Warning about agency work!

[Mike377]

When applying for agency or locums work, PROTECT YOURSELF!! I got burned by a PA-owned agency and I know many other PAs who suffered the same fate... negotiations that break down, hospitals that drag their feet with credentialing and/or decide to hire someone who applied directly and wiggle out of the agency contract.... The list goes on. Then the practitioner is left without a new job after they gave notice at, or already left, their previous job.

Here is my advise for anyone who is thinking about agency work. DO NOT give notice with your current employer until ALL THREE criteria are met:

1) You have a signed offer/ work agreement from the agency (this is obvious).

2) The signed agreement has a start date that is “31 days after privileges are approved”. 

3) You have written proof that your privileges have been OFFICIALLY APPROVED. 

#2 is not standard, but I would INSIST on it. The agency will give you a calendar start date (that only protects them), but will not tie it to your privileges except that “privilege approval is a requirement for employment”. Again, that only gives the agency and the hospital/clinic a way out of the agreement. Insisting on #2 will PROTECT YOU! That gives you time to give a 30  day notice to your current employer so you can leave on good terms and have a solid future job commitment.

The hospital or clinic can weasel-out if the agreement at the last minute by not giving you privileges if they decide to hire someone else (ie., a direct applicant who is cheaper) or they decide not to fill the position for any reason. If you tell the agency that you won’t start until 31 days AFTER your privileges are approved, you will protect yourself against a last-minute change that can leave you without a job.

It happened to me after 32 years of solid work experience, so don’t think you are special to them in any way.

I welcome your responses.

[Cideous]

This is very very very....common.  

[SedRate]

16 hours ago, Cideous said:

This is very very very....common.  

This is incredibly disheartening. Where has the honor gone? 

[Cideous]

Honor has nothing to do with it.  They have one job...plug you or anyone into that slot so they can get paid.  It's about money, lots of green money.  I have worked with several agencies and they are all mostly incompetent at best, and downright devious at worst.  One agency wasn't paying me for work I did.  They said I was not going to be paid until they were which might take months.  I threatened to post in all caps on every social media platform and every provider board that they were deadbeats and did not pay in the two weeks they promised.  They finally relented.  Then they screwed up my 1099 tax report.  Nightmare.

[camoman1234]

I worked agency in the past and had great experience with the 1 company I worked for. This is a n=1, but they are not all bad. 

[PsychiatricPA]

Please go to glassdoor, indeed and write your review. I think this is a great way to let others know about these companies. 

[weezianna]

Yes, agency work seems to have drastically changed since when I last worked locums in 2011.

I  just "retired" from the federal system (VA) with the intention of working locums.  I have found that instead of any personalized interaction, I am getting calls from what sounds like frantic recruiters in a boilerroom, rushing to get someone, anyone, hired for a position before someone else places a candidate.  Others that I have spoken with on the phone are offering very low salaries, and if you ask for a bit more, they just move on until they get the lowball offer - more profit for them and better chance at placement.   Some of the larger agencies,  whom I have worked with before, will call and then disappear.  The competition between agencies is fierce, and it seems like there are a lot more candidates.  I get a feeling that to get work you have to accept lower salaries than you would get in the private sector.  I have over 20 years experience as a PA and a solid resume, and so far I'm getting $55-58/hr 1099 which I think is pretty low. 

Sorry for late replay to this thread, but I just found myself back in this game.

[camoman1234]

13 hours ago, weezianna said:

Yes, agency work seems to have drastically changed since when I last worked locums in 2011.

I  just "retired" from the federal system (VA) with the intention of working locums.  I have found that instead of any personalized interaction, I am getting calls from what sounds like frantic recruiters in a boilerroom, rushing to get someone, anyone, hired for a position before someone else places a candidate.  Others that I have spoken with on the phone are offering very low salaries, and if you ask for a bit more, they just move on until they get the lowball offer - more profit for them and better chance at placement.   Some of the larger agencies,  whom I have worked with before, will call and then disappear.  The competition between agencies is fierce, and it seems like there are a lot more candidates.  I get a feeling that to get work you have to accept lower salaries than you would get in the private sector.  I have over 20 years experience as a PA and a solid resume, and so far I'm getting $55-58/hr 1099 which I think is pretty low. 

Sorry for late replay to this thread, but I just found myself back in this game.

What? $55-$59/hr 1099? That is terrible for a new grad. I live in a very low COL and I would not even work that. I have worked 1099 jobs now for > 2 years and get paid around ~$175/hr, I have 4 years as a PA. After taxes you are making in the $40's with 20 years experience.... terrible...please do all PAs a favor and quit this job and let them know why. Some recruiter is making lots of money off you. 

[sas5814]

Recruiters take a contract with someone at a pre-agreed rate. The less they pay you the more they make. I used to get garbage offers all the time and I would inevitably get "I'll ask the employer but I don't think we can get them to agree to that much" which is total BS. The rate is set and the contract is signed and they are just trying to screw me.

there are a handful of good locums companies out there but scads of bad ones who will put you anywhere for crap pay. I had one try to get me to take a gig with a neurosurgeon....I have never been within 100 miles of neurosurgery before.

[weezianna]

4 hours ago, camoman1234 said:

What? $55-$59/hr 1099? That is terrible for a new grad. I live in a very low COL and I would not even work that. I have worked 1099 jobs now for > 2 years and get paid around ~$175/hr, I have 4 years as a PA. After taxes you are making in the $40's with 20 years experience.... terrible...please do all PAs a favor and quit this job and let them know why. Some recruiter is making lots of money off you. 

Hey, camoman, I did NOT take that job and do a disservice to "all PAs".  Let me tell you though, I lost a job offer because a PA DID take it for $55/hr 1099.  I doubt you are making $175/hr in  a primary care gig and assume you are in a very specialized area.  NO ONE around here in NC, who is working primary care, is making that kind of money.  

Agencies have a set amount of money in the pot from their contracts and pay salaries, travel, housing allowances  as well as their profit from that pile of money.  Obviously the less they pay the PA the better it is for them. 

[camoman1234]

2 minutes ago, weezianna said:

Hey, camoman, I did NOT take that job and do a disservice to "all PAs".  Let me tell you though, I lost a job offer because a PA DID take it for $55/hr 1099.  I doubt you are making $175/hr in  a primary care gig and assume you are in a very specialized area.  NO ONE around here in NC, who is working primary care, is making that kind of money.  

Agencies have a set amount of money in the pot from their contracts and pay salaries, travel, housing allowances  as well as their profit from that pile of money.  Obviously the less they pay the PA the better it is for them. 

I have over 20 years experience as a PA and a solid resume, and so far I'm getting $55-58/hr 1099 which I think is pretty low.  I misunderstood your comment on ", and so far I'm getting $55-58/hr", I thought you meant that is what you were getting paid. Now I understand you meant job offer. 

I work in rural family medicine in a town of 600 hundred and no other clinic 15+ miles and no hospital in 1 hour radius. I am not making $175/hr 1099 at my primary job, I make $94K last year working around 32-35 hrs/week. I work the 1099 job on the side doing DBQs for the VA and yes I take home after taxes ~$130/hr. I made $31K last year and paid about 8-10K in taxes with little work on the side (the job is easy). 

[weezianna]

I am a former C & P examiner with the VA and I know the DBQ thing well.  The more you do, the more you get paid.  Actually, am thinking of getting back into that as a contractor as I know the ropes.

 

BTW, here's the latest locums offer:  military base primary care, $52/hr WITHOUT HOUSING or $40/hr +$12.50/hr housing allowance.  It's not good out there.

[camoman1234]

2 hours ago, weezianna said:

I am a former C & P examiner with the VA and I know the DBQ thing well.  The more you do, the more you get paid.  Actually, am thinking of getting back into that as a contractor as I know the ropes.

 

BTW, here's the latest locums offer:  military base primary care, $52/hr WITHOUT HOUSING or $40/hr +$12.50/hr housing allowance.  It's not good out there.

The fort down the road is offering $55/hr full time W-2 which is really good around my neck of the woods (lower mid west). The offer is not good at all. The DBQs are the way to go!

[1234]

Unfortunately, I can confirm much of the above in regards to the current situation with agency work.  Even though I do not have as much experience as some of the above providers there seems to be a lack of positions, and the pay is ridiculously low for what is available.  Why would I work locums for the same amount as I could locally (or less)?  Incredibly disheartening.  

And I agree with the OP, make sure you get everything in writing, and protect YOURSELF because no one else will do it for you.  Read those contracts, and yes you can request changes be made to the contract before signing.  

Finally, know your worth!!!  Don't sell yourself short!

[sas5814]

I went through the vendors hall today at the AAPA convention and spoke to a few of the agencies there. I explained the concerns many have expressed including me. They all said "we would never do that." 

I chewed my cheek and said "great!" and asked what they had that paid (what I am paid now by my employer along with a good benefits package) and was told over and over "for primary care? Nobody pays that!"

So the above advice is wise and true... know your worth, don't let them mess you around, get everything in writing.

[camoman1234]

12 hours ago, sas5814 said:

I went through the vendors hall today at the AAPA convention and spoke to a few of the agencies there. I explained the concerns many have expressed including me. They all said "we would never do that." 

I chewed my cheek and said "great!" and asked what they had that paid (what I am paid now by my employer along with a good benefits package) and was told over and over "for primary care? Nobody pays that!"

So the above advice is wise and true... know your worth, don't let them mess you around, get everything in writing.

They are just lie and cheat don't they? They are in it for the money and since they didn't go to PA school they don't understand. Screw them, Scott is right, stand up for ourselves so we can be a strong group of PAs and not run over/out smarted by these head hunters. If we all said NO for their low pay then they would not have a job.... Thanks Scott for your time at the AAPA convention. I appreciate it and enjoyed hearing you talk via the web. 

[weezianna]

Recently, saw some locums positions that I thought would be a good fit, and was told that previously I had requested too high an hourly rate, as the jobs were up for bid and generally the candidates taking the lowest amount were selected, regardless of experience.

It seems to me that jobs are not as plentiful as a few years ago, and there are midlevels taking very low salaries.  Local urgent cares are paying more per hour.

I have a pending contract with an agency, and will be looking at it with a magnifying glass.