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PCWD program sets graduates on career paths
Nikisha Funches has a customer service secret. “Your first word to a patient should never be ‘no,’” said Funches, a coordinator in the Weiner Center for Preoperative Evaluation. “Instead, you should welcome someone with a smile. It makes a big difference.”
It makes such a difference, in fact, that patients waiting in the Weiner Center—many of whom are there for only an hour—visit or call Funches after their surgeries. Many have sent cards thanking her for her thoughtfulness, and one even wrote her a poem.
“It’s rare that patients who wait here for an hour or more would come back and compliment the person who checked them in,” Brian Roux, practice manager of the Weiner Center, said. “But Nikki has a way of putting them at ease, and it makes an impression. Many of the patients anxiously await serious procedures, but she gets them laughing and joking.”
Funches is naturally perceptive of the needs of others, but she credits the pre-employment program run by Partners in Career and Workforce Development (PCWD) with refining her customer service skills and taking her career in a new direction.
“It’s more than getting a job; it’s getting on a career path,” Funches said of the five-week program. “It’s very empowering. The teachers really get to know you and find out how to help you succeed.”
Funches graduated from the program in June and then applied for her current position in the Weiner Center. For Roux and former Weiner Center practice manager Christopher MacIver, the training Funches received set her apart from other candidates.
“We’ve had a couple of other employees come to us after going through the program, and they really have impressed us,” Roux said. “They’re very good with patients, have learned Partners computer applications and are willing to go the extra mile.”
PCWD, which is operated jointly by Partners Community Benefit Programs and Human Resources, runs the pre-employment program four times per year and accepts 10 to 12 students in each cycle. Students are mostly from Boston, have graduated high school, have at least one year of work experience and are looking to change career paths.
The first half of the program is classroom instruction on the health care environment, HIPAA, customer service skills, managers’ expectations, resume development, mock interviewing and financial literacy. Students then intern within the Partners system as instrument room technicians, patient care assistants, unit associates, office assistants, operations associates and in other positions.
After the class graduates, Cynthia Briggs, director of PCWD, and Dena Simons, PCWD career development coordinator, meet with each graduate to help them apply for jobs within Partners.
“When the graduates get a job, that’s not where our involvement ends,” Briggs said. “It’s where it begins.”
Once graduates find jobs, a PCWD case manager continues to support them in their career development and with work-life balance issues such as childcare and housing advocacy. Graduates also have career coaches who help them develop a career plan and define necessary action steps to achieve their goals.
PCWD works closely with BWH director of Workforce Development Beverley Sobers and the HR team to help graduates succeed.
Funches is enjoying her success in the Weiner Center. “This is one of the first jobs I’ve really looked forward to,” Funches said. “I’m rewarded everyday.”
BWH managers interested in providing an internship or those with entry-level openings in their departments should e-mail Cynthia Briggs for more information at cbriggs@partners.org