Looking For S. Florida Travel Assignment

[sydnesue]

Looking for friendly hospitals in southern Florida to travel to for winter? Anyone been there and can give me info on hospitals? SICU or ICU maybe ER. Couple I have been looking at are JFK in Atlantis, Plantation General, Palm Beach Gardens Medical center, or St. Lucie in Port St Lucie. Thanks

[AmandaWIRN]

I'm currently on assignment in the ER at Northwest Medical Center in Margate, FL. I've only been here a week so far, so it's kind of soon to say if I like it or not, but let me know if you haven any questions about it!

[sydnesue]

There are open positions there with one of the travel agencies I am talking with. What is your nurse to patient ratio? Do they get traumas there? Do they have an SICU? Why did you choose Northwest? Was the money better? Sorry for all the question, but thank you!!

[AmandaWIRN]

The nurse/patient ratio in the ER is 1:6, not sure about other areas. There's a general ICU, no separate SICU. Small ER, 20 beds, non-trauma, but cardiac/stroke center. Pay is typical for South Florida- I chose it mostly for the location. Margate is a nice community, close enough to the beaches, Ft. Lauderdale, etc.

[stellar]

I don't know if you consider Tampa, South Florida. I am not a traveler yet, but have lived in Tampa 16 years. Hospitals to avoid: University Community Hospital Fletcher and the smaller Carrollwood, at all costs!! St. Joseph's I personally think is a zoo, but I read a post here that someone thought it was great...I can tell you there has been a mass exodus recently from there and it pays the lowest (permanent staff) in the area. Tampa General is a trauma center so it is busy, but the staff have cycles of leaving due to the conditions, right now it is fairly good I hear. They rarely use travelers though for the last few years. Hope this helps.

[AmandaWIRN]

Originally Posted by stellar

I don't know if you consider Tampa, South Florida. I am not a traveler yet, but have lived in Tampa 16 years. Hospitals to avoid: University Community Hospital Fletcher and the smaller Carrollwood, at all costs!! St. Joseph's I personally think is a zoo, but I read a post here that someone thought it was great...I can tell you there has been a mass exodus recently from there and it pays the lowest (permanent staff) in the area. Tampa General is a trauma center so it is busy, but the staff have cycles of leaving due to the conditions, right now it is fairly good I hear. They rarely use travelers though for the last few years. Hope this helps.

Why would you avoid Carrollwood? Have you worked there? Are you talking about one of the units in particular, or the entire hospital as a whole? The reason I ask is that I am considering taking an assignment in their ER.

[stellar]

I worked for UCH Fletcher in their ICU for 5 years now about 10 years ago, just as they took over the little hospital in Carrollwood. Since then they have merged with a large conglomerate of hospitals and they have gone downhill financially, though they still build just like all the institutions, it is just at the expense of patient care. I do not think that is all that relevant to a traveler. Tampa is a small city and many of the nurses run into and work with each over the years. UCH, particularly Fletcher, is viewed as a "hellhole." Very nurse unfriendly, disloyal and dishonest. Workloads and acuities off the wall, and little or no ancillary help. The nursing management gets canned every few years, but many hospitals do the same. I have a number of coworkers who left UCH totally burned out, and even a few who thought my hospital was "boring" and went back and then quit again and returned after only a few months. I can ask around about the ER in Carrollwood, but I do not work until next week. That having been said, Tampa is a nice city to visit, especially in the winter. Lots of beaches, Busch Gardens is a lure in itiself. My daughter and I had a pass and went all the time. There is a ton to do everyday for the kids. Lowery park zoo is great, There is an electrical station in the area that in winter draws manatees to it for the warm water from its plant, and you can go and see them, also in the Hillsborough river with canoe trips (and alligators) miles of bike paths. Lots to counter balance a mediocre assignment.

[stellar]

I did ask around about UCH Carrollwood ER, and it sounds like it is a lot lower key than Fletcher. They do not take neuro pts there and major cases are directed elsewhere, although the walk in would be just about anything. The complaint about the lack of ancillary staff is the same, and it seems like the hospital as a whole is viewed as a much less sophisticated level of care. It did not sound like it would be a bad experience for a traveler overall.

[mgreene610]

I worked in the ICU at JFK. It was OK. The Drs. were hard to get along with and I got yelled at several times. They were really good with working with what days you needed off on your schedule. The BEST thing was where I stayed. It was right on ethe beach and a really good price and everything was there, all I brought was my clothes! If you decide to go with this one comtact me and I will give you the housing info!

[stellar]

You are welcome, Amanda