New grad Offer NYC Surgical Specialty Hospital - Advice

[NewGradPANYC]

I received an offer at a large private academic hospital in NYC. This is my first job out of PA school. In their offer letter they only wrote the hourly rate, department and language indicating day shift in a surgical specialty. I asked for all the terms of employment and benefits promised to me verbally to be written in the offer. The hospital said they will not change the offer letter, it is a standard offer letter they give to everyone and that I should just trust that they will follow through on everything they are verbally promising me because this is how they do things and they cannot individualize every offer letter they give.

There were some inconsistencies between what was verbally told to me on the day of the interview about work site and shifts they were hiring for, paid time to complete orientation/credentialing and overtime pay and what the HR rep said on the phone after I was given the offer. When I tried clarifying these inconsistencies with both the person I spoke to on the day of the interview and HR I was told I was originally in a lower pay grade but now HR put me in a higher pay grade so everything I was told I would get on the day of the interview, I will get. It just sounds fishy to me because I was offered a lower salary on the day of the interview with more benefits and high OT pay, but then I received the offer letter from HR with a salary that was $13k higher but was promised less benefits and no OT pay so the pay grade shouldn't have made a difference. I was actually in a higher pay grade when HR talked to me. Also when I confirmed with admin later whether I would be paid for orientation and get OT pay, he said what they are giving me is standard across the hospital and what every PA gets. But after I received the offer, HR said I would not get paid for orientation or OT- if all PAs get this because it is standardized there should be consistency. Admin later told me an even higher OT hourly pay rate than what was originally promised to me on the day of the interview. If it was standard, there should be no inconsistencies every time I talk to someone or the same person and ask the same question.

I also spoke with a PA who works in the same department at the hospital who said his offer letter was bare also and only included the information I had in mine, but he signed and has received all the benefits promised to him so far. He has been working there less than a year though so he still hasn't been able to collect his retirement contribution after one year or take advantage of CME reimbursement. He said he rarely has to do overtime.

Here is the offer:

$52.81 hourly as an exempt employee (this is confusing as I am under the impression I should be non-exempt since I am paid hourly and in order to be guaranteed OT at a higher hourly rate)

$84/hr for OT

8 hour day shift, M-F, no call, nights, or weekends 

8% retirement contribution after a one year waiting period with a 3 year vesting period (no match)

8 paid holidays (I will be working until 8pm on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve)

29 PTO with 5 days that carry over (includes vacation and sick days, can only take vacation 2 weeks max at a time, was told it will be difficult to get vacation PTO during the summer because that is when all the physicians/senior PAs take their vacation)

$2,400 CME and an additional 5 days PTO for CME

Employer paid malpractice, life, disability and workers compensation insurance

Pre-tax health savings account (copays, deductible etc) and transportation savings account (public transportation and parking fees only)

Employer subsidized health, dental and vision insurance (I would pay $2,730 annually pre-tax for health, dental, and vision for just myself- I would have to stay within the hospital network to have $0 copays and deductible but will get charged a $50 copay for urgent care and $150 copay for ER visit even if I use the hospital network - in network but outside the hospital and close to my home the copay and deductibles are too expensive)

DEA license fee reimbursement and JAAPA subscription (I asked for AAPA member fee instead of JAAPA subscription in order to get a significant discount on the AAPA conference fee and still get JAAPA and was told no by admin- but I am still going to fight for it bc it is cheaper for the hospital overall to pay for the AAPA member fee vs JAAPA)

Admin said no to state license and PANCE certification/recertification reimbursement on the day of the interview 

I can be terminated without cause or advanced notice because NY is an "at will" state 

1% raise every year, no bonuses

The offer letter with minimal information and inconsistencies between what was told to me verbally on the day of the interview vs HR rep seem like red flags. Is this standard practice for a large academic private hospital in NYC? I have other offer letters from private practices for the same salary offered by the hospital and they are very detailed and consistent in terms of what was told to me verbally showing up on paper which is why the issues I am having with this large hospital is concerning. I also personally know a PA who used to work at the same hospital but quit after a year because she was promised a differential if she switched from day shift to night shift but never signed an updated agreement. After 8 months of working night shift while getting paid a day rate and the run around from HR, she was finally told they would not be paying her the differential because they are only required to pay her what she signed for in the original agreement and she can't switch back to day shift because that position was filled. She basically got tricked into switching to do nights for the same pay as day. I know other PAs at another large academic private hospital in NYC who received detailed offer letters outlining the terms of their employment with benefits. 

What do you think? Are there red flags or is this normal for NYC? My gut tells me I should not trust them and even if it is standard for them not to put more details in their offer letter, I should go work for a different hospital that will give me an offer letter that clearly defines the terms of my employment and benefits I will get. I'm just afraid this may be the best deal I get in terms of overall package with benefits. But if I don't get the benefits, then I am better off taking an offer from a private clinic for the same salary but less benefits.

Edited July 4, 2019 by NewGradPANYC

[Callisto]

I think the offer is solid for a new grad in NYC (based on my experience from offers I got from NYC). The big problem is that it’s verbal (and the inconsistencies). Personally, I would go with the other offers unless this is the specialty of your dream, in which case I would take it to gain experience and move on if you don’t get what you were offered. Good luck. I hope you get some input from more seasoned PAs.

[NewGradPANYC]

1 hour ago, Callisto said:

I think the offer is solid for a new grad in NYC (based on my experience from offers I got from NYC). The big problem is that it’s verbal (and the inconsistencies). Personally, I would go with the other offers unless this is the specialty of your dream, in which case I would take it to gain experience and move on if you don’t get what you were offered. Good luck. I hope you get some input from more seasoned PAs.

Did the offer letters you received from a hospital in/near NYC have more information than mine? Mine just has hourly rate, full time day shift in the department and wording that my probationary period will be 3 or 6 months. No mention of benefits, malpractice insurance, CME, retirement contribution, OT pay, guaranteed raise, paid holidays, DEA reimbursement etc.

Edited July 3, 2019 by NewGradPANYC