is it possible to work as an NP w/o MD's hours?

[phosphorus]

I have applied to NP school, I would love to do preventative primary care, and feel passionate about social medicine. The more NPs I talk to however, the more I get the sense that working conditions are pretty bad in my area anyway. All the NPs I know and work with work MD hours, are on-call, answer calls, etc. They say in primary care you generally see ~50 patients/day, and still are on-call.

I don't want to work THAT much. The NPs in my hospital are pulling 12hr shifts sometimes 5-7 days a week. Honestly I'd be happy working 2 days a week at 12hr/day, and like to live frugally. Is it possible to be an NP and not work very often? Per diem? Prison health? Community health?

[BCgradnurse, MSN, RN, NP]

It's definitely possible. I work in primary care in an urban community health center. I work 4 ten hour shifts, 1 Saturday a month, and I don't have to take call. I do have to add that I probably put in another 10-15 hours a week doing charts, but I can do that from home so it's not so bad. I think you're more apt to find a position that suits your needs outside of the hospital environment. I've seen a lot of positions advertised for part time NPs in various settings. I'd also look into working at a college health service. The pay generally is not that high, but there are many part time positions available, and you only work 9 months of the year (in most cases).

[carachel2]

I work in family practice and work 2.5 days per week with NO call, no weekends, no nursing home hours, etc. Actually, I can count up to 5 classmates (and those are just the ones I have kept in touch with) who are all working some variation of part-time. For me, flexibiliy and part-time hours were more important than a lot of other benefits and I found that in a small family practice.I don't have any other benefits other than CEU and paid malpractice. We carry benefits through my husbands work so benefits were something I never really cared about.

[Conqueror+, BSN, RN]

The medical group that I work for has a Monday-Friday 8-5 schedule for all providers (MD/DO/PA/NP) and NP's do not take call at all. We also have floats that work per diem.

[Browndog]

Very doable. I decided that I wanted to try to create a work plan that allowed for more control over my work schedule and a greater degree of lifestyle flexibility. So I chose a different path.

I work 3/10s per week in urgent care setting (this is my base position) and have a PRN position with an ED staffing firm that is expected (yeild varies) to yield another 3/12s per month. In addition, I am also working to gain PRN status with another firm. Between the three positions I should have no problem getting enough hours when I want them, but the beauty is that I am only "on the hook" for 3 days per week (30hrs). The other positions are PRN and I can accept or reject shifts depending on my needs and schedule.

I am early on in this experiment.....but so far it is great. I love not having a 5 day / week commitment. I am more refreshed and no longer dread Monday mornings.