Kindred in Boston area

U.S.A. Massachusetts

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I'm a nursing student who is graduating with my ASN in May. I found out recently that my employer who I've been loyal to for 5 years will not hire a new grad with an ASN degree (but they did welcome me to re-apply with a years experience). So I'm off to look elsewhere. As we all know, the job market is brutal in Boston. My husband is not willing to move to another area of the country until I've exhausted all my opportunities here in eastern Mass.

I've talked to a few friends who have been in the field for a couple of years, and they've had some great suggestions for me. One got her start in a dialysis center. Another worked at Kindred, which owns rehab hospitals and nursing homes all around the area. My friend had a decent experience at her location, and while she said it was a lot of work, she did learn a lot and is now able to get a job anywhere she wants. But on these message boards, I can't find ANY positive posts about Kindred. Is it really a bad company to work for? I don't want to hold out for a position at one of the big Boston hospitals (which is unlikely with my ASN) if I can more easily find a job short-term in a dialysis center or rehab hospital. Isn't this what our instructors meant by not being picky?

Specializes in Pediatrics, ER.

NurseAndi, Kindred in Peabody is the exact place I was talking about in my post... I worked there for a few years. Be really careful....

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

They sure do push their limits up there......I worked there nights for a while because of a friend(who left and went somewhere else)......I was shocked to see how sick the ICU patients were......PA lines, vents, drips......the Open heart dumps :eek:......halo traction, I remember the ALS patient, very sad........stellar job by the nurses by the way........really Acute stuff!!! They import a lot of help......their census does flucuate. There were those that have that passive aggressive behavior but they also see people come and go....ALOT!!!! I viewed it as a self preservation tactic. LPN's do pass meds.........The absent (or other wise busy;)) hospitalist........running codes with the nurses alone.....minimal resources...... but if you can stick it out you can learn alot....just not always the right way but there are some really good nurses there that have been there a long time who do care....they don't know any different as they have been there for a LONG time.......one thing it does do......hire new grads and give acute care experience.......:o

Good luck!

Hello to my kindred friends ((HUGS))

i currently work at a kindred in the midwest area. i was hired in 2008. i was a nurse on days (12hr shifts) for 2 years, before being promoted to case manager in 2010 then i worked that for 2yrs. and just 6 months ago, i resigned from that position and took a nursing position for night shifts.

with that being said, i'll mention the positives and the negatives, but remember this is my experience with one kindred location.

positives: if you are looking for experience, you will definitely get it here. it may be tough for a new grad though. although, i've only been a nurse since 2007, i had already worked at three different hospitals, trying to find my niche. but i digress....anywho, experience....complex wound care including negative pressure therapy, trach to vent pts, paraplegics and quads requiring complete care, tpn, gtubes, pscyh pts who are combative....all in one shift! (no joke this was my assignment just a few hrs ago). next positive: opportunities to move up within the company. on day i came to work and i was assigned to the icu, although i am not acls certified....how fun! also, i became a case manager with no experience and almost became the director of the dept. next positive: for the most part, my co-workers are pretty cool. there is a kindred family. next positive: best hourly rate in my short lived nursing career and ot is plentiful.

now the negatives: the equipment is very outdated and the buildings are old and in dire need of repair. high nurse to pt ratio. 8 pts max for an rn; 10 pts for an lpn. 1% annual salary increase. no match for the 401k. expensive health insurance. (but they will give you a bag or umbrella with their logo.) and if you take a different position, you will have the same pay. (hourly pays more than salary. with shift differentials for working weekends, nights and ot.. which is not an option with salary.) politics, politics, politics. and is it really safe to have a nurse working in the icu who is not acls certified?

that's it in a nutshell. i tried to keep it short.

:)

YIKES! I am an LPN at the moment. I have left my clinic nursing job to try to get LTC/Rehab/Acute experience to advance my career and help me get into an RN program.

I just got hired at a North Shore Kindred. I start orientation next week. This post makes me a little nervous! Not to mention the Nursing Director said there's a chance I may be working nights until a day/eve position opens :-\ I pay is good, they matched what I make here at my current job + 4$ extra for eve/nights. I suppose I should not be too worried and give it a chance...? Ask a lot of questions and pay attention during orientation. They said the orientation is lengthly. I am hoping that is true. The only LTC/Rehab exp. I have is from back in 2009 in Nursing school. I do not pass meds in the clinic but do a lot of clinical treatments(wound care, dressings, phlebotomy, etc etc). I would never want to put my license at risk, that's what I am most nervous about. OH BOY!

Beware the orientation. I did a week of orientation at Kindred. Then one day, "Oh we're short staffed today, we're going to give you an assignment." And just that fast, orientation was over.

Beware the orientation. I did a week of orientation at Kindred. Then one day, "Oh we're short staffed today, we're going to give you an assignment." And just that fast, orientation was over.

I never worked at any of the Kindred hospitals, but every time I get tempted to apply to one of their hospitals (for driving conveniences only), I'll have to find this thread and review it consistently!

Specializes in VA, Ortho, Med/Surg.

Just interviewed for position at Kindred but my acute care experience is 10 yrs. old or more. Terrified.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

The Kindred in Boston or somewhere else? Is it in one of the critical care units? Kindred wants commitment......they are willing to train.

Specializes in VA, Ortho, Med/Surg.

No, Tampa. I just don't think I'm cut out for nursing anymore. Scared ********.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Sure you are.......it really is like riding a bike. You'll get the hang of it again real soon. Kindred is willing to take and train. You will be busy....but you will learn a ton.

I'm a new grad ADN, recently hired by kindred. They said I would be orienting for 4 to 6 weeks with an experienced RN. 2.5 weeks later, without warning, I was on my own. I did get weekends off and 40hrs per week. However, I'm working Xmas eve, Xmas, Thanksgiving...no one even asked me if I wanted a choice of possible off holidays. You are responsible for 15+ patients, this includes: vital signs, blood sugars (which the aids can't do), insulin coverage (i have 6 diabetic patients), med pass (at 1600 and 2000) no pre-pouring), treatments (dressing changes, ointment applications, change trach dressing, suction trachs, IV flushing and dressing changes, etc..),weekly skin checks, Warfarin orders, Lab booking, transportation booking, neb treatments, nurses notes (if you don't write them all, they will give you a list of "late entry" in a few days that you have to write), pharmacy delivery, occasional adverse events, notify MD, note and post their orders... With all this on your plate, you hope there's no emergency (which has happened, in which case a supervisor just happened to have returned to finish some paper work and was able to help), and you pray that there's no new admission on your shift...the 20 pages of paperwork are redundant and impossible to complete in time. On top of it all, they sent me home 2 hours before my shift was over because the building's (not my unit's) census was down. So i was either expected to do everything 2 hours early, or throw it on to the poor nurse who stayed. This dangerous practice also omits verbal report to the on-coming nurse. Bottom line, good experience: trachs, IVs, G-tubes, Foleys, Meds, Dressings. However, dangerously understaffed. Even if there is no time, do everything by the book for your license's sake. I feel worried and doubtful most of the time, and when I ask questions I feel people just get annoyed with me. I have been thrown to the wolves and trying my best to do right by my patients. But anywhere you go the work load will be heavy. If I could change anything here would be 1- not to send a nurse home 2 hours early...she'll just end up staying later the next day completing notes she couldn't get done, they loose even more money. 2- there has to be a smaller pt to rn ratio, its so unsafe, I feel no desire to stay for a long period of time-- which equals high turn over, and money spend to train new RNs---loose more money in the long run anyways. That's it. Sorry for ranting.

Specializes in VA, Ortho, Med/Surg.

Omg get out while you still can. No job, and I mean NO JOB is worth all that. Please. I didn't get hired after all thank God!

I know this is an older post, but I used to work at a Kindred LTAC hospital in MA and though it was understaffed, it was still a great experience. I no longer work there anymore and have moved on since, but everything I've learned as far as nursing goes was good. It's definitely a good place to start as an inexperienced nurse.

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