New np beware

Hi was the agency in Texas? I live in Ft.Worth and I'm graduating this December so I'm trying to reach out to a few recruiters now to have a job on graduation.

Very similar

I agree with WKshadowRN, I hit the ground running and talked to as many people as possible, including cold calls by recruiters. There were some not so promising interviews but I felt like it was good experience/practice. I was lucky enough to have 4 offers, and only one of those was from a preceptor, the other was PT, and the last two I had a tough time deciding between.

Hang in there, it's not easy but nothing ever is! Don't settle!

I would take a lot of posts like this with a grain of salt. While it's entirely possible this sort of thing is happening, the APRN allnurses boards have been hit with several brand new accounts that either bash the discipline entirely, or just spell out doom and gloom for us. I wouldn't be surprised if several of these posts are coming from the same IP address.

I'm not sure who the other posts were from. I'm speaking from experience.My first job out of school was in a primary care office where 90% of the patients needed refills on Oxys. Left that to end up in another office where the wanted me to prescribe opioids, stimulants and benzos :/. I don't think i need to state that I'm looking elsewhere.

I'm curious what state you work in. I live in Missouri and here we do not have full prescriptive authority and can only write for controlled substances in limited amounts and only after completing nearly a year of practice. When we have DEA authorization, my collaborative physician has to provide supervision on 20% of my charts (compared with the 10% for NPs without DEA).

To me, I actually enjoy the fact that I can't write for controlled substances because it's such a Pandora's box for folks. We have a very large opioid addiction issue in southeastern Missouri and so it's nice to not have to dip into the pool.

Of course, it helps that our practice position is that we write only for acute pain management, anything over 6 weeks is sent over to a pain management clinic for further evaluation and management.

If you're seeing nothing but narc patients, it seems like the providers are being a little too loose in writing for them. (Just a thought.).

Darth Practicus, FNP

I'm not sure who the other posts were from. I'm speaking from experience.My first job out of school was in a primary care office where 90% of the patients needed refills on Oxys. Left that to end up in another office where the wanted me to prescribe opioids, stimulants and benzos :/. I don't think i need to state that I'm looking elsewhere.

I'm sorry your experience has been so horrible but I would venture a guess that most providers on this site weren't hired to be a "prescriptive drug mule". My first job as an NP straight up banned the prescription of all schedule 2 substances for all providers, which meant no one got their oxy or hydro there. I'm sure some providers are afraid of the fallout on their bottom line if they stop giving their patients narcotics, but IMHO I wouldn't want to be seeing the patients that only goes to me just because I fill their hydro.

I think in any interview asking about pain management practices in clinic is very important. Had you done this right off the bat, you likely would have avoided some trouble, and if these were the only jobs available to you, there are other places in the country that don't operate like that.

I did. They made it seem like only a few patients came in for the benzos and stimulants not 90%. They decided to throw the Vicodins in there. I'm in NY by the way

I graduated with an MSN in Dec 2016 and got hired by the first place I interviewed at. I received an offer in Feb 2017, before I took my AANp cert exam! In addition, the doctor where I did my last clinical rotation wanted to hire me, but I wanted to return to California. I would suggest looking in rural areas, which is where I got my job. If you are not getting in for an interview, get help with your resume. If you are getting interviews but not an offer, then have someone help you with interviewing skills. Consider moving if necessary and don't be too picky - it's your first job, so you are not in a position to be too choosy. There are also NP residency programs which you can apply to. You seem to have a negative attitude and I would venture that is what is holding you back. Be positive.

I did not mean NPs should accept subpar wages, because I did not. I have a contract that starts me at $95K, then to 105K within 6 months with additional steps to $140K within 18 months. Decent benefits, relocation package, 4 day workweek (10 hour days), no overtime, no on call. If I had been able to take the job from my last clinical rotation, I would have started at $100K per year, plus an additional performance bonus. Both jobs are in locations with a reasonable cost of living. I also had several other opportunities I did not choose to pursue. I won a HRSA scholarship for my last 18 months of NP school, so I have a lot of constraints on where I can work, yet I still negotiated a good package for myself! However, I was willing to live in a rural area, and rent a place, but drive home on weekends (I own a home). Once I complete my 2 years of public service, I will be able to write my own ticket. I became an NP late in life as a second career; prior to this, I was a business executive and had to recruit and hire a lot of people. 1) All academic programs are not created equal. For the new grad, it does matter what school you went to. A new grad NP that went to UCLA, Yale, UCSF, Hopkins, etc. is going to attract more attention. Sorry, but life is not always fair. 2) I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a good resume. That is usually the first representation of you to a potential employer. Please put a lot of work into this and get it reviewed by someone with experience in your field. Some schools have career services, so take advantage of this if it is available to you. 3) Again, if you are not even getting calls for interviews, then your resume sucks! 4) If you are getting interviews, good. If you are not getting offers, then you may not be good at interviewing. This can be remedied with study and practice. 5) You must have a positive, enthusiastic attitude! I see so much negativity on this board. People can sense when you are negative or not. 6) When I say don't be too picky for your first job, I mean be flexible. I hear so many new grad NPs who only want to work in a certain location, or in a certain specialty, or so forth. I would focus on locations and specialties where there are not enough candidates! 7) In business, there is a rule of thumb: your job search will take one month per $10K of income. So it does take longer to get a higher paying job, in general. 8) Learn to negotiate your salary and compensation package. Your salary should be based on the value your bring to the practice, so learn about billing rates, going salaries in your area. etc. You can also negotiate "steps," so maybe first 6 months to one year you make less because you are a new grad, etc., but then salary goes up. You can also ask about performance bonus. Personally, I never got a negative reaction when I said, "My understanding is that new grads in this location, make ____. In addition, this job is in a specialty so there is a salary premium. Therefore, I expect _____ compensation." You can also talk numbers: "Once I am up to speed, I will be seeing 15 patients per day, which is $_____ per year in revenue. Therefore, I expect to make ______." (Note: take the billing rate or hourly pay and multiple by 2000 to get rough annual figure. Finally, focus on networking, networking, networking (acquaintances, professors, alumni, LinkedIn, etc). Also make sure to hit all the NP job boards, as well as NP recruiters. Good luck!

Excellent advice