steffyh

Hey peeps! It's been a while, but as a 6 year NP, I'm looking into some side hustle gigs. I've been combing through the web for remote gigs, contract work, etc- anyone got anything good that pays well? I work 3 12-hr shifts and NEVER take work home, so on my free time I'd like to earn some extra $$.

It depends on where you live. To start you should get an idea what a RN with similar years of experience is making, then go up from there. I am a FNP w/ 3 years experience and interviewed at an UC center in norther VA and they offered me $45/hr... um... NO! They were offering their night RNs that! So no... I was told by the HR rep they don't pay the other NPs what I was asking which is at minimum $60/hr, but 1st that's the other NPs' problem to take so little $$, and 2nd, they wanted me to run this UC by myself, see 20-30 pts/day, do Xrays, I&Ds, suturing, splinting, and EKGs... for $45/hr?!! I work at MinuteClinic and make $55-58/hr to pick my nose... I also have a per diem gig that pays $100/assessment and do anywhere from 5-8/day once/wk and might take a job getting paid $200/assessment to do in-home weight loss... so the short of it is know your value and fight for what you want. If we don't collectively ask for more $$ these companies are going to pay us like crap. AND when you think of it, they're hiring more NPs than MDs and PAs b/c we're cheaper so again, ask for more $$ because they need us. We don't need to make the same as a MD or PA, but we shouldn't be disgusted when we're given the numbers (salary). VALUE yourself and ask for more $$ always! When I'm going for a new gig or job, I stop the recruiters or HR in the middle of their talking points and say, "listen, I don't want to waste your time and I don't want you to waste mine, what does the position pay?" Once we get that out of the way, we can move on from there. Hopefully that helps some! Good luck!

I would totally love to do this! I think this is the next wave of innovation in medicine and think there's a market for it- why have sick people leave their home? Doctors use to do home visits and while some are starting to do that again, I think technology has solved that for those of us who would love to do home care in a variety of areas. This is perfect for families w/ young children who find child care difficult to come by and for patients w/ disabilities who find it difficult to leave their home for simple acute visits. I'm game- I would love more information!

My husband and I are likley moving to northern VA for a job opportunity for him. I can transfer the current jobs I have, but am wondering what the hourly pay is for a Family NP w/ 2+ years of experience working in a retail clinic? I'm asking for budgeting purposes. Oh I'm also coming from NH. Thank you!

So I just entered my 2nd trimester of pregnancy and am feeling good. My biggest frustration is having to ask people to wear a mask if they're sick or have a rash b/c of course they don't see any need. I actually had a women tell me "you're being too sensitive about this" after I told her I'm pregnant (she was presenting w/ a rash). I work in a retail clinic where 95% of my day is acute visits- I don't know what I'm dealing w/ until I do an exam or a test for flu, strep, etc. I'm vaccinated against the flu and do wear a mask myself when I'm doing pt exams, but despite signs on the sign-in kiosk that say, "IF YOU'RE SICK OR HAVE A RASH PLEASE WEAR A MASK" people don't. My biggest concern is exposure to something I'm potentially not immune to such as 5th disease (am getting labs to check), and being exposed to something that's going to make me and/or baby really sick or worse despite all of my best efforts. Other pregnant NPs out there w/ advice?

If you don't mind, how much is the compensation (you can PM me if you don't want to post it here). Also, do they give you any training to do the talks and do they make the slides? How do you handle any questions that may come up about the drug if you don't know the answer? Thank you!

I absolutely LOVE working for CVS. I'm not sure what websites say they don't approve vacation time, but that's not true, at least for the MC. Every day I've ever requested has been approved, except for 1 d/t another NP getting married and leaving too many holes in the schedule for the market- so that's understandable and the day I was requesting wasn't important b/c I just wanted it off randomly to eat up my earned time. I have never had to clean a bathroom and nor do the other NPs I've spoken with. My bosses are great and will work with you. As for the schedule they really want you to do the whole shift 8AM-7PM (weekends are 9-5:30 and 10-5:30 Sat and Sun respectively), but on the flip side I work 3 days one week, then 4 the next and have it worked out w/ my clinic partner that we do every other 3 day weekends and during the rest of the week we each work every other day- you can arrange your schedule as you and your clinic partner see fit just as long as the clinic is covered. I hope that helps. Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad this is helping other NPs in the same boat I was in. Good luck!

I'm starting this weekend w/ virtual (online) training, but as w/ any new job you get some nervous jitters until you're out on your own. I've already contacted another NP who works w/ the company (paired up by my manager) to do a mentor ride along before I'm out and on my own, just to ask some questions and see the flow. I don't need to do it, but I just want to have someone as my colleague I can turn to if I need it. I would apply for the position ASAP. They posted positions in my state and they were eaten up fast. It's no secret (or maybe it is) that this job pays well (almost double my hourly rate per assessment, then there's an hourly rate you get when you're not seeing patients, and you also get milage which is $0.57/mile). So for me if I see aboutr 7-8 patients/day I'll earn about $200-300 more/day than I do w/ my FT gig. This will be a nice extra income for straighforward work and very little take home. I'm excited and will keep you posted. Feel free to PM me too!

Strange it opened for me, but go to the nytimes.com site > health > well. You should be able to find "An Uber for Doctor Housecalls." Hopefully that works! :)

At work my day can vary from busy to slow, so on my slow days I take it upon myself to get up to date w/ what's going on in the medical community. I go to Medscape, the CDC, NYTimes Health page, and the Washington Post. Yesterday I stumbled upon this piece: http://mri1exmbpw1p/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/an-uber-for-doctor-housecalls/?ref=health%26_r=0 I think it's a great idea, but all I kept reading was "doctors..." Any NPs out there who know of any positions doing this? Might be another interesting venture for those looking for some extra work on the side...

Many times! I worked pediatrics and saved 3 kids because of it (I hate saying that too b/c I don't want the credit for it b/c it was my job). I use to be a clinical instructor and remember telling my students to listen to that gut feeling. It's always better to be wrong than to have been right and never act on it. I really wish I knew what it was b/c each time I never had any objective info and never even knew the pts when I had that feeling. When in doubt, go with your gut!

When I did sub school nursing, I swear an announcement was made the day before b/c I would be so busy with kids. I subbed in various schools across my town and there was no difference b/w the elementary, middle, or high schoolers. After my first few months, I was able to quickly learn that most of these kids needed TLC or a breather so I'd do what I could, gave them reassurance, and sent them back to class. For the ones who liked to fake (and think I was too stupid to know they were), I made them go back to class, get their coursework, bring it back to my office, and do it while they waited for their parents. That quickly got across the schools that I wasn't the sub who was a sucker and wasn't going to let them use my office as a way to cut class. If they grumbled, I would ask them if they needed help and help them out, which was what some of them needed, but were to embarrassed to ask. Overall, the fakers learned that the nurse's office and the classroom were no different in terms of school work. I felt like part of my mission was to support the teacher in their efforts since they're balls-to-the-wall with all of this going on in the classroom. It was a tough, but fun job. I give the school nurses credit. It's not easy with the way kids are raised today.

I took AANP b/c it was more clinical-based vs ANCC which will have more pics and research-related questions. I don't mind pics, but not the research-related questions. Plus since I would be practicing I felt like it made more sense to study for the more clinical-heavy exam. When studying, I would also HIGHLY recommend Fitzgerald and NO ONE ELSE. She has the best review and her instructors help to write the questions that go on these exams so it's nice to learn from the people contributing to the actual exam than some other company.

You'll be happy to know you're not bailing me out b/c I can afford my payments. Good luck getting that fine print BTW. I did read mine, but as soon as I signed the dotted line, I got a "Change in loan terms." It's common practice, you should check into it.

I was trying to reply to someone else who clearly has their head somewhere else... clearly they're not aware of what's going on.

First- $75,000 is not a lot of money to raise 4 children and feed the 2 adults raising them. If you can do it, good for you, but my parents didn't have the money and they didn't have anything fancy, just a normal 3 bedroom house and 2 used beaters for cars. My dad is a janitor and my mom works in the call center of a credit card company so combined they don't make a lot. Second- I too knew the difference b/w a BMW and a Toyota Corrolla, but didn't know the difference b/w in-state and out-of state quality of education so picked the private school. I also wasn't accepted into an in-state school so again, that makes things a little difficult for your argument's sake. Not to mention that again, there wasn't anyone to counsel me about these choices (but I'm happy to know you're an expert and I hope you're doing your job to inform prospective students about these things!). Third- You clearly came from an era when the cost of college wasn't as high as it has become as evidenced by your statement about your mother being raised by a depression-era mother... what was the cost of a year of school, $2000 for you? You could likely work a summer and pay for that as my FIL did when he went to Boston College and it was $2000/year. He too was raised by a depression-era mother. Forth- I think your response is based clearly on a lack of awareness of the current college debt crisis and again, telling people that "you don't think..." or whatever your opinion is, isn't helping the situation. My husband is a professor at a private college and in the 6 yrs he's been there, he's seen the tuition for his students go from $38,000 to $50,000+! And they don't even offer a graduate program! It's not that the quality has improved, it's for a number of other reasons that I'm sure you're not interested in since you seem to be unaware of what's going on today. Get with the program and congrats if you can afford to pay for your kids to go to college. Mine weren't able to so I worked my tail off to get to where I am and to have what I have. I'm fortunate enough to have the ability to pay my debt. And instead of making me the villian, why not be at least grateful that I'm able to pay mine back?

First, I must say I'm the first in my family to go to college so I didn't have any advice about the difference b/w public and private colleges. Second, my guiance counselor was a complete dunce so didn't get any help there AND even if she weren't such a dummie, she wouldn't have been much of a help b/c the cost of college at the time she went to school was FAR less expensive than it is today. I went to a private school that was $40,000/yr and got nothing for financial aid despite my parents' poverty (a combined family income of $75,000/yr before taxes w/ 4 children so do the math). So I took out loans from Sallie Mae. No one told me, nor did I read in the terms, how much I would have to pay and over what period of time. I also lived on campus b/c I was an out of state student so tac on another $10,000 for living expenses. My school had a coop program which meant that it took you 5 years to get a BSN- do the math at $50,000/yr and I walk out w/ over $200,000 in debt. Fortunately I had HRSA help for 3 years, but guess what, Auntie Sallie applied the payments to interest first so after 3 years of $3500/mo payments, I still have $193,000 to go. Since I was so far in the hole, I figured what's another $30,000 to get a MSN and become a FNP? So I did that and doubled my pay right out of school. I now work 2 jobs (one FT and 1 per diem that is 1 day/wk) and have tripled my income. I can afford the $1400/mo loan payments which is still a lot of money, but I did what I had to do given what little info I was given/or lack of, at the time. If I had to do it all over again, I would've gone to a state school and live at home. That's hind-sight. All I can do now is advise other prospective college students to think about the field they're entering, the school they're going to, how it will be financed, and how they will be able to pay it off. Since I left undergrad, the cost of attending that school has shot up to $50,000/yr and that doesn't even include living expenses which are well over $10,000/yr. The issue isn't the students taking out loans they may not be able to pay, it's that the cost of college has shot up in a very small amount of time- has anyone stopped to ask whether the quality of that education has shot up at the same rate? Why is it so expensive? Why there are cuts to funding student loan programs? Why is the government making money off the student loan payments (Dept of Ed) when other companies don't pay taxes (ie GE and the NFL), etc. I think if people want to get a college education, they shouldn't be punished after w/ payments they can't afford. There is a huge wave of former students sticking it to the government and these loan companies by not paying their debts b/c they can't afford them and further, no one wants to help them do so. The current figures for student loan debt in this country is now in the TRILLIONS of dollars and that is ridiculous. We need to stop victimizing the people who have that debt, and start looking at the colleges, the policy makers, and these loan companies for solutions or the problem will continue to get worse. Simply telling people that 'you should've done the math' isn't a solution to the greater problem- it hasn't yet and if you continue to do the same thing over and over and get the same results, you're insane!

I would shadow and talk to other providers there to get a real sense of how they like it. Another consideration is how much you'd be bringing home, espeically if you're driving 2 hours/day- that can really cut into your charting time if you have stuff to bring home. Otherwise, if all else is equal, I would take Cardio b/c there's more room for growth, better pay long term, better looking on resume, less burn-out, and better skill set. Good luck!

Depends on the state. I was an adjunct clinical instructor here in NH while I was getting my MSN for FNP and made $50/hr doing it. I did it one day a week (Sat or Sun) for a full semester and made $9800/semester just doing Jan-April. Again, I was getting my MSN as a FNP so you don't need your CNE, at least in NH. A lot of places will take NPs and give them clinical instructor jobs. I've interviewed at other schools that have wanted to pay me $28-35/hr which just isn't worth it for me given that I was making $50/hr elsewhere. While I was in grad school it was good to have the extra income when my husband's car needed repairs, tuition, etc. Good luck!

They said the credentially taking about 20 days and I just started w/ that last week. I keep getting calls/emails from VI to send them more info which is a little annoying b/c I work long days so don't have a chance to send it until I get home or until my next day off (which for me is Monday as I'm working a 3-day weekend). Other than that, doing the TSpot and drug test was easy as well as my CAQH stuff since I already have a # so I didn't need to do that huge packet. Where are you in the process? What state are you doing it in?

I got the job and am current going through the credentialing process. I start May 16 and 17 w/ virtual online training. I'm super excited. The pay is great (won't have an exact idea until I am actually out seeing patients) and I won't be confined to an office! Will keep you posted to let you know how it's going.

Good for you! Take your life back! Life is too damn short to miss out on so many opportunities for ourselves and families. Good luck! :)

My friend recently sent me a link to a company called Clinical Match Me which says they can pay up to $10,000 to precept students. Anyone hear of this or know of other companies that will pay NPs to precept students? Thanks!

I do and I love it. Now if you read my thread "Getting my life back" you'll see why. My last job was hell and I'm at a place in my life where I don't want to work my a** off for nothing. Pros: I work alone so I don't have to worry about any co-worker's attitudes. I'm done with the chart when the pt leaves so I NEVER bring work home. I get a lunch break (I didn't with my last job b/c I was always trying to catch up from the morning's work). I don't have to arrive early to check my inbox for labs and other notes that came in from the night before. I love the guidelines b/c it helps patients understand why a z-pack doesn't fix everything. I have a flexible schedule. My pay is WAY better than my last job AND I get retirement, life insurance, etc- stuff I never had at my last job. If I want to do more, my bosses are grateful and actually get you involved. I have the ability to do OT or do a per diem gig on the side which I would've never been able to do with my last job. Cons: it can be repetative, but if you like boring then this is for you. Some days are slower than others so you have to get creative with finding things to do. Longer days (8-7 M-F, 9-5:30 Sat, 10-5:30 Sun). You work weekends, but that's not so bothersome to me since I get a LOT done that I was never able to do on my week days off, plus the weekends aren't as long as the week days so you can still go out after work (like I am tonight!). I really like it. I think you really need to evaluate where you are in your life and where you want to be in a few years. I want to be a mom soon so this has given me the opportunity to have the flexibility to be home on the days when my husband isn't. I would advise shadowing for a day to see if you'll like it. Good luck!

I remember shaking so bad that it looked like I parkinsons! It sucked! All I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears, my guts were liquid, I couldn't breathe... After about 30 questions I knew I was going to fail. Once it was all done and I saw the "PASSED" on the screen, I broke down and cried. The people working there that day were so happy for me (of course I was exstatic that this **** was over!). I blubbered all the way out to my car, snot and all. When I closed my car door, I screamed so loud that I'm sure someone would've thought I was being murdered or raped or burned alive... I drove home continuously looking at the printout to make sure there wasn't a "NOT" in front of "PASSED." I couldn't believe it. You will be fine which is what everyone says so I'm sure it means nothing, b/c it didn't mean **** for me, but you will. Just remember, you're smart, you made it through the hell of grad school, and you can do more difficult things than this. Don't let your nerves get the best of you if you can avoid it. Good luck and let us know!