registered nurse

medical assistant

clerical assistant

registered nurse - medical / surgical

radiologic technologist

Hurley Medical Center

My job as a nurse on the behavioral health unit is to help lift people up in their very darkest of times. We are having a hard time doing that with the resources we are given. A typical day on this unit consists of 2-3 groups on first shift (7am-3:30pm) and maybe one group on second shift (3:30pm-11:30pm.) The patients spend the rest of the day sitting in the dayroom in front of the tv, mingling in a small room with peers who may or may not share their diagnosis. Someone with depression may be sitting next to a paranoid schizophrenic who is constantly calling them names. This is not a therapeutic environment for anyone, let alone someone at their lowest point. I went to school to help mentally ill people get better, and get to experience a higher quality of life, and unfortunately I am finding it very difficult to do so in this facility. I have learned so much here, everything I know about psych has been learned here in the past three years. I have learned medications, side effects, dosages, etc. I have learned positive coping skills right along with the patients, and I have recently started learning about CBT (something my workplace does not currently recognize as a treatment.) The management here has been great, at the unit level. I could not ask for a better nurse manager. She was my clinical instructor and hired me straight out of school because she knew my love of psych. The workplace culture can be difficult at times, like any family there will be arguments but for the most part we get along really well, and these people are truly my family away from home. The hardest part of my job as I mentioned earlier is the fact that we just do not have the resources to help our patients as much as we potentially could. Flint is a poor city, and Hurley does not have much funding. I wish we could have more groups for the patients throughout the day, or they could at least go outside for some fresh air. The most enjoyable part of this job is just knowing that I made a difference in someone's lives no matter how small. I am constantly trying to be their light at the end of the tunnel they are currently in. We have all been there, and there is nothing wrong with needing to take out some time to take care of ourselves. This is something that I try very hard to convey to my patients.

Management of a core of 4 patients with a varying degree of medical needs from critical trauma or in need of immediate intervention, to patients with lesser medical needs from common cold to minor injury. On a busy day you may have up to 20+ patients pass through your core from walk in traffic or by ambulance that need to be evaluated, treated and either discharged, or admitted to assigned hospital floor for appropriate care. 
The ER Nurse learns to admit, assess, and decide initial care of patients even before providers first interview by obtaining  vital signs, assessing cardiac and respiratory function, determine need for IV insertion and concurrent draw of blood samples. Nurse needs to manage time and effort of core of patients and prioritize with providers according to acuity. Management of ER was excellent and helpful when called upon to advise and mentored nurses in way that helped both patients and employees. 
Co-workers were helpful and always there to assist if needed. The most demand aspect of this job was time management that can overwhelm you depending on the demand for care on any given day. For example, if you have a stable core of patients where care is under control time management is not an issue. But, if you discharge 2 or 3 patients at one time I have experienced situations where I was assigned 2 ambulance/critical patients at one time and another patient with lesser demands but still in need of prompt attention.
The most enjoyable part of my job was receiving compliments from patients and family members that let you know your efforts were appreciated and that you had a positive effect on your patients in their time of need. Also, completion of new skills brought much satisfaction and added to a sense of competence and professionalism.

Of the hospitals in and around Flint, Hurley has the best work atmosphere. The fact that Hurley is a stand alone hospital compared to the corporate structure of other hospitals in the region gives a unique advantage. In my experience the company focus is more on patient care than profits compared to the culture at corporate hospitals.  When I worked as a floor nurse I felt there was less negativity among staff and less animosity toward management compared to my experience at other hospitals and nursing homes I had either worked at or spent time at during nursing clinicals. I have since moved into an informatics position. In general the work atmosphere is supportive and positive. My work feels rewarding. Health insurance options are affordable and provide great coverage. Dental, vision, and prescription coverage are good. Vacation time is adequate and over the years you are given more vacation days. Sick time policies leave some to be desired, though supposedly they are going to be reworked and made better. Working in informatics my work life balance is good; I do not have to work overtime and I am able to work from home often. 

While working there I came across some very, very nice people but found it depended on which department you were in. In my case & the department I was in...diversity was frowned upon. Outsiders were unwelcome. First thing I was asked by my supervisor was who did I know that was able to get me "in". I replied that I did not know anyone I applied to a ad. There was a "lot" of nepotism that took place & obvious favorites who were allowed to get away with things that others were not. She liked to yell & the employees she did not like or favor & belittle them in front of fellow employees. She was like a drill Sargent. She created a lot of anxiety for employees she disliked & would assign them the hardest stations to work at. If she did not like you then you could not satisfy her. I left & have kept in contact with some other employees & she either had driven away or was able to discharge the employees that I first hand witnessed this behavior towards. She was friends with the union reps & complaints against her went largely ignored. She is what I would term & allowed to be a bully boss!

A typical day is contacting customers, trying to obtain workman's compensation insurance, and or automobile claim information, in order to ensure payment for Medical Center.  Receiving calls regarding prices of different service for patients who has no health insurance.  Works with various surgeons & dr. office notifying them if patient has no health insurance, or make them aware I'm trying to assist them in getting some in order for them to have their procedure.  Completes 2565 for patients who has a Medicaid Spenddown which if patient meets their deductible, the insurance will turn into full Medicaid for that month.  Usage of various computer systems in order to verify insurance, complete form on Champs, use of Web Denis, EPIC, etc., Assists patients with completing Personal Injury Protection application, thru Michigan Assigned Claims Plan, in order for the state of Michigan to do investigation to see if patient has no auto insurance, or does not qualify for any, according to the Order of Priority thru the State of Michigan. If patient qualifies, he/she will be assigned to auto carrier to him/her via the State of Michigan, in order to pay all medical expenses related to an auto accident.

HMC's history is one of valuing nurses, competitive benefit packages, and overall general respect for your contribution to the healthcare team. Recently over the past decade or two the culture has slowly shifted to a more profit driven focus with a company first mentality with each contract negotiation resulting in cuts to previous benefits in order to merely keep cost of living raises that are even well below the current rate of inflation. The hospital several years back saw a change in upper management and leadership that led to a drastic shift in mentality to put the focus on profits instead of patients which had severe effects on culture despite the nursing unions best efforts. Despite this unit cultures try their best day to day to keep morale up while working with frequent unilateral changes from the hospital that then have to be retroactively negotiated with the unions after implementation. Patient ratios are decent but under tighter revision. Positives are great nursing staff and experience that continuously cranks out well-trained nurses with strong mindsets and good clinical judgement.

Patients had appointments to see resident doctors their pain was treated with knowledge and experience, their pain was treated alleviated.  There were disruptive patients, occasionally, they were treated fairly and their frustration was alleviated, as well.  Those were patients that were mainly confused or did not understand their care as others mat have.  The clinic was resident based the resident stayed three years and than graduated.  I learned many administrative tasks working closely with the manager.  I was given projects that allowed the clinic to become fully functioning according to health insurance guidelines to give the patients the best care. Also assisting the clinic with becoming community wide at their full potential with insurance qualifications. Dashboards and financial reports were other projects of importance.

Most administrators place little value on their employees.  They are continually replacing qualified paid staff with unqualified volunteers.  Administrators are placed in multiple positions with little to no qualifications in each position.  They are attempting to hire through HPMS, which is a contract company, not an actual employee of the facility.  Administrators who are willing to treat employees as though they have no value are retiring from the facility and hiring back into their same position through HPMS, consequently getting paid twice for doing their job.  Entire department staffs or majority department staffs have left Hurley and not because of COVID.  It is because of poor administration and management.


What is the best part of working at the company?
Working as a team member. I enjoyed my job very much. Working with people and being of service to them. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part of my job was having to have patients restrained in order to obtain court ordered labs.  It required accuracy and I can say confidently owned up to the task.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very good work environment and a all around good company to work for.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It entails going in and obtaining a list of all patients to draw labs on. I meet with my coworkers and we decide which floors and get started in obtaining specimens in a timely manner and with accuracy. Make sure specimens are returned to the lab for processing.  We return and enter patient info and draw time. Report to patients RN if unable to obtain specimens.   This process is repeated many times on a shift. Great work environment.

If you do not handle stress well then this is not the job for you. On the decontamination side you will be saturated in steam and loud noises along with having to manage a near-endless line of carts due to the large number of surgeries (that level of workload is usually done by two or three people at other hospitals but is expected to be done by one person here.) The staff are cliquey and can be a bit insensitive to those with disabilities even if during new hire they are told that you have a disability (if they cannot see it then it doesn't matter or count as one to them seemingly), usually using problematic language regularly. One day they might confide in you about something in their life and the next day spread a rumor about you. If you are hired make a copy of all paperwork that you are given that goes in your employee file because there are cases where there are convenient misplacement of documents as if they never existed.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 10 salaries reported	$42.92 per hour
Medical assistant 2 salaries reported	$16.88 per hour
Clerical assistant 6 salaries reported	$15.56 per hour
Registered nurse - medical / surgical 7 salaries reported	$43.31 per hour
Radiologic technologist 2 salaries reported	$27.84 per hour

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