I think you handled it well. When I was in family practice I was constantly giving the talk about why abx were not needed for a virus, even if the patient was in the habit of picking up the phone anytime they had a sniffle and receiving a z-pak from their provider. I had a clinical preceptor whose background was infectious disease and drug resistance and I think his voice always stuck in my head about overprescribing abx.
I think it is hard to make decisions like that when the patient is in the healthcare field. But I guess the way I look at it is, I am okay if they do not want to have me as a provider. In all reality I wouldn't want to their patient either.
I went into a specialty after one year as an FNP. I don't think you would have a hard time transitioning into a specialty and your general experience is actually a huge benefit. The trick is finding a specialist group willing to do a little training and so far I have found that to be pretty easy.
I work for a neurosurgery group, so it may be a little different then inpatient/hospitalist. I am on call one night per week and one weekend per month. For the night call I take calls from the neuro floor about inpatients and calls from the answering service about clinic patients. I am also expected to be available for emergent surgery though this very rarely happens. On the weekend I round on Saturday morning, it takes 2-3 hours. The surgeon on call rounds on Sundays and takes call from the ICU. We are not compensated for call, unless it is above our normal call schedule.
As far as hospitalist call. I have several friends that work for an inpatient group and do not take call, but they do rotate shifts as another poster mentioned.
I just recently changed jobs and actually did not take the best paying job offer because of the attached call/overtime. The job I accepted is full time at $55/hour (plus 6% salary to retirement, CME and other standard benefits). I am really happy with it and feel it offers a nice work life balance. The job I turned down was $60/hour plus overtime and call paid at time and a half.
This is in the Pacific NW for a surgical specialty.
When negotiating your salary in an office setting it is essential to know how much revenue you bring into the clinic. This is leverage for you to be paid what you are worth.
Good luck with your negotiations!
Also, don't forget to look at PA jobs. The job I am in currently (orthopedic surgery) was originally listed as a PA position simply because the clinic had not hired an NP before and hadn't considered it. At the initial interview I was not just discussing my strengths, but the basics of NP practice. It worked out wonderfully.
I know of a few cardiothoracic surgery groups that have only hired PAs in the past, but were more than happy to consider an NP.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
By the way, there are a ton of NP job openings in WA and OR right now.
I think one of the best things to remember is that NP practice can really be whatever you want it to be. I am three years out from my FNP program and the people I graduated with are working in a variety of fields. One is doing clinical research, 3 are hospitalists doing inpatient management. Some went into ER/urgent care or family practice and I went into a surgical specialty. I knew what I wanted my practice to look like and it took 2 years and some extra training to get there, but now I know I am where I belong and I love my job. I spend half my time doing surgical first assist and the rest is split between clinic and hospital/ER rounds. I know NPs that have started their own clinics (something we can do in WA) so that they have complete control over their career and also huge earning potential.
I agree that job shadowing, or trying some different areas as an RN might really help you decide.
I was curious though, you said you finished you MSN but you are not an NP. What was your MSN focused in?
NICU-tc,
Before you go buy a littman (which I agree are the best) double check with your unit that you can use it. Our unit has a stethoscope for each neonate that stays near them at all times. No outside scopes allowed. Just one more way to protect the little ones.
I was suprised to read this thread and see that nurses get to wear their own scrubs to a nicu. The couple hospital nicus I have been in provide srubs for nicu nurses so that we always have clean scrubs available and don't bring in germs outside the unit. I this unusual?
I think you handled it well. When I was in family practice I was constantly giving the talk about why abx were not needed for a virus, even if the patient was in the habit of picking up the phone anytime they had a sniffle and receiving a z-pak from their provider. I had a clinical preceptor whose background was infectious disease and drug resistance and I think his voice always stuck in my head about overprescribing abx.
I think it is hard to make decisions like that when the patient is in the healthcare field. But I guess the way I look at it is, I am okay if they do not want to have me as a provider. In all reality I wouldn't want to their patient either.
I went into a specialty after one year as an FNP. I don't think you would have a hard time transitioning into a specialty and your general experience is actually a huge benefit. The trick is finding a specialist group willing to do a little training and so far I have found that to be pretty easy.
I work for a neurosurgery group, so it may be a little different then inpatient/hospitalist. I am on call one night per week and one weekend per month. For the night call I take calls from the neuro floor about inpatients and calls from the answering service about clinic patients. I am also expected to be available for emergent surgery though this very rarely happens. On the weekend I round on Saturday morning, it takes 2-3 hours. The surgeon on call rounds on Sundays and takes call from the ICU. We are not compensated for call, unless it is above our normal call schedule.
As far as hospitalist call. I have several friends that work for an inpatient group and do not take call, but they do rotate shifts as another poster mentioned.
I just recently changed jobs and actually did not take the best paying job offer because of the attached call/overtime. The job I accepted is full time at $55/hour (plus 6% salary to retirement, CME and other standard benefits). I am really happy with it and feel it offers a nice work life balance. The job I turned down was $60/hour plus overtime and call paid at time and a half.
This is in the Pacific NW for a surgical specialty.
When negotiating your salary in an office setting it is essential to know how much revenue you bring into the clinic. This is leverage for you to be paid what you are worth.
Good luck with your negotiations!
Also, don't forget to look at PA jobs. The job I am in currently (orthopedic surgery) was originally listed as a PA position simply because the clinic had not hired an NP before and hadn't considered it. At the initial interview I was not just discussing my strengths, but the basics of NP practice. It worked out wonderfully.
I know of a few cardiothoracic surgery groups that have only hired PAs in the past, but were more than happy to consider an NP.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
By the way, there are a ton of NP job openings in WA and OR right now.
I think one of the best things to remember is that NP practice can really be whatever you want it to be. I am three years out from my FNP program and the people I graduated with are working in a variety of fields. One is doing clinical research, 3 are hospitalists doing inpatient management. Some went into ER/urgent care or family practice and I went into a surgical specialty. I knew what I wanted my practice to look like and it took 2 years and some extra training to get there, but now I know I am where I belong and I love my job. I spend half my time doing surgical first assist and the rest is split between clinic and hospital/ER rounds. I know NPs that have started their own clinics (something we can do in WA) so that they have complete control over their career and also huge earning potential.
I agree that job shadowing, or trying some different areas as an RN might really help you decide.
I was curious though, you said you finished you MSN but you are not an NP. What was your MSN focused in?
NICU-tc,
Before you go buy a littman (which I agree are the best) double check with your unit that you can use it. Our unit has a stethoscope for each neonate that stays near them at all times. No outside scopes allowed. Just one more way to protect the little ones.
I was suprised to read this thread and see that nurses get to wear their own scrubs to a nicu. The couple hospital nicus I have been in provide srubs for nicu nurses so that we always have clean scrubs available and don't bring in germs outside the unit. I this unusual?