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Miserable first job - Outpt vs. Inpt


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There are a few related posts for this topic, but none that really match the advice I am looking for. Please help!

 

I'm less than 7 months into my first job as an Outpatient provider in a very specific sub-specialty. The company I work for requires manager approval for internal transfer prior to 1 year's service, and i signed a 2 year sign-on bonus requiring me to stay within the hospital system (which has many hospitals to chose from, this is not really part of the big issue)

 

However, I am already on a level 7 of 10 pain scale of intolerability with this current position. Plain and simple, I am not meant for outpatient (really thought I was). Half of what I am doing is clerical BS, and the level of back office drama/passive aggressiveness/nit picking among non-clinical staff is staggering and constantly in direct proximity of myself and other providers.... prior auths, calling insurance companies, replying to every single lab result, chasing down results from outside entities, and, at risk of sounding pretentious, other misc. tasks that someone with a GED could perform, i.e. very under-utilized/under-stimulated. Not mentally challenging. I could go on, but I have real reasons to leave. 

 

I would LOVE to be in inpatient hospitalist or specialty. However, no jobs available like that right now in the system.

 

question is, how miserable do i have to get to risk asking manager for approval for transfer,  considering i find another position to apply to before 1 yr? I am afraid to set a precedent for the rest of my career by having my first job always show as "8-9 months" on my resume....but this year mark is 7 months away! :(

 

I know I am wasting both my and the clinic's time, but i also have gotten literally 50/50 answers from other/older PA's i have asked about this issue

 

please help!

 

 

PS: advice on how to deal with or approach the above "reasons to leave" as far as non-clinical staff, if i end up riding it out for a year?

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Don't waste more time. If you're in the wrong place and you've given it several months, it's time to take action within your scope of contract.

 

I think you should try to work it out with your supervisor and then move on to another job if it can't be worked out.

 

Pretty much everyone had a similar thing happen at least once in their lives.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

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My Chief Petty Officer always says, "Perspective is everything."  I perform my duties in a medical practice for 8 years. I was a phlebotomist and loathed my work. I was former paramedic and this was way below my job class. The tasks where mundane, boring and sucked. I hated it for years. The factor that changed me and will always impact the way I think about the mundane work or clerical BS as you have expressed is the patient population. 

 

I made the difference for the patient and staff and didn't know it until I went away for a few weeks. Then, my patient population and staff expressed how they had missed me. I held to my professionalism and ethical character as long as I worked for this practice. My company and the practice soon discharge the contractual agreement for corporate business reason, so, I lost my position. I was ready for the change. I am glad I hung in there, The staff, physicians and patients will always give me a goods reference. 

 

Hang in there, you're building a great reputation for someone who can stand the malarchy and mundane work! Search hard for what you want to do and don't be tempted by sign on bonuses.

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Work is a four letter word

 

It pretty much stinks everywhere as anew grad

 

Most new grads grow discontent and move on

 

I would NOT move with less then one year - there is still a TON to learn, and in spite of your negative thoughts I think you are confusing disliking a work place versus a speciality...

 

At the one year mark, make and appointment with HR for a transfer, but not before....

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I'm on Team Stick it out.  During that 50% of time not doing scut work, take what you need out of that place - do complicated workups, ask questions, and learn what you can to achieve your goal of getting out of there with experience that will help you land your next gig. 

 

Think about what your reference would say in 7 months.  "always asking me questions, showed interest in learning more..."

 

Speaking of scut work, compared to other providers, are they doing the same?  You are only doing this for your own patients, right?  How much of this is the office staff or someone else's job?  It's common to hear stories of new grads being sat down at a desk to become the dumping ground and then others suddenly can leave early...

 

I was on a rotation when the office manager attempted to give the PA a big pile of the other provider's chart work as the provider was "busy seeing patients".  She said "So am I...so I'll take care of this", and tossed the folders on the other provider's desk.  "I have a couple patients waiting...anything else?"

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I agree with the "stick it out".  You are concentrating on the negatives only.  OK you don't like out patient medicine.  You are a new provider.  You are still learning medicine.  Do your job and begin looking for what you think you may like next.  Even that might not be the perfect fit.  Just be sure you are getting the respect you deserve as a provider.

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I'm less than 7 months into my first job as an Outpatient provider in a very specific sub-specialty.

 

Plain and simple, I am not meant for outpatient (really thought I was). Half of what I am doing is clerical BS, and the level of back office drama/passive aggressiveness/nit picking among non-clinical staff is staggering and constantly in direct proximity of myself and other providers.... prior auths, calling insurance companies, replying to every single lab result, chasing down results from outside entities, and, at risk of sounding pretentious, other misc. tasks that someone with a GED could perform, i.e. very under-utilized/under-stimulated. Not mentally challenging.

 

I would LOVE to be in inpatient hospitalist or specialty. However, no jobs available like that right now in the system.

 

PS: advice on how to deal with or approach the above "reasons to leave" as far as non-clinical staff, if i end up riding it out for a year?

Agree with the other "stick it outers."

 

Discuss with the powers that be that you're doing all that scut work, which is not billable and a waste of your expensive time. Estimate how much more productive/profitable you might be eliminating some/most of it. Use objectivity when discussing this, e.g., you get paid $50/h to sit on the phone while they could pay a MA $15/h. Suggest adding another support staff to help you and others with these mundane, nonbillable tasks. Are other providers doing the same amount?

 

Regarding back office drama, what's new. Get to work, do your job and then go home. Don't let yourself get involved. Make the best out of your current position. Meanwhile, start looking into what you might want to switch to once a position does open. You may just get what you ask for, so be sure that you're ready.

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I am also on the "stick it out" boat.  I had a similar situation at my first job.  The drama and pettiness were overwhelming.  It is what it is.  Outpatient medicine also comes with clerical BS...it's just the nature of the beast.  As long as you are learning and growing as a new grad PA, then I would stay for the year.  Use this time to really figure out what type of inpatient medicine you want.  Go to conferences, earn CME in different fields.  Then in a year, go to a job that you know you will love. 

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I'm also in the 'stick it out' boat as long as it's not a toxic place. Office gossip and run-of-the-mill paperwork is the nature of the beast for most positions. My first gig was one that I absolutely despised. I ended up doing just under 11 months. I left a month early from my goal of the one year mark only because an opportunity came up that I wanted to make sure didn't pass me by. There's something to be said about ironing out the new PA skills that only comes with experience. Also, when you're pulling in a steady paycheck, you're in a position to pick and choose what your next role will be. You risk jumping into another position that you may possibly not enjoy if you rush into it. Stay with it, make a good impression and network like crazy until you find what you're looking for.

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Listen, you arent the only new grad who hates their job. Hell I'm a 5 year PA and more often than not, I hate my job. 

 

While I'm not usually an advocate of sticking it out in a miserable position, consider that you can make things worse by jumping ship too soon. What's worse, staying in a good-paying job that you hate until the right opportunity comes up, or leaving out of frustration and finding yourself in an even worse situation (they exist), or perhaps even jobless with an asterisk on your CV? If you can make it to 1 year, do so.

 

Also understand that while you are doing an unusual amount of clerical work for a PA, scut is the norm in many positions. You think office scut is bad? Try being the new grad on a surgical or inpatient team. Then you will wish for some mindless office scut.

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Not a PA.

As someone who's hired professionals I would prefer to see a year versus seven months.  It's the difference in them asking "Why'd they leave after six months?" versus "Why'd they leave after a year?...well at least they gave it a chance"

Office politics are office politics and they don't go away no matter what profession you're in.  If it's an office and there are people working there then office politics will be played.  Watch The Office and start to recognize your office staff in the show's characters...makes the time go by AND sometimes gives you an edge on how to deal with them.

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What a mixed bag of responses. All of them have validity. I would emphasize a few things. Be direct with your supervisor. Explain your goals to him so that he understands your motivation, ambition and capabilities. Explain respectfully and tactfully to your supervisor that this assignment is inconsistent with your motivation, ambition and capabilities. Ask your supervisor how he or she could be of assistance in reshaping the current assignment into something more palatable. If you reach a point where your supervisor clearly doesn't want to help or more likely is unable to help, tell the supervisor that despite the fact that you are very disappointed, inform him or her that you will seek out a more appropriate assignment. At the end of every conversation with your supervisor, thank him or her for the continued support and reassure him or her that you will continue to perform your level best with your patients and your current responsibilities. Show yourself to be a class act even if the HR, the supervisor or system isn't. You will be surprised how that comes back to reward you. 

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Stick it out.  Start exploring other options.  Remind yourself you're not actually stuck there long term.  Heck in 2 more months you can give your 3 month notice.  I remember how great it felt when I did that when I worked in the ER.  It was amazing though how much more I enjoyed those last 3 months.  Do what you can to learn.  Remember that there is crap work with every job and the grass isn't always greener.  That said, you should explore until you find the right fit.  It took me several job changes before I found the right fit for me.

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I'm also in the 'stick it out' boat as long as it's not a toxic place

 

and if it is? Terrible. I left a position that I felt did not fit me, and honestly it was the backstabbing between APP/Providers that was the final straw. There was one doc that had it out for PAs and as one of the other MDs said "when he gets it in his mind, you have a target on your back and he won't quit until you leave". So leave I did. I gave my professional 90 days notice, and they took me off the schedule 2 weeks later. I know that the majority of the job was okay, but that part was untenable for me. The worst part was I had moved for this position, and left the most amazing group of MD's and a system I adored back in CO. Still breaks my heart- it was not a move I wanted at all. But, even though I got a sign on bonus in the place of moving expenses, and was supposed to stay a year, my exit interview was significant and had enough evidence that there was not a fair working environment that I did not have to pay that back at all. So, in some ways, I got paid for an additional month of work. ;) 

 

The perk? I got a job paying better, with better benes and has a system in place for OT hours. I likely burnt bridges, which I have never done, but my mental health was far more important.   

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