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Contract and New Grad Offer


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I was just wondering if anyone could provide some input. I recently graduated and received an offer with a practice owned by the physician. I had a difficult time finding a job in my area, so I jumped on the opportunity. The contract stated that I would owe back the malpractice policy if I quit. The length of the contract is about 15 months. There is no PTO. I will be required to round weekends or whenever they need me to once I have privileges. I had unpaid training days once I signed the contract. 

 

Since I started, I have not had any lunch break. I know this sounds humiliating because we are at such a professional level, but I cannot even take a bathroom break. The doctor will yell through the door not to use the bathroom if there is a patient to be seen. The job has been very degrading, and I am corrected by the doctor in front of the patients. I do all of her charting on all of the patients for the day.

 

In the past couple weeks, I have interviewed for another job and received an offer. The pay would be less for the first 90 days, and then I would be compensated the same pay I receive now with satisfactory progression. The physician at my current job knows that I am unhappy and asked if I want to quit a week ago. However, I am nervous about the policy. I do not know how much it was. I am also worried because my paycheck is bi-weekly and I do not want to lose the money I have earned. I am wondering if I need to wait for this check to clear before I tell them. I have only worked here for about a month so far. Any ideas?

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Wow

 

you need to talk back to your program and ask for help

 

The first contract is honestly nothing you should have ever agreed to, and the second one might not be any better.

 

You need to talk to an experienced HR person in your program - and realize that people will take advantage of you if you let them.......

 

It is now time to educate yourself about employment and the need for a good first job with mentoring!

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It's disgraceful that...

* any PA school would send such an unprepared graduate out into the world...

* anyone without enough job experience to know this was a bad idea was ever let into PA school in the first place...

* you had nowhere better to turn for help than the Internet.

 

Being denied bathroom breaks is arguably sexual harassment.  The question isn't if you're going to have to pay anything back, but rather how much of a severance package they'll give you, if what you've said is true and you can document it well enough to support a workplace investigation by the agency having jurisdiction over such matters.

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I was just wondering if anyone could provide some input. I recently graduated and received an offer with a practice owned by the physician. I had a difficult time finding a job in my area, so I jumped on the opportunity. The contract stated that I would owe back the malpractice policy if I quit. The length of the contract is about 15 months. There is no PTO. I will be required to round weekends or whenever they need me to once I have privileges. I had unpaid training days once I signed the contract. 

 

Since I started, I have not had any lunch break. I know this sounds humiliating because we are at such a professional level, but I cannot even take a bathroom break. The doctor will yell through the door not to use the bathroom if there is a patient to be seen. The job has been very degrading, and I am corrected by the doctor in front of the patients. I do all of her charting on all of the patients for the day.

 

In the past couple weeks, I have interviewed for another job and received an offer. The pay would be less for the first 90 days, and then I would be compensated the same pay I receive now with satisfactory progression. The physician at my current job knows that I am unhappy and asked if I want to quit a week ago. However, I am nervous about the policy. I do not know how much it was. I am also worried because my paycheck is bi-weekly and I do not want to lose the money I have earned. I am wondering if I need to wait for this check to clear before I tell them. I have only worked here for about a month so far. Any ideas?

Wow. Yeah, you need to GTFO of this job ASAP.

 

I'm pretty sure that not allowing you to use the bathroom is illegal and I'm DEFINITELY sure that charting for patients that you haven't seen is illegal.

 

I agree with the posters that say that you should begin collecting evidence and file a lawsuit against this doctor.

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To moderator,

 

I was more than prepared for pa school and to work. I have a prior masters degree and work experience in addition to the PA degree. I had discussed this contract with 2 lawyers. I stumbled upon this site wanting input from fellow pas. i guess that was a bad idea bc I did not need to be put down and told I was unprepared. I stated before jobs were scarce where I am. This was the first offer I received and the salary was ok compared to the other interviews I went on.

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I find it disgraceful to the pa profession that you would even dare judge a person without knowing the facts.

You asked for advice, you got it.  Despite your above protestations, you do not appear to be prepared to enter the adult workforce: If you were prepared, you wouldn't have this problem, so I'm not "judging" you, I'm simply evaluating what you yourself have said. Your lack of preparation is unfortunate, but if you'll review my above post, I blamed your PA school, twice--once for letting you in unprepared, the second time for letting you out unprepared--and then your support system for providing nothing better than us.  Having a professional job is different than prior work experience.  Professionals are given goals, not tasks, and have broad autonomy to meet their goals; they do the right things (e.g., dressing and acting professionally) not because they are given rules, but because they understand what the career entails--it's a whole different world than working somewhere as an undergrad.

 

I really don't care where you live or if jobs are scarce--if you stand for that sort of abuse, you are not only demeaning yourself and demonstrating that you'll put up with it, but you're being a poor example of how PAs are professionals.  That is, by your allowing yourself to be treated badly, you hurt things for all of us.

 

If you can't get a professional job where you are, MOVE.  If you have a family, leave them behind or take them with, that's your collective decision.  Regardless, that's what professionals do when they can't find work in a locale, not endure an abusive working situation.

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First... you are being taken advantage of, if not abused, in this current work environment. You need to get out of this pronto. The above info about contacting your program is solid advice and should have been your first call. This doc is not your boss, from the sound of it they are your pimp.

 

Secondly, it is difficult to believe that someone with the life experience you say you have would have allowed yourself to be in this situation or, worse yet, stay in this situation long enough to need to turn to the internet for advice. Sounds like further contract and workplace teaching/coaching needs to be in your future. You could start by perusing this particular forum for a while. You will quickly realize most every new grad. job thread repeats the theme of not settling for a crap job just because there aren't many jobs in your area. I understand this info does you little good now and with how much that theme is repeated on here, you may not find many sympathetic ears if that is what you are after. This story sounds almost too crazy to even believe is happening...

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Despite all of the preparation in the world, good people find themselves in bad positions. This is only amplified by the fact that, as a new grad, there is limited bargaining power, tremendous student loan debt, and geographic limitations in certain instances. Some of the most seasoned members that post on this forum have likely been in similarly poor situations early in there careers, and may have even withstood that abuse for longer that this poster. They sought advice and they got lectured. Rev- I enjoy most of your posts but you have a tendency to come off as "holier than thou" and because your opinions tend to jive with the more senior/outspoken members of the forum, it tends to fly without any further discussion. We already have a very limited number of posters on these boards, and this only further pushes away new members who seek advice. If we want to turn this into a forum where a core group of 5-10 "old-timers" BS and talk down to the new posters that arrive and have different opinions or find themselves in poor positions, that's fine. A more supportive/helpful board might change this. As a moderator, you have a greater responsibility that the average poster on these boards. Keep that in mind.

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Acozadd, your point is well taken and there is no intent to drive people away, but I will admit getting frustrated by how folks in these situations react--some seem to come up with learned helplessness ("I couldn't possibly do... [whatever good advice they've been given]"), while others, like the OP in this case, feel like they're being attacked even when I go out of my way to explain why what I'm saying isn't an attack.

 

Real world solutions to real world problems aren't easy, or cheap, or fast.  We get a lot of people asking for those, and I try my best to give a balanced approach that neither accepts learned helplessness nor attacks the poster.  I'm not about to sugar coat things ("that doesn't seem so bad..."), provide false empathy ("wow, that doc sure is a meanie..."), or platitudes ("I'm sure this learning experience will make you a better provider in the long run...").  Real problems almost universally demand that the person in the problem take the core, active role in solving them--anything else doesn't solve the problem.

 

I "grew up" in a corporate culture that values honesty and detailed failure analysis, and I apply that principled fault-finding to every situation I analyze.  I suppose I could always not try and help, under the "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" principle, but while that would certainly save my time and effort, I don't think it would actually help anyone out.

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To address your primary concern that you would have to pay back for malpractice policy if you quit.

Just like any insurance policy, I would assume that yours would be prorated first of all, so likely that only have to pay back a portion.

But first, have you actually seen a copy of a malpractice insurance policy with your name on it? You would not be the first PA, NP or physician that thought their employer has bought a malpractice policy to find that it was never purchased.

Second to force you to pay it back is only accomplished if they withhold the funds from your last paycheck.Or very vindictive and engage a lawyer and rack up legal fees to get their money from you.

Do you have a termination clause? If so and have to give notice, you will likely lose that last paycheck to them. Or you could get your last paycheck and walk away with immediate notice, tell whomever that if they make an issue you will pursue the poor conditions of employment you were subjected to and write a letter to the medical board about the SP's unprofessional behavior.

While there are plenty of opinions here about your issue, you will need to take a hard look at your situation and decide what you are willing to make your peace with. Personally, I would get that last check in hand, hand over a letter of resignation and move on, let the pieces fall where they may. Contracts dont allow employers to treat employees poorly. Just be prepared to justify your actions to a future employer or to the state medical board if it comes to that.

Good luck to you.

G Brothers PA-C

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I think new grad PAs are taking these horrific jobs partly in response to the culture of PA school. We constantly have everything laid out for us, students are hyper-focused on adhering to the prescribed plans and following the "rules". They get nervous when things deviate in the slightest. It breeds submissiveness. PA schools really need to sit students down at the end of the program and say "do not take just any job that comes along, don't sign ridiculous contracts, keep looking no matter what".

 

I understand the pressure that the 6-month loan countdown and dwindling funds from the last dispersement puts on an individual. But that's how these places are continuing to take advantage of us. Just because you are new does not mean that you have to genuflect to outrageous demands or conditions. A doc yelling through the bathroom door, saying not to relieve yourself? I'd walk out on the spot! Only then will they understand we're not owned property and they cannot behave in such a ridiculous manner. Leave.

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Thanks for being receptive to my comment Rev. The poster clearly has noted from an early point that their situation was less than ideal. They have already interviewed at other locations, and thought out the timeline to resignation after only being at this position for less than a month. They are asking for help in the "next steps" from others that may have found themselves in a similar situation. Your initial comment had little to do with that, and much to do with them being a poor candidate for PA school, and a poorly prepared PA. Perhaps in contract negotiations, but they may be an excellent provider in a bad situation. I would ask to stay focused on helpful next steps, as your comments were quite direct and led little to interpretation. They also did nothing to help, which is what the poster sought. We all post on boards for some purpose, for information, for insight, for help, for entertainment...

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Thank you for the advice. I was not looking for sympathy. I appreciate the advice gbrothers gave. I had requested a copy of the policy right away, and it was given to me. However, there was no quote so I do not know how much it was.

 

There is a termination clause in the contract stating to give 3 weeks notice. My first paycheck was already held. I do plan to move on, and I will be much more prepared.

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