Guest ERCat Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Hey, guys. Looking for jobs has been harder than expected... I've been looking in ER and UC for months in my town and have come up with nothing. I stumbled upon a private practice urgent care I was impressed with (super swanky) and sent in my resume. They interviewed me, and they were super nice and professional. There is a family practice on the other side of the clinic and they recruit many of the UC patients into the family practice... They also always have at least one provider on (NP or MD) so I would never be alone. They're HUGE on customer service and seem to have high standards for care. But. I got the offer. And I was thinking "Huh?" A lot of things seemed to be missing and I am going to clarify those things tomorrow but so far here is the info I have. Salary: 85K (originally mentioned 85-90); I will have to train for 4-6 weeks or until I am deemed ready and during that time my pay would be based on a 70K a year salary (ugh ... But at least it should only be a short time) ... Reviews will be made at 90 days, 6 months and 1 year (he said he gave "really good raises" for his good providers) Schedule: scheduled 36 hours a week but "salary is based full time, so plan to work 40" -- to allow extra time for charting and what not (varied shifts, they try to give a 3 day weekend every other week) Malpractice: "malpractice covered" is what it said, no mention of what type Medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance: "covered" -- again no detail of what this means 401K once I hit my "probationary period" which I assume is a few months -- again no detail of what kind of 401K Vacation: 1 week for the first year after I hit 6 months; then 2 weeks after my first year No mention of sick days No mention at all of CME account or PTO for CME :-( -- will ask about this Will cover DEA/NPI This was all the information I was given. I realize you guys going to rip this apart… maybe it won't be so bad when I get some of my questions answered. I will post tomorrow or whenever I get more details. I guess my concern is… Why all of the missing details? He seems like a really nice, honest businessman and it seems that he treats his employees really well. So I guess I'm a little perplexed as to why this offer was so vague. I am pretty sure he has only hired nurse practitioners before. He has only been in business for three years so maybe he just doesn't know? I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. I guess I'm not really understanding why he would send me a "offer" that leaves so many questions unanswered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted July 10, 2015 Moderator Share Posted July 10, 2015 overall probably ok, but I always wince when I see "training pay" no other places do this outside of private docs trying to save a few bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlottew Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Re: training pay - large academic medical center critical care service, hires new grads with 'training pay' for probation/training period (3 months). It's 80% of regular pay. So, not just private practices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted July 11, 2015 Moderator Share Posted July 11, 2015 must be an east coast thing. I don't know anyone who would agree to that on the west coast. it's nonexistent as a concept out here. full pay and bennies from day 1 or no deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlottew Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 We get full bennies right away (eg. during probation). The justification for the training pay is that we don't fill slots on the schedule (we're paired with someone), and we don't bill, hence the lower pay. It's OK. wrt the original poster - if you think it's a position you're potentially interested in, express your interest and get the offer in writing. Ask for details if they're not provided. Try to talk to the other NP/PA's in the practice, see how they are treated, if they are happy working there. That should give you a pretty good idea of what the job will be like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAnewgrad50 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 1 week of vacation the first year? 2 weeks of vacation the second year? That seems like a really small amount of vacation time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted July 11, 2015 Moderator Share Posted July 11, 2015 We get full bennies right away (eg. during probation). The justification for the training pay is that we don't fill slots on the schedule (we're paired with someone), and we don't bill, hence the lower pay. It's OK. wrt the original poster - if you think it's a position you're potentially interested in, express your interest and get the offer in writing. Ask for details if they're not provided. Try to talk to the other NP/PA's in the practice, see how they are treated, if they are happy working there. That should give you a pretty good idea of what the job will be like. do you think a new doc on the service would accept 80% pay for 3 months while they learned the ropes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 do you think a new doc on the service would accept 80% pay for 3 months while they learned the ropes? Bingo. Sent from my SHIELD Tablet using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlottew Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 >do you think a new doc on the service would accept 80% pay for 3 months while they learned the ropes? lol, they're called residents. We work alongside them (and help them along/teach them). And they do have reduced pay, and longer hours. I know my PA school education did not teach me a lot of the things I need to know for critical care - I didn't want to do a PA residency, so this is an acceptable compromise, from my point of view. YMMV, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted July 12, 2015 Moderator Share Posted July 12, 2015 I didn't mean residents, I meant a new attending from another facility who didn't know the computer system, how to order a consult, where the central line kits are, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlottew Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Right, what I'm trying to say is that as a new PA grad I feel I can handle primary care, but I don't know the basics of critical care, including vent management, pressors, empiric Abx coverage of hospital acquired infections, fluid management and diuresis, sepsis management, insulin drips, putting in central lines, etc etc etc. Learning how to enter orders, how to order consults, where stuff is - sure, you can learn that in a few days. Management of ICU patients though, takes longer to learn. Maybe it's a deficiency of my particular PA education? (that's the YMMV part). If I were taking a primary care or even a fast-track ED/urgent care job just out of school, sure of course I would demand full salary right away, but that's not the case here. It's also true that my particular employer is trying to cut costs, and putting new hires on training salaries is one way to save a little $$. It also impresses on the trainees that they are a 'lesser' status, and need to apply themselves to learn the basics, before they're given full responsibilities (we have a didactic program for trainees too, with readings and evaluations). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ERCat Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I am on the west coast and I agree the training salary is stupid. Yes, if I was in an inpatient or ER environment, or I would have a lot to learn, I could understand a training salary, though. But for urgent care? He said it would only involve me following someone around for 4 to 6 weeks but what if it takes longer? It's just kind of an annoying thing... I'm going to get more details on Monday and I will post them here. I am definitely going to negotiate. And is the vacation really that low? I mean, to me it seems ridiculous but I don't know what is out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I received 4 weeks first year which includes any CME time off, and when I start my second year it is 8 weeks, which will include CME time off too. THis is my fourth full time job and best time off. My previous job was 4 weeks a year, plus 2 weeks CME, (however new administrator changed it to 4 weeks vacation plus 1 week CME and decreased CME pay during my last round of negotiations from $4000 to $2500). When I was strictly UC provider working ten 12 hours days I got no vacation and the 3 of us who ran the UC had to take our time off by covering each other, and we were salaried. We got $3000 CME per year. I can't remember what I got for my first job....I think they let me off whenever I needed CME and paid for it....tribal clinic....they had no set policies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 The whole training salary concept is BS. Do a real residency/fellowship if you are going to be paid less. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlottew Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 The whole training salary concept is BS. Do a real residency/fellowship if you are going to be paid less. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Sorry, I beg to differ - 3 months at 80% salary versus 12 months at 60% salary and 70 hours/week oh plus I have to relocate - no thanks, I'll take the training salary. I won't be as robust a provider when I start on full salary, but I'll keep learning - and at 40-50 hrs/week, it will be do-able for me. Not everyone can do a residency - I already put my family through enough with 2 years of school - as I said, YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted July 12, 2015 Moderator Share Posted July 12, 2015 Right, what I'm trying to say is that as a new PA grad I feel I can handle primary care, Wow, thats impressive!! Seriously PC is one of the HARDEST to do...... don't think it is easy or that it is all sniffles, ST and some lipitor or metformin once in a while..... A new grad has no idea what they are doing, and that is okay, but don't for a second think you could handle primary care.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlottew Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Wow, thats impressive!! Sarcasm on the internet - how original! OK point taken. What I mean is, and maybe you will agree, your standard PA school education teaches you about primary care. Yes, a new grad is a new grad, yes there is still a ton to learn, but at least as a new grad I could maybe get through a typical PC visit without soiling myself. I don't feel the same way about a new grad and critical care - the patients are by definition pretty ill, and as a new grad I have no idea where to start with their management. As with many internet disputes, this one is about not getting one's meaning across clearly. I certainly didn't mean to belittle the expertise of an seasoned primary care clinician - just wanted to point out that PA school at least shows you the basics of primary care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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