Ford Motor Company

Swilliams-RN · Mar 22, 2015

I will be starting at the ford plant here in Buffalo it is my understanding that Ford does not hire nurses directly because they don't see the need for them in their budget so the use a contracting or local agency for nursing services. if you start through a local agency and it becomes permanent you will have to be sent to Dearborn, MI to be hired by their contracting company. Also anothey FYI if you don't drive a Ford vehicle you have to park in the non-ford lot which is acres away from the entrance smh

42pines · Apr 5, 2015

As Swilliams-RN has said few major corporations hire nurses directly anymore. Almost all of them are contracted by a specialized company that runs the clinic. This is not a bad thing and though contractors are often uncomfortable my experience has been positive and I often get invited to company picnics whereas other contracted employees don't.

Back to Ford. I've run a clinic for GM in the past and it was a great job, the best I've ever had. GM had perhaps 40 Occ Health Nurses, almost all contracted but some were old-timers who did work for GM. I'd guess that perhaps 25 hated their jobs, ten thought their jobs were just ok, and ten loved it. The difference was simple: It was: How well did you get along with the Union. UAW workers are an odd group, they can be very abrasive, very affrontive and very dramatic. The very first day I worked the Union Committeeman came in to chat and pulled out a gravity knife and was playing with it. I handed him a post-it piece of paper. He sliced it in half, I said: "nice." We got along quite well. If you would be offended and became affrontive over such a juvenile act well...good luck in your job. And many nurses in the group really hated the UAW workers, who, in turn, made their life difficult. Working with Union members can be trying, you need a sense of humor and you also need to be willing to oppose management when the UAW worker is correct and management isn't. It takes a while, but if you are good at what you do, and can "straddle the fence" it could be a great job.

Pay: It's hard to say about pay. Often pay is a bit below what you should be getting. I'd guess about $56k/year if you've some experience in Occ Health, if not, maybe mid 40's.

And at GM I drove a Honda. And yes, I parked where the non GM vehicles parked--the farthest away they could put me.

Good luck.

miteacher, ADN, MSN · Sep 5, 2015

I am applying to the position in Michigan. I received a call from the recruiter, but not sure what to expect as far as scheduling, salaries, benefits, etc... Do they do 8 or 12 hour shifts? Did you have opportunities for overtime if you wanted?