Investing in a Positive Clinical Care Environment

Wages and Benefits

BIDMC is committed to being a workplace of choice for all employees. We intentionally foster a culture where employees are valued, their perspectives are heard by managers and leadership, and their ideas shape how we operate. Equally important, we take regular steps to assure that our full package of compensation (wages and benefits) reflects the direct contribution each employee makes as part of our mission-driven organization.

To this end we:

Provide competitive wages; we routinely conduct market wage assessments to inform our wage ranges. Whenever possible, timely wage adjustments are made based on market conditions.
Offer annual wage increases (in the spring).
Provide a wide array of market competitive benefits, including:
Paid time off through an earned time program that provides maximum flexibility for employees to take vacation, holidays, illness, personal reasons and emergency situations.
Comprehensive health benefits to support good health, including: medical, dental and vision insurance for full and part time employees.
Programs to plan for emergencies, including life and disability insurance.
Retirement benefits to support efforts to save for the future.
Support career advancement and growth with tuition assistance; these dollars can be used flexibly for a wide range of programs to help employees advance in their careers.
Foster wellness for our employees and their families through our Employee Assistance Program, Care @ Work, Perks at Work and Benefit Hub.

Retention and Recruitment

Conducting multiple recruitment efforts – from working with outside agencies and participating in job fairs to conducting targeted hiring campaigns.
Partnering with local schools to recruit new talent – we currently have relationships with more than 25 colleges and universities (from Boston College, Northeastern and the University of MA system to Simmons College, Curry College, Endicott College and more)
We recently hired over 75 Northeastern University co-op students to support our team in PCT capacity
Using our existing training, education reimbursement and other career pipeline programs to encourage existing clinical professionals in non-RN roles to roles to pursue training and transition into these careers; these programs include (among others):
RESA – Recognizing Excellence Scholarship and Accountability Program
Resource Nurse and Preceptor Workshops
Nursing Professional Governance Chair Training Mentorship
Education cohorts at Simmons, Emmanuel and Regis
Offering financial incentives (sign-on bonus and employee referral bonuses) to support recruiting of qualified nurses, particularly in hard-to-fill areas
Temporary Support: Use of traveling nurses to fill short-term gaps

Professional Governance

We have built a strong Professional Governance model, led by direct care nurses at both the unit and central levels.

Established Councils on a wide array of topics: Nursing Workforce & Engagement, Professional Development & Nursing Education, Nursing Quality & Outcomes, Professional Nursing Practice, Nursing Research & Innovation; these Councils are led by nurses from across BIDMC and include representation from multiple job roles.
The Councils have implemented critical investments in our nursing team, such as support for certification, transitions to practice, mentoring and formal recognition such as the RESA and Daisy awards.
Topics raised by unit-based councils (including: safety, advancement programs, overnight resource nurses, and more) are escalated to the Nurse Executive Council and result in meaningful changes to practice.

Workplace Safety

BIDMC is committed to the prevention of workplace violence and creating a safe work environment where all members of our community can focus on providing the best care possible for patients and their families.

A multi-disciplinary team, which included nurses, from across BIDMC created a policy specific to disruptive patient behavior. The policy — CP-70: Managing Disruptive PatientBehavior — includes patient-centered responses staff can use to respond to disrespectful, hostile, offensive or abusive language. The policy also describes how to escalate and respond to threats of physical violence and actual physical violence.
Departments, divisions and units may requestCP-70 experts, volunteers from across the Medical Center, to meet with their teams to provide trainings or participate in discussions on tools and systems to manage patient disruptive behavior
Signage supporting the policy is present in both employee only and patient-facing areas. Employee signage includes information on how to report workplace violence incidents and key numbers for support and assistance following an incidence of workplace violence. Patient-facing signage provides examples of aggressive behaviors that will not be tolerated at BIDMC.
BIDMC encourages staff to report disruptive behavior, collaborate with others to develop a safety plan, document the behavior and safety plan, and escalate when necessary. BIDMC has several resources available to assist staff affected by disruptive behavior. Clinicians can document patient behaviors in WebOMR, Safety Alerts communicate disruptive behaviors and safety plans to other staff members, and reports in STARS tracks disruptive behaviors across BIDMC.
BIDMC’s Workplace Violence Committee meets on a monthly basis to review data from reporting systems, develop new policies to address violence, and propose initiatives and tools to support employees. The Workplace Violence Committee includes representatives from across the Medical Center, including nursing.