Skills

Kaiser Permanente offers many resources to help you advance your career.

Looking to get started? View sessions from Workforce Development Week and follow these 5 recommendations from the October virtual event.

1. Keep learning.

Kaiser Permanente encourages lifelong learning. Resources range from mentoring to tuition reimbursement for everyone to education trusts for eligible union members.

Sadao Nakachi, an emergency room registered nurse and UNAC/UHCP member in the Southern California Region, advanced professionally by using tuition reimbursement and the Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Ingris Solares, an SEIU Local 105 member in the Colorado Region, began as a phlebotomist before completing a yearlong apprenticeship program with the SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund to become a medical lab technician.

View their success stories in the Day 1 and Day 2 employee panels.

2. Have a growth mindset.

Feel stuck in your current job? Reframe your thinking, says Michael Brown, vice president of Human Resources in the Georgia Region.

“You’re really not stuck. What you’re doing is developing expertise on that job. It provides you an opportunity to deliver strong results. That is good currency that you can take with you to that next position,” Brown said in a career expert panel.

View a recording of the leader panel.

3. Talk with your manager.

Managers should encourage employees’ career growth, says Kerrin Watkins, Dental Office manager in KP’s Northwest Region. She discusses workforce development with team members to understand their needs, inform them about resources and support their use of education trusts.

“Invest in your employees,” Watkins says. “If you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of your business.”

View Day 3 videos from Watkins and Georgia Region managers Philidah Seda and Sophia Wilson and learn more in the Manager’s Guide to Workforce Development.

4. Follow your professional dreams.

It’s never too late to develop your career, says Dennis Dabney, senior vice president, National Labor Relations and Office of Labor Management Partnership.

When Dabney was 40 and working in Human Resources for an automotive parts supplier, he decided to go to law school. He studied nights and weekends to get his degree. His extra work paid off, opening doors to career growth. Learn more in Dabney’s Day 1 video.

5. Just do it.

Kaiser Permanente employees can receive tuition reimbursement of up to $3,000 each year for successfully completing eligible courses.

Hiren Patel, a senior systems administrator in the Northern California Region, started as a pharmacy tech. He moved up in the organization using tuition reimbursement to get a bachelor’s degree and is currently pursuing a master’s degree.

“Make a plan and be flexible,” Patel says. “Just do it.”

Listen to Patel’s story on the Day 2 launch of the Excel Yourself podcast and explore the event’s website for additional episodes, Ask an Expert sessions, videos and more.

National Workforce Planning and Development hosted Workforce Development Week in collaboration with the Alliance of Health Care Unions and Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions.

Will robots replace our jobs?

As technology rapidly reshapes work, the future may be scary, but it’s also filled with opportunities, especially in health care. Kaiser Permanente workers can stay ahead by continuing to learn both technical skills and human skills such as communication and problem-solving, experts say.

“Cultivating our uniquely human skills may be the best way to prepare for an uncertain future,” says Michelle Weise, chief innovation officer at Strada Institute for the Future of Work.

“Don’t be a bad robot. Be a good human being,” says Benjamin Pring, director of Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work. “We don’t want to see a robot doctor. We don’t want to see a robot nurse. A lot of (future) jobs are caring jobs where we want to have the human touch.”

Weise and Pring headlined events in November and December in the Future Ready Workforce of the Future Thought Leader Series. The webcast series, sponsored by the Labor Management Partnership and presented by National Workforce Planning and Development, aims to help prepare Kaiser Permanente’s workforce for tomorrow’s jobs.

“We want to ensure our employees have the skills necessary for the jobs of the future,” says Jessica Butz, co-director of the Partnership-supported Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust.

The goal is to build on record usage for Kaiser Permanente’s tuition reimbursement and 2 Partnership-supported education trusts and have employees continuously skill up to meet changing work needs.

Building skills

“It’s a skills-based world that we live in,” Weise says. “For so many learners, a degree is a bridge too far. They just need to survive and get their foot in the door in a job that pays well.”

Today, 44 million adult Americans lack a college degree, don’t earn a living wage and face being left behind by the future of work, according to a Strada report.

“We’re going to need to reimagine education as much more like a variety of highways with lots of on- and off-ramps,” Weise says. “Sometimes when we’re skilling up, it’s going to be for technical expertise or digital fluency. Sometimes it’s going to be for a broadening of human skills.”

Jobs of the future

Pring also is optimistic.

“We think in the future there will be net job increases,” Pring says. “They’ll just be different jobs.”

These new jobs, highlighted in Cognizant’s “21 Jobs of the Future“ and “21 More Jobs of the Future” reports, include fitness commitment counselor and artificial intelligence-assisted health care technician.

As work changes, technology will enhance most jobs and create new opportunities.

“The only way to deal with disruption is to be proactive,” Pring says. “Invent your own future rather than allow the future to happen to you.”

For Jennifer Cuevo, an urgent care nurse in Pasadena, the opportunity was too good to pass up: Earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing without paying fees.

For Joel Boyd, manager of pulmonary clinical services in South Sacramento, teaming with a trust fund created an opportunity to teach nearly 500 respiratory therapists ways to improve care and lower costs.

From earning degrees to learning best practices, Kaiser Permanente employees are using the 2 Labor Management Partnership-supported education trusts (Ben Hudnall Memorial Trust and SEIU UHW-West & Joint Employer Education Fund) in record numbers. Program enrollments rose 26% in 2018 to 113,494; there were nearly 59,000 enrollments in the first half of 2019, on pace for another record year.

“We can address solutions,” says Rebecca Hanson, SEIU Education Fund executive director. “There’s overwhelming demand among the workforce for training opportunities aligned with patient care delivery needs.” 

Through the trusts, employees can build skills, meet targeted needs in training programs, and work with career counselors to set career goals and create plans to achieve them.

“We’re preparing our workforce for the jobs of tomorrow,” says Jessica Butz, Ben Hudnall trust co-director.

Click to enlarge.

Going for it

Cuevo, a 16-year Kaiser Permanente employee and UNAC/UHCP member, started as a licensed vocational nurse, then became a registered nurse. She always wanted a bachelor’s degree but put her dreams on hold while raising her children — until she talked with a Ben Hudnall career counselor and learned good news.

With a few additional courses, Cuevo could qualify for a bachelor’s program. The trust would pay the fees.

“I’m so thankful,” Cuevo says. “I wouldn’t have done this without the help of the trust and the partnership of Kaiser with the universities.”

Most classes were online, which Cuevo took at home. She did in-person requirements on days off — coordinating with her manager and family — completing her degree in 4 semesters. Her 17-year-old daughter is “really inspired,” Cuevo says. “She wants to go into research or be a doctor.”

Cuevo’s inspired, too. In November, she started a master’s program – paid again by Ben Hudnall. Cuevo, who wants to teach nurses, encourages colleagues to use trust services.

“Go for it,” she says. “It’s so worth it. Get your degree. Move up. You can do it. I did it. I love it.”

Benefits of partnership

When Boyd and pulmonary clinical services colleagues in Northern California reviewed their operations, they saw a need to standardize some patient care practices. Their goal: to decrease the length of stay for patients on mechanical ventilation to reduce the risk of such complications as pneumonia, improve care and lower costs.

They partnered with the SEIU Education Fund to organize 8 group trainings for respiratory therapists at Kaiser Permanente’s Garfield Innovation Center.

Working with the education fund was easy and helped get employee buy-in and participation, Boyd said. The trainings were so effective, more may be offered in Northern California and other regions.

“Nothing at this scale has ever been done for respiratory therapists,” Boyd says. “It was a true example of how we can get positive benefits from the Partnership.”

Rally your co-workers and have fun at the same time. This training offers ideas on making meetings interesting and productive.

Training description

Finding ways to involve everyone on a unit-based team can be tough, especially in large departments. This interactive workshop gives participants tips and tricks to engage co-workers in partnership work. Develop your leadership skills and have fun, too!  

Path to Performance

Levels 1—5

Duration

Usually 90 minutes, but this training can be customized to suit your team's needs.

Who should attend

This in-person training is for unit-based teams, LMP councils, units/departments, and other groups.

A story is a great way to connect with patients and co-workers. This workshop shows you simple ways to share your story.

Training description

Discover how to harness the power of storytelling. Learn our fool-proof technique for sharing your story, inspiring others and spreading successful practices throughout Kaiser Permanente.  

Path to Performance

Levels 1—5

Duration

Usually 90 minutes, but this training can be customized to suit your team's needs.

Who should attend

This in-person training is for unit-based teams, LMP councils, unit/departments, and other groups.

This training will help you practice listening, develop a succinct message and more.

Training description

This training shows how to get a message across to Kaiser Permanente members, co-workers, supervisors — even family members. Put new skills to work in advocating for change, presenting to your team, promoting KP, training others, giving information to members and advancing your career at KP. 

Path to Performance

Levels 1—5

Duration

Usually 90 minutes, but can be customized to suit your team's needs

Who should attend

This in-person training is for unit-based teams, LMP councils, units/departments and other groups.

Course description

It is critical for steward sponsors and management sponsors to invest in the development of the unit-based team, which will have a long-term impact on the organization, and to learn about tools and resources available to them in their sponsor role. This course is designed to help union, physician and management sponsors discover the benefits of effective sponsorship and how it can help them develop successful, sustainable unit-based teams.

Union and management sponsors will gain an awareness of how their role is critical to the transformation of how the work at Kaiser Permanente is done.
 

Path to Performance

Level 2

Duration

3 hours

Who should attend

This course is intended for participants who are sponsors of unit-based teams. Job categories who should attend labor, management and physician.

Course requirements

Labor Management Partnership Orientation (LMPO)

Everyone has a voice at Kaiser Permanente — and KP needs to hear yours. This empowering training helps teams understand why every voice matters and how to be sure all are heard. 

Training description

Creating a space where workers feel safe speaking up leads to better patient care and a better workplace. This fast-paced, interactive workshop helps frontline workers and managers learn what a speaking-up culture looks like, why it matters and how to manage difficult conversations through role play and group exercises.  

Path to Performance

Levels 1—5

Duration

Usually 90 minutes, but this training can be customized to suit your team's needs.

Who should attend

This in-person training is for unit-based teams, LMP councils, units/departments and other groups.