Pros
Disclaimer - I do not work in or near the main campus - so some of my experiences may be different from those who work in the more urban area where corporate is centered. Having said that, I love what I do, where I do it and who I do it with. Our office is small and SUPER patient centered. I feel like we have the support of each other as well as the support of the wider Riverside medical community in the area. It all works very well. Our patients' needs are well-served and the care we provide is very patient-centered and personal. Part of this is that this is a smaller community and we have the luxury of being able to do this. My own department manager is awesome - she listens and she cares - about her staff and the patients. We enjoy great communication here at the office as well and this is a climate set by our manager. I am very happy with my actual job - but my patients, my co-workers and my immediate supervisor are the ONLY reasons that this is so.
Cons
Now.....for the downside - corporate is always corporate and we need them, however, there is a great disconnect between what they do and their understanding and appreciation of what we do. This amounts to some very disrespectful treatment from higher up. Also - and this is a HUGE part of my gripe - our salaries are miserable. It is my understanding that the docs and the administrators are handsomely compensated throughout the healthcare system (as they are everywhere) but the "lesser" employees receive paltry raises on salaries that are not very competitive. One thing I find hilarious (and it speaks to the disrespect I mentioned earlier) is when I asked for a market analysis of my own position several years ago I was told that because we are in a rural area this is a fair salary. Really? We are thirty minutes from the state capital and an hour and a half from the national capital. It isn't THAT rural - and besides - do the insurance companies pay US less because we serve a "rural" area? No, of course they do not. Being lied to is insulting. I have a four year degree and have been in my position for almost ten years here. My position requires the experience and education that I bring to it. After taxes and health insurance are taken out I bring home less than $500 a week. I have a BA and a post-bacc certificate and I make less than $500 a week after taxes. UGH. The health insurance is expensive and has grown more so over the years. It covers less and less and the deductibles keep growing. I work a second job to make ends meet, and so do about half of the other people in my office. It is truly disheartening. I feel like the healthcare system takes advantage of people like myself who still have children at home and appreciate NOT going into the city to work. And I have seen it over and over again - great and competent employees stay here for a time and then when personal circumstances permit them to do so they jump ship for higher paying jobs. Why have the high turnover when you can have people paid well and keep them? I don't get it.
