Being taken advantage of

[WorkingPA10]

I’ve worked at my current OBGYN office for 9 years. When I started 9 years ago, I was expected to see 10 pts in the AM and 10 in the PM. I was accustomed to seeing 15-20 pts per day (9-4:30). Our revenue was reviewed with us last year and I was told I bring in approximately 3x my salary with those numbers. Fast forward to this year...I’m now expected to have 30+ pts on my schedule. So a 50% increase. We do have some no shows, but not always. Last week I had 19 pts on my schedule between 9 and 12. They all showed. I had to turn 3 away and I worked through most of my lunch. I am having anxiety attacks and crying at work once a week. I’ve talked with my boss about bonuses, a raise, or capping my number of pts. I was told no bonuses, no raise, and that my patients could be capped, but that has not been followed through. 2 out of the 4 midlevels in our practice have quit, but I haven’t been able to find another job yet. Tomorrow my work week starts again and I’m having severe anxiety about this. I told my boss this weekend that I have to go down to 3 days per week because I cannot work like this. I want to quit so badly, but I’m afraid that I won’t be able to find another job with a gap in employment on my resume. Any advice? Something has got to give. What would you do?

Edited September 22, 2019 by WorkingPA10

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

Gaps won’t keep you from being employed at this stage. You can use any rationale under the sun to explain time away, i.e.-caring for a sick family member like I needed to do for a year and a half. What you have to decide is which anxious state is worse; being unemployed with a mental break from work, or being employed with income with mental stress?

 

[WorkingPA10]

My husband tells me to quit. He makes good money, and we’d be fine for a little while on his income alone and our savings. But I worry I won’t find something else. This stress is coming into my home life at this point. I’m hoping 3 days per week helps until I find an alternative position. But I’m fearful I may have to bite the bullet and resign.

[thinkertdm]

37 minutes ago, WorkingPA10 said:

My husband tells me to quit. He makes good money, and we’d be fine for a little while on his income alone and our savings. But I worry I won’t find something else. This stress is coming into my home life at this point. I’m hoping 3 days per week helps until I find an alternative position. But I’m fearful I may have to bite the bullet and resign.

The easiest thing to explain is the gap...a close family member is in trouble.  You need to help.  They don’t need to ask any more.  If they say “who” just politely let them know it’s none of their business.

Self care.  

[WorkingPA10]

Agreed. I do have a 3 year old and a 10 month old that I would love to be home with for a few months. But the fear of being without a job longer than I can scares me.

Edited September 22, 2019 by WorkingPA10

[Reality Check 2]

You are being treated as an income mill. It is wrong.

There is zero quality in medicine with 19 pets in 3.5 hours. ZERO

Bad things will happen.

Quit now, don’t be a doormat. Be honest but not rude.

You will have a better chance of a new job when you are rested and mentally healthy with a desire to see patients.

And now you KNOW exactly what questions and requirements you have for a new job.

RUN and don’t look back. Life is too short.

[pa-wannabe]

1 hour ago, Reality Check 2 said:

You are being treated as an income mill. It is wrong.

There is zero quality in medicine with 19 pets in 3.5 hours. ZERO

Bad things will happen.

Quit now, don’t be a doormat. Be honest but not rude.

You will have a better chance of a new job when you are rested and mentally healthy with a desire to see patients.

And now you KNOW exactly what questions and requirements you have for a new job.

RUN and don’t look back. Life is too short.

I agree wholeheartedly. I, too, have been in a position that sent me into a nervous breakdown due to overbooking and endless admin tasks, and I do not regret resigning. You are a seasoned provider; it sounds like you've given more than many in your position would. You've tried. It isn't you, it's the large medical group using you up and spitting you out.

 

I'd love to think that if all providers in these overworked positions quit, higher ups would get it through their money-green skulls that quantity over quality is never a good business model, especially in a field where the consumer (because they're not seen as patients) literally lives or dies, thrives or flounders, based on the quality of care they receive. But someone desperate or clueless enough will come along to scoop up your job if you decide to leave. They'll stay for maybe a year or two, before the system chews them up and spits them out and the cycle begins anew.

 

Again, run. You're worth more. And you are the only person who can truly preserve your mental health. The panic attacks aren't worth it. Leave and take that time to hit the reset button. You'll know the red flags to look for with the next employer and the right questions to ask in an interviee to make sure you don't end up in another healthcare mill.

Edited September 22, 2019 by pa-wannabe
Typos

[WorkingPA10]

Pa-wannabe, 

Did you resign without another job lined up, or did you have one in place? 

Edited September 22, 2019 by WorkingPA10

[pa-wannabe]

20 minutes ago, WorkingPA10 said:

Pa-wannabe, 

Did you resign without another job lined up, or did you have one in place? 

Without one in place, though I'd begun to look. It took about three months until I was hired, five months total with the start date.

[WorkingPA10]

I was offered a job about a month ago. It pays slightly less than my current job. I turned it down in hopes that the promises my current job was giving me would hold up. I’m strongly considering calling them tomorrow and asking for another chance. Do you think I’m wasting my time? Ugh. 

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

What else can they say but “no”?

[rev ronin]

I'm going to say something very important and thoroughly politically incorrect.  Understand it anyways, even if you choose to reject the advice:

Stop behaving like a woman.  Act like a man.

That is to say, stop being concerned with pleasing people, maintaining harmony, and using indirect approaches.  Start by using demands, data, and brinksmanship without trying to be nice about it at all.

Practice saying this, or something similar: "You're going to start paying me $10/hour more as of this minute, or I'm walking"

If the answer is anything other than "yes" or "OK" ignore it, interrupt and walk out while saying,

"It's $20/hour now. You know where to find me if you change your mind"  and LEAVE.

Mind you, you need to do what is required by a contract, so do that.

If you think you can't do that, mock interview the raise conversation with your husband or someone else you trust.  If they catch you saying "I'm sorry", "Please", "I've been loyal...", or anything of the sort, they should stop you and make you do it all over again.

You are a PROFESSIONAL.  You CARE FOR PEOPLE, and YOU MAKE MONEY for the organization.  Don't beg.  Don't grovel.  Two other midlevels have left, so you have them over a barrel.  Use it, ESPECIALLY if your family financial situation is stable enough you can walk away.

DO not be a doormat.  Do not let your employer treat you like a doormat just because you lack a Y chromosome.

[CAdamsPAC]

4 hours ago, WorkingPA10 said:

My husband tells me to quit. He makes good money, and we’d be fine for a little while on his income alone and our savings. But I worry I won’t find something else. This stress is coming into my home life at this point. I’m hoping 3 days per week helps until I find an alternative position. But I’m fearful I may have to bite the bullet and resign.

No job is worth destroying you home life and sanity. Many employers see and treat us as cogs in a machine and push to the limits of tolerance. When you break they will just replace you with another cog! You should listen to your heart and your husband, and do what's best for you. There will always be other jobs.

[Marinejiujitsu]

There are plenty of jobs out there; don't be a door mat.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[sas5814]

if you have an out take it. Many people find themselves in this kind of horrible situation and have no out. Feeling helpless is the worst part. Take Rev's advice, shape it to your purpose, and do it. No job is worth the kind of emotional anguish you are describing.

I am in a  lessor but similar position right now. I work for a faith base organization and was recently called on the carpet for saying this is my job and not my purpose in life. I asked who amonst  my accusers were working for free. Point made but I'm still skating on  the razor's edge for not being a team player.

there are a lot of bad jobs out there. There are a lot of good ones too.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

45 minutes ago, sas5814 said:

there are a lot of bad jobs out there. There are a lot of good ones too.

I've got to say it one last time...only if you don't have a BS.

[WeBuyAndSellJunk]

It is easy for me to think about the past and how I should have left my job years before I did, but it is simply the case that hindsight is 20/20. This is totally a you call. I think that I probably could have done well unemployed, but I suspect that everyone would just need to weigh the current stress they are under versus the stress they would expect to have without an (2nd) income. I think what you are seeing with these responses on the forum is a population that knows how awful that day-to-day grind can be in a subpar or seemingly abusive situation. I do think that there are far less good jobs floating around, but maybe that is my slightly pessimistic view of medicine spilling over. I don't think/doubt it is much better as a physician. 

[ventana]

If you don’t need the job.....

demand, yes demand, a meeting with clinic manger and medical supervision.

state that you will not see more then 2.5 patients per hour ..... period.    

 

This is is what you were hired for, what you can and will do to deliver good care and if they do not allow this to happen hand them a resignation letter on the spot.

 

screw these bean counters and non medical people treating us like widget manufacture.  Just simply say no.   If they state you are in contract tell them that you are in contract for what you were hired for, not the stupidly high productivity you are rejecting.  

 

Hold you head high, dress and act professional, and quit on the spot if they do not meet your requests.  You can not redo this so make sure you have ALL demands in one concise form.....ie cme, PTO, max patients per day.

 

if they accept your resignation but state you have X weeks of work still say fine, work you pace that is safe and leave on time.  This means they will have to cancel patients but this is their problem not yours.