New Grad Hospitalist position

[corpsman89]

Hey guys, 

I am gearing to graduate in August and was recently offered a position as a hospitalist at the old hospital I used to work at. 

The hospital fairly small (49 beds), semi rural, NOT critical access.  Daily census is about 20-25 for entire hospital

I would be employed by a staffing agency, NOT the hospital itself. 

Here is what was offered:

Schedule/details: the usual 7 days on - 7 days off, 12 hour shifts. Would be working 7a - 7p. Would have fellow hospitalist (MD) there during the day. Recruiter said typically census is about 20-25 patients total, and we would be splitting those in half. Talked to MD hospitalist that I'd be working with and he said he wants me to "shadow" him for several weeks, and then slowly let me carry pts on my own. No real training period otherwise. We are required to cover the ICU. Would be responsible for admitting, carrying, and ultimately discharging patients. 

Salary: Contract states 10,920 per month, which is based on working 7 - 12's two times per month (168 hours). Makes sense to me. It's essentially $65/hr. If I work more than my designated 168 hours per month, I am paid $66/hr. 

They will be providing malpractice insurance, although contract doesn't explicitly state what kind. 

Benefits: Health insurance, that's basically it. 

NO CME $$, NO PTO or time off, No DEA $$, NO Retirement.

So my initials thoughts are: that's a lot of money for a new grad! However, the responsibility I would have is HUGE as a new grad and I am not sure I could handle it. I feel the pay somewhat makes up for the lack of other benefits, but still a bummer about no PTO (although I would still have 7 days off every other week), and no retirement. 

THoughts?

[ohiovolffemtp]

Two thoughts:

1. How well you do as a new PA will depend significantly on how you and the hospitalist work together.  Only you can assess how that relationship is likely to go.  It will probably take 2-3 years at least for you to get up your learning curve.
2. The lack of CME $ and retirement is a big issue. Don't know which staffing company, but in EM having a 401K match and some CME $ is standard.  Lack of PTO is common - you're expected to handle vacations by schedule adjustments.

[MediMike]

My math may be off but let's see...

If you're getting paid a monthly salary of $10,920 that's $131,040/yr

You'll be working 26 weeks out of the year w/ a 7o/7of schedule, that 2,184 hours.

Ends up being $60/hr. Which isn't bad. But tie absolute lack of benefits is ridiculous and absolutely unheard of for this type of position. If you were an independent contractor making maybe 30%-50% more? Sure. 

In regards to the remainder of the position, that is exactly how you should be starting off in a position. Graduated responsibility with strong backup. 

[corpsman89]

So I guess the reason for the lack of benefits is this used to be a 1099 position, but was recently (like this month) switched to a W-2 Position, to include health insurance, and malpractice. I guess they are planning on including other benefits in the future, but not right this second. You know how that goes...

 

 

 

[corpsman89]

UPDATE:

I made an issue about the lack of benefits (CME, 401k, LIc/DEA, etc) and they went ahead and raised monthly amount to 11,256 per month, based on 67/hr. Not the best solution given that the more you make the more they take, but at least it's something. 

I was reassured that the hospitlist whom I will work with will be giving me a reduced census in the beginning, and he understands that as a new grad I am not going to be able to keep up with more experienced providers. Overall, I am fairly happy about the position. It will give me a great experience, and is in the hospital I used to work at. 

[MiMtMePAC]

I too am looking at a hospitalist PA position. and curious about negotiating tactics specifically for loan reimbursement and hourly rates.

Recruiter I spoke with said PAs start at 48$/hr + incentives and generally everyone makes their incentives so they get their bonuses. Not quite sure how the incentives and bonuses work and would love to hear more about these if people have info. and i think the base pay should be higher, so im asking for assistance in how to work up that price probably closer to $55-60/hr. 

Also explained that they do a lump sum for student loan reimbursement. I dont know the numbers yet, but do I ask for the chance to negotiate this number over my career or determine if its a flat rate from the start? Just asking for ideas because this will be my first contract.

thanks for your help

[KevinMcCabe]

It's your first grad position and will give you extensive experience. You always better off to have something on your resume (especially related to your field). I would go for this position and will enjoy that rural environment. Because why not?

[ohiovolffemtp]

I'm in EM, but that's well below the hourly rate hospitalist PA's are making in SW Ohio, should be $65-70 hour.  Compensation is a very local issue, so the best data will come from folks working in that field in your area.  Recruiters get paid by filling positions, so they have a strong incentive to sell the position to you.