UCSF Medical Center Reviews

Current Employee – been working at UCSF Medical Center full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – Incredible talent and faculty - some of the most admirable and driven people you will ever meet. The doctors are the very best but will be subject to being lured elsewhere as we pay top dollar for people who don't see patients.

Cons – The suits in charge are outdated and cliche - no fresh thinking to match non-C talent which makes advancing the multiple missions challenging. One-dimensional thinkers can't get their arms around the teaching and research value.

Advice to Senior Management – Hire effective, younger, diverse out-of-box talent rather than perpetuate old boys network that objectively is neither talented nor getting the job done despite what you would say to yourself and others. Your operations folks need exposure to how operations really should work to be competitive.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at UCSF Medical Center

Pros – Excellent benefits, good pay, more stability than UC campuses (payroll comes from patient fees, not state budget)

Cons – Senior leadership tends to celebrate how great they are while ignoring many of the 'little people'. When a manager or director is known to be problematic, whether due to personality or lack of ability, that manager/director is often left in their position to continue with business as usual. I know of people who suffered under bad managers for years with no help from senior leadership, even though they were clearly aware of the issue(s). Many managers who get into trouble don't get fired, they get reassigned. Meanwhile, some employees who are known to be ineffective and unproductive get raise after raise because their best skill is hobnobbing with senior leadership. Lots of politics and baby-kissing. Annual incentive pay (bonuses) are unfair, as directors get 10+% of their salary, while regular employees get no more than 5% of their salary. When you take the person's salary into consideration, it means most directors get 15-20k bonuses while regular employees get no more than 4k max.

Advice to Senior Management – Pay more attention to the lower rank and file. Implement an annual review for managers/directors that includes direct employee interviews and critiques -- managers/directors critique their direct reports every year, why can't the direct reports critique their bosses? it's only fair. Institute a flat percentage for all employee bonuses (give directors 5% max like regular staff, they'll still rake in thousands).

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at UCSF Medical Center

Pros – Contributing to highly regarded University and Medical Center
Very good benefits
Good support during illness

Cons – Horrible, degrading dysfunctional work environment and management style.
Low morale, poorly paid, no feedback, no motivation, no positive anything.
Dead end, no advancement potential, no encouragement to pursue advancement.
Did not feel at all appreciated (and I did my job very well).

Advice to Senior Management – You have a morale problem, by the time I was leaving I found each day to be genuinely degrading.

Current Employee – been working at UCSF Medical Center

Pros – Location
Great transportation system within the UCSF system
Prestige if you're into that

Cons – Bureaucracy, ten fold
UC is a place where those who enjoy bureaucracy go to live out their final working years
What should be simplified tasks anywhere else are broken down into such minutia it will make your head spin or explode
As a manager, you will be likely to take 2 steps forward and 3 steps back regularly.
Tasks will feel like they are being repeated and tweaked until the life is sucked right out of them...and you. Be prepared.

Advice to Senior Management – Please do psychological testing on anyone taking an upper management position before offering it to them. I have a hunch that you lose some good employees because of these rogue personalities.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at UCSF Medical Center

Pros – You can go to sleep at night knowing that, even if it's in a small, indirect way, you've contributed to improving the health and quality of life for many people. The benefits package is outstanding. If you live in SF, commuting is a dream; the Parnassus campus is right off the N-Judah, and UCSF offers free shuttle service to its other sites.

Cons – The biggest downside is the culture--- behavior that would be unacceptable in a 3rd grade classroom is tolerated here. I've worked at two other academic hospitals, and I find the abuse by physicians (toward staff) at UCSF to be shocking. Very little opportunity for mentoring or professional advancement for administrative/nonclinical positions. There is no incentive for bright, educated staff to stay beyond two years--- the benefits ARE terrific, but salaries are too low and not competitive. It breaks my heart to see UCSF continue to lose bright, talented folks, while holding onto the deadweights (who know that the bureaucracy will protect them forever). Labor Relations offers no support to managers. If you're interested in working in a school of medicine, look to Stanford. If you want to work in an outpatient setting, look to Sutter (CPMC).

Advice to Senior Management – .

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at UCSF Medical Center

Pros – There is a feeling of pride that comes from working at a Top 10 Medical Center. It's as if you are part of something very important, leading edge and helpful to all. I'm in excess of 20 years from retirement age but I'm told that the retirement package is excellent. In addition, salaries offered are in-line or above industry averages for similar positions. Further, an intangible is the feeling of collegiality in this little city within the city.

Cons – (1) No parking. If you are not amongst the lucky few to have parking privileges then you will have a miserable time finding parking space around the facility. (2) Some folks think a bit too highly of themselves and it shows in the way they deal with folks several rungs below the career ladder. (3) It is very frustrating to see money being wasted because of poor processes. (4) Unions - some of the folks in the variety of unions staffed at the Medical Center are severly hurting the bottom line - very poor work quality/habits. (5) Everyone seems so busy that good ideas are quashed.

Advice to Senior Management – Work on processes that are self-sustaining, financially feasible and workable. Ease up on the knee jerk reactions and create a long term plan for ALL to follow.

Current Employee – been working at UCSF Medical Center

Pros – Investigators are leaders in their fields of study and if one can afford the low pay as a sacrifice in order to work there, all will be fine. UCSF does have an extensive program to help post-docs transition to independent positions after completing their fellowship - this program needs to used by more post-docs as it represents an excellent recourse. Very wealthy research institute, well equipped with the latest instrumentation, and facilities are pleasant to work in - modern. Lots of community efforts to have post-docs socialize and exchange ideas in order to promote collaborations for now and in the future.

Cons – Work like a slave, no security, low salary in a very expensive city. If an international post-doc, UCSF uses Visa status as a means to take advantage of employees - i.e. threatening cancellation of Visa consistently. Very little room for promotion, MD's valued far and above Ph. D's, benefits for post-docs could be much better, especially vision and dental.

Advice to Senior Management – Show some respect and appreciate the hard work of staff

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at UCSF Medical Center

Pros – Great health insurance and pension
8 hours work - can leave on time
15 vacation a year
off on veteran's day
one a floating holiday (Ceasar Chavez Day)
free shuttle bus
no over time

Cons – Poor/ old management style
super -mirco management
Politics
Can't voice about your opinions
Managers take revenge
They don't like staff taking sick leave; they may threaten to fire you or call to your home to distrub you
They only treat patients well; but not the staff
MDs are superiors
No respect from MDs
Very minimal promotion opportunities
No pay raise for 3 years
Many Spys
Many job openings are not real --- they already have candidate in mind...
They always blame people whenever things go wrong.
People who've been there for a long time --- have attitude; they don't do their work.
The lower level do all the work; but the mid level management take the praise and the top management get the money...

Advice to Senior Management – A good leadership knows how understands what personnel and personal developments are. Don't kick away the faithul/good staff.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend