Help, I need some advice!!! I'm a certified NP, I would consider myself a new graduate even though I became certified in 2017. I've still been at the bedside because I had a baby and wanted to stay 2 days a week at the hospital. Fast forward to now. I have been applying to NP jobs off and on for the last 6 months, its very competitive because of the amount of new NPs and because I live in San Diego and everyone wants to live here.
Long story short I have NP friends who helped me get my resume to the hiring managers of Minute Clinic and Planned Parenthood. I had phone interviews with both and will have in person interviews within the next 2 weeks. This would be my first NP job!!!!
I did part of my preceptorship at Minute Clinic so I know how it would be like to work there. I do see pros and cons about working at either place but I would like anyone's opinions on either company.
Minute Clinic is primary care so I would learn the basics but planned parenthood is women's health and very specialized. Any thoughts?
So I would say every affiliate is different ! I live in San Diego and work for the pacific south west affiliate, and this affiliate is financially strong plus I’m sure the California wage is adjusted to the cost of living. As a new grad I was offered the baseline pay and then for every year of experience the pay goes up a dollar. I’ve already gotten a raise so almost at $60 which I think is great as a new grad. I did not negotiate pay but you could always ask it don’t think it would hurt anything. The worst they can say is no and take the offer they give you.
I think you need to decide what area of medicine you want to work in. Many clinicians that worked in primary care said it was hard because you have to know a lot and it was too much. The nice thing about PP is that it’s pretty specific of what we can treat and for the most part patients are young and healthy and you are not going to have to manage chronic conditions. Patients will ask primary care questions but you cannot treat them based on the protocols. The visits are very repetitive but I don’t find anything that difficult after learning the basics. Also, case management calls all patients about results so you would not have to stay late to call patients.
I can really only tell you what goes on in the pacific southwest affiliate but it may vary to the affiliates you are applying and how finically strong they are.
Weigh out the pros and cons of each job before accepting a position!
Hi Stephanie, thanks so much for your reply and sorry for the delay! I have been offered the floater position and am very excited about the opportunity. I will be floating to 9 clinics in the area with a schedule set 2-4 weeks in advance, and mileage/ time will be covered, as you mentioned. I discussed this position with my husband and he doesn't think the travel/ changing schedule is a good idea, esp with the baby. Did you find floating to affect your family life? Most of the clinics are located 1 - 1.5 hrs one way. There are some farther away, but the Clinical Director said I probably wouldn't have to travel to those. I am waiting to negotiate pay when I get a chance. I know a sister affiliate also has a floater position a/v with a higher starting hourly rate, so I will bring that up and see if they can match the rate for me.
That's really great to hear about the kind of cases that PP sees! I like that it is specific, but also am really interested in women's health. I agree, I think primary care is very intimidating when you think about all the follow-up you will have to do with complex cases and coordinating. I also don't want to stay late charting and making sure all documentation is up to par, so its wonderful that the charting for PP is straightforward.
I was wondering if you have on-call hours? Each clinician is assigned on-call hours a few weeks of the year for a 7 day period, to be available during the day/ night for $25/ day. Since my commute would be quite long, I asked how that work if I was driving and received a message while on-call. I was told that clinicians pull over while driving to take a few minutes to answer the call. I think this might be difficult while driving on the highway and also dangerous. I know some clinics have evening hours, so pulling to the side of the road at night is another concern. Have you come across this?
Thanks so much for your help and guidance. I look fwd to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Happy holidays ?
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!! Okay, so I'm going to give you my honest opinion on traveling 2-3 hours a day, its going to be very hard and draining on you. Its very difficult to juggle being a mom and working, add extra travel each day and you will feel tired all the time. In my case i started working at PP 6 months ago when my daughter was 18 months. She is in daycare 5 days a week. My husband has to get her ready for the day, take her to daycare, and pick her up from daycare and watch her until I get home 5 days a week. My husband is self employed so he obviously has some flexibility, not to mention i chose a daycare that is 5 mins from his office. But i do get a guilt trip from him that he has to do so much and that I never spend time with my daughter. My home clinic is very close to where I live (about 15 mins) and I'm there most days of the week. I only flex probably 3 times a month, which is really not that bad, and the furthest I would have to travel is about 45 mins max (maybe an hour if heavy traffic).
If I had to travel 1-1.5 hrs each way to work, I really don't know if I could actually do it with a family. Yes, its nice to get paid your time and mileage but that makes for a really long day. I get my schedule 4 weeks in advance so I can plan ahead.
As the the on call shift. I have not started doing on call yet. But it is 1 time per month. I believe the hours are from 4 pm to 7 am. Many Clinicians do work the following day. If a patient calls it does not go straight to you, it goes to some sort on messaging service that can either transfer the call to you or you call back. I'm sure if you were driving you could take the call after reaching your destination.
If you take the job, you should sit down with your husband and see what his expectation are with helping with your baby. If you take the job, see if in 6 months you can get a staff clinician position at 1 clinic near your home or work part time. Working at PP is so much better than working in the hospital but working more days in the week is challenging for family balance.
Hi Stephanie!!! So sorry for the delay. Thanks so much for your advice. I wanted to let you know that I was offered a part time position with them. I am so excited to get started. The location is still an hour away but at least we have a set schedule each week so it's let's hectic than a floating position. I was also able to negotiate a little on the salary. I am so happy everything worked out and that this will be better for family life. That's wonderful that your husband is so supportive and can help out with the baby. I feel that as we make this transition to me going back to work, that he will have to step up as well and take on some of the responsibility that I shouldered as a SAHM. Also so convenient that you are pretty close to your clinic! There is one near me but it's with another affiliate and they don't have any openings at this time. I would love to work closer to home if I can!
I wanted to ask if you got your own malpractice? I know PP pays for your malpractice but it's also a good idea to get your own. I have NSO for my RN but hear that is quite pricey for NPs. I have read about NPs using Proliability, Berxi etc but haven't researched it yet.
Thanks for the information re the on call schedule. New hires don't start for 6 months so I am glad we have that cushion until we transition into the role. I am glad to hear we have some flexibility in how quickly we can respond esp when driving.
I haven't started orientation yet as they are still processing all my paperwork. My primary location is only open 4 weekdays. When you had orientation, was it on a full time schedule or based on the hours of your primary clinic? I am wondering if I will need to set up my child for daycare 5 days a week vs 4 days when I am on orientation. I am guessing on the weekday that the clinic is closed, they may have me train at another clinic. I don't want to ask yet since I haven't officially started pending credentialing, but plan to ask once we get closer to my official start date. Any insight you may have is greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much for your support and guidance! I am so grateful for your help ?
Part time 4 days a week with a set schedule sounds great! That is so much more doable with having a young child.
You can always keep checking the other affiliate for positions to work closer to home.
I do not have my own malpractice insurance since I’m covered under work. I did not even research it. I wouldn’t do it unless I was an independent contractor and had to, but that’s just me.
My orientation was at the administration building mon-fri 5 days a week for 1 month and then I started in clinic with a clinician preceptor and I was on her schedule. Since I was hired at 5 days a week that’s what my schedule was with my preceptor. But I would just prepare for 5 days in the beginning. You could always just ask.
@Stephgriffin6 Stephanie, I'm sorry to jump in late on this thread, but I am a new graduate FNP with 3+ years experience working in High Risk OB/GYN in acute care (and 3+ years prior RN experience in Med-Surg before that.) I am extremely interested in women's health. I've been applying to Planned Parenthood clinics - mostly in California and surrounding state(s) as I am interested in relocating out West. But, no luck as of yet! Do you have any advice or guidance as to how to be successful in this process? Or what the application/hiring process is like? I think I would be a good fit for PP, but so far I'm not getting a lot of hits on my applications. I'm curious as to what they're looking for? I'd really like to come on board!
@Stephgriffin6 Stephanie, I'm sorry to jump in late on this thread, but I am a new graduate FNP with 3+ years experience working in High Risk OB/GYN in acute care (and 3+ years prior RN experience in Med-Surg before that.) I am extremely interested in women's health. I've been applying to Planned Parenthood clinics - mostly in California and surrounding state(s) as I am interested in relocating out West. But, no luck as of yet! Do you have any advice or guidance as to how to be successful in this process? Or what the application/hiring process is like? I think I would be a good fit for PP, but so far I'm not getting a lot of hits on my applications. I'm curious as to what they're looking for? I'd really like to come on board!
With California, most employers will not look at you if you do not already have the CA NP license.
Hi @Stephgriffin6, thanks so much for your reply! They were able to confirm that I would orient based on my current work schedule so everything worked out. There are some delays with insurance approval and BON so I am still waiting to start. I am very excited and plan to brush on my GYN/ STD knowledge. Its been a while since I graduated and did clinicals. Very appreciative of your guidance and support! ?
Hi @Emineminem, like you I was not getting any responses initially. I am a new grad FNP with only m/s RN experience prior. I agree with DTWriter in getting your NP license first for CA. These are some of the steps I took:
*Check out postings for all local affiliates. There may be multiple affiliates within driving distance of you.
*Check out the affiliate's individual website. The national PP website will show jobs at the affiliates. At the bottom of a job listing, there may be a link to the affiliate's website. There may be additional jobs listed on the affiliate website that is not listed on the national PP website.
*After submitting your application, follow up with the email given about a week after. If no email, call the affiliate's number to follow up with the job. They may give you another number to call.
*If you have any questions about a job, you can also follow up with the individual PP on their social media, esp if they are posting about the job.
*Reach out to PP employees at desired affiliates through FB, LinkedIn, school network etc. I wasn't able to network with anyone but I did find folks working at my local PP thru my school, LinkedIn etc. You never know who might respond and help you out.
I would encourage you to keep trying and best of luck!
Also wanted to add that some PP's have jobs posted on LinkedIn by their HR team. This is really great bc you can follow up with the HR contact person directly thru LinkedIn.
Stephgriffin6, BSN, MSN, NP
50 Posts
Hi Medsurge,
So I would say every affiliate is different ! I live in San Diego and work for the pacific south west affiliate, and this affiliate is financially strong plus I’m sure the California wage is adjusted to the cost of living. As a new grad I was offered the baseline pay and then for every year of experience the pay goes up a dollar. I’ve already gotten a raise so almost at $60 which I think is great as a new grad. I did not negotiate pay but you could always ask it don’t think it would hurt anything. The worst they can say is no and take the offer they give you.
I think you need to decide what area of medicine you want to work in. Many clinicians that worked in primary care said it was hard because you have to know a lot and it was too much. The nice thing about PP is that it’s pretty specific of what we can treat and for the most part patients are young and healthy and you are not going to have to manage chronic conditions. Patients will ask primary care questions but you cannot treat them based on the protocols. The visits are very repetitive but I don’t find anything that difficult after learning the basics. Also, case management calls all patients about results so you would not have to stay late to call patients.
I can really only tell you what goes on in the pacific southwest affiliate but it may vary to the affiliates you are applying and how finically strong they are.
Weigh out the pros and cons of each job before accepting a position!
Stephanie