NP Hospitalist question

twozer0, NP · Dec 15, 2015

I have seen a few NP hospitalist positions advertised with all sorts of different hours with the majority being nights. I had a few questions and wanted to see if anyone could enlighten me.
1. With the 7 on and 7 off - these are usually hourly positions and OT kicks in after 40 hours?
2. Do you earn shift diffs as an NP?
3. What happens if you called in sick? Would someone have to come in to cover?
4. Are there on call MDs in case you have a situation where you need input?
5. I take it codes in the facilities are handled by the ED?
Just curious and thought Id ask!

1. The position is salary and not hourly (usually). In the end it equals about 100 hours more a year than your typical 40 hour weekly person. The upside to this is you get a week off at a time, and with a vacation week, almost a full month!

2. Since its usually salary, there isnt shift differential. If you are working a wage based position than I'm sure this could be negotiated.

3. This will depend on your facility.

4. At my facility we never have just 1 hospitalist on, even during nights. There is always a MD/DO hospitalist on for all hours. Even if there wasnt, the ED will always have an MD/DO, and they never close!

5. This will depend on your facility.

Dranger · Dec 15, 2015

3. I have noticed that providers are way less likely to call in sick than nurses, but I have seen other providers come in for partial shifts to cover.

5. Depends on how big your hospital is. ACNPs sometimes at my hospital run ICU codes and intubate/line place. Other places have anesthesia or ED. A hospitalist often shows up anyway.

Advanced Practice Columnist / Guide · Dec 17, 2015

1. With the 7 on and 7 off - these are usually hourly positions and OT kicks in after 40 hours?

These postings are typically salaried positions.

2. Do you earn shift diffs as an NP?

We do, but that's because I am employed by the hospital, paid hourly, and have hospital benefits classified as "non-exempt". We are also represented by the union under nursing. Because of that, our shifts follow union restrictions of 3 12-hr days or nights and any thing in excess of that becomes overtime. In California terms "exempt" usually applies to management positions and physicians who are paid salary as opposed to "non-exempt" which are hourly positions.

3. What happens if you called in sick? Would someone have to come in to cover?

NP's do call in sick sometimes. We have an on call system where each NP takes a call night and if there is a call-in, that NP has to work and is paid time and a half. If the NP isn't required to work, then he/she gets paid 1/2 of the 12-hour hourly rate for being on call. These are requirements laid out by the nursing union and applies to RN's as well.

4. Are there on call MDs in case you have a situation where you need input?

We don't have a 24-hr intensivist physically present in the units. We do have a fellow on site 24/7 who can help. The attending can be paged any time during the night and will come to the site if required.

5. I take it codes in the facilities are handled by the ED?

We handle all codes as part of the code team.

Note: I'm an ICU NP in a large teaching hospital