[core0]

Originally Posted by emtneel

So if anybody reads this I am getting really discouraged with job hunting interviews. I get my hopes up then they all just keep falling through. (and i do see this as God shutting the door)
I have an interview tomorrow here in Colorado but not holding my breathe.

I have a few options,
#1 just to stay where i am as Staff Peds RN, til November.
#2 try to get something additional part-time, i would do the Wal-mart clinic or such, but I don't have prescriptive authority (takes 1 yr full-time work here in Colorado) so i don't think they would hire. Also trying to get ANYTHING here in Colorado is difficult, and not sure if anyone would hire a new grad part time
#3 There was a job in Ft.worth that the lady pretty much offered me and I still see the position open. The reason I didn't take it (although i LOVED the facility, the people that worked there, etc) It was a pre-op assessment job, no diagnosing, no management, just basically pre-op assessments.
I would really like working there I believe. Would just doing pre-op assessments be better than just working as a staff nurse till Nov when my gov. loan repayment contract ends? I'm thinking maybe. And at least i think i would be happy, the staff was REALLY nice i was really impressed.
#4 just keep applying

Also i think it would be fun to do locums/travel jobs but i think most would want at least a year experience. I'm wondering if a job such as just pre-op assessments would count or not. If i did that job it would probably be 4 days/week and i could try to get a job at a mini-clinic or such, because i would have prescription authority in Texas.
thanks for any thoughts
Neelia

The first job is always hardest to find. You are at a substantial disadvantage since no employer knows how you will work as an NP. My advice to new grad PA students is that any job is preferable to no job (you have the advantage of working as an RN which most PAs don't have). Usually my recommended criteria are:
Nothing illegal
Nothing unethical
Pay more than 25-30% of average salary for the specialty or greater than 40% of the new grad salary.

Once you have 1-2 years of experience you are in a much better position to name your price and position. Also you have the advantage of having a license and a track record.

I think that you will be surprised on what is involved in pre-op assessment. In some ways its an ideal new grad job since you will be exposed to patients with a variety of comorbid conditions. Also, you will see a variety of undiagnosed conditions that will need work up. Depending on how your pre-op is set up that will be your job. You should also get fairly proficient at reading 12 leads and CXR.

Just my thoughts.

David Carpenter, PA-C

[emtneel]

any job is preferable to no job

That's kind of what I have been thinking.

If you love peds,
this is a great job. It is very cerebral in nature. We are a group of
two FT0 and one PT PNPs. One FT PA and one FT FNP...so we have a good
mix. We have 40 CRNAs and 16 Anesthesiologists. We do over 19,000
anesthetics a year. We are a tertiary center, so we see a lot of
interesting cases. The position involves working up these kids as far
as a pre anesthesia assessment is concerned. Some actual H&Ps in
addition to an anesthesia history and physical assessment. Lots of
teaching. Not very procedural oriented, but could be if there was an
interest. It's a great group and a wonderful place to work.

Actually not sure how involved this job would be since a pediatric hosp. but at the interview i had she did say they had a lot of chronic kids, genetic disorders, etc..

Thanks CoreO

[emtneel]

Pay more than 25-30% of average salary for the specialty or greater than 40% of the new grad salary.

So i found this info,
FNP ave. 79,091
hosp. NP. 86,630
Ave. overall 81,397
0-1 yrs exp. ave. 76,802

Texas ave. 85,931
Colorado Ave. 77,450

So if i had 25% to 79,000 that's about 98,000
Is that what you mean or something different?
That seems awefully high, for new grad.
Neelia

[core0]

Originally Posted by emtneel

So i found this info,
FNP ave. 79,091
hosp. NP. 86,630
Ave. overall 81,397
0-1 yrs exp. ave. 76,802

Texas ave. 85,931
Colorado Ave. 77,450

So if i had 25% to 79,000 that's about 98,000
Is that what you mean or something different?
That seems awefully high, for new grad.
Neelia

Other way around. For PAs for example the average Texas Salary is $90k and the 25th percentile is $76k. For new grads the Average Texas Salary is $77k and the 25th percentile is $70k. So I would aim for around $75k or so. Once again let them make an offer and if its higher then so be it. Just be cognizant that this is a transitory job. An entry level so its more important to get the job than to maximize the salary in this case (in my opinion).
Here is the PA data for comparison:
http://www.aapa.org/research/StateReports07/TX07c.pdf
Salary data is at the bottom. For PAs they list the mean and median as well as the 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentile. If you are a member you can get a custom salary profile, for example I use surgical subspecialty PAs in Atlanta for my job. I think that AANP is starting to do something similar but its going to take several years to develop meaningful numbers (if they can get them at all).

It also may be helpful to see what they pay RNs in the hospital. A quick perusal of the jobs boards seems to show its about $58k.

Good luck

David Carpenter, PA-C

[yellow finch]

Originally Posted by core0

I think that you will be surprised on what is involved in pre-op assessment. In some ways its an ideal new grad job since you will be exposed to patients with a variety of comorbid conditions. Also, you will see a variety of undiagnosed conditions that will need work up. Depending on how your pre-op is set up that will be your job. You should also get fairly proficient at reading 12 leads and CXR.

My thoughts exactly. While it might be repetitive, you will come across many different disease processes and complications. You'll have the opportunity to learn about new medical situations as well as the medications and other treatments that go along with them.

This job may also look very good to future prospects. After all, you'll have your assessment skills down pat and should be able to answer clinical questions with knowledge and confidence.

Keep us posted!