working on a military base

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

Can anyone please shed some light on this? :confused: What's it like to work on a base - are there a lot of other civilian employees? Is there usually a hospital on base or just a clinic? I'm especially interested if anyone here can tell me about the Fort Drum area. My SO has orders to go to Fort Drum this upcoming May and I'm going to have a find a job. My first option will be the hospitals/clinics on base (if there even are any), then maybe the VA or some of the hospitals in the area, depending if anyone is hiring at that point in time.

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Specializes in US Army.

In this day and age, you'll find more civilians working on post than military... Most clinics and hospitals have about 70% civilian staff, so you will not be the only one :)

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
In this day and age, you'll find more civilians working on post than military... Most clinics and hospitals have about 70% civilian staff, so you will not be the only one :)

Good to know :) Any idea on what working on post is like?

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Specializes in EMT, ER, Homehealth, OR.

Fort Drum does not have a hospital, it has clinics. If you want to work in a hospital you will need to work in Watertown. Since FT Drum is out in the middle of no where there are not many positions for RN's in the area. Depending on how far you want to drive to work Syracuse would be your best bet to find employment.

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It depends where you are but it is hard to get a job on post if you are in the army we say post base is an AF thing but you have to know someone to get a job on post and I mean know someone up high living on post is cool its a little different like every week day morning certain roads are closed for PT and at certain parts of the day if you are outside everyone stops and salutes like at the open and close of the day also lunch time is really busy because everyone goes to lunch at the same time and it funny because there are so many pregnant women on post its like everyone is pregnant so L&D is always full a friend of mine who was in labor had to wait on a room because they are always full

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
Fort Drum does not have a hospital, it has clinics. If you want to work in a hospital you will need to work in Watertown. Since FT Drum is out in the middle of no where there are not many positions for RN's in the area. Depending on how far you want to drive to work Syracuse would be your best bet to find employment.

My biggest worry is not being able to find a job in the area. Are there VA Medical Centers closeby to Fort Drum?

And I'm seriously considering Syracuse. I just researched some of the hospitals in the area and I have really taken a liking into St. Joseph's and Upstate University Hospital, but I was also looking into Community General and Crouse Hospital. A job looks promising, but of course anything can change by the time I move out there. Do you know anything about those hospitals?

I'm seriously considering taking the ~hour & 40min drive, but I had an hour commute to one of the hospitals I used to work at and I HATED driving the distance. My SO and I are considering living somewhere in between to cut down on my driving time, but I don't know. I'm just trying to think of all possible options now instead of holding it off until I get there.

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Are you a RN or LPN?

I live on Drum and work at the hospital in Watertown (Samaritan). There are only clinics on post and occasionally on post positions pop up on CPOL website and they require at least one year experience.

Samaritan hires frequently. They will hire new grads or experienced nurses and will be opening a new hospital section around November or December that will have a brand new ICU, PCU, surgical suite, ER, and med/surg floor. The pay at Samaritan is actually pretty decent for the area, too. I was a new grad and had job offers from 2 hospitals but picked SMC because it was the closest.

There are other smaller hospitals within 30-45 minutes from here...Carthage Area Hosptial, Lewis County Hospital in Lowville, and River Hospital in Alex Bay.

Before you seriously consider Syracuse, I would like to point out the weather in the winter. We get quite a bit of snow up here at Drum, but the real snow belt is between Watertown and Syracuse. They do a pretty good job of keeping the roads clear but I-81 can get nasty at times and I wouldn't want to make that drive AND have to do a 12 hour shift then try to get back home. Just something to consider.

GOOD LUCK!!

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
Are you a RN or LPN?

I live on Drum and work at the hospital in Watertown (Samaritan). There are only clinics on post and occasionally on post positions pop up on CPOL website and they require at least one year experience.

Samaritan hires frequently. They will hire new grads or experienced nurses and will be opening a new hospital section around November or December that will have a brand new ICU, PCU, surgical suite, ER, and med/surg floor. The pay at Samaritan is actually pretty decent for the area, too. I was a new grad and had job offers from 2 hospitals but picked SMC because it was the closest.

There are other smaller hospitals within 30-45 minutes from here...Carthage Area Hosptial, Lewis County Hospital in Lowville, and River Hospital in Alex Bay.

Before you seriously consider Syracuse, I would like to point out the weather in the winter. We get quite a bit of snow up here at Drum, but the real snow belt is between Watertown and Syracuse. They do a pretty good job of keeping the roads clear but I-81 can get nasty at times and I wouldn't want to make that drive AND have to do a 12 hour shift then try to get back home. Just something to consider.

GOOD LUCK!!

L8RRN,

I'm going for my RN (BSN). Having you post this really made me happy, especially the brand new ICU/PCU/ER (I *REALLY* want to do critical care when I graduate...or at least work on a telemetry floor for a year before I transfer to the ICU) and the fact that Samaritan hires pretty frequently (including new grads) also makes me really happy. I forgot to consider the fact that FD gets a lot of snow and you're right, I wouldn't want to drive that distance in bad weather and work a 12-hour shift!

Another question - do you know what RN's start off at? I currently live in Ohio and it varies depending on the hospital, but the average here seems to be $23/hr.

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Starting pay at SMC is just over $25 right now for new grads or those with less than one year experience (it is under a union, also). I know several people who got hired on as a new grad in PCU and ICU and the best time to apply is usually in April to start sometime in early June. If you wait much longer than that, the local college may have filled the graduate nurse slots and you may have to wait until later in the summer or fall for more positions to open up. Just a thought since you are relocating in May. The ER here currently does not hire new grads, though.

Best of luck to you! Some people HATE it here and some love it. I am in the middle. Summers are BEAUTIFUL but the winters are too cold for my liking at times.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
Starting pay at SMC is just over $25 right now for new grads or those with less than one year experience (it is under a union, also). I know several people who got hired on as a new grad in PCU and ICU and the best time to apply is usually in April to start sometime in early June. If you wait much longer than that, the local college may have filled the graduate nurse slots and you may have to wait until later in the summer or fall for more positions to open up. Just a thought since you are relocating in May. The ER here currently does not hire new grads, though.

Best of luck to you! Some people HATE it here and some love it. I am in the middle. Summers are BEAUTIFUL but the winters are too cold for my liking at times.

Well a job is a job, I would be thankful just to have one! That's great that some new grads got hired into PCU/ICU. And thanks for the heads-up on when to apply! I thought about moving out there sometime in April or earlier in May (before his report date) but if I could do a telephone interview or something and wait until I move with him, that would be better. We won't be married until April or May anyway and I have no idea about the housing situation there. One of our good friends is also being stationed at FD and he told me there is already a waiting list for housing on post.

Thank you again, I really appreciate your input!!

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A lot of the housing situation depends on his rank...some wait lists are longer than others. I am not sure about how the list is looking because I already live on post. They have built a lot of new houses over the past 4ish years, but they keep sending people up here so there is almost always a wait...and you have to be married before you can go on the list.

Best of luck to you and maybe I will see you around SMC in the future!

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