registered nurse

nurse manager

registered nurse - dialysis

dialysis technician

registered nurse - acute care

Northwest Kidney Centers

Pros:
The job itself is great. If you are interested in healthcare, this is a great entry level option. There's a lot to learn in the training, but they do a good job at spacing it out and taking it week by week. The staff to patient ratios are pretty good, as long as you're not short staffed (which is kinda hard to come by now.) It's a pretty fast paced environment, there's almost always something going on. There's a pretty good sense of teamwork, the other techs are almost always willing to help out. You end up treating the same bunch of patients, so there's always good opportunities to build connections and customize their care.

Cons:
The management/corporate team is pretty hit or miss. There have been examples of great managers who actually care about their team, and other examples of managers who only focus on numbers and not their employees. Some staff members will have a history of misconduct, and nothing gets done. Their corporate team has been going through "growing pains," which has lasted over a year. It seems like they're still disorganized. Complaints get overlooked often, and when they do pay attention to them, the priorities won't really match the situation. The starting pay is alright, the company is always incentivizing new people to come by advertising good pay and a sign on bonus, but there's no effort to keep the employees they already have. Also, good luck getting a raise. People have had to fight tooth and nail to not get their pay decreased. There used to be team building parties and such, but ever since I started three years ago there hasn't been any. I'm not sure exactly what's going on with the company, they lost $5 million dollars last year while the CEO gave herself a $130,000 raise (public knowledge.) If you don't care about potential mistreatment from management and being under appreciated and underpaid, then this would be a good option for you.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The money is good if you're an experienced RN-they pay based on years of experience. There is always OT available as well (could also be a negative for the company bc they hound you every day to pick up extra shifts/dialysis runs.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Management where I worked was terrible (acute hospital services) They don't give a hoohaa about you as a person. They have recently been involved in several legal cases including a class action for not providing for proper breaks. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is cliquey and favoritism in assignments is blatant. The culture is rather negative due to the pressure management puts on you to work extra and complete your dialysis assignments within the 12 hour shift-almost impossible. There are a lot of dialysis techs who participate in the favoritism that goes on.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Hectic. As an RN, you are traveling to multiple hospitals in and around Seattle, sometimes in the same day. You have to work your tail off to complete your assignments. Management doesn't seem to understand setting up and taking down(including  disinfecting) these massive portable dialysis machines is quite time consuming. If you're lucky, you may get an unpaid 30 min break in between dialyzing your patients and nothing else in 12.5 hours. If you're not finished your dialysis assignments after your 12.5 hours, more often than not, they will not send someone to relieve you-so you stay until you're done. Could be another 3 hours-again with no breaks.

I don't get the low reviews, but do know that there has been lots of changes in the social work team in the past few years. I came in with no formal medical social work experience, but learned so much here and am so grateful for my experience here. The managers are very genuine and helpful, always being a phone call away for consultation. Lots of opportunities for LICSW and continuing education, and the team is made up of everyone from new graduates to LICSWs who have been in the field for 20+ years, so you can learn from your teammates as well. Different units have different vibes, but as long as you can roll with the punches, people generally try to help to get you up to speed. Lots of flexibility in your schedule--though you may work late a few nights (but I've also left early a lot). Good work-life balance, managers try to not let you work overtime for your own sake! I think as long as your expectations for a growing organization are realistic, and you have an open mind, you can thrive here. 

As a project manager my work schedule and responsibilities are not representative of the majority of the staff; thus, this is a general review of the Company.  

NKC is a company on the cusp of becoming a leader in its field or begin relegated to a historical reference.   While the organization has taken steps to change - its current leadership team lacks the experience and capability to change its culture.  

The issues with leadership is similar to other technical fields - there is an assumption that if one is good at their technical job (e.g. being a nurse) they should be naturally be a good leader (nurse manager).  That is often not the case.  Couple that flawed assumption with a lack of any type of leadership training and you get people in leadership positions who want to do positive but don't know how.  

The culture is not necessarily bad, its just stagnant - trapped in a  mindset from 20 years ago.  Without talented leader it will be difficult to shift a 1990's mindset to the new millennium and sustain the change it is desperately trying to implement.

I work eight hours a day on a typical day.  I have learned to assist patients to improve the quality of their lives. Educate patients with dialysis questions and concerns. I may not have worked in all of the departments of Northwest Kidney Centers, but I do know there is a variety of dialysis treatments. Working at Northwest Kidney Centers you will experience and learn diversity, compassion, patience, and teamwork. The patients become a part of the family, for me the hardest part of working at Northwest Kidney Centers is when a patient has moved on and was not given the quality of care when there is not allotted time to do so due to the busy schedule.  The most enjoyable part of working at Northwest Kidney Centers is how many lives you can improve.

I wad employed here for 3 years. In the third year I noticed some employees were not wearing gloves/PPE when they were suppose to be. I brought it to the attention of the nurse supervisor we had a serious meeting where she made me believe myconcern was justified and she would support me. The next day when in front of the employee who does not wear gloves she openly mocked me by saying "you're going to make sure he does his job right?" And laughed. The employee in question was a certified nurse whose job title was nurse on duty. This company does not know integrity and is led by someone who is insensitive to the needs of people around her. The position I walked away from is still listed as an open position 2 years later. 

Northwest kidney centers use to be my favorite place to work, until tragedy hit my family and everything changed. Staff treated me different, they also told my personal business to patients. NKC is not diverse, you’ll feel alone working there if you are White or American is what they called it. Teamwork is non existent, staff will only help “friends” even if patient care is at risk. If you have any kind of personal problems/struggle with mental health... don’t work for NKC. They will throw you to the wolves when you need them the most. Patients are what I miss the most. 

If you'd like to get stuck in your career, then this is the place to work. Racism is rampant, no opportunity to advance if you're from the minority. Very focused on disciplinary action of employees without due process and don't even count on HR coz they're useless except just to explain the benefits. They will never stay in the middle during conflict. If you also thrive on nonstop action, then this is the place to work! With short turnaround between patients and often not adequately staffed, get your rollerblades on! Not recommended place to work. They've now become for-profit organization. 

Extremely understaffed. Exhausted nurses and techs. But the patient care doesn’t suffer. Building strong relationships with patients and their families is a definite positive about working for Northwest Kidney Center. They strive to comply with regulations and get excellent evaluations. Corners are not cut for patient care. Need to focus a lot more on staffing.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The opportunity to experience the state of Washington. The opportunity to experience the difference in professionalism and the lack thereof.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Working with unprecedented numbers of unprofessional people in the workplace.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Stressful and frustrating. Poor Leadership 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Great deal of daily micromanagement on a daily basis.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 1 salary reported	$49.50 per hour
Nurse manager 7 salaries reported	$114,500 per year
Registered nurse - dialysis 1 salary reported	$52.96 per hour
Dialysis technician 1 salary reported	$20.97 per hour
Registered nurse - acute care 1 salary reported	$98,552 per year

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