Which hospital would you recommend (or stay away from) in DFW area?

jskgx2 · Nov 4, 2013

Texas Health is a great health care system and many ppl also love Baylor. Since you are a relatively new nurse I would go with the larger facilities like Texas Health HEB or Baylor grapevine and avoid the smaller stand alone centers.

Niki_RN · Nov 30, 2013

Thank you for your response. I'm wondering about HCA facilities, would that be a good option too? Thank you.

PD82 · Dec 2, 2013

Texas Health presby flower mounds pays above average (I work there). Other Texas Health Resources hospitals are good too; texas health HEB is close to the airport. Baylor is a "brand name" hospital, but don't expect impressive pay (Ive worked there as well).

I don't know much about HCA, but its worth applying and interviewing! Good luck :)

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Dec 14, 2013

HCA does not have a good reputation in general. There are exceptions; like Medical City of Dallas (that would be in Dallas though). Most HCA facilities employ large numbers of travel staff. They used to employ large proportions of agency nurses but I think they helped that issue by establishing their own regional staffing agency. One of the benefits to working for either Baylor system or THR is that you often can access all the associated facilities for things like education. So if your CPR/ACLS is about to expire and your facility doesn't have a class until 2 weeks after your expiration date, you can maybe go to a sister facility 20-30 miles away that has a class today; That's saved my bacon a few times.

Niki_RN · Dec 16, 2013

Thank you for that suggestion. I am mostly looking into THR facilities since a lot of people seem to like them and recommend them. I applied at Baylor too. A lot of the job postings seem to want 2+ years of experience which doesn't help me. But I will keep applying until someone will be willing to give me a chance.

allnurses Guide · Dec 16, 2013

Not all HCA facilities are bad. The one I work at does not employ travelers as a rule. Once in a blue moon we see agency staff. Most of the HCA facilities in my area employ seasonal nurses for the float pool and most of those are for night shift.

HCA is for profit and therefore motivated by the almighty dollar. This means you have to be savvy to get what you want from them and you have to have the right manager with the right attitude.

THR in general does pay more, has better benefits and better shift differentials. The nurse to patient ratios, however, don't seem to be any better. Purely anecdotally speaking, THR does tend to treat its people better. But HCA isn't the demon they are painted to be. It just comes at nursing from a different angle and thus are not always putting the importance of the nurse role very high. At times decisions are made in corporate HCA that are completely disassociated with the realities of what happens on the floor. However, many nurses have had successful careers at HCA and HCA does tend to promote from within. Pay tends to be on the lower end of average for the area but not as low as Baylor.