Being called in to work...

[yddub80]

I work in family medicine and I am paid salary with a productivity bonus. I was told when I was hired that the "lowest" quarterly bonus was $5k among all the other PAs that work here. Also that I would make extra money going to the nursing home and if I was called in on weekend because that is all extra work that does not have an overhead. Well, it turns out the overhead is huge here because the office is so large. Also, I find it very hard to believe that anyone is actually making $5k a quarter. I am on-call for back-up for the walk in clinic about one weekend a month. I work in the family medicine/ appointment clinic that is in the same building, but one of us has to be on back-up in case it gets really busy or if the PA working gets sick at the walk in clinic. Well, I have had to work 2 weekends over the last month. We do not get paid any extra to be availible or to be within 15min of office and we do not get paid extra if we are called in. The only way we would make money is by the productivity bonus. Well, I have worked here for 7 months so far and according to the numbers I am given I am still $40k away from even coming close to making a bonus. So, when I am called in to work extra on a weekend, it is essentially free labor. Not only am I working extra for no extra pay, I also am stuck to stay in the area one weekend a month and have a phone attached to me.

 

Does this seem right???

[marilynpac]

No, but you agreed to that(possibly unknowingly) when you signed on. They knew it, remember they are business besides being a medical practice and as a business you have to make a profit to stay in business. They're making their profit off of you, sad to say. I would approach the other PAs and ask about the 5k quarterly bonus, see what they say. If their getting their quarterly bonus, why not you. It sounds like you were either misinformed or just lied to. Before you approach admins about this I would talk privately to the other PAs. You may end up dusting off your resume. I would look at the original contract that you signed. If this was a word of mouth it comes down to he said, she said. Good luck!!!

[ventana]

sounds a little familiar

 

I am in a big FP clinic (mostly IM) and had to fight tooth and nail to get 84k

 

then they refused to say that 25 patients was enough - so they book upwards of 30 for me every day - these are all 'urgent care' pateints so I don't do any physicals or routine care. I presented my points and they insisted on me seeing the higher numbers - tried to explain that at 25 I can bill level 3 and 4 visits and make more money for the practice instead of seeing 27-30 where I am only addressing the urgent care complaint - it got me no where.

 

The managing partner obviously has an idea of what I do - I presented my counter points - they were ignored - I now do the job they asked me to but with out any extra effort - this is not vindictive, but instead just reality - I am not a partner, not paid on productivity and not listened to. So I work my hours - rarely stay late - bill a lot of level 2 visits and still will generate around 300k this year. Next year I will bring my #'s to them and tell them they need to do something diffrerently (if I last that long - doing a business plan to open my own practice). BTW the back up plan if they say no is just to go out on my own - then I can be the one worring about the rent and bills and how I am going to pay them - but should be able to make a higher salary and practice the way I want to.

 

Sometimes you just have to realize you are only a hired gun and act more like a factory worker then a physician....... that is as long as youdon't mind getting stepped on once in a while - but then you can simply walk away from work at the end of the day and never worry about it.

 

As for bonus - good luck, I have never had any luck getting this from a physician group - they are just to gready and don't realize the value we bring.....

[d2305]

I would touch up my cv and start looking for a new job.

[chatcat]

.

 

So, when I am called in to work extra on a weekend, it is essentially free labor. Not only am I working extra for no extra pay, I also am stuck to stay in the area one weekend a month and have a phone attached to me.

 

Does this seem right???

 

 

No it doesn't...and this isn't a good financial endeavor for you.

 

Just recently I was asked to provide PRN weekend occupational medicine coverage for a client and would only be compensated if my services were used. This was above and beyond the conditions specified in my current contract.

 

Here's the thing about PRN call....you can't go outside of a certain geographic area, any recreation/leisure/social plans really can't be 100% in case you might get called in and even having that 2nd glass of wine probably isn't a good idea just in case you have to get in the car. I'm not about to donate my leisure time without compensation. If an employer requires my professional services with any type of obligation it comes with a price tag....period.

 

Personally, any type of call comes with a BIG $$$ price tag.(In my case,I made it clear...no free PRN services would be provided by this clinician.)

 

In your situation, you could be in an environment where your contract has the expectation of call as part of your salary ( do go over it and see how PRN call is covered) or you could be working for folks who just make it impossible to make that bonus regardless of how many hours you work. If you otherwise like your job then find a solution...otherwise , get the resume out.

[yddub80]

As far as a bonus goes....I do believe that some PAs make a bonus, but I don't believe it is 5k every 3 months. Some of the PAs go to multiple nursing homes and do other outside work, so I cannot compare it to what I do. I do go to one nursing home though. I know one of the PAs mentioned getting around $500, which is lot lower than $5k. Also, they told me that the bonuses were 5k-12k a quarter, 5k being the LOW end. It's hard to ask the PAs a whole lot, especially since a couple are related to the physicians that work here. Also, I do not ever see them, we work in different parts of the building.

 

 

 

Here's the thing about PRN call....you can't go outside of a certain geographic area, any recreation/leisure/social plans really can't be 100% in case you might get called in and even having that 2nd glass of wine probably isn't a good idea just in case you have to get in the car. I'm not about to donate my leisure time without compensation. If an employer requires my professional services with any type of obligation it comes with a price tag....period.

 

Personally, any type of call comes with a BIG $$$ price tag.(In my case,I made it clear...no free PRN services would be provided by this clinician.)

 

.

 

ALSO, I am on-call for "medical advice" for one week out of the month. When this happens I have to answer every call after hours & on weekends when patients call. I get calls like "my BP is high, what should I do?" in the middle of the night! I don't get tons of calls, but somedays it gets crazy, especially on weekends. They tell me they HAVE to have a PA availible on phone for the patients due to insurance reasons. I have never heard of anything like this before! I also don't get paid extra for this.

 

However, I did know all this in advance. The only real disappointment is that I thought I would be making a bonus, so the coming in on a weekend didn't sound so horrible at the time when I signed contract.