I graduated as a new NP in May 2009 and have been working as an NP in urgent care in a community health center. I was told upon my hire that I would start at two patients an hour, and would have 1 to 1 1/2 hours built in my day for lunch, charting, etc. I was promised that I could take my time building up to seeing more patients per hour. I now see 3 patients per hour in the AM, and 2 per hour in the afternoon. I work 4 ten hour shifts, as do the other NPs and MDs at the center.
The NPs were just told that we now have to book a minimum of 3 patients per hour for the entire 10 hour shift, and make sure that all of our charting is done within 24 hours. The MDs are exempt from this, as they all have contracts that clearly state their obligations, but the NPs are non-contract employees. We were also told that we can't run behind schedule. This is nearly impossible to do, as the majority of our patients are non-English speaking and we are always waiting for interpreters. Also, there are some cultural issues surrounding the concept of time in our population, and many patients show up 30 min to an hour late for their appointments. The registration staff are supposed to tell them they need to reschedule if they are 30+ minutes late, but they often register them anyway and send them to the floor, at which point we are required to see them.
When we questioned this, we were told that this is the norm for community health centers and we should expect to work at least 60 hours per week while being paid for 40. Has anyone worked at a community health center and does this sound "normal"? I don't mind working hard, but this seems to be a bit much. How can I give good care in this kind of environment, particularly as a new grad? I feel like I'm being set up to fail. I love this job and the people I work with, and had hoped to stay for at least 2 years. Now I'm wondering if I should start looking around for a different position. I know it looks terrible to leave a job after just three months, but I feel like I was given the "bait and switch", and I don't want to fail. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks!!
