Job offer- Hospitalist- New Grad

[KPA-C]

I got the following job offer as a new grad for a hospitalist position

 

Schedule: 7 on/ 7 off 12 hour shifts, 7a-7p, no nights (2,184 hours per year)

Base salary: $100,000/year

Sign on bonus: $5,000

Relocation: $5,000

CMEs: $2,500 dollars and one week off per year

Vacation: 30 days PTO

Full hospital benefits and paid long term disability at one times the annual salary

Loans: $10,000 dollars per year, up to a max of 100,000 over 10 years

Overtime: 

-paid out quarterly (3x per year)

-based on 2,184 total hours per year-need to work 536 hours per quarter and anything over that is OT

-Total OT bonus= (extra hours x hourly rate) PLUS a shift equivalent bonus of $200 (based on 12 hour shifts)

-EXAMPLE: if you worked 620 hours per quarter, you would have 84 hours of OT

(84hrs x hourly rate) +  7 (84/12) x 200= $1400

(I haven't seen what the hourly rate would be yet)

 

The job offer is from a SMALL hospital. Total of 24 bed, 4 ICU beds. Average patient census is 12-15 patients for 1 doc and 1 PA. 24 hour in house MD. A lot of bread and butter medicine, although they do get some critical care patients, however super sick pts get shipped out to bigger hospitals. To put the salary in perspective this is not in an expensive area to live- its a rural, community hospital. I would be the only PA on for 7 days with a doc, then after 7 days the second PA (not yet hired) would come on with a different doc. 

 

So I wasn't planning on accepting this job...partly due to the schedule- 7 on/7off with 12 hour shifts seems crazy.. 84 hrs per week isn't exactly work-life balance. Also its a small hospital- not a large patient census and not a lot of ICU beds. My  goal is to eventually work in the critical care world/potentially ER, so I wasn't sure this job was the best route to get to that goal. Also, no procedures with this job. My husband works about an hour and a half away so we would each have long commutes. Lastly, the hospitalist program at this smaller hospital was recently taken over by a bigger hospital. So there are a lot of new plans and I would be the first PA that would be hired under this new model, meaning I would essentially be a guinea pig- they are planning to hire a second PA but until then it will just be me and 3 docs. So there were a lot of things I had reservations about...however, this offer seems pretty good to me, especially as a new grad, and hospital medicine is something I would like to do, to eventually move into the critical care world. So I am looking for opinions please! And if anyone else works 7 on/7 off with 12 hour shifts?? Is it doable??

[marktheshark89]

7 on 7 off is relatively common for hospitalist. Overall the offer seems pretty solid. I would see if you can interview with or shadow the doc you'd be working with. If he or she seems like a good teacher and your personalities click id strongly consider taking the job.

[mmiller3]

7 on 7 off is relatively common for hospitalist. Overall the offer seems pretty solid. I would see if you can interview with or shadow the doc you'd be working with. If he or she seems like a good teacher and your personalities click id strongly consider taking the job.

Yep. Just about every hospitalist job that I have seen is 7 on/ 7 off, although I did see a really sweet M-F position about a year ago.

[Will352ns]

Not a bad offer at all.

[DizzyJ]

I think this looks like a pretty good offer.  7 on/off is standard for hospitalists for continuity of care.  12-15 patients is a dream.  Once you get going you'll be able to round in 6 hours and then have the rest of the day shopping online or whatever you like to do.  You may also be allowed to leave once done rounding and just be on call the rest of you shift.  I think you should give it more thought.  Having a small hospital setting could give you more opportunity you wouldn't have in a larger hospital.  

 

I worked hospitalist 7 staggered days per 2 weeks and found it frustrating to work a day or two and then be off.  I would come back and not understand why whatever was done with my patients.  So, 7 on is ideal for that, but not so much fun during those 7 days.  I also was able to leave come mid afternoon once all rounding done.  

[cop to pa]

At 2184 hrs. @ $100K, the hourly is $45.79. So the OT rate would be $68.69.

[PAtoB]

what state is this?

[RuralER/Ortho]

Don't overlook the PTO either. 30 days is awesome with that schedule.

 

One word of caution.... make sure there is a very solid plan in place with you being the first PA. This is tough as a new grad.

 

What is the plan on getting a second PA hired? What are your expectations until that time?

[cushball08]

Wow.. this is a very solid offer.

 

My first job was nocturnal hospitalist.7 nights/7 nights off. Learned alot while there. Started at 85k with no overtime. No where near as competitive as yours.

 

I currently work 7on7off at another hospital and I love it. My family lives about 3.5 hrs.from me and makes it easy to go away without having to use pto.

 

1) 24 pts for the whole hospital split between you and the doctor? Just to give you perspective for my hospital. The doctors and PA start off with 18-20 a person plus admits. Even with a full census split between you and the doctor you can easily finish rounding in 6 -7 hours.

 

2) if you intend on going to emergency medicine than youre right about the lack of procedures. It may make it difficult to change to em later down the road because you wont be seeing peds or doing procedures.

 

Really up to you whether you take this or not. I am happy that I started in hospital medicine. I think it helped me get a foundation on treating patients. Sounds like a very solid offer but if going into er is what you really want look into an urgent care job.