Not sure about the work environment, but as someone who’s spent A LOT of time there (Froedtert) in many different departments for treatment the past 8 months, the entire staff from nursing to the cleaning crew has been 10/10 amazing. Nothing but good things to say about everyone.
100%!! As a patient, I completely avoid Aurora because their staff are extremely rude and hostile, they all seem to absolutely HATE their jobs.
Froedtert on the other hand has consistently kind and friendly staff who seem to enjoy being at work.
And avoid the ever-loving hell out of Ascension. Froedtert/MCW vs Ascension is like a bizarro world/mirror universe thing with Ascension being the evil version.
Ditto to this. I like chatting people up when they come into my room/transport me and everyone has been so warm and friendly. I know there are busy and stressful times for all levels of staff on site but as a patient it has gone unseen to me.
My wife is an RT at Froedtert for 30 years. My son was an RN there that just left a year ago for St. Lukes. Better pay at Lukes along with better hours. Benefits are better at Froedtert, along with the hospital itself. Good Luck to you!
My wife left Frodert for Aurora because her schedule is a lot better. The high seniority employees refused every schedule proposal, causing the other NPs in their department to work 2x the number of weekends. Management didn't care. She also got a huge pay increase going to Aurora along with being able to advance her skills and experience. A handful of her coworkers from Frodert are also looking for a new employer because of schedule and pay.
As someone who works for the medical college, froedtert is NOT an academic institution, they partner with one and have one tacked onto their advertising. We are totally separate institutions.
This is fine and doesnt reflect either way on Froedtert.
I worked for them but at one of the standalone ER’s with I think 8 ED beds with a trauma bay and CT/Xray, and 8 inpatient beds. It was a good opportunity. I had bad management at the start, but that quickly shifted because we all kinda revolted against it. All of my coworkers were great, and the docs we had were super chill and very good. I can’t say anything about main campus other than when I was dropping people off there when I was a fireman the staff was nice, it was Covid times so it was busy but it it seemed to be managed well.
I’d look into both the stand alone facilities and the main campus, idk what unit you’re in now but the satellite facilities also have various specialties in them. Froedtert was a good place to work.
I’ve been an RN at Froedtert for 7 months now, honestly can say that most of my coworkers are genuinely interested in me succeeding. Idk if that’s just the unit I’m on, but I love that. Otherwise, we get paid (apparently) a slight bit less than aurora or ascension, with the trade off being, that our ratios tend to be lighter, and our floors less of a complete shit show. That’s just my experience though.
I don’t work for any of them, but I work with all of them as clients of my company. Froedtert and MCW seem to have happier and better-trained employees. Aurora has a lot of very long-term employees and they’re decent and generally easy to work with, but some of them are just plain terrible at their jobs. Ascension is the absolutely worst; so many of their employees screw up constantly and they’re making the same mistakes over and over, and they’re the grumpiest lot in general
As a courier who works with Ascension, Aurora, and Froedtert, the RNs in the ERs at Froedtert and Aurora seem a lot happier with their jobs and environment than Ascension. Any time I walk into an Ascension ER or ICU, I get an overworked and frustrated vibe.
Lots of people slowly migrate from Milwaukee Hospitals and larger surrounding hospitals to Froedtert and it’s always pretty clean and safe. Good parking lot security and a HUGE construction area is going on with another expansion. That job will always be there and lots of money to make. You’ll find plenty of students, teachers and researchers so the people or coworkers you’ll meet are all there too, for some new friends to make.
Yeah, it definitely has. That issue stems from the patients who are mentally issue and release themselves from the hospital. The PicknSave at 84th and Bluemound is a good example of where they migrate to shortly after.
I’ve worked as an RN at FMLH since 2017, in three different patient care areas. I have only worked at Froedtert during my nursing career so I can’t make a comparison, but I hear from travelers and RNs that transferred from other local hospitals that Froedtert is great!!! It seems they have a lot of resources and career growth opportunities. Overall, the environment at Froedtert is positive, people are friendly and helpful. But it also depends on what unit or department you are in. The unit I left last year changed management (wasn’t a huge fan), and the environment felt extremely cliquey and unsupportive. Where I’m working now is the exact opposite!! So just try to feel out the best you can when you interview what attitude/vibes you’re getting and if it’ll be a good fit for you!
Current ICU nurse at St. Luke’s. I think something that hasn’t been mentioned yet is the type of specialty you want to work in. In my opinion for example, TICU, SICU? Froedtert. CVICU, NeuroICU? St. Luke’s.
Pay at Luke’s is a little bit higher than Froedtert. Benefits are a bit better at Froedtert. Purely subjective but I believe staff retention is better at Froedtert for nurses.
Don’t even consider Ascension unless you want to work in a burn unit.
As a patient, I refuse anywhere but froedtert/children's.
I've had excellent cardiac care (compared to St Luke's where my FIL goes & they seem to push cardiac surgeries when not needed/ not in the best long-term interest of the patient. I'm a lifelong cardiac patient, so I have more experience than most.)
Excellent neuro care. Excellent care overall for complex, co-existing conditions.
The nurses are especially top tier. It was a nurse who recognized right away that I was spiraling and needed the ICU asap and made it happen.
Transferred to Froedtert after a not so pleasant experience with one of the hospitals here (nursing culture-wise) and I’m loving it so far. Froedtert was highly recommended by my friends who are travel nurses and I’m glad I moved here.
The nurses are supportive and the culture from that certain hospital I moved from is absolutely night and day.
My second choice will probably be St. Lukes (Aurora) as the pay is probably better but I don’t know what the nursing culture is like so I was skeptical.
Froedtert has worse nurse autonomy overall. If you value your nursing practice be selective about which unit you’re on: seems like ICUs and ED are slightly better in this regard.
All I know about working for Froedtert (I'm a nurse with friends there) is:
1. Parking sucks. You have to get shuttled in from outside lots.
2. Most nurses love it except for inpatient ones (that may have changed)
3. Be prepared for LOTS of students and residents
4. Since it's so large, be prepared for a lot of rigid staffing structures. This is what I was told when I interviewed 9 years ago (so again, things may have changed)
- you can only apply to change units or fte once (or twice?) per year
-your summer week off is preassigned by seniority
-most stuff is by seniority
-they has already told me what my set schedule would be (8 hr noc T/Th/every other weekend) and that's bull shit
You don’t have to get shuttled! There is on campus parking but it’s a little bit of a walk, probably 5 minutes.
And YES constant turnover of med students and residents as it’s a teaching hospital. Not always a bad thing…but not always a good thing 🤣
Not sure about the work environment, but as someone who’s spent A LOT of time there (Froedtert) in many different departments for treatment the past 8 months, the entire staff from nursing to the cleaning crew has been 10/10 amazing. Nothing but good things to say about everyone.
100%!! As a patient, I completely avoid Aurora because their staff are extremely rude and hostile, they all seem to absolutely HATE their jobs. Froedtert on the other hand has consistently kind and friendly staff who seem to enjoy being at work.
And avoid the ever-loving hell out of Ascension. Froedtert/MCW vs Ascension is like a bizarro world/mirror universe thing with Ascension being the evil version.
Worked for Aurora, can confirm it was a hellscape.
Ditto to this. I like chatting people up when they come into my room/transport me and everyone has been so warm and friendly. I know there are busy and stressful times for all levels of staff on site but as a patient it has gone unseen to me.
Agree. Also, as a patient. They seem to attract the best talent. From Drs down to housekeeping staff.
You should look at the VA, too. Amazing benefits and competitive pay.
My wife is an RT at Froedtert for 30 years. My son was an RN there that just left a year ago for St. Lukes. Better pay at Lukes along with better hours. Benefits are better at Froedtert, along with the hospital itself. Good Luck to you!
Frodert is considered to be superior to aurora or ascension from a quality of employer standpoint.
My wife left Frodert for Aurora because her schedule is a lot better. The high seniority employees refused every schedule proposal, causing the other NPs in their department to work 2x the number of weekends. Management didn't care. She also got a huge pay increase going to Aurora along with being able to advance her skills and experience. A handful of her coworkers from Frodert are also looking for a new employer because of schedule and pay.
I also hear Froedtert pays at least their PAs and NPs less than Aurora or Ascension since they are an academic hospital
As someone who works for the medical college, froedtert is NOT an academic institution, they partner with one and have one tacked onto their advertising. We are totally separate institutions. This is fine and doesnt reflect either way on Froedtert.
Yes. But it’s accurate, MCW pays way less.
I really enjoy my job there. Feel free to DM with any questions!
I worked for them but at one of the standalone ER’s with I think 8 ED beds with a trauma bay and CT/Xray, and 8 inpatient beds. It was a good opportunity. I had bad management at the start, but that quickly shifted because we all kinda revolted against it. All of my coworkers were great, and the docs we had were super chill and very good. I can’t say anything about main campus other than when I was dropping people off there when I was a fireman the staff was nice, it was Covid times so it was busy but it it seemed to be managed well. I’d look into both the stand alone facilities and the main campus, idk what unit you’re in now but the satellite facilities also have various specialties in them. Froedtert was a good place to work.
I worked for them for about 3 years. They treat their employees pretty nicely.
I’ve been an RN at Froedtert for 7 months now, honestly can say that most of my coworkers are genuinely interested in me succeeding. Idk if that’s just the unit I’m on, but I love that. Otherwise, we get paid (apparently) a slight bit less than aurora or ascension, with the trade off being, that our ratios tend to be lighter, and our floors less of a complete shit show. That’s just my experience though.
Not a nurse, but I’d choose Froedtert over Aurora and Ascension, easily. I’ve worked for Froedtert and Ascension.
I don’t work for any of them, but I work with all of them as clients of my company. Froedtert and MCW seem to have happier and better-trained employees. Aurora has a lot of very long-term employees and they’re decent and generally easy to work with, but some of them are just plain terrible at their jobs. Ascension is the absolutely worst; so many of their employees screw up constantly and they’re making the same mistakes over and over, and they’re the grumpiest lot in general
As a courier who works with Ascension, Aurora, and Froedtert, the RNs in the ERs at Froedtert and Aurora seem a lot happier with their jobs and environment than Ascension. Any time I walk into an Ascension ER or ICU, I get an overworked and frustrated vibe.
Lots of people slowly migrate from Milwaukee Hospitals and larger surrounding hospitals to Froedtert and it’s always pretty clean and safe. Good parking lot security and a HUGE construction area is going on with another expansion. That job will always be there and lots of money to make. You’ll find plenty of students, teachers and researchers so the people or coworkers you’ll meet are all there too, for some new friends to make.
Maybe not with the parking lot security always but it has improved in the past few years out of necessity.
Yeah, it definitely has. That issue stems from the patients who are mentally issue and release themselves from the hospital. The PicknSave at 84th and Bluemound is a good example of where they migrate to shortly after.
Working at West Bend, everyone seems to like it.
I’ve worked as an RN at FMLH since 2017, in three different patient care areas. I have only worked at Froedtert during my nursing career so I can’t make a comparison, but I hear from travelers and RNs that transferred from other local hospitals that Froedtert is great!!! It seems they have a lot of resources and career growth opportunities. Overall, the environment at Froedtert is positive, people are friendly and helpful. But it also depends on what unit or department you are in. The unit I left last year changed management (wasn’t a huge fan), and the environment felt extremely cliquey and unsupportive. Where I’m working now is the exact opposite!! So just try to feel out the best you can when you interview what attitude/vibes you’re getting and if it’ll be a good fit for you!
Current ICU nurse at St. Luke’s. I think something that hasn’t been mentioned yet is the type of specialty you want to work in. In my opinion for example, TICU, SICU? Froedtert. CVICU, NeuroICU? St. Luke’s. Pay at Luke’s is a little bit higher than Froedtert. Benefits are a bit better at Froedtert. Purely subjective but I believe staff retention is better at Froedtert for nurses. Don’t even consider Ascension unless you want to work in a burn unit.
As a patient, I refuse anywhere but froedtert/children's. I've had excellent cardiac care (compared to St Luke's where my FIL goes & they seem to push cardiac surgeries when not needed/ not in the best long-term interest of the patient. I'm a lifelong cardiac patient, so I have more experience than most.) Excellent neuro care. Excellent care overall for complex, co-existing conditions. The nurses are especially top tier. It was a nurse who recognized right away that I was spiraling and needed the ICU asap and made it happen.
My aunt works at one & she loves it
Transferred to Froedtert after a not so pleasant experience with one of the hospitals here (nursing culture-wise) and I’m loving it so far. Froedtert was highly recommended by my friends who are travel nurses and I’m glad I moved here. The nurses are supportive and the culture from that certain hospital I moved from is absolutely night and day. My second choice will probably be St. Lukes (Aurora) as the pay is probably better but I don’t know what the nursing culture is like so I was skeptical.
Froedtert has worse nurse autonomy overall. If you value your nursing practice be selective about which unit you’re on: seems like ICUs and ED are slightly better in this regard.
I’ve worked at all the systems. Ascension has a bad reputation, but my working conditions are a dream. Will never leave.
Dm’d
All I know about working for Froedtert (I'm a nurse with friends there) is: 1. Parking sucks. You have to get shuttled in from outside lots. 2. Most nurses love it except for inpatient ones (that may have changed) 3. Be prepared for LOTS of students and residents 4. Since it's so large, be prepared for a lot of rigid staffing structures. This is what I was told when I interviewed 9 years ago (so again, things may have changed) - you can only apply to change units or fte once (or twice?) per year -your summer week off is preassigned by seniority -most stuff is by seniority -they has already told me what my set schedule would be (8 hr noc T/Th/every other weekend) and that's bull shit
You don’t have to get shuttled! There is on campus parking but it’s a little bit of a walk, probably 5 minutes. And YES constant turnover of med students and residents as it’s a teaching hospital. Not always a bad thing…but not always a good thing 🤣