PAs who have been furloughed

[kbnEMPA]

I am a new-grad-ish. Started working for an Emergency Department for a few months, then Covid hit. Low census lead to reconsiderations, and eventually me being furloughed in the process. Everything happened very fast. I am concerned because I only have a few months of experience, now trying to apply for jobs that require 1+ year(s) experience. PA profession has been one of the fastest growing professions, yet, we are seeing PAs being furloughed left and right. I have never thought I would be in this situation. And I feel anxious and worrisome moving forward trying to apply for jobs. 

[MoneyManPA]

kbnEMPA, I am sorry to hear that happened to you. Especially after getting an ED gig early in your carreer. Did you work for a staffing company like TeamHealth or the actual hospital? Have you considered telehealth options? Though I work in ED and UC in person mostly, we are doing more telehealth in UC now and its quite easy and expected to grow like wildfire in the future. 

[ohiovolffemtp]

For those in EM, I wouldn't panic just yet.  Volumes are already starting to come back.  Folks with chronic conditions are still having exacerbations and now they're worse - they'll be in.  I'm already seeing the lower acuity patients start to return and others are too.  Once things "re-open", even more will come back.  There's a good chance you'll be called back.

However, it's a good idea to take this as a learning opportunity.  ED volumes have been trending down.  Fewer patients means fewer provider hours are needed.  TeamHealth, Envision, and USACS - the major national staffing co's are all owned by venture capital firms.  So, they're going to continue to cut where-ever they can.  Most of them had already cut hours and in some cases compensation and/or benefits like CME allowances prior to COVID-19.  You're best safety net is to be credentialed with more than 1 employer and at more than 1 hospital - preferably in different hospital systems.  It's easy to go from PT to FT or the reverse - because it doesn't require the 2-3 month delay of credentialing.

[bobuddy]

On 4/26/2020 at 8:12 AM, MoneyManPA said:

 

“Yes- Krucial Staffing was sending people to  New Orleans and NYC.   They are currently looking for a few APP’s to go to Chicago.   They have a FB page and if you follow it they will announce when they are going to do the next round of deployments and the location.  The deployments are for 21 days straight- 12 hour shifts.   You don’t get to choose if you are nights or days and from what I am reading from people there- you are bussed to your location so the shifts are more like 14-15 hours long by the time you get back to your hotel.   I seriously considered signing up but didn’t.   Yet.“
 

bobuddy, where are you reading about the folks working for Krucial Staffing? I read that linked article about the nurses and NPs and agree with Hope2PA. It would be  intimidating not having adequate PPE, but with regard to the type of work, they did sign up to work in a disaster zone. I have also been on travel and locum assignments where things are not what one might expect. They are hiring you on because they are in a pinch, hence paying handsomely. They aren’t hiring you on with stellar pay to do wellness checks and talk about the news and sports with patients.
 

What are other folks doing about pay cuts and furlough? Are you just riding it out? Are you seeking locum work?

If you are on FB - there are two FB groups - one is Krucial COVID-19 NP's and PA group and another is COVID deployment with Krucial.   I am following both of them.   Myself and others have asked questions but there are little to no responses with specific details but you get a general view of what is going on there.      However, most of the sites are now cancelling contracts as they are past the surge and the need for staffing is going down.     

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by bobuddy

[bobuddy]

I just got approved through the VA Medical Center for one of their 120 day temporary jobs in the ER.     I do not have an official start date yet, and no idea of hours but it is something while my FP clinic tries to figure out when to allow furloughed APP's to return.     I figure that the FP clinic  - when allowed - will bring us back part time for awhile  - so I might as well have several options on where to make money for the time being.     That being said - I am nervous about going to the ER from FP - I have not been in the ER for over 21 years so this will be a big learning curve for me.     Any good boot camp type study guides out there to help blow the cobwebs out of my brain?

[DarwinStarwin]

I just got approved through the VA Medical Center for one of their 120 day temporary jobs in the ER.     I do not have an official start date yet, and no idea of hours but it is something while my FP clinic tries to figure out when to allow furloughed APP's to return.     I figure that the FP clinic  - when allowed - will bring us back part time for awhile  - so I might as well have several options on where to make money for the time being.     That being said - I am nervous about going to the ER from FP - I have not been in the ER for over 21 years so this will be a big learning curve for me.     Any good boot camp type study guides out there to help blow the cobwebs out of my brain?

Its not a boot camp but Life In The Fast Lane is a good blog and I believe they might have a podcast as well. Lots of quick n dirty info.

[MoneyManPA]

wikem.org is a great free resource run by the UCLA ED. I called it my pocket attending as every time I went to my attendings over the past few years they just looked up my question here. It is a lot faster and to the point than uptodate.

[ohiovolffemtp]

Bobuddy,

A free subscription to Medscape is very helpful.  Also, join SEMPA.  One of the membership benefits is free access to the EM Bootcamp videos.

[Mayamom]

Good for you for pursuing other avenues.  I am currently taking the on line MAT training in case my job is eliminated.  

[bobuddy]

53 minutes ago, Mayamom said:

Good for you for pursuing other avenues.  I am currently taking the on line MAT training in case my job is eliminated.  

KY just got prescriptive authority for controlled substances so I will be doing MAT training also.    

Thanks to the others with helpful info - I will be joining SEMPA.    Even though the VA is a temp 120 day job - either I will love it and have other options open up to me or I will hate it and it ends in 120 days.  Trying to have a positive outlook.     

The FP clinic called and will have me back for 9 days in May - but only approved to be there when one of the docs is out of the office - and hourly pay.   And who knows - with some restrictions being relaxed - they may furlough me again.....   No guarantees of anything at this point.    

[MT2PA]

On 4/26/2020 at 11:28 AM, Cideous said:

 

Malpractice attorneys are licking their chops right now.

My system is 'surge planning' and I am ADAMANT that I am not qualified to cover inpatient in any capacity (outpatient specialty since graduation) and I'd rather be furloughed than thrown into a situation where I spend every day wondering when the lawsuit will come.

It's a gross situation and I'm expecting reduced hours but hoping it's brief.  

[bobuddy]

21 minutes ago, MT2PA said:

My system is 'surge planning' and I am ADAMANT that I am not qualified to cover inpatient in any capacity (outpatient specialty since graduation) and I'd rather be furloughed than thrown into a situation where I spend every day wondering when the lawsuit will come.

It's a gross situation and I'm expecting reduced hours but hoping it's brief.  

Furlough WITH health insurance covered is one thing - but furloughed without it is entirely another.    The last thing you want is to be furloughed and lose your health insurance in the middle of a pandemic.  This is not to say that you should be happy to be sent to cover inpatient - but just another example of the cluster --- that is COVID.   

[VictorOfHungerGames]

On 4/27/2020 at 9:29 AM, kbnEMPA said:

I am a new-grad-ish. Started working for an Emergency Department for a few months, then Covid hit. Low census lead to reconsiderations, and eventually me being furloughed in the process. Everything happened very fast. I am concerned because I only have a few months of experience, now trying to apply for jobs that require 1+ year(s) experience. PA profession has been one of the fastest growing professions, yet, we are seeing PAs being furloughed left and right. I have never thought I would be in this situation. And I feel anxious and worrisome moving forward trying to apply for jobs. 

With covid19, why are ED staff being furloughed? Wouldn't they be needed the most? Wasn't this supposed to overwhelm our health care system...?

[AbeTheBabe]

1 hour ago, VictorOfHungerGames said:

With covid19, why are ED staff being furloughed? Wouldn't they be needed the most? Wasn't this supposed to overwhelm our health care system...?

We have been in lockdown to prevent overwhelming the system. Also, people with dumb issues are not going to the ED. People with bad issues are scared to go and contract COVID, some are dying at home. Even some with COVID.

[kmash]

On 4/29/2020 at 8:08 AM, VictorOfHungerGames said:

With covid19, why are ED staff being furloughed? Wouldn't they be needed the most? Wasn't this supposed to overwhelm our health care system...?

It's because overall, ED volumes are significantly down.  I was supposed to start in the ED as a new grad, but the director told me they need to postpone until volumes come back up.  They were typically seeing 180 patients per day and now it's down to 80-100.  True, people with lower acuity complaints aren't coming in, but the other problem is that people with high acuity problems have been afraid to come in and they have been putting off issues until it's too late.  So they're been getting higher mortality rates from MIs and strokes because people have been waiting to come in.  They are unsure when the volumes will come back up, but I'm kind of optimistic it will happen in the next few months.  This same thing is happening to my classmates in all specialities.

[kbnEMPA]

On 4/29/2020 at 10:08 AM, VictorOfHungerGames said:

With covid19, why are ED staff being furloughed? Wouldn't they be needed the most? Wasn't this supposed to overwhelm our health care system...?

Our ER sees about 250+ patients a day. However, since the Covid outbreak, our volume decreased by 40%. They had to cut back on hours.

[kbnEMPA]

On 4/27/2020 at 9:55 AM, MoneyManPA said:

kbnEMPA, I am sorry to hear that happened to you. Especially after getting an ED gig early in your carreer. Did you work for a staffing company like TeamHealth or the actual hospital? Have you considered telehealth options? Though I work in ED and UC in person mostly, we are doing more telehealth in UC now and its quite easy and expected to grow like wildfire in the future. 

Thank you. It sucks because I was slowly getting the gist of being an ED midlevel. I did work for a staffing company, thats why a reduced number in patients was such a big deal to them. I am considering all opportunities tbh. I have applied through LinkedIn, Zip recruiter. However, i have only received 2 rejection emails out of 30 jobs I applied for. Most of these jobs require experience (though, I applied anyway to test my chance). It is a very defeating feeling and a frustrating situation. If you know of any openings, I would greatly appreciate it. 

[Cideous]

49 minutes ago, kbnEMPA said:

i have only received 2 rejection emails out of 30 jobs I applied for. Most of these jobs require experience (though, I applied anyway to test my chance). It is a very defeating feeling and a frustrating situation. If you know of any openings, I would greatly appreciate it. 

Can you move?  Like states?  Now would be a good time to get a temp license in another state and work on getting a full license during this mess.  Also, Arizona will take any license from any other state in good standing and get you working fast.  They were doing that before Covid. Whether there are any jobs or not is another story.

[kbnEMPA]

1 minute ago, Cideous said:

Can you move?  Like states?  Now would be a good time to get a temp license in another state and work on getting a full license during this mess.  Also, Arizona will take any license from any other state in good standing and get you working fast.  They were doing that before Covid. Whether there are any jobs or not is another story.

I have considered that option, and I went to AZ for PA school. I do know that some of classmates did struggle to find job as a new grad when we graduated last year in AZ tho. Figuring out which state to live in is a problem in and of itself. For my previous job, I had to move and got myself an apartment, the lease is not finished yet (about 7 more months). I am currently paying for it without living there to save expenses. So financially, i am in a bind right now to really pick up another obligation.

[kbnEMPA]

On 4/27/2020 at 10:00 AM, ohiovolffemtp said:

For those in EM, I wouldn't panic just yet.  Volumes are already starting to come back.  Folks with chronic conditions are still having exacerbations and now they're worse - they'll be in.  I'm already seeing the lower acuity patients start to return and others are too.  Once things "re-open", even more will come back.  There's a good chance you'll be called back.

However, it's a good idea to take this as a learning opportunity.  ED volumes have been trending down.  Fewer patients means fewer provider hours are needed.  TeamHealth, Envision, and USACS - the major national staffing co's are all owned by venture capital firms.  So, they're going to continue to cut where-ever they can.  Most of them had already cut hours and in some cases compensation and/or benefits like CME allowances prior to COVID-19.  You're best safety net is to be credentialed with more than 1 employer and at more than 1 hospital - preferably in different hospital systems.  It's easy to go from PT to FT or the reverse - because it doesn't require the 2-3 month delay of credentialing.

It is good to hear, however, I am not keeping my hopes high at this point. I was not given an exact return date. I really wanted to get into another office or job during my stint in the ED, but most ppl were not looking to hire new grads. No one could have predicted this, but I was definitely shocked to see my position in healthcare got jeopardizes so easily. Its quite discouraging for a lot of new grads (unless they have existing connections) to apply to so many places, only to be turned down because lacking experience. If no opportunities are given, how can one gain the experience required. Especially general medicine (FM, UC, ER) 

[rookiejay]

still can find nothing in telemedicine 

[Cideous]

On 5/3/2020 at 8:17 AM, kbnEMPA said:

 to apply to so many places, only to be turned down because lacking experience. If no opportunities are given, how can one gain the experience required. 

They can't.  It's the age old story of the chicken and the egg.  How can you get experience if no one will give you experience.  We have been so needed over the years that it was only a minimal factor for us as PA's, but over the last 10 years it has become a real issue.  Now with Covid-19 it is a nightmare.

[Cideous]

On 4/2/2020 at 12:48 PM, rookiejay said:

NO BODY WANTS US!!!! 

I have been out of work starting 2.20.2020  I have over 25 years experience. I am in the Seattle area. 

I cant find any kind of work right now, they all want MD/NP - hell they will even take students over us. Bring back an 80 yo MD, but for the love of GOD dont even mention PA as a part of the medical workforce. I am so angry - I started as FD Medic its in my nature to help in some way, Applied for Rapid Response Team (S) > 10  ( no answer on Any ) Applied for TeleMedicine (MD/NP Only) I made my own PPE, I printed my DNR out, Im READY to work. 

..... Crickets ....

 

 

I've been reading some about your 2020 story.  You and I have a LOT in common. I've not worked a day in 2020 with 26 years experience.  It's really made me question everything.

Did you ever find anything?

Edited February 14, 2021 by Cideous