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Stephgriffin6 how are you liking PP? I'm considering applying

I think planned parenthood would be much more interesting. I dont know about PP, but minute clinic makes you do EVERYTHING yourself- your the Np, MA, cashier, stocker etc. i bet MC pays better but I think PP would be more rewarding and interesting. I also live and work in san diego. You could try Scripps health express, they are hiring and take new grads.

I agree. i had several clinicals at places where the wife was the office manager- always a toxic environment. I have yet to see it work out well. I was one of the deal breakers for me when i was looking for work. i'd keep looking if I were you. Or you could talk to the office staff when you interview and see what they think about it/how it works (or doesn't work) there.

I was very nervous too when i first started, but I had a wonderfully supportive doc that I worked for and a nice patient population with 2 great MA's. I was completely set up for success and yet every day still stressed me a little. You constantly see new things in primary care (at least I did) but knowing that you have support (a doctor who welcomes your questions and gives you support on whichever correct way you choose to treat a disease, an MA who is experienced, and a great online tool like UpToDate to reference while in the room with the patient) makes ALL the difference in the world. Wait for a job like that- seek that out even if you have to make some sacrifices for it because it preserves your sanity. I regret leaving that job SO much just because I wanted to live in a different part of the country and I can't find anything like it here. I took a laptop in the room with me and while the pt was talking would look up (in UpToDate) anything i needed to know about what they were telling me. I spent so many hours in uptodate that UpToDate actually cut me off, thinking i was sharing my subscription- i had to call them to tell them, no I'm just new lol ?

I can understand where you're coming from; all I can say is that if I had to be paid the same to be an RN or an NP I'd choose NP a thousand times over! Not saying you should settle for less money, because NP's bring in revenue which we should be appropriately compensated for but please don't think you made the wrong decision unless it was solely money based... I love being an NP, I hope you will too. Oh and another thing, the preceptor shortage is a problem everywhere but doesn't reflect on the overpopulation of NPs it's just that most providers don't precept and new grads obviously cannot precept. It took me 3 months after I graduated to find a job ( I was very picky and only wanted private practice). Good luck :)

Definitely private practice!! I love the autonomy! The fact that they ask my opinion and im treated like a partner in some ways. I can have whatever I want in the office, just ask my MA to order it. The staff is friendly; we are like a family. I'm moving to a big hospital system solely because I want to live in a certain city and it's all I could find for now. The credentialing and EVERYTHING paperwork wise was done for me by the office manager at the private practice whereas with this big hospital I have to do EVERYTHING and it's A LOT; it's stressful! The pay and PTO may not be as great in private as it is with a large company but I'd gladly give that up for an enjoyable work environment. Hope this helps!

Yes I am an FNP. I don't know anyone who works in Hampton/ VA beach area but my guess would be 90k starting. It's a cheap area to live compared to NOVa so that salary may not be bad giving cost of living? 95k is poor for the DC area because rent is around 2k for a 1 bed. A doc explained that the DC area pays low for some reason but I can't quiet remember - has something to do with an agreement with the hospitals or something I think (?)... I was working out in Aldie as a new grad for the same price, half the cost of living, when I accepted the job near DC i didn't get a pay increase but I needed to be closer to the city and to have health insurance. I should also mention as a new grad do not factor in bonus pay (incentive for seeing more pt in a day) because you won't be able to hit that until at least a year, you're slow as a new grad and that is completely ok. So if they tell you "oh if you see more than 15 pt a day we will give you $1000 more per month- don't even consider it as part of what you'll be paid- you won't quality for it for a while. I def wouldn't accept less than 90k ANYwhere in the US! And ALWAYS ALWAYS try to negotiate- they offer lower because they expect you to!!

One year experience 95K in northern VA, offered 85 and negotiated up. Standard benefits. First job was also northern VA but a little further west (45 mi west of DC) and was offered 95k w/no benefits. In La Mesa, Ca was offered 105 w/excellent benefits but have to work weekends, evenings and holidays- salary was non-negotiable. All jobs are full time primary care.

My office manager told me shes getting a stamp with my signature, but I'm not sure why. She says she has one of the doctor's "for contracts" but I don't sign any contracts and all my prescriptions are electronic. I guess I'm questioning her motive and if she does order it, I feel that I should be the one to keep it, not her. I'm not sure how to approach this because it screams "I don't trust you"..... and it's right, I don't trust her -or anyone with my signature. How do I say no thanks .... or that I want to be the one to keep it (then who knows if there's an extra)... am I being paranoid? Thoughts? Experiences with this? Something I'm missing?

⬆️^^ this, SoundOfMusic, is exactly what I'm referring to; I feel like I kept seeing this in various different practices and I'm already not looking forward to having to deal with it

I'm a new grad NP and through my clinicals I've encountered that most NP's don't like the office manager (mainly, I think because these are non clinical personnel trying to tell clinicians how to do their job so they can collect more money). I had a preliminary interview with an office I'm considering (and have been invited to interview at formally but it's far away and hence expensive) but I found the office manager to be a snob and I really didn't like her personality. She also seemed too bossy all the while trying so hard to say she was really casual- it was bizarre. I don't know how to interpret this. Should I let this possibility go away based on my impression of her- how big of a role would she have in my life if I took this job? Any thoughts? Thanks :)

If you work in the pediatric ER you'll get both peds and psych patients (usually adolescent), though ER nurses don't have too much contact with them- we just draw their labs and get them a sitter. You never have to work in med/surg first for any job. That's a myth!! That being said if you go straight into psych it's gonna be hard to go back to anything medical one day because you won't remember much or have any skills, you'd be lucky if they even let you start somewhere as a "new grad." If you like peds (I'm a peds nurse) then start there (on whatever speciality interests you). If youre sure you you only want to do psych then the benefit of that is there are tons of jobs and it's the highest paying nursing job out there! And if you become a psych NP someday you'll make great money!

Just FYI it took 6 months to get my California RN license .... so start early if that's where you want to end up.

I agree 100%!

That's a really good point that the billing is the same. Thanks for your advice. It makes me mad when employers offer us such a low amount, and even more upset when others are willing to take. It undermines us all.

I think summer is a very hard time to get a job, census is low and people (recruiters/hiring managers) are on vaction and hospitals/offices aren't as busy as fall/winter. I have faith that you'll be able to get something if not soon, then in a few months. I know relocating is tough when you don't have a job but I know that a lot of hospitals in the DC area are always hiring- it's a 4 hour drive so not too far if you need to come check it out. Don't let people tell you that's it's too expensive to live here either, it's not that bad and the pay is on par :) George Washington Hospital is always recruting- find the recruiters info on linkedin and email her directly, she's very nice. Maybe if you have a job offer than you can get a place and it'll all align nicely. good luck!

Thank you so much. When she asked me my salary requirement I said 95-100 and she's like we pay 84 but I've been told by a lot of people it's too low....

Hi All, I need a little advice on how to handle this situation. I'm a new grad FNP (board certified, licensed) and went to a job interview in DC where they offered me 84k per year with very little benefits for full time. That's 15k below the average for that area and they know that because they then asked me to negotiate with them. I do have RN experience and even a prior career in public health but i feel as a new grad i'm not sure what cards i have to play with and how to handle negotiating. I'm not sure what to say, even if i ask for more benefits it wont make up for the super low salary for this area (they dont have a 403b or pay for licensing or CME...something else too i cant remember)....I do like the place which is why i'm trying to figure this out... any advice? thanks so much

I'm in the Washington DC area and I'm also having a hard time finding a job as a new NP. I do have RN experience but I'm finding that my classmates are all getting jobs from people they know, not job boards. I have a recruiter and have applied to over 40 jobs in both the DMV and CA in the past 2 months. I've only had one call so far. I'm not sure what to tell you, I'm becoming discouraged as well. I have had recruiters (who contacted me via linkedIn) reach out from places in the midwest like missouri and michigan but I'm not willing to move there- if you are then make sure your profile is up to date on linked in. You could try reaching out to Barton Assoc- i have a recruiter through them, though still haven't had any luck- they are based mainly in CA. Good luck

Thanks! I think you made a good choice. I was feeling overwhelmed too. I actually almost pushed my date back but I just couldn't study anymore

I agree with AZ-RN, MSN 100%... I did the EXACT same thing she did and just passed the AANP last week. I didnt do a lot of questions- just the practice tests and I kinda wish I had done more questions (though boardvitals.com isn't helpful- i bought them and wouldn't use them again), but I guess it didn't matter bc i still passed. Despite what many others on here have said I found the exam to be really hard and towards the end i was sure i was failing. I did the Fitzgerald review and read through just the exam tips and clinical pearls in Leik. I initially didn't like the Leik book because I found a lot of errors in it HOWEVER I dont think I could have passed the exam without it. It's definitely a must read book- she somehow knows everything that's going to be on the exam (and some of it is SO random) whereas Fitzgerald is more thorough and better for actual practice. Good luck! If you feel like you're ready and can't possibly study anymore then you ARE ready- just do it, you'll be fine :)

That's a good point. I feel like she'd be very overbearing and insistent that I do everything her way. She said she'd make me her scribe at first so I could "learn the computer system"... I wasn't even sure what to make of that. On another note, I think I'm so nervous to start my first NP job because everyone has a way to doing things and though each way may be correct I'm afraid of a supervising doctor insisting I do it their way, especially if it's old and no longer evidence based (or like giving an antibiotic for a viral infection). I've experienced this as a new nurse where I was taught one way in school and then got into the work place and was told to do it my preceptors way, even though I was going according to EBP. I feel like as a new grad I can't speak against someone with more experience.

I had an interview for a primary care/urgent care where the doctor grilled me over the phone for 1.5hr on clinical questions. She then asked me in for a formal interview, where I figured she just wanted to meet me in person, show me the office etc, but no. The in person interview was 5.5 hours of clinical questions- head to toe- everything you could imagine- every system and disease process.... I had barely started studying for my board exam so I was sweating bullets. Then she made me see 2 patients. She also asked me every illegal question in the book- am I married, do I have kids etc... I was so exhausted and intimidated by the end of it that I didnt even want the job lol.... but I wasn't offered it anyway. Now I'm terrified to go on another interview!

I've worked with American Traveler and am also beginning to work with KPG. AT has a decent amount of positions in the DC area, whereas KPG has more options in California. My recruiter with AT is AMAZING. I mean this woman works SO frickin hard for me, goes way above and beyond (I'm such a pain in the a$$) and she always pulls through and always makes me feel like she's trying her hardest to work for ME not the hospital. My friend works for them as well and LOVES her recruiter too, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them, however they are limited in California.

I'm graduating soon and I'm in DC also looking to move to CA. Regardless of location it seems like all of the job postings are through recruiters/ locums positions and its frustrating. I contacted 2 of them, but they kind of give you the run around, want all your info and offer little in return. One recruiter told me that as a new grad pretty much the only job through them would be home health. I told them I don't want home health but that's pretty much it. He still emails/texts/calls me kinda leading me on like there might be something else but I dont know why when he clearly told me only home health for new grads. The other recruiter won't tell me anything because I'm not licensed yet. I just feel like they're so vague as to what's out there it's frustrating (esp after I've given them all my info etc). I'm curious to see what others say about this topic.