Small Hospitals

carachel2 · Mar 24, 2006

As long as you are one of those types who doesn't mind getting dressed up to go to Brookshires and doesn't mind EVERYONE and their freaking dog in your business, then you will do just fine in those smaller towns like Jacksonville, Bullard or heaven for bid...Troup.

They are beautiful little towns and I had a great upbringing there. You could not, however, PAY me to live there now. OTOH, lots of people who were raised in the big city can't wait to get out and live there and say they love it. You just need to know your personality and what you like to do. The pickins' is slim sometimes for entertainment and diversity.

PedsER-RN, BSN, RN · Mar 26, 2006

i've noticed there are lots of questions in this forum about whether it is best to work in dallas, austin, or houston. how about the rest of the state? anyone here not from one of the megacities who is proud of their place of employment? what's it like in jacksonville, llano, or odessa for example? can a new graduate find a rewarding career in the smaller communities in texas?

i've not been to llano or jacksonville, but i've been to midland/odessa and wasn't too impressed. basically pretty small towns with not much going on. amarillo is nice but i'm not too familiar with their hospital system. lubbock is decent sized (about 200k) but feels like a small town and has several big hospitals that hire new grads. wichita falls has a hospital that i know hires new grads-a girl i know works ltc there. i've heard good things about round rock also (suburb of austin, i think). if you're looking for scenery lubbock and midland/odessa don't have much, but lubbock's culture is probably the nicest of the towns i've mentioned (lots of friendly people!).

labcat01, BSN, RN · Mar 26, 2006

College Station, Texas! (about 90 miles from Houston). If you don't mind Texas A&M University and football this is a great place to live. I like to say it is low on crime and low on culture -it is a small city. It is a weird place to live because it seems like everyweek there is some interesting political figure that's been here and you never hear about it until the next day. I like it but i've been here a long time and i'll be happy when we move on.

I should also add that it is predominatly conservative and christian so you have to look a little harder to find some diversity :)

carachel2 · Mar 27, 2006

College Station, Texas! (about 90 miles from Houston). If you don't mind Texas A&M University and football this is a great place to live. I like to say it is low on crime and low on culture -it is a small city. It is a weird place to live because it seems like everyweek there is some interesting political figure that's been here and you never hear about it until the next day. I like it but i've been here a long time and i'll be happy when we move on.
I should also add that it is predominatly conservative and christian so you have to look a little harder to find some diversity :)

I agree with this. I went to school at A&M and I think it would be a good place to live. Lots to do, medium sized town and also with close proximity to Houston and somewhat close to Austin.

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Apr 1, 2006

As long as you are one of those types who doesn't mind getting dressed up to go to Brookshires

This is neat. I'm from Houston and my grandmother was a cashier at the Brookshire Brothers in Hearne for nearly 25 years. Brookshire's is truly the social mecca of many rural towns. Shop there, eat there, see your friends. Here in Houston, no one even knows what Brookshire's is.

carachel2 · Apr 1, 2006

This is neat. I'm from Houston and my grandmother was a cashier at the Brookshire Brothers in Hearne for nearly 25 years. Brookshire's is truly the social mecca of many rural towns. Shop there, eat there, see your friends. Here in Houston, no one even knows what Brookshire's is.

No one in DFW does either. And let me tell you..........while I love and sometimes miss my small town, I don't miss everyone in my business. I enjoy dashing out to Tom THumb in my ratty shorts and tshirt without washing my hair and not having worry about what *they* are thinking.

Honestly, I don't think those small towns are even a great place to raise kids. They have nothing to do and some of them are sooooooooooo close minded it is pathetic. But that would be a post for another day.

kat911 · Apr 1, 2006

What do you consider a small town? I've worked in a town with 5000 people and now in a small city with 75,000. In Texas you cqan probably find what ever you want. There are good places to work in a few of the small towns, good places to work in small or moderate sized cities. I left Houston and have no regrets. I love being in the a smaller City. Traffic is so much better. If you want to live in the country and work in the city you have many many options. Central Texas offers a little of everything. There are hospitals from 35 beds to 500 beds with in driving distance. Some people work in Dallas or Austin and drive from rural areas to work just the weekend. I used to drive 55 miles one way, finally moved closer and it sure is nice, but an hour drive in the country is a lot better than sitting in traffic and taking an hour to go 10-15 miles like in Houston, Dallas or Austin. Look around and look at the housing costs for the areas your are interested in. You have a lot of choices.

tx2007, RN · Apr 6, 2006

I live in Midland (just outside of Odessa) I am still in NS but can tell you I cant wait to get the H*LL out of here!! The pay is only $18/hr and housing is so ridiculous here also yes EVERYONE is in your business and talks about EVERYTHING you do. I love big cities (lived in Phoenix and Denver) and cant wait to go back. But if you like small towns then I would say go for it but not around here, unless you have $$ this is an oil town (everyone here is in the oilfield) and unless you have $$ you are nobody its not what you know but WHO you know.

CametoitlateTexan · Apr 7, 2006

Thanks to all for your posts. I am primarily interested in what the jobs are like at smaller cities(e.g. the differences between larger and smaller health care settings).

I have spent several years in smaller towns (pop. 8,000) and loved it. I now live in a city of over 100,000 and enjoy the amenities. Also spent time in DFW where I loved the options, but hated the traffic. Just wondering what the opportunities are like.

ImaStork · May 1, 2006

I am a L&D nurse in a small Texas town of approx 15,000. I love it. I work in the county hospital. We have several home health agencies here in town as well as hospice. We also have several long term care facilities.Our hospital also has a clinic system you could work for. The town also has numerous general practice doctors as well as several specialist one could apply to work for. Because we are only 45 minutes from Ft. Worth our salaries stay competitive with the area.I agree with some of the other posts regarding traffic and drive time to work. Having always lived in the country, outside of any city or even a town. I would choose no where else. I kind of like being a name with my face and not just another number. :twocents:

kat911 · May 1, 2006

Thanks to all for your posts. I am primarily interested in what the jobs are like at smaller cities(e.g. the differences between larger and smaller health care settings).
I have spent several years in smaller towns (pop. 8,000) and loved it. I now live in a city of over 100,000 and enjoy the amenities. Also spent time in DFW where I loved the options, but hated the traffic. Just wondering what the opportunities are like.

Llano has a nice little community hospital. They see a lot of trauma in thier ED. Same with Lampasses. If you like the desert there is always Alpine, they have a fairly new hospital there, lots of trauma there as well. I lived outside a small town, no one knew my business because I worked elsewhere. Of course I didn't grow up there either, that helps.