I work in a rural hospital (CAH) <50 beds.
Pros:
-Like the PP said, you get to know everyone. As an intern I worked at a 600 bed and it was so large and so chaotic everyone was always running around and pissed off. I swore I would never work in a hospital after that because I loathed it so much
-You also get to know the docs well and since it's a small town, you know them outside of work, which makes for good relationships
-Lots of autonomy and the ability to really take on as much responsibility for clinical initiatives as you want. I've been able to purse my interests and start new services.
-I personally have fantastic hours - no evenings and only every 4th weekend. We are closed during the evening and another facility takes over for remote CPOE verification. We have a rotating call schedule but I can go several call days without actually having to come in for anything.
-You get to see a little of everything in terms of pts, which is cool and a great learning experience.
-I get paid surprisingly well especially when you add in my call time but I still have enough time to pick up shifts in retail when I want to.
-I feel we are truly valued as part of the team here.
Cons:
-Again like the PP, less variety than a huge metro hospital in terms of traumas. We don't get a lot of GSWs in my little town.
-You have to have lots of interactions with the few people that are really unpleasant to work with.
I can truly say I love my job. I actually miss work when I've been gone for a conference or illness (nerd). I could not pick a better group of coworkers in my department; we have so much fun.
