Tustin/Irvine -Orange County - any advice??

kelisehunter · Aug 24, 2007

Irvine and Tustin are great areas to live and work in. I wouldn't say that there's a small population as compared to the other surrounding orange county cities. I would say in general that they are good safe cities to reside in and I think you will be happy there. Other than that I really don't know what else you want to know. If you have specific questions I might be able to answer them. Best of luck to you!

angiebaby2 · Aug 24, 2007

Hey thanks. Was just going to chat to someone who knows them well. Do you work in Tustin? I have looked around the hospital and it does look really nice - a lot calmer than English wards!! And Irvine looks lovely too! Just got to pass that exam!!!!! :uhoh3:

Haunted · Aug 24, 2007

Irvine Medical Center is a relatively slow paced facility. They usually staff for 12 hour shifts and prefer that you have some experience. Also new grads may have a wait to get into the chosen units. Parking is reasonable and some of the floors are very old and stinky. The building itself used to be a hotel so you get an idea of the layout.

Hourly rates are pretty low. I would NEVER advise anyone to seek a job at Kaiser. It is an altogether FRIGHTENING place to work. Search this site and you will discover a ton of horror stories. You also really do not want that to show up on your resume.

Hoag hospital is huge and you will spend most of your shift WALKING to get anywhere. They also tend to prefer those tall blond soccer Mom types, otherwise you will get the cold shoulder.

A little farther south in Mission Viejo you will find Mission and a great pediatric facility. These facilities are very clean, state of the art and extremely receptive as far as providing orientation and helping you to feel comfortable. Very clean and friendly facility with pretty good hourly rates.

Tustin Med Center tends to shut down a lot due to low census. It is also treating primarily a hispanic uninsured population so language barriers were always an issue as reported by nurses who worked there.

Tustin Rehab is a very well known facility with an incredible, dynamic staff. The former DON has moved on, reports were that she was a bit high strung and out of touch with the nursing staff. The nurse manager, Liz is an absolute dream, patient and one of the best nurse managers anyone could ever hope for. Lots to learn at this facility. Also nice location but bring your own food. Cafeteria is pricey with wacky hours and limited menu.

Farther inland you will find the "West Med" family, closest would be Santa Ana and Anaheim. These are very busy facilities with a lot of nursing students floating thru.

Low turnover of staff, overall friendly and helpful. Middle of the road facilities as far as equipment but they have upgraded their charting and offer lot's of opportunity for training and education. Reasonable parking but somewhat dodgy areas. Also mostly 12 hour shifts.

You are also close to St. Josephs , very, very well run facility. They are Catholic based and you will be aware of a strong religious environment, as well as the mission statement and they are extremely kind and compassionate staff. Also very helpfull in orienting and answering any questions to new grads. Pay is also a bit higher.

CHOC seems to have a poor quality of job satisfaction overall. If you are looking for a peds experience, I would suggest a much better experience at the Mission Viejo facility.

UCI is pretty close by. Large teaching hospital with a lot of Dougie Howsers. Lot's of opportunity to advance, education every where you turn. It tends to go thru periodic transition so job satisfaction goes up and down. The nurses are always battling administration over contract negotiations but overall seem to be a tight knit group with a diverse back ground. Many languages are spoken here as well and you will most likely see and learn a lot. One problem that seems to keep occuring is that new MD's rotate thru and will change orders for a patient and not tell the nurse. Keep an eye on those charts and hold your ground if you feel that the new order is unreasonable, etc. You will find you must really advocate for your patient.

The "Western Medical" family (not to be confused with West Med) is very old, rundown but overall a good helpful staff. Sort of low pay but usually guaranteed shifts in an area you want. Also easy parking but yucky cafeterias.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you are interested in any clinics or urgent care facilities ( I've been there too!)

fishchick72 · Aug 25, 2007

wow, that was a ton of great info on OC there! I'm not to far away, right on the border of Riverside county.

fishchick72 · Aug 25, 2007

actually I am curious to know if there are any clinics/urgent cares that offer 12 hour shifts??

Haunted · Aug 27, 2007

actually I am curious to know if there are any clinics/urgent cares that offer 12 hour shifts??

Sure. Try any of the Bristol Park Clinics as well as Sunrise. Do a local Google search of the area and you will want to stick with the more "big name" such as Bristol Park. The pay is not great but it is a quiet setting with mostly pediatric walk in stuff, just a note though, they are staffed by MD's and PA's who are VERY reluctant to refer the patient to a hospital for additional testing so you need to be a STRONG advocate for your patient if you feel that person needs additional testing or treatment.

For instance, most urgent care clinics are unable to perform extensive lab tests on site, including ultra sound or scans and will sometimes send a patient home with a "wait and see" attitude. As you can imagine, if someone presents with a septic appendix and the UC clinic merely sends them home to monitor, you have a problem and so does the patient. The attending is not trained to monitor for these things, mostly garden variety minor wounds, sore throats etc.

You are also going to be FLOODED with paperwork and have lot's of empty time on your hands not doing ANYTHING for ANYBODY. On the other hand, they do tend to offer more flex schedules and a smaller work environment if that is important to you.

You will notice also that Hoag has a few of these clinics but I always enjoyed the Bristol Park and St. Joseph clinics. Stay away from Kaiser at this point in your career at all costs!!!!!

Haunted · Aug 27, 2007

wow, that was a ton of great info on OC there! I'm not to far away, right on the border of Riverside county.

Happy to help!

fishchick72 · Aug 28, 2007

Thanks again, more great info!!