Hey guys, like many new grad FNPs out there, I have been looking for a job for quite some time now. Maybe it's just me being frustrated, but it seems like so quite a few of the smaller clinics that are hiring are really shady. Some examples are:
1) a lot of these clinics geared to the Spanish speaking population or 'Clinicas' are employing foreign medical doctors (who have not gotten American licenses to work under the licenses of NPs). I (personally) don't have a problem with foreign doctors. What I DO have a problem with is if they try to use MY name/credentials to order/prescribe things.
2) plenty of clinics that strongly encourage the NPs to trump up patient's visits to boost revenue.
3) Doctors who have had their licenses REVOKED or SUSPENDED still recruiting NPs to work for them.
4) Doctors who basically lure NPs in and conveniently hide the fact that their clinic is really a pain pill mill.
5) Doctors who want to hire NPs for $60-75k (NO benefits), but want them working 8 to 11 hour days, 6 days a week. (I am in Houston where we were told to not settle for less than 90k for full time work)
I am getting to the point, to where I am ready to just stop looking for now. I was promised a job at a smaller clinic and the day before I was set to start, I was told that the clinic is having financial issues and I will need to "wait" before I can start. They couldn't even tell me how long that "wait" would be. Uh, NO. How unprofessional. Thank goodness I still have my agency RN job, and not something I had to give my 2 weeks notice. But I can't lie, I'm still pretty pissed about it, especially since I've started the job hunt all over again, only to see these horrible options.
Why are some doctors/clinic owners so unethical, greedy, untrustworthy, and use the NP for their schemes? And with so many new NPs who just want the experience and are having so much bad luck in looking for a job, I hate that we are kind of stuck between waiting FOREVER for legitimate work, or just risking our licenses at a shady place for that 1 to 2 years of needed experience.
Please help, if you have any words of encouragement, I really REALLY need it right now.
THANK YOU for your words of advice! I have agencies attempting to help me at the moment. I just got an email today for a job with an endocrinologist. I was excited until I saw her patient reviews :-(
She has all bad ratings from patients. some said she was kinda rude. I will still go to the interview though, but I'm ,obviously, nervous about that. Her license was clean though. What do you think? And another agency I'm with will send my resume to a FP clinic that's about 40 min away. I HOPE I get a call back for a interview.
You're doing better already. Yes, you should go to the interview with this endo. I wouldn't think too much on her personality issues. As a nurse you know that that is a common thing with physicians. Never mind her. Your goal is to get at least your one year in---even if you have to put up with a few unpleasantries. Just keep it professional. Maybe she won't be rude to you. I give everybody the benefit of the doubt, until they give me reasons not to. Of course, if she's totally nasty you can always walk. But, if the gig is legitimate and the pay is reasonable you should balance that against the cons. Remember --- one year! And time goes by quickly.
It usually works out. It just takes a while sometimes. Keep us posted.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
THANK YOU for your words of advice! I have agencies attempting to help me at the moment. I just got an email today for a job with an endocrinologist. I was excited until I saw her patient reviews :-(
She has all bad ratings from patients. some said she was kinda rude. I will still go to the interview though, but I'm ,obviously, nervous about that. Her license was clean though. What do you think? And another agency I'm with will send my resume to a FP clinic that's about 40 min away. I HOPE I get a call back for a interview.
Maybe one patient disliked her and got all her friends to write bad reviews. Meet her for yourself; talk to her other staff. Trust your gut to tell you if you need to burn rubber out of the parking lot.
I agree with TriciaJ. In some areas, very few people talk about how great the experience is while those who are unhappy are more than eager to spread the news. Meet and greet, then follow your gut. I remember hearing horrible things about one practitioner I did my preceptorship with and she turned out to be one of the best!
I used to work at one of those shady clinics, I loved it. It was a cash only clinic and the clients were mostly Hispanic. It was nice because people who wanted alternative treatments like vitamin shots could pay. People who needed things done paid for their X-rays labs or what ever I thought was needed. No need to wait for approvals. I was the only provider on the premises and pretty much ran the show. It was a good learning experience.
I used to work at one of those shady clinics, I loved it. It was a cash only clinic and the clients were mostly Hispanic. It was nice because people who wanted alternative treatments like vitamin shots could pay. People who needed things done paid for their X-rays labs or what ever I thought was needed. No need to wait for approvals. I was the only provider on the premises and pretty much ran the show. It was a good learning experience.
that doesnt sound shady to me. that sounds like an awesome place. Less hassle.
I used to work at one of those shady clinics, I loved it. It was a cash only clinic and the clients were mostly Hispanic. It was nice because people who wanted alternative treatments like vitamin shots could pay. People who needed things done paid for their X-rays labs or what ever I thought was needed. No need to wait for approvals. I was the only provider on the premises and pretty much ran the show. It was a good learning experience.
"Shady" is more of a descriptor of the circumstances than the place. Cash is always king. And we really don't care about the gender or ethnic background of the clientele---as long as we're getting paid, right? I believe that a version of what you described is the future of health care in this country. And, you get to call dibs if you can deliver reasonably priced cash-based services while wearing those shoes depicted in your avatar.
In less than a year Obamacare will implode under cost overruns, and this will create opportunities of all sorts for all of us aspiring FNP clinicians who forever ponder over the minutiae of someday starting our own businesses in affordable primary care. Health care policy will change in tandem with the changing political climate. Where will you be? Please spam me your positions. I need material for my dissertation.
So yesterday was the interview. Went really well. She seemed to be very nice, and her clinic did not look suspicious. She said that she still has more interviews to conduct (dang it!) and it should take another 2-3 weeks. I can't help but feel a little discouraged now knowing she has several other interviews. In the mean time, I have been applying to several places... with no leads.
So yesterday was the interview. Went really well. She seemed to be very nice, and her clinic did not look suspicious. She said that she still has more interviews to conduct (dang it!) and it should take another 2-3 weeks. I can't help but feel a little discouraged now knowing she has several other interviews. In the mean time, I have been applying to several places... with no leads.
I am NOT an APN but I wanted to warn you that these are techniques often used in hiring to strengthen a low ball offer. The person hiring makes you think that there are lots of other applicants dying for the job so that you will accept less money. They also make you wait a little in the hopes that you will be more thirsty for a job. I have done it and it is very effective. Be careful and congrats on the interview.
I am NOT an APN but I wanted to warn you that these are techniques often used in hiring to strengthen a low ball offer. The person hiring makes you think that there are lots of other applicants dying for the job so that you will accept less money. They also make you wait a little in the hopes that you will be more thirsty for a job. I have done it and it is very effective. Be careful and congrats on the interview.
I am an FNP in Oregon, a very NP friendly state. I will be retiring soon and the clinic I work for has the opposite problem, finding a good candidate to replace me. When I think about the process, there are many job sites online that are employer directed (via recruiters) but none that I know of that are NP directed. In This scenario the recruiting company benefits financially and the employer benefits both in terms of time and money by having another entity do the actual recruiting. There doesn't seem to be a process that allows the FNP to directly present themselves to employers, nor is there a process for FNP's to communicate with each other when they have knowledge about an upcoming opportunity.
Goldenfox
303 Posts
You're doing better already. Yes, you should go to the interview with this endo. I wouldn't think too much on her personality issues. As a nurse you know that that is a common thing with physicians. Never mind her. Your goal is to get at least your one year in---even if you have to put up with a few unpleasantries. Just keep it professional. Maybe she won't be rude to you. I give everybody the benefit of the doubt, until they give me reasons not to. Of course, if she's totally nasty you can always walk. But, if the gig is legitimate and the pay is reasonable you should balance that against the cons. Remember --- one year! And time goes by quickly.
It usually works out. It just takes a while sometimes. Keep us posted.