NewGradLyn Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Hello, I am a new graduate and I have two offers. Both have significant pros/cons, and I am having a hard time deciding which to take. I am single with no dependents. I would really appreciate anyone's wisdom, advice, opinion on any of this. #1: Rheumatology in a low cost of living city. This is private office practice with a single doctor who really wants to hire a PA to help with his patient load. The doctor is the most compassionate doctor I have ever met and would be a pleasure to work with and learn from. He said he would see all the new patients and I would see follow-up patients. (This is how it stands before negotiation. I'm sure they would negotiate with me) *1 MD *2 year contract *Hours: 50 hours/week; M-F 8AM- 6PM. Maybe some Saturdays-- but would add up to 50 hours. *Starting salary: $92,000 *I would train with the doctor for 3 months before I would see my own patients. During this time, I would be making $46,000. I know this is less than ideal for me, but I am not sure it's unfair since I won't be contributing to the practice during that time. *They will pay for me to take an online rheumatology course *Automatic 5% salary increase after one year. *4 weeks PTO including sick leave. Unused PTO rolls over to the next year. *Paid holidays (the office is closed for more holidays than the average office including the entire Holy Week for Easter and the day before, day of, and day after major holidays) *1 week for CME *5,0000 for any CME, classes, licensure, association dues, etc *Basic medical insurance-- great plan with no premiums *Malpractice insurance covered *Bonus based on each patient seen per week in excess of 75 patients per week (prorated for weeks with holidays, PTO, CME, etc) Pros: The doctor is awesome and very willing to teach/train me. I know he would be really patient with me and has a "Let's learn together" philosophy Low cost of living Very good treatment of employees Very patient-centered practice The compensation/benefits I would get to spend more time with patients (45 min/patient). Is this the norm in rheumatology? Or is this more time than is usual? Cons: The location (climate is not my favorite, kind of isolated, lack of things to do, probably will be harder to find a strong community/make friends) Might not be as marketable if I want to switch into primary care or a different specialty later The specialty might not be as conducive to my longterm goals as internal medicine would (example: Peace Corps requires 5 years experience in primary care to be considered) Only one provider (the doctor) to learn from. He's also never had a PA before which I actually think is good for me. He does see a lot of fibromyalgia patients; I know this would probably be draining Rheumatology is really complex and I'm not sure if I need a strong background in internal medicine first to be successful #2: IM/FP Clinic in Colorado (Also before negotiation, although I don't think this practice will be as willing to negotiate with me) *Has 9 MDs, 6 PAs, 2 clinics, expanding practice *2 year contract *Hours: 40 hours: M-F 9AM- 5PM. I would work every other Saturday from 7AM- 2PM but then I would be compensated with a 3 day weekend every other week. *Starting salary: $88,000 *I would train with the doctor for 3 months (making $50,000 just during that time) then start seeing 1 patient q30min for 4-6 weeks, then 1 patient q15min. These can be BP checks, med refills, and for complex patients one of the PAs told me she will discuss 15 minutes worth and then schedule the patient for another appointment to discuss the rest if needed. They also allot 30 minutes for physicals, pap smears, hospital follow-ups, and new patients. There are also six 15-minute blocks on the schedule to allow time for charting. One of the new PAs said she's never seen more than 24 patients in an 8 hour shift so far. The maximum possible is 28 patients. Is this reasonable? *Sees all insurance types: medicare/medicaid, commercial, self-pay *5 mile non-compete clause *Health/vision/dental insurance *PTO: 2 days PTO after 6 months of employment, 2 weeks PTO after 1 year of employment (dismal, I know) *1 week CME after 1 year of employment *$1500 for CME *Malpractice insurance *401k with no match *$2500 moving allowance with a 3 year commitment *Most common diagnoses include: Diabetes, HTN, hyperlipidemia, UTI, URI, hypothyroidism, arthritis, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, pericarditis, uveitis, nephrotic syndrome, Sjogren's, temporal arteritis, lyphoma, parasites. Pros: LOVE the location (Strong community/easy to make friends, tons of things to do, the mountains) The internal medicine would be really valuable, as I would like to build a wide knowledge base as a new grad. I have future goals that require 5 years experience in internal or family medicine More procedures involved (suturing, I&D, punch biopsies, joint aspiration, joint injections, casting, toe nail removals, etc) Also has a good doctor who likes to teach new grads (he is a former medical professor), and I think the training is reasonable here as well More providers to learn from/bounce questions off of Tons of modalities available on-site (sleep study center, imaging, OB/GYN) Cons: High cost of living More corporate/profit centered. They definitely care about their patients, but I don't think it's as patient centered as option #1. They had 2 PAs last year leave the practice (one with no notice) for a different specialty...this made me nervous. I'm not sure if it's a red flag or not. Maybe he/she just wanted to work in a different specialty. Might not have to do with the job itself. One patient every 15 minutes sounds like it would be definitely be more stressful. Being a new grad with no experience, I am kind of nervous about this patient load and hoping I will be able to be successful with this kind of patient load Benefits aren't as good...the PTO is especially dismal What do you think is the best move and why? Any advice, wisdom, thoughts would be greatly appreciated! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poetsiren Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 My major concern is they both have training salaries!! "Starting salaries" aren't really "starting salaries" if they start you off on 50% pay! Why are there training salaries like that? I think you can find something NOT a training salary..... It's insulting to our profession, I think.... but that's just me! - more seasoned PAs, please weigh in on this one for me! PTO and CME bennies on the first one are significantly better. But for reference, I made that "training salary" before PA school.....as I said, to me it's horribly insulting.... The second one - yeah NO! you get 2 days for a year? HA! (I would run from that one. sounds like they will work you like a dog. AND PAs just up and left? Danger, Will Robinson!) Not to mention that for a "high cost of living" area, they are willing to pay you crap for a training salary..... no. Just, no. also, what KIND of malpractice insurance? important to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGradLyn Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 My major concern is they both have training salaries!! "Starting salaries" aren't really "starting salaries" if they start you off on 50% pay! Yes, I know that's not ideal and it does feel insulting, but I'm interested enough in these jobs to suck it up and do that if I have to. I can't see patients at all until I am licensed and registered with the insurance companies, etc. That process takes 3 months. Essentially, they are letting me start right away without licensure and will pay me half to just learn stuff without contributing to the practice at all. In fact, I would probably slow them down. If I had to wait for licensure, I would have to wait 3 months to start. 25$/hr is far better than $0/hr, right? I'm not so sure that's such a bad deal. It also took me 6 months to get offers as good as these. If I were to try and find a job without a training salary, I would be out of a job for another 3-6 months possibly and I'm not willing to do that. Thank you so much for your input! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGradLyn Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 The second one - yeah NO! you get 2 days for a year? HA! (I would run from that one. sounds like they will work you like a dog. AND PAs just up and left? Danger, Will Robinson!) Not to mention that for a "high cost of living" area, they are willing to pay you crap for a training salary..... no. Just, no. also, what KIND of malpractice insurance? important to know. I was definitely planning on negotiating for more PTO. I know 2 days is ridiculous, even 2 weeks is subpar. I'm not sure what kind of insurance but I will ask. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick87 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 The following things would cause an issue for me: - 50 hours per week (recipe for burnout) - 24-28 patients per 8 hour shift, 5 days per week (recipe for burnout) - Training salary when you have a ton of debt from PA school - 2 days PTO per year (recipe for burnout) I work at an IM practice in a big metro area in Arizona. We've been looking for another PA (though I heard on Friday that we may have filled the position). I could ask if you'd like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGradLyn Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 The following things would cause an issue for me: - 50 hours per week (recipe for burnout) - 24-28 patients per 8 hour shift, 5 days per week (recipe for burnout) - Training salary when you have a ton of debt from PA school - 2 days PTO per year (recipe for burnout) I work at an IM practice in a big metro area in Arizona. We've been looking for another PA (though I heard on Friday that we may have filled the position). I could ask if you'd like. Yes please!! Feel free to PM me. If I can negotiate NM down to 40 hours per week, would it be a good offer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGradLyn Posted August 2, 2016 Author Share Posted August 2, 2016 Update: I was able to negotiate and they got rid of the training salary :) Also going to offer a relocation allowance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotaox1 Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Both of these offers seem a bit predatory to me. You realize that 92k at 50 hours a week is 35$ an hour (less considering it is OT work.....). RNs make that much at good gig. Unless that per patient bonus is gonna push you up to at least 10$ per hour it is still not a good offer. Personally, I would keep looking seeing as you are not trying to get into a hard to work in specialty. There a TONS of jobs offering better than this and you seem open to location/specialty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted August 16, 2016 Moderator Share Posted August 16, 2016 NEVER sign up for a job with a training salary - nope no way NEVER EVER As for the offers - Rheum has schedule 50 hours per week - that alone would scream he wants to abuse you and make money off you while treating you like dirt.... (IMHO) Ortho - well atleast they have you scheduled for 40.... PTO NEVER take a job that does not have reasonable PTO - that eliminates Ortho offer So Salary for new grad 80-100k - NO training salary ever! 40 hour work week CME 1500-2500/year Full insurance package PTO - 10+ holidays, 3 days CME, 3+ weeks per year, sick/personal 1 week This is really the bare min package offer I would ever consider. I might be flexible on this on a give and take basis. ie only two weeks of vacation but only a 4 day work week that I could flex day off or something like that... both offers stink for different reasons - keep looking.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGradLyn Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 Hey ya'll so I got the rheumatology gig negotiated: Low cost of living area *100k with NO training salary *40 hours/week *4 weeks PTO, unused days roll over to the next year, +20 paid holidays *1 week CME *$5,500 for CME, licensure, dues, etc. *Health insurance fully paid *Malpractice insurance fully paid: claims made with tail *Bonus per week in excess of 60 patients seen per 40 hour week (so that's if I see > 1.5 patients/hour) *401k with 6% match *5k relocation *NO non-compete clause Now what do you think of this offer? How achievable do you think that bonus structure is with rheumatology patients? I know they are more complex so maybe I only will be able to see 1.5 per hour. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8404PA Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 make use of the 6% 401k match!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotaox1 Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 That is a MUCH better offer. In fact for a new grad it seems great. I would consider it with my 2 years of experience. I wouldnt count on much, if any bonus money that is production based as a new grad. That said, the offer is ok now even without bonus and as you grow you may start benefiting from it. Congrats on standing up for yourself and negotiating. Imagine if you had just taken the offer as is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsman89 Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Well that escalated quickly. You must be a master negotiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted August 18, 2016 Moderator Share Posted August 18, 2016 Hey ya'll so I got the rheumatology gig negotiated: Low cost of living area *100k with NO training salary *40 hours/week *4 weeks PTO, unused days roll over to the next year, +20 paid holidays *1 week CME *$5,500 for CME, licensure, dues, etc. *Health insurance fully paid *Malpractice insurance fully paid: claims made with tail *Bonus per week in excess of 60 patients seen per 40 hour week (so that's if I see > 1.5 patients/hour) *401k with 6% match *5k relocation *NO non-compete clause Now what do you think of this offer? How achievable do you think that bonus structure is with rheumatology patients? I know they are more complex so maybe I only will be able to see 1.5 per hour. Thoughts? Well done So this is a good lesson for everyone else - they (the employer) knows what we are worth - but they give that first crappy offer hoping to give themselves and extra 50k in their pocket by stealing it from you....... Well done - learn what is reasonable, and stick to your guns! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGradLyn Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 Thanks for all the input, guys! I really like the management of this practice because they are kind people and it appears they will value and treat me well here. I'm pretty thrilled with this offer. They're very family-oriented, so the office is closed for +20 holidays...I've never seen that before, but it's sweet!!! But I do agree that this is a great example to always negotiate your worth...the first offer is almost ALWAYS a low-ball offer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewconvert Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 20+ holidays works out to roughly a day every third week on average (figuring some weeks will have multiple days off) Not bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlvernaHB Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 NewGradLyn - I'm a new grad as well. Awesome job negotiating! Do you have any tips to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGradLyn Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 NewGradLyn - I'm a new grad as well. Awesome job negotiating! Do you have any tips to share? AlvernaHB, My advice is do not be afraid to ask for what you want. Be confident and know your worth. Do your research, know the averages in each negotiation category, and know what to ask for in your specialty/location. Also, you can think of creative ways to make the deal sweeter. For example: Let's say you are offered 1,000 CME and you ask for 2,000. If they don't give it to you, then you should ask them to pay 50% of any costs that exceed the 1,000. It's a compromise, essentially. So you can be creative in your negotiations. I also think you will have more power in negotiations if it's an area that has a provider shortage (ie. New Mexico). I think that certainly played a strong role. P.S. I love this job, and my employer treats me very fairly/kindly. I really love the doc I work with and I have been seeing about 10 patients/day. And they buy me lunch every day for goodness sake :) They are very appreciative that I am here. Best decision ever to take this job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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