First official NP job interview

Trauma Columnist · Oct 20, 2019

Congrats on your upcoming graduation.

1. What is orientation like? Didactic/shadowing? Amt of time? Pay during this time?

2. Where will you be practicing? Hospital/office? If you are an FNP, do your local hospitals credential FNPs to see pts in the hospital?

3. How long is the credentialing process for insurances? Is there a dedicated credentialing person at the practice? This can be a deal breaker for me as credentialing, licensing, etc., can vary so much that it can be so time consuming and frustrating - I wouldn't take on this task alone.

4. Have they worked with APRNs before? Will you be the first APRN employed in this practice? Difficult place to be in IMHO - to be the first APRN they hire as expectations might not mesh with reality.

5. Who will be your boss as an APRN? As an employee? In my practice, we have an MD we answer to clinically but we also have a practice manager (non-clinical person) who we answer to as an employee.

Best of luck - let us know how it goes

Mr. Southern NP, MSN, APRN, NP · Oct 20, 2019

@traumaRUs - Judy

Thank you for the pointers. 1, 2, and 4 were already on my list, but 3 and 5 are very pertinent questions that I will need answered. Unfortunately, this adds on to the information that is not taught about in NP school. I could do without some of the fluff in school and trade it off for some practical knowledge about contract negotiation, interviewing, office practice dynamics, etc. But what do I know...

Thank you again for the help. What I've learned through some reconnaisance on the practice is, to my knowledge, they only have one PA working with a group of 6 MDs. So either they have never used a NP, or they don't currently have one. It's a little hard to determine since the practice doesn't have a website. I do know that they have 2 offices, one that is 10 minutes from where I live and the other about 30 minutes away. Not a deal breaker if they want me in the further office, but they are interviewing at the office closer to me. They are affiliated with most of the local hospitals. They are not affiliated with the largest local hospital (which has just been bought out by a larger out of state hospital corporation, a bad move from what I've researched). I'm familiar with a couple physicians in the group from my days in CVICU, the others by name only, not reputation. Online reviews (for what they are worth) are pretty good for each physician in the practice.

To make a long story short, I wouldn't call this my dream job necessarily, but I do enjoy cardiology. Something about it just clicks with me very well. I am still keeping my options open. I have two nephrologists interested, but neither have given me any kind of definitive answer.

I'll post the outcome of how things go on Monday.

Mr. Southern NP, MSN, APRN, NP · Oct 21, 2019

On 10/20/2019 at 8:04 AM, traumaRUs - Judy said:
1. What is orientation like? Didactic/shadowing? Amt of time? Pay during this time?
2. Where will you be practicing? Hospital/office? If you are an FNP, do your local hospitals credential FNPs to see pts in the hospital?
3. How long is the credentialing process for insurances? Is there a dedicated credentialing person at the practice? This can be a deal breaker for me as credentialing, licensing, etc., can vary so much that it can be so time consuming and frustrating - I wouldn't take on this task alone.
4. Have they worked with APRNs before? Will you be the first APRN employed in this practice? Difficult place to be in IMHO - to be the first APRN they hire as expectations might not mesh with reality.
5. Who will be your boss as an APRN? As an employee? In my practice, we have an MD we answer to clinically but we also have a practice manager (non-clinical person) who we answer to as an employee.
Best of luck - let us know how it goes

1. They say that 6 months would be the likely orientation period (but I did hear the second physician slip up and say "you should be good to go after a couple weeks". Not too reassuring, even though he would not be the collaborating physician.

2. It sound like it will be all hospital. They didn't really even mention seeing patients in the office. Other than if they physicians were tied up in procedures and they were going to be late for a clinic.

3. I checked with the hospital HR/Credentialing departments and they state that they do credential FNPs and once all paperwork is rec'd, it can take up to 60-90 days to become credentialed. They also stated that it is required that I have graduated and certified before this can happen. So I'm looking at probably more than 3-4 months after graduation for all this to be completed. Also, the office does have a person dedicated to credentialing, so I would be able to get help from them on the process.

4. The practice has never had a NP and the PA that works for them has apparently only worked as their practice manager (doesn't really make sense to me). It almost sounds like I would be a glorified scribe at the hospital based on the job description, but I'm not too familiar with hospital practice as a FNP. I have an old acquaintance who is a FNP at a cardiologist practice the next town over and I used to see him doing rounds when I worked at the hospital as a RN, but I wasn't really that familiar with what he did. I'm working on contacting him so I can some more insight into the position.

5. The practice boss would be the practice manager (who is a PA not being used as a PA). Not really sure how that situation works. The clinical boss would be the main physician who interviewed me. A pretty easy-going guy, amiable, thorough and detail-oriented. Doesn't strike me as a tyrant or a slave-driver. Seems like someone I can see myself working with.

See my other post for the full update on the interview