West Hills Hospital RN New Grad Program

travelingnurset · Feb 10, 2021

Hello,

I started as a new grad at West Hills in 2018 and have been here for the past three years. When I applied there was no expectation for commitment, which meant we could leave at any time and there was no monetary commitment/contract. I remember signing on as a new grad in 2018 and specifically being told by the union that the hospital was not allowed to engage in any contract, but remembered the new grads after me all had the same "2 year contract." I would certainly look into it via the union if that contract is still in effect, thus making it illegal for them to hold you to the $10k pay back. I will say, West Hills has a hard time retaining staff, so it's no surprise why they enacted this contract. I'm about to tell you why.

Not to scare you West Hills just isn't a great hospital. As a nurse who started there and has been there for three years, I appreciate the experience I gained, and it's certainly helped me grow as a nurse, but there are significant downsides. First of all, there's never enough staffing. I know that's common with many hospitals, but truly even before the pandemic there was just not enough staffing. Charge is constantly going into care, which for you means no official lunch/breaks. I mean, there would be weeks on end where I wouldn't get a lunch or a break, and this was an issue LONG before a pandemic was a thing. Secondly, there are sporifice if any CNAs to help you, if there's a need for a "sitter" there goes your help. It wouldn't be as bad, but the issue is West Hills is surrounded by SNFs which means heavy heavy patients. Total care patients that require all your help, feeding, changing, meds, etc. When you have 4-5 200-300 pound patients who need assistance for everything, it can be overwhelming for a new grad. I started all of my clinicals at Huntington Hospital, a magnet hospital in Pasadena, and charge in care was almost never heard of. CNAs had a set 9-1 ratio etc.

There's no consistency is anything. Policies are available online, but every nurse has different ways of doing things. Again, this can be common for many hospitals, but a good organization has standards and protocols that you should follow. Several travel/agency nurses who I've met through the hospital have consistently agreed the processes of West Hills is messy and disorganized.

The burn out here is FAST, not to say that isn't common of bedside nursing, but you see it on the nurses faces. I had several friends who worked at UCLA, Huntington, other magnet hospitals who truly are valued as nurses, have a fostering work environment, get dedicated staff/management support. They talk about having an IV start team, a turn team, CNA ratios. And here we are just happy to get a lunch break at all. West Hills just simply isn't IT.

With all that being said, I don't regret my time at West Hills. Have I thought about quitting? SEVERAL times doesn't do it justice, but heres the deal, when you start at west hills, you can only go up from here. Any where else you go, you'll have the foundation of autonomy and independence because you didn't have very much help to begin with, and you had to figure it out. I think starting off as a new grad here compared to a nice hospitals helped me gain so much independent work abilities as a nurse, and any hospital I go to from here.

Furthermore, the charting system is meditech, which belongs in the 1980s and clearly created by someone in the engineering field rather than healthcare. Trash to say the least. But once you master it, meditech is also such a simple and fast charting tool. The expectations of charting at West Hills is significantly less heavy than other major hospitals.

For the positives, I think the coworkers at West Hills are overwhelmingly more nice than they are mean. I'd say 80% of the staff are approachable and willing to help with any questions/concerns you may have. Additionally, the pay is significantly higher than other hospitals in the area, I believe I had a friend who made almost $5 an hour less than I did as a new grad at GAMC.

I hope this helps, every ones experiences are different. I really don't want to sound like there are only downsides. Like I said, I think West Hills is a great learning curve to start as a new grad. I truly think that calm waves seldomly make a strong sailor. I don't regret my experiences there, West Hills is the kind of facility you start your nursing career, not where you end it.

Cinco465 · Jul 18, 2023

how much does west hills pay for new grads?