Geriatric NPs how many patients do u see?

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Hi,

I am being considered for LTC position. I graduate in May. Anyway, I shadowed NP in LTC/rehab facility. She has her own nurse that works for her by pulling charts, and filing out paperwork. She sees anywhere from 25 up to 50-60 patients daily. Is that the norm? This practice is very much into numbers it seems, and when I have talked to business manager, he speaks of me being revenue producer most of time. That I need to earn my keep so to speak.

Is that the way things are? Am I just naive?

Thanks!

Lynn

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Specializes in FNP, ONP.

I don't work in that kind of facility, but I have a friend that does. The expectation for him is to bill for 40 patient visits a day, minimum. He says his avg. time with a patient is 5 minutes, avg time with chart is 5 minutes. He is out the door at 4:59pm every day, takes call for a week about every 10 weeks. That week is apparently hell, with a lot of ridiculous phone calls in the middle of the night, etc. He makes about $45 an hour.

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I see 15-25. It totally depends on the nature of the visit. Is it routine? Is the chart organized? How stable is the patient? Are the family members at the bedside, if so are they CRAZY? Most routine visits you can breeze through in 10 minutes. With some of the more complex cases, you have to consult dietary, the rehab department, contact the DPOA, refer to appropriate specialists, call the family, make the decision to keep them vs send them out. It can be mind numbingly boring/monotonous vs somewhat exciting.

I am happy to talk with you if you have any specific questions.

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Specializes in ICU, step down, dialysis.
I see 15-25. It totally depends on the nature of the visit. Is it routine? Is the chart organized? How stable is the patient? Are the family members at the bedside, if so are they CRAZY? Most routine visits you can breeze through in 10 minutes. With some of the more complex cases, you have to consult dietary, the rehab department, contact the DPOA, refer to appropriate specialists, call the family, make the decision to keep them vs send them out. It can be mind numbingly boring/monotonous vs somewhat exciting.

I am happy to talk with you if you have any specific questions.

I'm very interested in this as well. I've done LTC but it's been many years. As an RN though; I'm not an NP yet.

Do you go to the nursing home every day? Or do you travel to different ones? Are most NPs who do what you do employed by a physician, physician group or by the nursing home itself?

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Thank you all for the advice. What interests me is medically managing people. The group I am talking to is with a physicians' group. They are growing very fast and go into nursing homes. I had also worked years ago in a nursing home as a RN, but this is a whole different ball game.

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I have a friend who works in a for-profit LTC/Rehab facility. She is a new grad and finds the job extremely stressful. It's essentially all about money, money, money. No surprise. Her biggest complaint is that her "collaborating physician" is not helpful and not always available. She says it's not a good environment for an inexperienced new grad. The patients are very sick. If it were only LTC, I suspect the acuity would be a lot less.

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Thank you. I have accepted a position with a different company than the one I had asked about.

Thanks!

Lynn

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