University of Alabama at Birmingham

New graduates can step into the UAB Medicine Nurse Residency, and a separate VA Post-Baccalaureate RN Residency runs full-time and paid for a year through the UAB School of Nursing partnership, with protected time across primary care, med-surg, specialty, and leadership. Experienced nurses find paths into the Emergency Department, GI surgery coordination, ICU training environments, and Alabama’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. On the floor, people talk about flexible scheduling and time-off policies that actually help if you are in school or carrying family commitments. Women’s Choice Best Hospital designations in 2024 covered obstetrics, stroke, heart, cancer, and several other women’s health and surgical areas. A long-tenured GI surgery nurse was still being celebrated at 45 years, which tells you some careers here run deep. The honest tradeoff is pay. Reviews repeatedly say compensation lags even when benefits feel adequate, and promotions can mean changing departments rather than climbing in place. Culture is mixed by unit—supportive and collaborative in some corners, uneven in others—so the department you join matters as much as the badge.