-time employees is less than half of what you'd pay for part-time benefit's at Duke (part-time people pay Cobra price, no supplement from Duke). WakeMed offers tuition, not much though, can't recall exactly how much, maybe like $3500 annual? All that being said, neither of them are bad places to work, and the Triangle is a great place to live.