ksmith10 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I am currently reviewing a letter of employment for the first PA position I have been offered and wanted to know if this is something that other people have run across. The terms mention a 90 day probationary period followed by an initial performance review at 6 months and again at 12 months, then annually thereafter. Is this standard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco714 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 What I had, sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksmith10 Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 What I had, sure. Did you receive any more of an explanation than that regarding what exactly this entails? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco714 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Not really honestly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 I am in a new position. I do not have a probationary period in my contract. My employer is an at will employer so I could be let go for any reason at any time. However during orientation the Area Medical director of the organization outlined how they ensure success of their new hires. After 30 days I meet with her to discuss how it is going. What needs do I have? Am I happy with the position? What can they do to help? After 90 days another meeting to talk about satisfaction, metrics, patient flow, what can they do to ensure I have a successful practice? Then again another check up at 6 months. By then I will have some idea of patient satisfaction scores, better idea of my metrics, any concerns I have. Finally, a one year evaluation and review of my and my practice. We have annual reviews after that. Actually it sounds reasonable to me and they assure me that they want each provider to be happy and satisfied with their positions. I live in a rural area and know how hard it has been to recruit physicians, PAs and NPs up here in the north. My new employer wants to keep us happy (or so they say). Leverage the 90 days for all it's worth and learn your system, be the best PA you can be and develop a patient following (if you are in an office position). Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksmith10 Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 I will be in a rural area, too. It's an "FQHC look-alike" facility, for what that's worth. I am wondering if my benefits will not kick in until after 90 days...I hope this will not be the case. And thank you very much for the response! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 @ksmith10 If you are in an FQHC look-alike facility check out if you can get a fee exempt DEA license. I had one when I worked at an FQHC. The rules are listed on a side-bar when you log in to apply for the license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksmith10 Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 @ksmith10 If you are in an FQHC look-alike facility check out if you can get a fee exempt DEA license. I had one when I worked at an FQHC. The rules are listed on a side-bar when you log in to apply for the license. I'm in a state that requires me to practice for 12 months before I can apply, but based on the research I have done so far since reading your comment, it looks like I will be eligible for this fee exemption. Thank you so very much for the tip! My former classmates who have taken jobs in other states where they were immediately able to apply for a DEA license have all had to pay out of pocket for it themselves, so this is a huge deal. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrothers98 Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I am currently reviewing a letter of employment for the first PA position I have been offered and wanted to know if this is something that other people have run across. The terms mention a 90 day probationary period followed by an initial performance review at 6 months and again at 12 months, then annually thereafter. Is this standard? This could mean many things including determining quickly if you are a good fit or not. But it also provides structure. You need to directly query your potential employer what will occur within this structure. Nothing wrong with asking questions about this now vs after you sign an agreement. It could just be a formality that all employees there undergo or as Paula pointed out in her situation, actual goals and standards that are evaluated and provide metrics on. I'm in a state that requires me to practice for 12 months before I can apply, but based on the research I have done so far since reading your comment, it looks like I will be eligible for this fee exemption. Thank you so very much for the tip! My former classmates who have taken jobs in other states where they were immediately able to apply for a DEA license have all had to pay out of pocket for it themselves, so this is a huge deal. Thanks again! Your classmates have to be better negotiators or more cognizant of what their professional lives will entail. In the heat of the job search, dont forget asking an employer to pay all reasonable fees including licensure costs is not unrealistic. But one does not get what one does not ask for. Employers will love to hire you and leverage your lower salary in comparison to a physician to make money. They also may or may not be totally forthcoming with what they will provide as an entire compensation package, leaving it to an applicant to clarify what they expect vs listing what they are willing to provide. AAPA.org has a general outline for this. On the site go to Careers>Interviewing and Contracts>Negotiating Your Contract. Can also obtain a salary profile, 15-17% of PAs report licensing fees NOT paid for by employer including DEA either directly or through 'professional development allowance'. So your classmates are in the minority. Good luck G Brothers PA-C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Are you in Kentucky? Too bad about the DEA restrictions but it will give you a year of experience learning about pain, anxiety, insomnia and to find treatment plans that do not include the controlled substances for such conditions. Patients will avoid you who are drug seekers until they know you can prescribe controlled substances. It will give you time to know what meds are controlled. I did not realize Lyrica was a schedule V until I prescribed it for a patient with fibromyalgia and was doing research on it! I agree with GB: Ask questions before you sign the contract. 90 days is a long time to wait for health insurance to kick in. My insurance started the first of the following month after my start date so I started end of Feb purposely and insurance kicked in March 1st. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksmith10 Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 gbrothers --- Thanks so much for the response. You are right, I think the desperation of being a new grad may be leading to this in some cases, as well as some unwillingness on the part of larger institutions to negotiate benefits, so I feel like one potential upside to my restriction is that I will have time to try to convince them to pay for the DEA license if it's something they want me to have. I feel like if they want me to have it, they will have to approach me about it and it will make it fairly easy to bring up the fact that it's $731 and my CME allowance really isn't enough to take on that kind of burden. Paula --- I'm in AL. Very true that it will force me to explore other treatment options, particularly as there will not always be a physician directly on site to write for things that I can't. I hadn't yet considered the fact that some patients will avoid me because of this, but you are right, and I can't say I'll be sad to not have them on my panel. I will probably keep the information to myself about the 1-year period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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