Who is your boss?

[Michaelcohn]

Who do you consider to be your boss? Is it your SP, hospital administrator, or do you have multiple bosses? I like the idea of working for a private practice because then my only boss would be the physician running the place. It seems like I'd have to deal with less bureaucracy then for setting up vacations, getting new equipment, etc.

 

For those that work in EM, do you consider the EM physicians you work with to be your bosses?

[True Anomaly]

Who do you consider to be your boss? Is it your SP, hospital administrator, or do you have multiple bosses? I like the idea of working for a private practice because then my only boss would be the physician running the place. It seems like I'd have to deal with less bureaucracy then for setting up vacations, getting new equipment, etc.

 

For those that work in EM, do you consider the EM physicians you work with to be your bosses?

Yes, without question.

 

Now, my ER director may have to answer to hopsital administrators to prove the effectiveness of our group that provides ER services, but directives come from him as far as myself and the rest of the PA's and NP's in our group.

[UGoLong]

In private practice (where I work) we also have an administrator. I am gracious to her and let her know my vacation schedule, etc. Still, I clearly take my direction from my SP.

 

I suspect in hospitals there are also adminstrators who play a role.

 

No matter what your career, there will generally be some multiplicity when it comes to those above you in management. 

[EMEDPA]

ER docs only. I used to work at places run by nursing administrators. I don't do that anymore. I learned my (painful) lesson.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

School district administration, clinic manager, and supervising physicians, who work for a totally separate entity.  Crystal clear, right?

[sk732]

I had one job where my org chart looked more like an exploding hand grenade than a clear Chain of Command...nothing linear at all about it.  To a point, not a lot of difference in my current ER job, as clinically, I come under my overall SP and the Medical Director for EM, but my day to day admin is managed by the Clinical Team Manager (note, no leader) for the ER...a nurse.  The PA's in my hospital (all 3 of us) are trying to ditch the nursing admin to make sure our scheduling and such is by the MD's.  It's an uphill fight at the moment.

 

SK

[Michaelcohn]

I had one job where my org chart looked more like an exploding hand grenade than a clear Chain of Command...nothing linear at all about it.  To a point, not a lot of difference in my current ER job, as clinically, I come under my overall SP and the Medical Director for EM, but my day to day admin is managed by the Clinical Team Manager (note, no leader) for the ER...a nurse.  The PA's in my hospital (all 3 of us) are trying to ditch the nursing admin to make sure our scheduling and such is by the MD's.  It's an uphill fight at the moment.

 

SK

 

So the nurse is your "boss"?

[Reality Check 2]

In corporate settings - I had an office manager, a clinic director, a department director and THEN docs.

 

The office manager was in charge of office staff - clerical, etc.

The clinic director took care of my vacations etc.

ANYTHING clinical went to the doc.

 

Now, put that in a blender - If the clerical staff thought I was too demanding - "please don't schedule a patient over 65 for less than 20 minutes" - note, I said please - they would complain to the office manager who then went to the director who then went to the doc who would usually shrug and say - "duh, 20 minutes" and then, a few weeks later, the director would make a sideways comment that I was "difficult".

 

Reverse - I told the director that our front desk person was lacking in skills and couldn't handle difficult patients at the desk. That went absolutely nowhere - died between his ears.

 

So, if you are looking to deal with things directly - good luck.

 

Also, are you an employee PA or a provider partner PA? The hierarchy varies vastly from entity to entity.

 

I am old and cranky and now just say what I mean when I mean it and make my point professionally and have something to back it up - my tantrum days are long over. 

[Guest Paula]

I relate to RealityCheck2

[sk732]

So the nurse is your "boss"?

Something like that...

[CAAdmission]

So the nurse is your "boss"?

 

 

This usually happens when they are too dumb for patient care. They push them out into an admin position where they can only hurt staff and not patients.

[JtheWorker]

I'm in a private practice with two PAs and two docs. Here the two docs are my bosses, and that is it.

[RetNavyPAC]

At my shop all PAs/NP report to the Chief/Manager (moi) and I report to the Sr Practice Director who reports to the Dept Chair.

[CAdamsPAC]

There are some people who rant about policies and rules then there is a physician who actually discusses my job and duties.......you guess who I listen to.

[ventana]

clinically - my CP

 

administratively - whom ever....

[HMtoPA]

I think the idea of being in private practice and only having to worry about answering to a single individual rather than a bureaucracy or an HR department sounds nice in theory - but is of course completely dependent on the personality of that individual, however reasonable (or not).

 

A lifetime ago I used to wait tables, and I found that working for a chain had (to me) the obvious disadvantage of having to deal with a corporate culture I couldn't relate to very well, but offered protection against the sometimes mercurial whims of an independent owner (something I had also experienced).

 

Completely different industry, of course, but I imagine the gist is the same. Currently I'm in the military, and while I certainly report to different people in different capacities, it's hard to identify a single "boss," and I like the fact that I work in a system where I have very clearly delineated rights and responsibilities, and difficult personalities have limited capacity to affect my quality of life.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

The patient...or so it seems some days. "What would you like for me to give you today?"

[Reality Check 2]

The patient...or so it seems some days. "What would you like for me to give you today?"

 

 

..... regardless of clinical validity or common sense......and would you like fries with that?

[UpRegulated]

Who do you consider to be your boss? Is it your SP, hospital administrator, or do you have multiple bosses? I like the idea of working for a private practice because then my only boss would be the physician running the place. It seems like I'd have to deal with less bureaucracy then for setting up vacations, getting new equipment, etc.

 

For those that work in EM, do you consider the EM physicians you work with to be your bosses?

 

1) My wife

2) My kids

3) The doc, who is a partner in a practice group, who pays my salary out of his own budget

4) CEO of said practice group

5) Clinic manager

 

I'm kidding a little about 1-2.  But only a little. :)

[Guest Paula]

I just decided that I am my own boss. 

[Guest JMPA]

i am my own boss, it was not until i reached this higher level of understanding and realization that i found peace in my occupation and progressed exponentially.

[SwarleyWoo]

Well, a chiropractor owns the clinic. But a family member is the administrative assistant/ofice manager. She bosses me around like there's no tomorrow (but interestingly enough not the NP in her 50s. I'm in my 20s so I think she thinks she needs to act like my parent which is annoying.) She's always micromanaging me about time spent with patients.  Anyway, she believes she's my boss. But seeing that she doesn't have any medical experience, I don't consider her my boss. My supervising doc is there one day per week. I guess I consider the chiropractor my boss business wise, but would do what my supervising doc says before the chiropractor. I'm there M-F which is more than the NP or doc, so I consider myself the boss. ;)

[Maverick87]

Well, a chiropractor owns the clinic. But a family member is the administrative assistant/ofice manager. She bosses me around like there's no tomorrow (but interestingly enough not the NP in her 50s. I'm in my 20s so I think she thinks she needs to act like my parent which is annoying.) She's always micromanaging me about time spent with patients.  Anyway, she believes she's my boss. But seeing that she doesn't have any medical experience, I don't consider her my boss. My supervising doc is there one day per week. I guess I consider the chiropractor my boss business wise, but would do what my supervising doc says before the chiropractor. I'm there M-F which is more than the NP or doc, so I consider myself the boss. ;)

 

Yikes. I recently turned down a job like this.

 

Make sure you're watching their billing practices and that they're not illegally billing things under your license.

[CAAdmission]

There's only one boss I worry about:

 

[LKPAC]

Well, a chiropractor owns the clinic. But a family member is the administrative assistant/ofice manager. She bosses me around like there's no tomorrow (but interestingly enough not the NP in her 50s. I'm in my 20s so I think she thinks she needs to act like my parent which is annoying.) She's always micromanaging me about time spent with patients.  Anyway, she believes she's my boss. But seeing that she doesn't have any medical experience, I don't consider her my boss. My supervising doc is there one day per week. I guess I consider the chiropractor my boss business wise, but would do what my supervising doc says before the chiropractor. I'm there M-F which is more than the NP or doc, so I consider myself the boss. ;)

 

I'm sorry to say this, but I would not work in the situation you described with a chiro.  Just saying.