Rnfa's

[joey442000]

Ok this was brought up in another thread i was posting in but i never got an answer. i also did a search and couldnt find anything. anyways i graduated form nursing school last may and have since been working in the OR. i love it and wouldnt shange it for the floor for anything. anyways i have become really interested in becoming a first assist. I havent met any RNFA's so my resources are somewhat limited at work. anyways i was basically wondering what the average salary or hourly wages are for rnfas. whether private or paid by the hospital. i would appreciate any info thanks

[RoadKillRNFA]

I can't comment on states other than CA. I am in private practice here, with surgeon's offices calling to book me. I use a billing service for insurance cases and have a cash price structure for cash cases (cosmetics). I am not busy enough to make this my full time job, though it does add very nicely to my income. I work OR through a registry, so I have the flexibility to work whenever the chance arises. The hardest elements of private practice are:

1. Getting known. I have been in the local OR community of almost 20 years, so the docs pretty much all know me. I made scheduling packets that I sent to all the surgeons that I know. It includes a letter of intro, a tablet of tear-off, faxable scheduling sheets, business cards and a rolodex card with all my info on it.

2. Getting privileges : Applying to practice at area hospitals is tedious, though the process has improved greatly in the last couple of years. Get a surgeon that knows you to "sponsor" you , so when you apply (typically through the medical staff office) you have some credibility there.

3. Billing for insurance cases. I request that the surgeons office gets "pre-certification" for an RNFA for the cases they book me for. This is critical. I also use a professional medical billing service. They take about 10% of my receivables, but it is worth the lack of hassle.

Hope this is helpful.

http://members.cox.net/jefflovernfa/

[Kabin]

I've found some hospitals use PA FAs exclusively. I'm not sure how common this is. Anyone know a stat reference identifying how many hospitals use RNFAs or which hospitals aren't RNFA friendly?