Healthcare is administered in private community hospitals and academic or teaching hospitals throughout the country. Is there any advantage to working in a teaching hospital? In reality, some healthcare providers do prefer the small, more personalized work environment of a private facility. On the other

Healthcare is administered in private community hospitals and academic or teaching hospitals throughout the country. Is there any advantage to working in a teaching hospital?

In reality, some healthcare providers do prefer the small, more personalized work environment of a private facility. On the other hand, the majority of healthcare providers feel that there are some distinct advantages to working in an academic-based or teaching hospital. These advantages are not only for the healthcare and nursing staff, but also the patients.

Some Facts About Teaching Hospitals

There are over 1,000 teaching hospitals in the United States. Every state has at least one, with some states having over 50 teaching hospitals. Most teaching hospitals are non-profit. About one-tenth of them are public facilities.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide many teaching hospitals with funding for research. This is important financial backing, which is needed to advance healthcare research and subsequent treatment protocols.

Most teaching hospitals have exceptional specialty care programs. More than half of these academic facilities have neonatal intensive care units (NICIs) and about 57% of them are certified trauma centers. Many also offer transplant centers and specialized oncology or cancer care centers.

The Pros of Working in a Teaching Hospital

In nursing, as well as other health disciplines, there are many advantages to working in an academic setting, which include:

• Exposure to cutting-edge medical care with research and innovation, including new medications, technology, and procedures
• There is 24-hour physician coverage, accessibility, and support for the nursing staff and patients
• Research and development findings are commonly shared with the staff
• Easy accessibility to a large selection of reference material
• Clinical practice skills are keen and current because of the level of care required for a higher acuity patient population
• Greater job satisfaction due to enhanced exposure to learning and witnessing current outcomes

The Cons of Working in a Teaching Hospital

Of course, there are a few downsides to working at an academic facility, which include:

• MDs are on duty 24-hours a day to write and adjust orders, which requires nurses to be vigilant about initiating orders in a timely manner
• Patients become the teaching tool because there are always groups of MDs and/or medical students tending to a patient. This can be tiring for the patient
• Sometimes “more” than less, with regard to lab tests and diagnostic studies, is ordered. This subjects some patients to unnecessary testing
• New rotations of interns, residents and fellows in the clinical area require frequent orientation sessions to the hospital protocols
• There is heightened vigilance to check the accuracy of physician’s orders due to the new waves of medical students in the clinical areas

The Patient’s Perspective

Today’s medical students are tomorrow’s doctors. Every physician has to learn the clinical facts and the medical field and/or specific facility processes.

Some patients prefer not to have medical students involved in their care. Patients have the right to request that only experienced or attending physicians determine their care. They can refuse the care of a medical student, although this is not the norm.

The Bottom Line

Working in a teaching hospital offers many advantages for the staff and the patients. The access to cutting-edge medical care is a true advantage, which certainly outweighs the downsides.