abreue2 Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Hey everyone :-/. I graduated earlier this summer and have just finished my first day at an internal medicine office--and boy, how OVERWHELMING my first day at the office was! On day one, I had a patient load of 30 pts in an 8 hour period (with several ending up as being no shows). I did not see all of them--my supervising physician helped me a lot with that, but I'm sure that I will soon be expected to handle more than 25 patients a day without help. My supervising physician also did her best to orient me to the office's electronic charting system--but I feel as though I need a lot more orienting. I hope that I continue seeing more patients, I will get more proficient in using e-charts. I'm just wondering if anyone else out there in the big world felt this way when they first started out. Is this normal? Your thoughts / comments / suggestions are much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMD16 Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 You will do just fine. It appears you had a good setup. Your SP was in the office with you and mentoring. He could have left the office and say to you I'm reachable by phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 You were overwhelmed with a schedule of about four pts/hr, on your first day, with a computer system you do not know, with staff who have never worked with you...and you want to know if it's normal to feel the way you do? Good God I hope it's normal to feel that way. Anyone who doesn't feel that way is either lying to themselves or oblivious to the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted September 10, 2013 Administrator Share Posted September 10, 2013 That still has a very much "thrown to the wolves" feel about it. Full schedule, no time for learning the EMR? Seems like a pointless exercise in futility. Have they ever broken in a new graduate PA before? Asking for you to take care of 30 patients in 8 hours, especially IM patients, is quite steep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrsmurf Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Way too much for the first day, as everyone has stated. What I would suggest is basically being your SP's scribe for at 2-3 days. This will help you get used to the EMR, see how the office flow works, and give you an idea how to approach your patients. A reasonable pt load for a new grad would be more like 10-15 pts in an 8 hr period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 10, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 10, 2013 Is there another provider on site besides you most days? you need to orient with someone for a few shifts. if solo coverage is the expectation right off the bat that isn't an ideal set up for success for a new grad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joane Bergen Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 That schedule would be overwhelming to any new grad. Are you the first PA that this particlar practice hired ? I am guessing yes. I remember my first 2 weeks in Primary care, the Doc reviewed every patient with me as the day went on. Initially you will be slow, but the training is necessary so that youo will have confidence and meet expectations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreue2 Posted September 10, 2013 Author Share Posted September 10, 2013 Thanks everyone for the responses. I will get back to everyone on how the rest of the week goes. To answer someone's question earlier: the practice has hired PAs before. I will be working with one of the them tomorrow, but I'm under the impression that we will be seeing our own patients. Wish me luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted September 10, 2013 Moderator Share Posted September 10, 2013 new grads should start at 8-12 patients a day.... scheduling 30 pts a day for a new grad shows one of two things 1-company is gready and doesnt care about patients (hope this is not the case) or 2) they have no idea what a new grad PA capability is...... you need to (must) get them to book 10 patients per day.... it is a known FACT that when rolling out a new EMR the provider productivity is about 50% you learning a new system is exactly this.... YOU MUST tell them you are unwilling/unable to see that patient load....... and hold firm on it... just some of the $$ and cents of it.... one job I had I worked 3 days a week, say 30 patients a day, tried to code correctly but did a lot of level 3 visits, and generated $240,000!!! in CASH for the practice - I was paid $80k...... If you are new grad they absolutly can afford for you to see only 12 or so patients a day while you get trainned and up to speed..... if they force 30 patients a day on you they are just evil greedy and not good people or practice!! I would STRONGLY encourage you to have a very frank discussion with them - TELLING them you will not see more then 12 or so patients a day and that by your math at $50/patient that more then pays for your salary and overhead. In the long run you can see yourself getting back to the 25+ patients a day but that you want to refine your medical knowledge, learn the office policies, the EMR, and settle into medicine the right way. I say that you have to do this ASAP as you need to resent the expecations a LOT lower rapidly - otherwise you are never going to meet their expectations and you will burn out. Maybe you can recomend that your doc talk to the program you graduated from about what is reasonable - sometimes doc's think that new grad pa are the same as a new doc that finished residency - which is not the case....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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