cg02186 Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Sorry in advance for the lengthy post. I'm really looking for some advice from experienced PAs on this one. Any input at all would be greatly appreciated. I am a soon to be new graduate and have had several interviews and a couple offers but this is my most recent one. It is for a private orthopedic practice in the Southeast US with one surgeon and one other PA. I would be the surgical PA. Base Salary: $115,000 Hours: M-F. 8:00 - ~5:30. Three days clinic, Two days OR. 401 (K), Safe Harbor, Profit sharing after 6 months of employment. Didn't receive details about percent match, etc. Very vague. 3 Weeks PTO 8 Holidays with 2 "floating" holidays Malpractice with no tail (This is what I was told, despite malpractice not being listed in the written offer) Call - nothing in writing but told "very rare" in interview and will mostly be second call. Not compensated for any call. My concerns: The part that is a little weird is when we met, I was told DEA, licensing, and malpractice would be covered but none of this was in the written offer. Also, when I asked about CME, they said they would cover the cost of a conference but would not pay for hotel/flight/car, etc. This was not included in the written offer either and they did not give a dollar amount or if these CME days would count towards my PTO. It's been difficult to get many questions answered because they are constantly going through a recruiter and giving me very vague answers to questions. Also, when I was interviewing, it was meant to be almost a secret because the practice previously hired an ortho tech to essentially serve as the PA, see patients, assist in surgery, etc. but it wasn't really working out and they are trying to replace him but he does not know this yet. This is a small company so there seems to be a lot of just verbal agreements. In fact, they weren't even going to send a written offer and only sent one because I said I wanted everything in writing. They didn't send it in writing until the recruiter felt like I was going to accept it because the company didn't want to go through the trouble of drafting an offer if I was going to reject it. After they finally agreed to send it in writing, they gave me a 48 hour deadline to make a decision. The written offer is just an employee agreement and states that the written letter nor any other oral or written representations may be considered a contract at any period of time and this position will continue to be at will. As far as health insurance they included it as a "benefit" but it seems to me like it's not really offering too much. The offer they said to cover health for a family would cost over $1,100 a month and nearly $16,000 a year. So right off the back the $115,000 becomes $99,000 with health insurance and that's all pre-tax. Is this the normal amount to pay for family insurance through a company? I almost feel like I'd be better off trying my luck on the marketplace. The only other thing that is a little different about this ortho practice is that their niche is worker's comp and personal injury. I was told multiple times in my interview that they work a ton with attorneys and are often the practice attorneys refer their clients too. They "developed a good relationship" and I was told my notes really need to be spot on and essentially tell the story of the patient if you get the drift. They said they would work with me on my H&P charting because they said it is quite common for the notes of this practice to be criticized by opposing attorney's in court cases. This is what kind of worries me about not having tail coverage. The base salary is awesome for a new grad and it's more than I was expecting and they were quick to offer it. I'm just pretty hesitant about all the other concerns I listed and wanted to see what other PAs thought. I also plan on talking about this to my mentors, hopefully quickly since they gave me a deadline. Thanks for reading and any advice is really appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoB Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 5 months into new-grad ortho job in se michigan. PM'd you my job details for comparison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SedRate Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 1. Definitely get the tail included. WC cases often involve ligation and you need to CYA. 2. Get the call expectations outlined. 3. That's a lot for family ins but I have heard those figures before... 4. 48 hours is crap in my opinion, but then again time is money. Make a counter offer within the 48-hour window. 5. Get malpractice, DEA, license, CME, PTO, etc written out and outlined. 6. Great base with decent schedule. Do they have expectations on office schedule or OR caseload? E.g., 30 patients each clinic. 7. Get a better understanding about 401k, vesting schedule, and match. 8. Is there a contract time? Non-compete? 9. Think twice about being a part of a practice that attorneys send their clients to... Maybe it's because you're going through a recruiter and they're finding a replacement for their tech so they're keeping hush, but something just doesn't feel right... This is your career, so you need to protect yourself. If they're not being reasonable, being vague, pressuring you, or being very demanding, imagine what the day-to-day might be or how they might handle an issue at the practice. Btw, it's important to find a good learning environment to start off in. Keep that in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cg02186 Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 1. Definitely get the tail included. WC cases often involve ligation and you need to CYA. 2. Get the call expectations outlined. 3. That's a lot for family ins but I have heard those figures before... 4. 48 hours is crap in my opinion, but then again time is money. Make a counter offer within the 48-hour window. 5. Get malpractice, DEA, license, CME, PTO, etc written out and outlined. 6. Great base with decent schedule. Do they have expectations on office schedule or OR caseload? E.g., 30 patients each clinic. 7. Get a better understanding about 401k, vesting schedule, and match. 8. Is there a contract time? Non-compete? 9. Think twice about being a part of a practice that attorneys send their clients to... Maybe it's because you're going through a recruiter and they're finding a replacement for their tech so they're keeping hush, but something just doesn't feel right... This is your career, so you need to protect yourself. If they're not being reasonable, being vague, pressuring you, or being very demanding, imagine what the day-to-day might be or how they might handle an issue at the practice. Btw, it's important to find a good learning environment to start off in. Keep that in mind. Thank you so much for your reply. I PMed you with additional information if you wouldn't mind looking at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airslant Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 It's sounds good but if it's not written down it didn't happen Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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