The Naughty, The Dirty, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

[phoenix-]

... of Tampa/St. Pete's/Clearwater Hospitals

I'm sure this has been covered over and over again, but I would love a 2013 version, as we all know the flimsiness of our dynamic professional world. So give it to me, ladies and gentlemen. I am moving from Las Vegas to Florida within a couple of months with one year of Med-Surg/Telemetry experience in an LTAC Hospital, plus-minus a couple of months depending on the offers I get. After sending out some feelers, I've already got a couple of permanent placement/agency bites, so let's cross our fingers and toes that this won't be as scary of a professional move as it already is a personal one. (Yes, I'm being optimistic about this).

I'm already painfully aware of the inevitable pay cut. As this move is driven by love, I'll just have to bite the bullet on that one. So what do I wanna know?

1. Whatever you have on your acute care hospitals, short-term or long-term! IASIS vs. Baycare vs. Kindred vs. HCA vs. Others. What do you love? What do you hate? What makes you wanna scream and cry and just set the entire place on fire for?

2. I want Critical Care, preferably Cardiovascular or Trauma, with possible venture into ED in a few years. With the market being the way it is, I thank my kind deities every day that I even got an acute care job almost as soon as I graduated. So don't get me wrong, I will transfer within my company if I have to (because this move is non-negotiable), but I would much rather go into critical care within a large STAC with a solid Trauma/CV center where I can at least see a clear path towards my goal. Do I have a chance in hell of achieving this with my one year of experience? Should I even waste my time gearing my CL/Resume to these hospitals/positions? And if so, which hospitals should I be targeting?

3. A little OT but what's up with this Endorsement?! x.X I submitted the application electronically. How do I know if they've received the rest (Electronic fingerprint, NurSys verification, CEU)? Do I get a deficiency notice? What are your endorsement experiences?

4. Has anyone else made this move from Vegas to Tampa? Thoughts?

Thank you in advance everyone! ^_^

[wifetoAndy]

I am applying to this area as well. I have just about one year experience in a small town hospital ICU and a year PRN at a psych hospital. I have gotten a call back from Tampa General. If I were you I would apply where you want to work most and see what happens. Also, I got emails updating my endorsement and what I was missing from the BON so you should also. Once I submitted the last item I had my license within 48 hours. I just looked on line by my name and my license number popped up. I got a letter in the mail shortly after.

[wifetoAndy]

Btw, my family lived in that area. I don't have a professional opinion of the hospitals but from a patient family member standpoint, Tampa General stood out. Baycare hospitals are supposed to be really good too.

[phoenix-]

Hi, everyone. Thanks for the responses! :) I got my license approximately three weeks after sending my application, including all requirements, electronically, so yay!

I've been applying to jobs since. I'm in dialogue with St. Pete Gen (specifically in PCU) and Bayfront. Does anyone have an opinion on either facility?