registered nurse

psychiatrist

medical assistant

physician assistant

primary care physician

Cambridge Health Alliance

A typical day at work consists of identifying areas of weakness, developing and implementing process improvements.  Every day is a little different than the day before.  Manage multi-tasks setting timelines to complete tasks on or before deadlines set.

Being at CHA has provided me with the opportunity to be involved in union contract negotiations.  With 3600 employees and 14 different unions, it has made our payroll processes and time and attendance set up very complex and challenging.  Alot of time is spent reviewing current processes, identifying areas where processes can be streamlined, and implementing change to get the best usage of both software and employees.

As Director of Cash Disbursements, I play a strategic role in creating a positive environment to have continued collaboration with Human Resources, Finance and Materials; areas which have a great impact on ensuring both payroll and accounts payable are processed timely and efficiently.

The most difficult part of my job is not having the ability to hire superstar candidates to fill vacant positions due to strict budget constraints.  Due to this, more time is spent training new hires who want to learn "payroll" or "accounts payable" who come into the organization with mediocre skills and moderate expertise.

The most enjoyable part of the job is having the opportunity to collaborate with many different areas such as Labor Relations, Human Resources, Materials and Finance.  Also, having the opportunity to be a critical partner working with our Labor Relations Team during Union contract negotiations allowing me to provide my knowledge and experience related to pay changes, taxation of incentives and supplemental wages being negotiated.  Allows both sides the opportunity to get an understanding as to whether or not we can systematically, and legally honor their request and validate the requests will fall withing IRS and DOL regulations.

From the training and meetings they hold for a new employee, it sounds like a great place to work. And initially it is.
However, when I worked there, the managers and HR people were all in cahoots in and outside of work, so if you had a problem with a manager and brought that to HR a slap on the wrist would be all that was done and you would be micro managed upon. Corruption is a hard word but it was leaning towards it. Some people got promoted to manager or supervisor that were clearly (to everybody but HR) inept to be a manager or supervisor ( recent sexual harassment case? Sure, you can be a supervisor!). It seems that they're more worried about quantity than quality.
Promotions were not given by your performance but by how long you've worked there (happened to me and was explained as such, but of course not in those exact words).

It pays the bills and there are growth opportunities available. Whatever the department you're in, you can easily transfer to customer service, claims or provider relations without experience. It also paid well and you can be secure of your job. The benefits are also quite good compared to other experiences. Vision, dental, short and long term disability and they pay for your study (within limits). They also provided courses in Excel and Word but I'm not sure if that's still available. They also had a course of how to become a supervisor, which is taught by HR.
However, you need thick skin, be able to shield yourself from liars/gossip (both managers and coworkers) and know how to play the corporate office game. Very good at patching the wound but not good (or willing?) to prevent injury from happening.
If you can pick out the bad seeds and make friends with the good ones, you're solid.

I worked at Tufts Medical Center for 20 years and wanted a change and I have not regretted a day working here full time.  It is very busy in the ER and in Outpatient but that what keeps this company to in business.  We deal with a variety of cultures and I have not had a problem because I find patients are here because they are sick and in need of our services.  So it is my duty to do the best I can to make it a positive experience for all.  I get along with my co-workers, management, and even upper management.  I have enjoyed doing my job which is never boring and always challenging.  We are in the process of implementing and learning all about the EPIC system and this should be quite a challenge in itself.  

The hardest part of my job is when the computers fail and we have to do the work manually then enter all the days intakes in the system when it comes back up.  It involves a lot more time doing the intake of info from the patients and it takes patients on my part as well as the patients as we may get behind while trying to get all the information correct from each patient so that when we enter it in the system later on; it is all done properly and that will help to make the billing process run smooth.  

The most enjoyable part of my job is meeting and talking with our elderly patients.  I find the older patients are more patient, friendlier, and want to share stories of their families and of their experiences.

If you’re applying to CHA literally do everything in your power to avoid the pharmacy.
Unless you speak Spanish or Portuguese your life at CHA is going to be ROUGH. 
I’d say most of the patient population doesn’t speak English as the native language and it creates huge barriers that prevent you from doing your job, the interpreter services are terrible here.

The scheduling is ridiculous you literally work 10-12 hour shifts with only a 30 min break.

There is one technician who is absolutely awful to work with! Management heavily favors this person and they allow this individual to do literally whatever they want at the expense of your sanity. It will drive you insane how rude this person will be to you, very quick to blame you for short comings on production (even if they see you working very hard!) but will never actually do the work themselves. Absolute awful human being to be around.

The immediate faculty besides that individual are easy to work with and will at least try to help you in your day to day.

There’s plenty of better pharmacy tech jobs out there! Unless you like being stressed and on the verge of crying everyday I’d chose somewhere else! Management has no idea how stressful the day to day is and you will leave everyday feeling under-appreciated, under-paid, and overwhelmed.


Very busy and well run Department. Management is very involved in overseeing work areas and making sure things run very smoothly.

There are three separate Hospital Departments to serve: Cambridge Hospital, Somerville Hospital and The Whidden Hospital in Everett, MA which fall under the umbrella of The Cambridge Health Alliance.

The departments are very busy. The Sonographers who work there are outstanding and extremely competent and fun to work with. They are from many cultures and ethnic backgrounds making for an extremely diverse and interesting work force.They are the very best part of the job!!!

Scheduling demands that you work at all three workplaces covering various shifts.

There is brand new equipment with patient viewer monitors at every site.

I currently still provide an enormous amount of On Call coverage for Cambridge Health Alliance on a per diem basis.

The leadership in the Department of Psychiatry seems to be steering everyone off of a cliff. They seek to make care more short-term and skills-based (which is fine given the high number of patients seeking care) but their plan for doing so seems to be driving all of the established providers out with a constant heavy stream of high-risk and complex patients with no clear plan for clearing space from a clinician's caseload or prompt training on new methods. Countless providers have left already and many of the new hires (who leadership hopes might be more malleable to their new practices) are inexperienced and leave in under a year due to burnout. I loved all of my coworkers at CHA but most left long ago and none of the ones that remain are happy with the situation. It is a miserable work environment and it is the patients that are paying the highest cost as the lack of clinicians has led to absurd wait times for services and frequent provider turnover. Several specialty teams have also been forced to close due to lack of staff.

It is enjoyable to work at Somerville Hospital, which is one of the hospitals from Cambridge Health alliance.  As a unit secretary, a typical day would look as follows: I almost always try to get there on time, which is 3:00 pm.  I would start working right after I punch in.  I interact with patients, doctors, nurses, managers, co-workers, and more. We all treat one another with respect, courtesy, and compassion.  In the emergency department at Somerville Hospital, we give excellent care to our patients and we are proud of it.  I have learned about patient confidentiality, which is the most important regulation for me.  I have also learned computer skills such as, Epic and Meditech.  In the emergency room, the staff and I work as a team and that makes the job easier. The most enjoyable part of the job is helping our patients in any way we can. For instance, a patient comes in with pain and cannot even walk. After awhile, that same patient is pain free and looks like a new person. That is the most enjoyable time for us at the Somerville Emergency Department.

Me and my family have worked at CHA many years. I made a mistake of relocating to a position in the Telecom department. The manager is basically never there and super inappropriate and the supervisor in charge has been there for over 20 years, she is very bitter, miserable and anytime you suggest new ways of doing things she says well we been doing it this way 20 years. Absolutely felt useless and stick in the department. Had issuses with her ignoring me after I put in my resignation and made me feel uncomfortable I contacted HR about this they have still to this day never reached out about it. I guess they are fine with their employees working and feeling uncomfortable. Horrible way to run HR.  Pay was great and the other workers in most departments are incredible and dedicated. Beware of Telecom unless you want to work with a supervisor that tells everyone your business including when you are sick and treats you like a prisoner.    The good old saying “misery loves company” 

Toxic Management environment. Manager was incompetent; Could not provide Guidance, support or training; No leadership; too much babysitting from the team to manager;Manager would rope staff into doing manager's work; Unorganized Dept, staff are on their own without support;  made team member feel excluded; rewarded hard working staff with more work;No appreciation shown to employee, it was often hearing inappropriate, unprofessional talking from management team to discourage staff; 

Management is all about themselves. Upper management encourage manager to delegating work to staff which end up creating and tolerating incompetent manager. Management did not care about their staff. They rather hire someone new than promote from within. 


Worked here for a year on the psych units and it was the best and worst decision I have ever made. Coworkers were nice and I met a lot of great people, however management does not care about you AT ALL. The lack of support and respect is a big reason why I left this job. This job is not easy and having a supportive and respectful manager is key to success, which unfortunately we did not have. I got penalized for speaking up about an employee going against DMH regulation, and knowing a company would rather sweep stuff under the rug than fix it is a big red flag to me. Staff were/are consistently getting hurt on the units, and management does not seem to be trying to fix this or offer hazard pay. I truly would stay away from this place, and try to find another company that will at least value the hard work you do. This job took a toll on my coworkers and I’s mental, physical, and emotional health. Would not recommend. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 57 salaries reported	$67.79 per hour
Psychiatrist 40 salaries reported	$27.03 per hour
Medical assistant 61 salaries reported	$26.61 per hour
Physician assistant 42 salaries reported	$141,865 per year
Primary care physician 31 salaries reported	$220,145 per year

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