Meg Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 I appreciate the comments and validation. Actually the lack of MA support is only the icing on the cake when it comes to how bad things are. Unlike the surgeons, I don’t have the luxury of doing my charting, dictations and returning pt calls during those precious minutes while patients are being roomed (because I am rooming them) and I end up staying late and working on wknds just to catch up. I have not received a raise or bonus in 3 years and my salary is in the lowest 10th percentile for PAs in my area according to survey data. I am required to take 1 wknd of call per month w/o pay and I am required to use my personal cell phone to take those calls (w/o reimbursement). I have 10 days of vacation per year which amounts to negative 14 days when you factor in call and I pay $400 each month for health insurance with a $10,000 deductible. I don’t know why I have stayed with this job so long. I am not the assertive type and I really love surgery. I guess I was hoping that my SPs had some shred of integrity and would eventually come through for me but I think they are too busy thinking about what color their next Porsche will be. I think I have reached my breaking point and it’s definitely time to leave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joelseff Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 i would tell em to *** my kiss!!! I'm in a somewhat similar situation which is why I am leaving after 3 mos!!! Meg, Leave!!! (Like what we used to say in the Navy) "Do it. Do it NOW!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFarnsworth Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 OK here's my 2 cents: If the idea in the practice is that you are not on the same level as the docs, and you are expected to room your own patients because you are "just" the PA, leave that job. In my FP practice, the doc and other PAs will room their own patients if things are crazy busy and none of us have a problem with it. In urgent care, none of the providers room their patients EVER. The onus is on the RNs and LVNs and if things are backed up because of them then it's their issue and their manager deals with it. It sounds like you are getting short changed in other areas and that's not cool. But if it comes down to it, and you have to room a patient once in a while, then I see no problem with that. I've seen my SP change the table paper and do all the things that the MAs do, so I can't justify not helping out when need be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesscbv Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Leave for youself AND for other PAs to follow for whom you are setting a precedent. It would be one thing if the Docs roomed their own patients as well, or if you were allowed extra time during your day because you roomed your own patients. But what you are experiencing seems to be because the Docs want to show you who's boss. They don't understand what a valuable asset they have in a PA. It's not helping the business, you, or the patients. (Just my $.02...I'm not a PA!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x98peterson Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Calculate it this way, it costs them $80 a day for an MA, you could see 4 extra patients a day AT LEAST by having an MA, so you would generate $300 more dollars, with a net of $220 a day, or up to $57,000 more a year! It adds up! We have an "office expense" account that my office keeps, it includes a arbitrary rent and MA expenses, if I fall below this, they take it out of my paycheck... lets just say- that has never happened! And I am always 90% above that amount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittryn Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 I appreciate the comments and validation. Actually the lack of MA support is only the icing on the cake when it comes to how bad things are. Unlike the surgeons, I don’t have the luxury of doing my charting, dictations and returning pt calls during those precious minutes while patients are being roomed (because I am rooming them) and I end up staying late and working on wknds just to catch up. I have not received a raise or bonus in 3 years and my salary is in the lowest 10th percentile for PAs in my area according to survey data. I am required to take 1 wknd of call per month w/o pay and I am required to use my personal cell phone to take those calls (w/o reimbursement). I have 10 days of vacation per year which amounts to negative 14 days when you factor in call and I pay $400 each month for health insurance with a $10,000 deductible.I don’t know why I have stayed with this job so long. I am not the assertive type and I really love surgery. I guess I was hoping that my SPs had some shred of integrity and would eventually come through for me but I think they are too busy thinking about what color their next Porsche will be. I think I have reached my breaking point and it’s definitely time to leave! oh, dear, that is so absolutely appalling! and I love your comment about them only having to decide what color their next porsche is going to be, so true!! it is really unreal when you calculate the numbers they are making in the OR while you bust your *** in clinic, and then they gripe about pay. this is actually a HUGE issue to me. this is the one that really matters. medicine is huge big business now and everyone wants to get more for themselves at someone else's expense, just like all the other crappy corporations robbing the middle class these days. is this a private practice or is this a hospital-based practice? if it's private, or a LLC kind of thing, you betcha they want to nickel-and-dime you. it pays for their vacation homes and golf holidays. if it's a hospital, the op managers will hassle you over productivity and make sure you're double -> quadruple booked. the docs generate revenue in the OR for the hospital and get great salaries and great benefits. they don't really care what deal we get. they just want to do their work and go home, just like us. the bottom line is that people at the top are always going to be asking for someone below them to sacrifice more so they can keep what they have, and get more. I just left a job (actually, laid off, hallelujah!) b/c the surgeon I worked for just did not value me, didn't like me, didn't like my independence, and mostly, resented that I spoke up and pressed him to honor the contract we made and agreed on TOGETHER, at the time of my hire, and which HE SIGNED...he actually had the stones to say, "oh, contracts are meant to be broken, that's what my wife (a lawyer and his practice manager) does all day!". good grief! well, sorry dude, but that's not why I asked you to put in writing and sign our agreement. he and his wife hassled me every month about my hours, my pay, even 2-3 lousy hours OT (allowed in my contract, signed by him) when my day (and documenting) got pushed out covering UC walk-ins and teaching his bubble-headed NP how to evaluate surgical patients (she didn't have a clue). he would try to manipulate me by saying, "we're FAM-ily here" (well, put me in your will and then I'll think about whether or not you're my family, but in the meantime my REAL family lives 15 miles away, and I'm here to bring money back to them. not pay for your kids' private school tuition). I was never so glad to be laid off in my life. some of these clowns have got it made in the shade. you are right, many do not have a clue how much PAs allow them to make and how cheaply they can get us for hire (compared to another doc, esp another partner). and most of us, all we want is a decent salary and benefits with some job security and a decent retirement so we can raise our families. there are some really good ones out there, but docs are a privileged class, and I think many want to keep it that way... hold your head high. do the math, and make sure YOU know exactly how much you are actually making (per hour, after all your out of pocket), how much you are saving them, and that they know exactly why you are leaving (if you choose to do so). don't put up with any crap, there's tons of jobs out there for an experienced PA like you! ..and good luck. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittryn Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 ps you never know, if you do the math and show it to them on paper (a carefully composed and polite email is best; it's a permanent record showing that you addressed the matter as well their reply), they might give you better so as not to lose you. but I wold make them give WAAAAY better!!! as I said, big issue to me...sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d2305 Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 When we are busy, I'll not only room the patients, but put them in the computer. I don't know how to work the credit card machine, however. After being a corpsman, it's all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qkwan Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 The ortho doc I work for part-time considers provider's time so valuable that we are expected to delegate to the MAs as much as possible. They prepare injections, write prescriptions, pull up xrays, etc. I only started there 3 months ago and a couple of times I have started to do something and he has told me that I need to delegate because my job is to diagnose and treat patients, anything less is an inappropriate use of my time. Unbelievable to me how night and day this is to your situation. I think he might go overboard a little, but I'm glad it's in this direction and not the direction of your SPs!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceNWndrlnd Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I've been and MA, and the Physicians and PA's were treated the same. We roomed the patient the same way, regardless of the clinicians degree. However (when we got busy {we were understaffed too}) the clinicians (PA, MD, DO) would clean the room, or take the pt and send them back for vitals after the eval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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