Thoughts on asking for a raise.

[Rbnz]

1.5 years out of school. Signed on for 96K a year doing general, ortho and OB/GYN surgery. When not in the OR or helping the surgeons I am in family clinic seeing pts and or the wound clinic. I actively see pts in all areas. I also was taking 50/50 call coverage for surgery. My fellow PA just left which leaves me with almost all the call each month. I am paid hourly at 47 an hour. I actively see pts in each area, sometimes daily. I feel justified in asking for a raise because I am covering so many areas of medicine. This past year I averaged about 3000 hours of call time and worked on average 50-60 hours a week. I do not get paid overtime pay as I am salary exempt. So this past year I made about 140K, but that was working my A off.

 

Thoughts on asking for a raise. The only reason I made that much was due to the amount of call I took and the hours I worked. I feel since I am being asked to cover all these areas and essentially saving them money I should be up in the 55 an hour range.

 

Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks.  

[camoman1234]

That is a lot of time on call and average for surgery hours. 96K base it not that great (even for me for the hours you put in and I am in one of the lowest paid areas in the US). I would definitely ask for a raise/compensation. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place cause they lost the other PA so I would have a sit down and have convo with surgeon and manager. You definitely need a raise soon! 

[TWR]

To answer this or many other questions requires a little more transparency such as what city and state do you practice in?  When asking for a raise, always come to the table prepared to let them know why you think you deserve one.  Always plead your case to the highest authority so you get a more expedient answer.  Number are important. ($$$$).  I am not a big believer in what AAPA survey says as the answers are subjective.  More important to me would be to state why I deserve the raise and what you can do for them dollar wise.  If you have good reviews and work as hard as you say, they should listen.  Also in your case you should jockey for less hours and have a life with more money.  Otherwise you will burn out after a couple of years or less.  It sounds like you have a good argument for more money.