FQHC

Yeah, they're typically less than desirable work locations. Otherwise, the G wouldn't need to right off people's loans to get them work there. The National Health Service Corps, Indian Health Service, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and various branches of the armed forces are methods of forgiveness or repayment. Sometimes, you see jobs with sign on bonuses that you could pay towards the principle (or back interest). Interest paid on student loans is tax deductible up to like $2500 provided your salary is under a certain level of which I can't remember. I think anyone who willingly accepts Medicaid patients should get some type of credit towards their loans.

I work in a state psych hospital and qualified for the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment. So far, I've been quite happy with my job.

The base pay that is advertised is quite a bit lower than most jobs in my area, but once they added credit for past RN experience and I add in the money for the loan repayment, the salary is actually fairly competitive. I know there are some who say you shouldn't count the money from the LRP, but since any other job would have to at least meet my salary plus the LRP money then I feel it should be taken into consideration.

As far as the work load, I see far fewer patients than I would in a private clinic, and I also don't have the pressure related to billing that working in a private clinic has. I have a guaranteed 1 hour lunch and am out of the office by 4:30 every day. I do pick up about 1 - 3 call days per month, but am usually there for only a few hours.

The HRSA website should have more information on the sites available in your area.

and various branches of the armed forces are methods of forgiveness or repayment. .

Hi PsychGuy: This is new information for me, can you give more details about the military and loan repayment?

I've interviewed at a few FQHC facilities. I've seen them range from really crappy facilities to fairly higher end facilities (the majority were pretty run down). As a new grad, most of them offered low to mid 80k salary (typical salary range for new grad NP in my area is 75k-100k), so it was on the lower end of fair I suppose. Most of the places said their NP's see roughly 19-23 patients. Which doesn't seem terrible.

Make sure you find out the facility's FQHC score. The higher the score, the higher the reimbursement / chance of reimbursement (if I remember correctly). I interviewed at one who had a score of 13 and during the interview they said they could not guarantee any type of loan assistance due to their score being in the middle range.

Thank you for advising me about the score. I will be sure to look into that. When I begin to interview I hope to be able to shadow or visit the facility before agreeing to take the job. I believe that a lot can be observed like how workflow runs, do staff members get along, and is it a supportive environment?

In DC, you can expect to see 9-11 patient in the am and another 9-11 in the pm. Ask about how long is your orientation. Also, ask how long before you are expected to see patient's on your own. You may be expected to be independent within from day one or within 30 days of hire. Some FHQCs in DC will let you build up to the numbers I listed above over the course of a month. For instance, the first week your will see 2-3 patients per day, 2nd week 3-5 patients per day, 3rd week 5-7 patient per day, and then the 4th week 7-9 patients per day. If you need a little more time beyond this they will work with you. Be sure to ask how many patient's you will have on your panel (caseload to manage to be at full productivity). ex 700 to 900. How long are the patient visits? How many new patients will you be required to see per session? Will you be required to see walk-in patients or continuity patients? FQHCs also offer a productivity bonus so ask about that. As a new NP, it is very important to try to find out if there are any seasoned providers (NP, MD, PA) who you can consult with face-to-face throughout the day, in between patients, while working on the floor, if needed.

I could go on and on, but I think this should be enough to get you started.

Thank you so much for that very informative answer. This gives me a lot of information so I can be prepared with questions.

I worked in a FQHC through the National Health Service in an urban community health center. The facility was really nice, but we were treated a like indentured servants (which we kinda were). The staff (MD, NP, PA) were extremely supportive of each other and it was a wonderful learning experience, but I burnt out fairly quickly. We had to see upwards of 30 patients a day and got 15 minutes per visit, be it a URI or a full physical with Pap. A lot of time was spent waiting for available interpreters, as many of the patients did not speak English. I saw conditions I never would have seen in a suburban primary care practice, but we did n't have the resources to spend time with our patients and do sufficient teaching. I never got out on time, never took a real lunch break, and would spend hours of my free time charting. So, I have mixed feelings about it. I did get my loans paid back, I learned a ton and met some great people, but I had no life for almost 3 years and was always stressed.

same. Great experience, great coworkers, but I am getting the hell out of dodge when my NELRP contract ends this year. Life is too short to work that hard forever!