Before starting my last assignment in Kentucky, I mentioned that my plan was to return to my job in Chicago, possibly on a permanent basis. The funny thing is that I spent my entire assignment in Kentucky (5 months), negotiating with my boss on making this a reality. My boss definitely wanted me to come back to Chicago to help out, but there wasn’t technically a need at the clinic I was previously at (since the new PCP started there before I left).
My only intention in returning to Chicago would be to have my same patient panel that I had developed relationships with. I was not interested in going elsewhere in Chicago. As a result, the CMO (chief medical officer) of the company told my boss just to make room for me at my previous clinic, whether there was an immediate need or not.
Once that problem was solved, we discussed the terms of the contract. I am used to taking 8-12 week of PTO in a given year. The 6 weeks of PTO that the PCPs get (including holidays and CME) wasn’t going to cut it for me. Fortunately, my boss offered me an extra week of PTO considering I had been working with them on and off over the past 4 years.
Next were salary negotiations. The salary offered to me is pretty much what I make now as a locums. At first I was turned off that they didn’t offer me anything higher. What incentive did I have to leave my current comfort as a traveler? At the same time I had to remind myself that full time nurse practitioners don’t make as much as traveling nurse practitioners. In fact, my boss told me I would be the highest paid nurse practitioner there if I accepted the contract.
I still pushed for more considering my history of outperforming even the physicians. The CMO once again told my boss to add some incentives to the contract. For example, once I reached a certain patient panel size, my salary would increase by 10% etc. I accepted this proposition.
They also offered me a sign on bonus which was fair, in exchange for a two-year commitment. This doesn’t include the quarterly performance bonuses.
The contract was finally where I wanted it to be. Did I end up signing? Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow.
