chevyy Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Thought I found an exciting job opportunity: favorite specialty, close to home. However I got hesitant after the initial interview because the job description sounds vague to me. I was told I will be the only PA of the private practice working with several physicians; primarily make rounds in the hospital and see clinic patients but will be asked to do whatever is needed. I further inquired any on-call or weekend schedule and the answer is duties as directed by physician. I am not sure what does this mean? Occasional or pretty often? I still want to ask them the clarify this issue but on the other side I am afraid to lose a possible good opportunity by doing this. How should I approach them appropriately without annoying them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAdmission Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Ask for a written job description. If they can't come up with one, they don't have their act together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcool Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I agree with CJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted April 25, 2012 Moderator Share Posted April 25, 2012 oh man be really careful they are looking to increase their quality of life and decrease yours CALL HAS TO BE PAID - I suggest 1/4 a days pay for a week night call and 1/2 days pay for weekend call - for telephone only call - - - If you have to go in should be an 1.5 hourly rate Might be a great opportunity Really think long and hard about what you need to be happy for the next 5-10 years as this is likely your only chance to get it (coming from experience small doc groups freally dislike doing annual reviews or giving raises) If you are experienced and basically can hit the ground running and seeing just as many patients as a Doc then you need to be paid just a little bit less then a doc. Productivity is great but if they are making you a scut monkey your producitivity is going to stink. I would make sure to have a full and detailed job description and don't try to be mr nice guy to get hired. Might even consult an attorney to make sure you are covered. This advice is just my expereience that small doc groups are just looking to 1)make a lot of money off you 2) give you all the scut work - the only way to avoid this is to be upfront with them and act just like a doc would in a job inteview and process. as far as pay - if a doc would do the job for $140-160k per year you should be at $120 if you are fully trained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMiller Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Thought I found an exciting job opportunity: favorite specialty, close to home. However I got hesitant after the initial interview because the job description sounds vague to me. I was told I will be the only PA of the private practice working with several physicians; primarily make rounds in the hospital and see clinic patients but will be asked to do whatever is needed. I further inquired any on-call or weekend schedule and the answer is duties as directed by physician. I am not sure what does this mean? Occasional or pretty often? I still want to ask them the clarify this issue but on the other side I am afraid to lose a possible good opportunity by doing this. How should I approach them appropriately without annoying them? This is a potential career, not a personal favor. Ask everything you need to know before you sign on. Get it in writing so that they can't come back and say differently later. Don't be blinded by the positives now, and get burned later when you realize you hate the job or they are taking advantage of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAdmission Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I blame everything on lawyers. Tell them your uncle is a lawyer and he agreed to look over your contract and job description. (If they are like a lot of groups, this will probably send them scurrying to "LegalZoom" to create a contract.) I think many physicians are not maliacious in cases like this (though some are). Mostly they are just dumb. They think they are the smartest segment of society and that they automatically know everything about everything, including legal matters, running a business, etc. Introduce a legal review into the situation and it will be less of a Mickey Mouse process. Make sure you meet all the docs, too. I worked for a group of docs and one of them was frankly sub-human. During the interview process, they zipped me through meeting him in about 5 minutes. In hindsight, this shud have been a red flag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevyy Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 Thanks everyone for your great advice. Actually I am a new grad. They wanted an experienced PA but gave me an interview anyway and then told me that they seriously considered me as a candidate, which kind of surprised me. The IV supposed to be about one hour long but they let me wait for about one half hour and rushed the IV into about 20 mins. By the way, they used their lunch break to IV me. Don’t know how to interpret all these…Is this usual way that a busy practice recruits a PA? I admit that this opportunity looks really appealing to me…but I need to think it out before making a commitment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAdmission Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 The other issue is that your first job out of school might not be the love of your life. You might go, work like a dog for a couple of years to cut your teeth, and then you can basically write your own ticket. They take some risk in hiring a new grad, so there has to be some give and take. Also, always ask if they ever had a PA. If it seems like their is a lot of turnover, it might be an issue. If they never had one before, you can also expect some lumps as they learn how to best use you. They also might be completely ignorant on PA state laws - it is up to you to watch your back on this one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted April 25, 2012 Moderator Share Posted April 25, 2012 Thanks everyone for your great advice. Actually I am a new grad. They wanted an experienced PA but gave me an interview anyway and then told me that they seriously considered me as a candidate, which kind of surprised me. The IV supposed to be about one hour long but they let me wait for about one half hour and rushed the IV into about 20 mins. By the way, they used their lunch break to IV me. Don’t know how to interpret all these…Is this usual way that a busy practice recruits a PA? I admit that this opportunity looks really appealing to me…but I need to think it out before making a commitment. wow first job out....... I would be VERY leary of anything that could co as badly as this could go You WILL need a lot of training and hand holding in the first 1-2 years and they have to know this. Tell them you are the same as a 1rst year resident and will need the same amount of oversight. sounds like it might not be a great fit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMiller Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Like CJA stated, this is a first job--things may not be perfect, but if you like the location and the practice type, go for it. Just make sure they put your job description, hours, pay, etc. in writing before you hire on. As for being fit in for an interview on their lunch hour...that's not the way I've ever seen interviews go down, but you might be the first person they've interviewed. If you felt like you were an after-thought at the interview, you may get more of the same as an employee. It could also simply be that they really want to interview you, but got busier than they initally thought and had to expedite things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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