Recent Interview - Red Flags?

[Staubsauger]

Hi everyone,

I am a new grad (in Dec) and recently had an interview in my specialty of choice (EM) in a location I'd like to live in. When speaking to the recruiter for this company, everything sounded great. They had a clear roadmap for onboarding, pay that increased with each step, etc. After speaking with the lead APP and medical director during my interview, I started to get the vibe that this may not be something I should pursue - so I wanted to get thoughts here.

For starters: I was told by the recruiter company-wide onboarding was 1:1 with a senior APP or doc for 6 months, at a rate of $50/hr. In the interview, I asked about this, and was told onboarding is 6 weeks to 3 months (however long I needed in that range). That's a pretty stark contrast in my opinion. I assume I'd still make this lower rate for 6 months as planned, then it would go up to $60/hr, and then $70/hr after the first year.

Secondly, I asked about the ability to work extra, or if I had to fight with others over the shifts as if they're a hot commodity. They chuckled and said no there is always opportunity to work extra and they've even had to take shifts off the schedule because they couldn't fill them due to staffing (this seems like a huge red flag). 

Thirdly, the way the ER is set up, the APPs and physicians are separate. This was pretty strange to me, but I've only ever worked prior to school in areas where they were side-by-side. They said they're in a transitional period that began about 2 weeks ago of integrating the APPs and physicians more closely and they're changing the workflow to put an APP in triage, etc. Just a lot of changes it seems.

 

The pros:

-The pay after 1 year is $70/hr

-Hefty CME the first year supposedly for further training as they want APPs to practice at the top of their license (even said they want APPs to see level 2's, which is fine if I am prepared to do so)

-I would like to live in this area.

 

The cons:

-The shifts are 10s, not 12s. Still only required to pick up 3/wk, but that's only 30 hours of pay. I much prefer 12s.

-They already are contradicting what I was told regarding onboarding that was supposedly a national standard for this EM company.

-The shifts are varied shifts as well, and I'll be required to work 1/3 of my monthly shifts on nights. Switching between 8am, 11am, and 5pm start time shifts sound terrible. I think this would be pretty rough on my home life as well as I am married with a baby at home.

-2 weekends per month required. This is neutral to me. I expected it in ER, but with as many APPs as it seems like they have this seems too frequent.

 

I am still waiting to hear back from them but I am already considering just moving on from this even if I receive an offer. Is this stupid to do as a new grad, especially in EM? I've always gone by the saying "a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush" but I do not want to move 8 hours away and be contractually locked in to a position that sucks, quite frankly. I value my time with my family far too much to be a varied shift, underpaid zombie with less training than was promised prior to the interview.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Staubsauger
Added information

[AbeTheBabe]

Doesn't seem too weird, sometimes the recruiter doesn't know all the details. For a new grad, it seems pretty good to be honest.

Edited November 19, 2021 by AbeTheBabe

[ohiovolffemtp]

From my experience doing EM:

• The pay is good.  Progressing to $70/hour in 1 year is good.  The learning curve typically is about 3 years.
• Rotating shifts and weekend coverage are the norm.  The shifts have to be covered.
• 3 10's a week isn't unusual.  12's can be nice, but if the volume is high they can be very tough.  The key is to make sure that you'll get enough shifts each month to be considered FT.
• Even for the big 3 national EM staffing companies, practice will vary by site.

Doesn't sound like a bad offer.