Good Neurosurgery offer for a new grad???

[babetruth]

Hi there, I would like to know if this is a fair offer for a new grad...
It is a Neurosurgery position with a young private practice - the surgeon is willing to train and Neurosurgery is definitely the direction I would like to go in my career

Salary: 75K
Vacation: 2 wks/yr
Sick days: 5 days/yr
Malpractice: rider on physician's policy
401K: 4% matching
Health Insurance: 75% reimbursement for individual policy
They have not specified what they are going to offer for CME, PA dues and recert fees, journals, etc. This is their first time hiring a PA.

Schedule: 40-50 hrs/wk
Call: 1 week a month (this is pending but the hope is that once I'm up to speed, I will be able to take some of the ER consults)
Also, the rep who provides the practice with supplies (cages, screws, etc) wants me to be the surgeons rep so that I would then provide all the equipment for the cases. The surgeon also likes this for the fact that I will be scrubbed in and can assist them with the instruments as we do the operation. I am also able to show the scrub nurses which instruments will be used and so forth.... The rep company is offering me $300 per case - a flat fee. However, I heard that most reps ask for a percentage of each case instead of a flat fee. This 2nd job would require me to ensure that each set is stocked and ready to go prior to each case. So basically, I feel like I have 2 offers for 1 job.... what do you think?

Should I counter for $$ per hour instead of salary? For instance, I was offered $46/hr for Family Practice but that is not where my heart is at..

Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.... thanks!!!

[acozadd]

While the offer is somewhat weak imo, the $300 per case would make it stellar once you got up to snuff from the product rep side of things. If you did even 5 surgeries per week that is an extra 6K a month, basically doubling your salary. Im not sure what volume of surgeries you would be involved in but that side of things could be quite lucrative.

[EMEDPA]

weak offer. should be at least 10k/yr higher...and the 300/case only applies if they ever actually let you in the o.r....if they pull a bait and switch and you end up never going to the o.r.(it happens) then you are hosed with a lower salary than folks were making 10 yrs ago....and minimal benefits with crappy retirement....some jobs promise x dollars/case but then use you only for clinic work and non-operative duties(h+p's, d/c summaries, etc). get it all in writing. pa will scrub on all cases or x cases/week, etc
ps health insurance should also be 100% for you and all dependents. I would never take a job that wasn't.

[axlst2]

Just an FYI - most reps make 12.5% of all sales. If you are doing all the ground work, you might want to do the math and figure out what that number is for your doc. For instance, I've seen a 1 level posterior interbody fusion (PLIF) (which includes 4 vertebral body screws, 2 rods and 2 spacers) bill out $12,000 or $1,500 to the rep. The total you would be payed ($300) is a measly 2%.

Food for thought...but you might want to negotiate a better number. Also, I'd double-check the legality of being a PA-rep.

[KMD16]

My 2c recom: You need the AAPA salary survey. I'd ask for 85-90k/yr range. A rider on SP malpractice policy? Bad idea! You need your own policy. Stay clear of the PA-rep part of your job description. You're a PA and as such your role in the OR should be the surgeon first assistant and focusing on perfecting your surgical skills. The fact that you're the group first PA, I see that to be a problem. You can turn the table around with supporting data to argue your worth. Excise great caution, else you'll be miserable/taken advantage of to say the least.

[ssiegelpa]

I am also entertaining a Neurosurgery offer and I was wondering about Productivity Bonus Structure. I have only ever working in FP and Neurology, never surgery or a surgical specialty. I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on how Productivity Bonus Structures could work in a surgical subspecialty. Especially with biling being different and all. Thanks