Ending in Clearwater, FL

After working for 2 months in Clearwater, FL the NP I was covering came back from maternity leave. I worked with her for a few days so she could get adjusted since the clinic had opened right when she went on leave. She was a former traveling NP too so that was cool. You could tell since she was a quick learner.

I was asked if I could work in Holiday, FL for the remaining month of my assignment. The clinic is 30 minutes from where I was staying so I asked for gas reimbursement and was told yes. That clinic ended up being very well run. They were fully staffed and everyone worked efficiently. The staff was friendly and fun to talk to. The patients were really nice and straightforward. Also, the physician let me leave 2-3 hours early when I was done with my work – so of course that was awesome.

After being there for 1.5 weeks, my supervisor (medical director) asked me to change locations again. I didn’t want to go to the other clinic since it has a reputation for being a disaster. But he insisted the locums NP at that clinic needed extra help and that I would enjoy the challenging patients. My first day there, I told the other locum NP that I was there to help her. She said she didn’t know why since the medical director never told her I was coming, nor did she complain about being overwhelmed. In fact, when I looked at the schedule, there were only 4 patients that day, and no patients the next 2 days.

Side note: the other locums NP ended up being the same one I had worked with in Bradenton FL (See: Having other locums nurse practitioners). One I didn’t have a good experience with and figured wouldn’t be thrilled to see me. She initially gave me an attitude when I said I came to help. But after I explained to her her struggles at the clinic weren’t because of her but just that that place is a mess, she relaxed and confided in me. She told me the medical director there was trying to use her as his assistant. Like when he saw a patient and needed records, he told her to call the specialist office to get the records as if that is her duty.

When I went to the other clinic to help the other locums NP, I felt insulted when I learned they had a physician there that day that was only there to “babysit” us. He had no patients on his schedule, was just available in case we had questions. In my mind, I’m like ok this physician can help the locum NP see patients, why do I need to be here?

Shortly after, God answered my prayers and the medical director asked me to return to the clinic in Clearwater. They thought the NP that returned from maternity leave had an issue with her FL license (which ended up not being the case) so needed coverage there. My recruiter told the medical director that this would be the last time I am changing clinics. Because in my contract I was only supposed to work in Clearwater, and only agreed to switch to Holiday as a courtesy. Now within one day, they had asked me to switch clinics another two times.

Of course, by the time I got to Clearwater, they realized that the permanent NP there did not have a license issue after all. My recruiter messaged me and said the medical director said I can return to Holiday if I want. I think he got the point that I did not want to be at the other clinic. Everyone in Clearwater were happy to see me, and I was glad to see them too. So I decided I was going to spend the following day in Clearwater as well, to see one of my Spanish speaking patients. Then I would return to the Holiday clinic later in the week. That way, I could have the best of both worlds. And at the end of the day, apparently, I was the one calling the shots now since they had me running around like a chicken with no head.

The pro of this assignment is I was well-paid to do little work. The con of this assignment is that the clinics are new and need a ton of help. Would I return to this site? Possibly if I am going to one of the “good” clinics. Or maybe with one of their more established clinics in other states. Even though I was at the Holiday clinic for only one month, they are so sweet and surprised me on my last day. They ordered breakfast from Panera and bought me flowers, a card, and some of my favorite treats. And that my friends, is a wrap.