Don't believe these "positive" reviews from management and administration. I was in the same role and they're doing it to get more suckers to apply because there was a mass exodus and they're shortstaffed which means management has to pick up the slack now. They themselves hate the job and are just forced to balance out the true reviews that are indeed negative and toxic in order to recruit. Middle management just drinks the kool-aid and says yes to everything upper management says and twists it around for their own clout. I've left other jobs in the past and I would still promote people applying for those, except for this job. I left for good reason, and I implore all to stay away for your own good.
I’ve been contemplating writing my own review for a while. Although I truly hate bashing companies or people, things have been so toxic while I was employed here and have increased in toxicity after I left so the point where I feel bad for my friends and coworkers who are still there and I applaud those who left. For starters, its 24 hours on call. Not 12 hours. They tried the 12-hour model a long time ago but it failed and isn’t promised for anyone. If the workload is high and staffing is low you WILL be out for long hours and potentially the entire 24 hour period so there is always anxiety and the mystery of the unknown with every shift. In the beginning you may get “babied” and sent home early and treated well just to keep spirits high, but the more you get signed off and the more you learn, the more you’ll be expected to stay late/drive more etc. Also the weekdays you’re not on call you are NOT OFF. You are expected to answer work texts/emails/calls and attend meetings virtual or in person during Mon-Fri even if you’re not scheduled to be onsite. If you are truly incapable of doing that you need to request formal PTO. Getting vacation time and swaps can be a challenge also due to the short staff issues.
The training is horrible. They say its 6-8 months on average for training but that’s for a select few people who are exposed to a lot of active cases and pick things up quick. Most people take at least a year and there is no formal training protocol. They can’t make up their minds on what’s expected half the time so the rules are always changing. Most preceptors don’t even practice what they preach. You get sent with so many people and learn how everyone does it and you’re expected to piece it together and connect the dots on your own, some instances you may get sent to a case without any training and expected to “figure it out”.
Most of management do not come from clinical backgrounds, they are associate or bachelors degree grads telling seasoned RNs and MDs what to do, it’s pretty insulting. They micromanage and don’t really promote much independence except staying at a hospital by yourself sometimes. The only good thing is that some of your onsite coworkers can be fun to work with, unfortunately due to the solo nature of the job you don’t see others too often unless its absolutely needed. If you are a burnt-out bedside RN and need a change from the hospital I totally understand. This is NOT a better choice for you, save lives another way, promote organ donation another way. Coming here is not a better alternative to bedside. I’ve had numerous roles at this company over my 4-5 years and I’ve seen the good the bad and the ugly. When I first started here I also thought this place was amazing and found my “home”, a career I can invest my life in. About 3 months in I realized its all smoke and mirrors, I decided to make the best of it, learns some valuable skills and move on to bigger and better things. The ones who left also realized their true worth and left, Turnover is high for a reason, don’t be blind to what’s in front of you. People don’t leave good jobs, especially not a high number of people that leave here on a regular basis. If you really want to join this company, apply for a different role in administration/the foundation/or something clerical. The clinical side is brutal to say the least.
There is very little room for advancement. It takes years and lots of favoritism to move up even a little bit. Those in middle management are the favorites that lasted longer than the others and kiss up. Senior management will never leave until retirement so good luck getting their spot. Other roles are just never guaranteed and they would rather keep you down in the same room due to short staffing than promote or move you around. Lastly, I've seen and heard many instances of families being disrespected. The company expects us to be inappropriate and push boundaries by entering the patient room and doing physical exams without even talking to the families first, not to mention many false promises on timings of case completion and many others.
