Well, its all about the reimbursement. Since your position is contigent on state funding, I think you might have to move to another position in order to get the salary you want. I've been in my position 6 yrs. I get cost of living, the "paltry" (your words, not mine) $1500 CME - (going rate in the rural midwest), and from salary.com, I'm at the 60th percentile for my area/credentials. However, when we look at requesting a raise, we have to come to the bargaining table with what we propose to do in exchange for more money. Some suggestions based on what you have posted:
1. Since you generate/bill no fees, you are going to have to come up with some other carrot to dangle in front of the boss.
2. Perhaps you could offer to teach a class to unlicensed personnel re: HIPAA, charting documentation, patient care protocols.
3. Revamp the flow of the clinic to improve the number of pts you can see in a day.
4. Institute protocols for unlicensed personnel in order to improve pt care.
5. Start a customer service plan - I immediately think of Pres-Gainey but it doesn't have to be something big and flashy.
6. If there isn't a call back system for labs, appts, no shows, draft a plan.
1,231 Posts
The CME of $1500 is pretty standard & actually doable depending on the location of the conferences you attend. You could attend 2 three day conferences. Conferences range in costs but I would suggest breaking the 7 days you are allowed into 2 or 3 conferences. You do not have to stay at the fancy hotel the conference is held (all you need is clean room/clean bed) & I try to go with a friend and share the rooms. Most big cities have subways/bus systems or shuttles so no need to rent a car. Meals are included in many conferences. I've attended one day conferences 45 miles from my hometown for 8 CEUs for $150 for one day conference. I also will drive to the next largest city about 275 miles away to attend conference and stay with friends. I attended Keystone conference one time and only spent $1000 including the conference (3 days & tons of CEUs) airfar/hotel/rental car but I rented the cheapes littlest car). Same with the UTAH NP annual pharmacology conference. My friend works for a non-profit grant supported clinic system and the 1 week CME/$1500 is what she also gets.
patrick1rn, MSN, RN, NP
420 Posts
Work, get experience, get some primary care experience, focus on your weak points and make them stronger and look for the next best thing.