registered nurse

registered nurse - operating room

medical assistant

clinical nurse

registered nurse - medical / surgical

BJC HealthCare

This place has so much untapped potential, and that’s what makes it all the more frustrating. The foundation for success is already there—the structures, the guidelines, the opportunity to build something genuinely strong—but time and time again it falls short. And from what I’ve seen, that failure almost always traces back to the same issue: management that is unprepared, underqualified, and unwilling to acknowledge its own shortcomings.
Across every department, it’s the same pattern. Management comes across as inconsistent and, frankly, fickle—too proud and overly confident to recognize where they’re falling behind, let alone improve. That attitude trickles down and creates a ripple effect among the staff, resulting in a workforce that feels wildly inconsistent, both in performance and morale. There’s no stability, no cohesion—just a constant sense of disorganization that makes even basic operations feel unnecessarily difficult.
Then there’s the pay, which is already questionable, but somehow the attendance policy manages to be even worse. It’s honestly baffling. Whoever designed it seems completely disconnected from reality. Six sick days out of an entire year—365 days—and that’s supposed to be reasonable? That’s not even a full week. It feels less like a policy and more like a punishment. I haven’t met a single person here who’s managed to make it a full year without running into issues because of it. And the idea that being even one minute late counts as a half point is just excessive. Most workplaces understand that life happens and build in some kind of grace period. Here, there’s none of that—just rigid rules that ignore basic human circumstances.
It’s no surprise the turnover rate is so high. The environment practically guarantees it. Instead of fostering teamwork or support, the culture creates tension and, at times, outright hostility. The stress level is constant, and rather than bringing people together, it drives them apart. Coworkers end up competing, clashing, or simply disengaging because there’s no sense of shared purpose or mutual respect.
Work-life balance is almost nonexistent. By the end of a shift, you’re completely drained—physically, mentally, and emotionally—from being overworked and underappreciated. And to make matters worse, you’re often working alongside people who either believe they’re above contributing or people who were brought in with little to no experience and never given the proper training to succeed. That lack of preparation only adds more strain on everyone else, creating a cycle that never seems to improve.
At this point, it feels like what’s needed isn’t minor adjustments but a complete reset. Management that actually understands how to lead and support a team. Training programs that genuinely prepare employees for the work they’re expected to do. A hiring process that prioritizes capable, committed individuals instead of just filling positions. And compensation that reflects the level of effort, time, and energy the job demands—especially in comparison to other hospitals in the area.
A successful, thriving workplace is absolutely possible here, which is what makes the current reality so disappointing. The potential is there, but until the fundamental issues are addressed, it’s hard to see anything changing.

Three days during the week I would work in the cardiac rehab department where I would see phase II and phase III patients.  With the phase II patients I would first see them during their orientation where I would go over demographics then get baseline measures that would include height, weight, abdominal circumference, and BMI. Next I would hook them up to our telemetry units then take them through our initial fitness assessment which was a 5 minute all out effort walk around our indoor track to see how many laps they could do and we would translate that to a fitness level.  As soon as the five minutes were completed I would immediately get a blood pressure, oxygen saturation, signs or symptoms, and an RPE. After this was complete I would write up a report and take into account all measurements, heart activity, and signs and symptoms then would create the patients individualized treatment plan.  Next, I would give them a brief orientation of the equipment in our facility.  I would also sit at the telemetry monitor and check in phase II patients before they started exercise and monitor their heart activity during exercise, once they completed their session for the day I would type up a report of that session which then would go into their chart.  Then when working on the floor with phase II patients I would get blood pressures before, during, and after exercise along with helping anyone with equipment settings or explaining how to use a particular machine and help with resistance exercises.  With phase III patients that are not continuously monitored I would check them in where I would get a blood pressure, resting ECG strip, heart rate, and ask them a few questions before they would start exercise on their own.  Every so often I would offer information sessions on cardiac risk factors that either phase II or III patients could come to.  The other 2 days of the week I would work in cardiac diagnostics where I would do exercise stress tests with or without echo/nuclear imaging.  Throughout this experience I learned a great deal about clinical cardiology since my co-workers were very helpful and effective in teaching me different principles with all the different cardiac patients we would see and also had the opportunity to do rounds with the cardiologists along with seeing multiple cardiothoracic operations and catheterizations where they would allow me to pick their brains on any questions I would have.  The most enjoyable part of this job was the relationships you would form with the patients since you would see and work with them multiple times per week and being able to see the progress they would exhibit from the beginning to the end was very gratifying.

]The hospital has had a staffing crisis because of everything occurring. People have very low morale and are struggling immensely, but there has been no flexibility in days off allowed or call-ins to recover from long shifts. The hospital policy is 5 per 12 months and that’s for every possible reason to call in: sick, overworked, emergency. The only benefit for shifts is a current shift bonus if you pick up, but good luck having the energy to do that with how thin you will be stretched.

If you're a PSA, your job will consist of sitting with one patient for the 12 hours because the patient can’t be alone, typically on your own. If they’re a handful, you’ll have 2 staff members in the room. Your breaks depend on your nurse or the other staff available. There is such a crisis now, and there has been, that you will not always feel supported by coworkers. That lack of support has led to a very high turnover for this position. The pay is extremely low for what we are expected to do. The hourly looks great until you realize it's only 36 hours a week. and so many PSAs have become techs to avoid sitting or have quit entirely. Some people have passion for their job and want to make a better stay for these kids, but many higher above us like nurses and managers look down on our role. It makes it frustrating when you are trying to advocate for your patient, but no one wants to listen because they assume you don't know what you're doing or that they know better.

I loved the kids. I mean, some of the kids that were aggressive were actually sweethearts under them acting tough. You will have repeat patients in several months and see the same kid admitted time and time again. You will experience some shifts where your patient sleeps the entirety of the time on days or nights. You will have both days and nights where your patient won't sit down. You will have patients that make you get creative and patients that make you stand by the door waiting for your relief. And while I said some nurses don't want to listen, some do and, unfortunately, those will pleasantly surprise you.

Just be prepared for almost anything. Some nurses really appreciate your input, some don't want to hear you. Do what you can for your patients as best as you can, because they deserve it, and not everyone will be willing to provide.

25 years have brought a lot of changes for patients and employees. The most recent, working 12 hour shifts, 3 days a week. Always able to pick up extra if want. The other days of the week allowed time for family.  Compassion for patient's and family. Holding someone as they cry makes you stronger in the heart. Working with other departments and helping them as they help you makes you feel important. Sometimes just a positive comment and smile makes another person feel good. The hardest part of the job, not getting help but rude comments from staff when asked to assist phone calls as I was assisting a family member. Being bullied from younger staff because I was being kind and considerate to anyone at the station. Many patient's and family witnessed.  Not being able to express how I was treated.  I would never complain to management. I would try to work it out myself. It was a hard lesson to learn.  The most enjoyable part of the job was and always will be the people you meet.  Everyone has a wonderful story. It may break your heart. It may make you laugh. It always made me feel special sharing a part of someone's life. A typical day was greeting new patient's, saying goodbye to patient's by prayer or a wave, answering call lights and phone calls, sometimes both at the same time, that's when being on hold is a time to accomplish something. Fixing a jam in fax or copy machine. Assisting anyone who asked for my help. If I do not know the answer I will do my best to find it.  Management was always available. Staff meetings were listed for everyone to attend.  If not able to attend, minutes were in lounge for everyone to sign and read.  I have worked with several new staff members and management.  I respect each and everyone. I enjoy meeting new staff and making them feel welcome.  Saying goodbye to a staff member feels like loosing a family member.  I gave 25 years. I am ready to find a new journey to assist the community.

Working at BJC in a cardiology coordinator role had its pros and cons. On the positive side, I worked with a great team of nurses who genuinely cared about patients and each other. Day-to-day, the work was fast-paced and detailed, and I had the chance to support a wide variety of clinics and providers. Its a nice change from the bedside
However, when it came to policies around PTO, holidays, and paid sick leave, and leadership things were often unclear, unorganized, and messy—especially during offboarding. For example, using Missouri Paid Sick Leave close to a holiday raised a lot of questions and required multiple calls to HR, advocacy, and leadership just to clarify basic policy interpretation. It felt like some of the newer policies weren’t fully understood or consistently applied across departments. One of the biggest challenges working at BJC Cardiology was the complete lack of effective leadership and oversight. There was no real advocacy for staff—nurses and coordinators were often left to navigate complex policies on their own without guidance. Leadership was inconsistent, unresponsive, and more focused on protecting the system than supporting employees. Physician oversight was basically nonexistent, and coordinators were expected to manage high volumes with little to no direction or recognition. When issues came up, it often felt like you were on your own, and getting clarity or support from HR or management was a constant uphill battle. It was disheartening, especially given the level of responsibility and clinical knowledge required for the role.

Overall, I valued the clinical side of the work and the relationships with my coworkers, but the administrative and HR side could be frustrating and disorganized at times—especially when you're trying to make sure you're following the rules and protecting yourself. Go into the job with eyes wide open knowing that at the end of the day the corporation really only cares about physician happiness and making money. 

A very productive and fun place to work. Awesome doctors & co-workers we all work well as a team. Since mainly working with medically compromised children with you name it kind of birth defects, genetic disorders, heart issues, Downs syndrome, Autism, very rare unordinary health issues I've learned so much about these medical issues that I would have never been introduced to anywhere else I have been employed. It has been quite interesting with a lot of the days & weeks very emotional & sometimes very trying days but good to go home with the feeling you did something positive to help a very sick, upset & in pain child. Management is very helpful to help you find any answer to a area that you are unsure of & will help with any problem solving that my cross your path. For the 17 years I've been employed here at SLCH I have been lucky to have such awesome co-workers & to be part of a well honed team players that help make are days so great & productive.The hardest part of my job was getting used to the sick children some of those you find out will not make it through their treatment but still have to make their day with us just like any body else's day that isn't quite as sick, everyone needs dental treatment & we try very hard to make it as tolerable if not fun for them. So when they get up out of the chair they can say hey that wasn't so bad. The most enjoyable parts of my day is when a repeat customer/patient comes in for his or her appointment and comes up to you to give you a big hug, or sing me a song. The parents are just as thankful for our services they will treat us to good things to snack on often times & tell us how much they do appreciate all of our hard work & compassion. We are very close knit to our kids & their parents.Just knowing what I do, what (we do) in a day is greatly appreciated I go home at night with a feeling of accomplishment just knowing I had a chance to be a part of that child's day and it was a good day for them & us. It's quite the rewarding job.

This may seem like a blanket statement if I'm honest. However, IT runs everything. If you don't understand that, then you truly don't know the world we live in and unfortunately that would be the issue with leadership. To be taken as a second class citizen in most social, economic and professional situations at the company is something you should get used to and expect. If you are new to this company, this may be something you can let roll off your shoulders but for the fact that most of the workforce doesn't believe anything at all and the company surveys are unapologetic and even harsher than this internally...Lets you know that other people are at their end. You will have have barely any tools to do the jobs you are asked to do and when you do have the tools you metaphorically may not even have electricity to run the tools. What few staff remain of the thousands that were fired with no given reason or saw the ride on the wall and decided to quit and or retire early are either in three camps: They are either not calling out a blue sky as being blue in fear because they are so close to retirement or they are towing the line as you would say in the hopes that maybe they will be spared or they are too young to retire and have nowhere else to go and are just weathering out the storm. Hoping at some point it will end. When does anyone think this will be? I don't think anyone knows... But do not expect to change the world or improve things because you are not allowed to. If you push paper you are set! As you will never be held to account for anything however, this is a sword of Damocles because whenever someone does need to be held to account that will not happen either. If you do not push paper and your job cannot be automated, you can expect most of your hobbies and friends and family events to fall by the wayside. If there is something you need to do to continue to work at the company you will be allowed to do it which is good! Doctors appointments, disability or surgeries that may need to be taken, or Even legal matters. You can do that without much pushback so long as it keeps you working in the long run. 

Drove to patients homes after verifying with patient. Did growth and development of newborns as ordered by a physician. Did heel sticks to check bilirubin counts on infants under bili lights in the home, taken to lab for results to be sent to physician and new orders received. Dressing changes usually dry on children. On ante-partum moms usually seen for diabetes due to pregnancy or high blood pressure due to pregnancy. Diabetic moms were taught proper diet, checked weight, checked proper taking of medication and why needed, checking blood sugars and taught patient how to check, and proper exercise. High blood pressure moms were taught proper diet, elimination of salt, checked weight,checked vital signs, if patient had blood pressure machine in the home taught how to use it and when numbers were needed to be called in to physician per physician's orders, observed for swelling in extremities(especially lower), taught elevation of legs to avoid or assist in lower extremity swelling, proper exercise, and taking medications and why needed. Post-partum moms were usually seen due to infection in the incision area. Did dressing changes, observed for amount and kind of drainage, taking medications as ordered or needed. Resting to allow proper healing of wound,eating properly to assist in wound healing. Talked with mom about getting help from family or friends to take care of everything except herself and her baby. To keep infant near by if in a safe bed or bassinet. If infant was bottle fed, others could assist in preparation of those. Paper work completed as designated by the office. Oral doctor's orders written and sent for signature. Learned about new medications to me so could be explained to the patient properly. Supervisor was well educated in the area of my employment and easy to talk to. Didn't work with others much, was fairly independent at this job. Always enjoy the care and teaching I can give my patients/family so wellness occurs quickly.

What is the best part of working at the company?
BJC has just about the worst salaries for non-clinical roles, and also the worst benefits, that I've encountered in my 20+ years of working for healthcare organizations. I don't know how they get people to work for them for decades. I  know for my part, I only took the job there because the job, itself, was a great fit on a great team. In my area (the Epic team), their idea of fully staffed was one person less than they actually needed, at all times. So, when even one person was sick or took some time off, it immediately put the entire team in having difficulty keeping up with the workload. Nearly every person on my team told me they worked hours consistently more than 40 hours per week.  No surprise, most of them were very overweight. You would think a healthcare organization would be more concerned about work life balance. But, it's possible none of my teammates ever admitted to our managers that they were working so much overtime.  

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The low pay for the long hours expected to keep up with the fast paced workload. And, all the sitting. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The individual teams have a great culture and treat each other like family. When Covid hit and the company became open to work from home for certian roles, I did end up really liking working from home. But, it always came across as hypocritical when, one year, we lost about 50% of our team due to better offers from other healthcare organizations, and BJC management would meet with our team to try to figure out why all those people had left. They would say they were taking our feedback into account, but salaries never got adjusted, they never implemented retention bonuses, nor any of the variety of other ideas that our team discussed with them.   

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Hit the ground running and work as fast as you can until it's time to stop for the day.

Don't get me wrong Barnes Jewish Hospital could be a very fulfilling place to work. However, just not when you're doing valet. The job is very stressful and unorganized. There are a lot of snitches in the department that will tell on you for any little thing. I run out of fingers and hands counting up how many people have quit this job because of how poorly it's ran.You have to continuously be outside rain, sleet, or snow while those in a higher position than you get to sit inside of the buildings and do nothing. Management will take about thirty smoke breaks a day while work is getting backed up. The tips would be a plus but you have to literally run in order to get keys and return a customer's vehicle. Those in management are not fit to do the job. They will make somebody with little to no experience a lead just off the fact of them being friends with them. Anybody can get hired really. They would hire an alligator if they could. The only way to survive this job is if you're considered a "favorite". They always need people to work overtime because they're always short staffed. Management is disrespectful and everybody there has secret relationships going on. Trust me!! You should run while you can because once you're hired they'll try to have you stuck there forever. They don't really like for people to transfer out of the department because it seems like they don't want to see anybody succeed. It's ridiculous and the people in HR never know what's going on because they don't take the time to come off of their thrones to know how the department is being ran. I sometimes can't believe all the time I wasted there with them. What a shame. If I could give it zero stars I would.

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