A typical 8 hour day at work at KP would usually turn into 9-10, sometimes 11-12, hours, primarily to complete EMR documentation, which KP started in 1995. We were required to see patients every 20 minutes, which is about the industry norm (every 15-20 minutes), but the doctors are provided with personal medical assistants and/or LPN's, while the NPs were made to wait for their available time in between to have our patients vitals taken, and roomed for us. So, NPs consistently ran behind and had to deal with the wrath of waiting patients, as the MAs and LPNs refused to inform the patients.
I learned a lot during my 35 years as an NP; I said I always learned something new every day. Constantly changing evidence based medical information, as well as physicians providing us with their most current training info contributed to my daily education. The dichotomy between providing MDs vs NPs the most current info, treatment, diagnostic testing was very difficult - one of the most important being NPs trying to learn how to measure cervical length and dilation in pregnant women, using ultrasound. MDs were trained in this - NPs were not, but were expected to either magically know it, or wait, along with the patient, for an MD to find time between their own patients, to perform this for us. When I approached my nursing supervisor about learning this, she rejected my/our request, stated it was not standard of care (it WAS), and tried to label me as a trouble maker. We NPs/CNMs finally
Prostuition reimbursement, continuing education, paid vacation and sick leave, FMLA, HRA on retiring
Consunion trying to placate company execs, union working against each other, no shareholder benefits
5.0
Ophthalmic Technician | Bellevue, WA | May 13, 2015
Great Company and nice facility
Group Health provides a great place to work. The facility has everything you need to do your job. Team work is fantastic. I enjoyed the relationships on the job. The team is filled with talented and friendly people. A typical day starts with opening the exam rooms, reviewing the daily schedule, getting the patient's ready to see the doctor. The day goes by fast and the clinic work is fast paced. Co-workers will help you if you need the help. Training is provided for the skills needed to perform the work in the clinic. It was a wonderful place to work if you fit in with the clinic culture. During an interview make sure you are allowed to meet the technicians that you may be working with. Get a feel for the culture and make sure you will fit in and are accepted by the whole team.
Management was often seen walking looking down at the floor and not making eye contact. Management was not seen in clinic often and did not get to know me. Soon after I was hired two clinic team members told me that they were responsible for causing other new technicians to quit their job. These two team members also became lead technician and back up lead tech. I guess they were giving me heads up. I also heard the lead technician state that she was tired of looking at white people, and that I did not look like the typical white people in the PNW. My hair style was different or something like that, I forget why she told me that. She made a few comments about white people in gene
ProsGreat company
ConsYou must know that you fit in with the Bellevue technicians.
3.0
Ophthalmic Technician | Portland, OR | May 18, 2023
Overbooked, too much workload, no flexibility but excellent pay & benefits
Worked in direct patient care in an ambulatory setting. Most peers hard-working & genuinely compassionate for our patients.
Increasing work loads (ie message management, clean & stock & inventory exam rooms, learn new technology, read emails) to do "in between patients", but overbooked schedules and short staffing rarely allowed "in-between patient" time, so we'd triage the 45 calls and pt messages for the day, choose the most urgent one, and call them back & still got an earful from the patient because we didnt call sooner. Then we'd get an earful from in-office patients because they had excessive wait times due to our schedules were overbooked. Then an earful from the drs because we (as techs) didn't get in quick enough to schedule an appointment for a finished patient because we were working up the next patient for an exam. Then we'd get an earful from management about our low patient satisfaction scores. We'd get an earful about the teams' sick call volume, while in the same breath they'd admit we're shortstaffed and overbooked, and time off requests had to get denied because not enough staff to cover it. When staff was asked for ideas to help reduce sick calls, our responses were ignored (ie full staff and reasonable workoads or even pre-covid workloads would help lower emotional, mental, and physical stress to avoid call outs or a 4 day work week to give an extra work day off in which to do personal dr appts and tasks since PTO was often denied & some staff called out
I’ve worked at KP in past and while benefit is excellent, I was floated 100% of the time multiple times in 1 shift in different departments. I tried to apply in other position but never got a call for interview so I was forced to resign. I was rehired years later and my unit today is very nice in terms of how people acts towards each other and how they treat each other. There is a sense of unity among staff even if some gossip and badmouthing behind your back still occur . There is a camaraderie and you could feel that the staff and the union that ties us all into 1 united group is cohesive . KP is a great place to work, the UNAC union and KP managed to successfully work in alliance with each other that makes everyone feel happy and safe in their job. In my observation and experience, it seems like there are more staff who are happy and contented at their job. People seem fair from managers to staff at least in my unit, and tries to meet halfway. Union is very active in helping members and you will not feel abandoned in a time of your greatest need. I am very proud of UNAC and KP as an employee.
You really want to give the best service to the patients because you want to give back to the organization . You are also being taken cared of very well as an internal staff by KP. I don’t feel being discriminated here because of the diversity at KP. Each of these diverse culture shares something new to the pot and you can’t help but feel part of a group that is united and h
An Employee was recently terminated from this company for an incident taking place more than 9 months ago. This incidenct was never brought to the attention of employee, nor did Direct Mgmt or HR never approached the employee at the time of the incident. The employee was never given opportunity , requested, or allowed his accounts with proper documentation or indicent statements for his file, was never counseled or disciplined for this indicent at or around the time it happened, and most importantly, was unaware or informed of the accounts of the incident or the circumstances in which it was caused. Management and HR calls employee to meeting 9 months after incident. At that time, the employee is told he is being investigated for an "incident" and is not given any disclosure of information or reasons for suspension. Also at this time, employee is never given documentation or is requested for signatures to any documentation, Mgmt/HR does not allow employee to make any statementments, suspends the employee on paid leave for 2 days, and is told to report back for follow-up meeting at predetermined date/time. Upon return to this follow-up meeting, the incident is then discolosed to the employee and he is requested his verbal accounts of the incident. He was never allowed the opportunity to view his file or any documentation regarding the incident at the time of this follow-up meeting. At this time when his accounts are disclosed, a memo was then given to the employee stating his
Kaiser Permanente Volunteer Services, Wildomar, California
I report to the Wildomar Outpatient Pharmacy and start the day by retrieving all prescriptions that have not been picked up patients in the last seven days. I return to stock all of the prescriptions in small, bulk, or refrigerated form and scan all of them to ensure they have been returned to stock. After that, I cross out the names and drug information numbers for patient privacy. As I wait for the Central Refill Pharmacy medications, I restock other items such as paper bags, pill cutters, measuring spoons, and over the counter medications. At the same time I am placing new order prescriptions in small plastic bags then shelve them in appropriate bins or refrigerator for easy access. The prescriptions from the Central Refill Pharmacy arrive and I unload each tote and place each prescription into their proper bins for easy access. I collect each scan card attached to the totes and scan them in so that they are now a part of our computer system. I cross reference the manifest with all the refrigerated prescriptions to ensure they have been received and properly stored.
I have learned the meaning and importance of multi-tasking and paying close attention to fine detail. Getting along with co-workers is a must and offering a helping hand goes a long way in being able to succeed in the pharmacy work environment. I have learned that customer service is very important and that patient health care the number one priority in the pharmacy setting. Having a can-do, positiv
Prosexperience, communicating with customers and patients, belongingness
Big Corporation, Big Politics. Only the privileged elite and the "Yes Men" are valued.
I had on rose colored glasses as a fomer life long KP patient- looking to pay it forward & make a career with what appeared to be a patient centered network of HEALTH CARE teams. There are, a few truly warm hearted, do-the-right-thing employees peppered throughout the departements. To my disappointment, the majority look the other way or worse, undermine and even backstab their own colleagues. All for the benefit of a little Hush Money or "Golden Handcuffs" they shamelessly refer to it as.
Yes, Kaiser pay/benefits are at the top of the scale.
For a reason. Most people will do whatever is necessary to not part with what benefits them personally/monetarily. Forbid they work for a more ethical and humane (on the part of patients and employees alike) healthcare system for a potentially slightly lesser benefit package. Myself and others have been shocked by the cut-throat, fear driven nature of even the most supposedly compassionate departments such as Care Management (chaplains, care coordinators, social workers, community navigators).
Management provides no training and then punishes the employee for that lack of training. It's all very concocted and strategized. Nothing is what it seems. If you think for yourself, don't automatically fall in line, aren't a company girl or a Yes Man- you will be publicly shamed, mocked and run out.
I can count on one hand the people I trust in my workplace/teams totalling hundreds. Rather than acting as a support or guide or even encourag
ProsPay/Benefits/Continuing Education
ConsFear driven with a sad loss of identity in what Health Care really means
For those that are sonographers - it's a sweat shop.
I was sent here by a staffing agency, without realizing i was replacing two techs they had been "let go" because they didn't "cut it". Kaiser interviews well over the phone, and they like to say "it's a fast paced environment". Well, let's just say THAT is like saying "Hitler was a tad aggressive with his ideas."
Typical day:
Your schedule is 16 patients (every 30 mins.) per 8 hour day, per tech. Each exam must be performed within 20 mins. or less. The extra 10 mins, is used inputting your worksheets in a new computer system, plus showing your work to a rad. Sometimes you have to stand in line for this. Thus, there goes your 10 mins. Your schedule will also include 3-4 high risk OB exams daily including fingers, toes, aorta/renal etc. Twins? 20 mins. each. Also, if you do a transvag. exam, you have to also include the time it takes to return the probe to the Cidex room, with paper work to fill out with each of these type of exams.
There are no morning or afternoon breaks. These are included in your lunch hour. You are not allowed to have food or beverages (not even bottled water) in your room. Your room is sometimes randomly inspected sometimes by admin. for these items. If you are caught? You will be reprimanded.
If you are 5+ mins. late to your room, depending on who's in charge, there is a post-it note publicly placed on the managers door with your name on it. If you're doing ER/inpatients, usually, when you walk in the door - before your start time
ProsYou'll learn to scan faster! AND you'll learn the true meaning of a new word - "productivity".
ConsHigh stress, too much estrogen/gossiping/cattiness/insecurity
5.0
Senior Information Specialist | Portland, OR | Apr 16, 2013
The team that works together stays together
A typical day at work may involve resolving issues patients may have with their disability paperwork regarding time loss, or advising an attorney who may have questions regarding a patient's medical history for a case they are preparing for on a patient's behalf. The scenarios are many, and often unpredictable. You must be able to think on your feet and turn on a dime, and use good judgement while doing so.
The patient is first and foremost your highest priority, and sometimes you are needed to be their advocate when dealing with third party liability scenarios involving insurance companies, or obtaining much needed care from another health care provider or source. The examples demonstrated here represent only a small .02 cent's worth of a fraction of many. Your face represents Kaiser Permanente, and the patient or client associates their care and treatment with how well you represent yourself on behalf of Kaiser Permanente.
What I have learned from management is attendance is of utmost importance. Being on time shows respect. Respect for your coworkers, your supervisor, your patients and for yourself. Productivity is also important. To be able to work in an high stress environment, which includes multiple interruptions due to phone calls, emails which include answering questions from your co-workers, supervisors, medical providers, and patients, all while being able to meet all their demands eight ways to Sunday, and meet your productivity quota, is a daily challenge we al
Prosexcellent medical and dental package. excellent benefits.
Consseniority required for first choice of vacation slots allocated.
2.0
Teleservice Representative | Vallejo, CA | Apr 26, 2014
Modern day sweat shop
This department, micromanages their employees, timed bathroom breaks, and worst of all, they limit employees on how much they can actually help patients.
A typical day at work consisted of you being "tied" down to ur desk for your entire shift. Taking call, after call, after call, with zero breathing room in between. This department has a HUGE employee call out problem (surprise, surprise) and on top of that, they understaff about 98% of the time, making the work load for those who actually show up to work unbearable. On any given 8hr shift and employee takes about 120 calls. Time away from your desk, or time that is spent not available to take a call is counted against your stats which are monitored better than they monitor patient's health. You can forget about going to the bathroom if you are not on a break/lunch. If you do have to go, you are timed, (try working there pregnant!) if you go over allotted time, even by seconds, you are written up. Employees are not allowed to open blinds in the building as this causes other employees migraine headaches. Doors and windows are also not allowed to be open, EVER. This causing poor air circulation and bad air quality. The interior of the facility is extremely small for the amount of employees they try to fit in there. The building is crammed with 400 individuals. It is extremely dusty and also filthy. There have even sightings of rats and cockroaches reported by swing shift employees. On Monday mornings, it is close to impossi
Questions And Answers about Kaiser Permanente
How often do you get a raise at Kaiser Permanente?
Asked Dec 14, 2020
once a year
Answered Jun 3, 2023
often
Answered Jun 3, 2023
What is the promotion process like at Kaiser Permanente?
Asked Apr 19, 2022
excellent
Answered Jun 3, 2023
Horrifying. It’s about who you know, not what you know. There is no career ladder unless you’re liked by the right managers
Answered Jun 1, 2023
What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Asked Apr 28, 2020
Work, meetings, work
Answered Jun 1, 2023
Very busy
Answered May 30, 2023
What is the best part of working at the company?
Asked Nov 28, 2019
They offer 96 volunteer hours a year.
Answered May 13, 2022
Competitive pay
Answered May 12, 2022
Why did you leave your job at Kaiser Permanente?
Asked Mar 17, 2017
You are generally overworked, doing monitoring of jobs starting at 4:00 i the morning. Even then we have to work until 4:30 ~ 5:00 in the evenings. We are asked to get up and monitor at 4:00 in the morning, even on weekends. And this repeats every alternate week. Toxic environment.
Answered Sep 9, 2021
The most toxic environment ever. The benefits are so amazing because they use it to shut you up about what’s really happening behind the scenes. Management bullies and uses employees as scapegoats for their failings. Co-workers will stab you in the back, but upper mgt fosters that. It’s mental suicide to work for Kaiser and overrated.
