Behind the Scenes: Urgent Care PA Shares Insider Knowledge!

[@TheMedicineCouch]

Would you work in urgent care? Do you think it's a great specialty or frightening!?

[@johnumbach7064]

The medicine seems very learnable, doable and potentially rewarding. The volume expectations attached to the high satisfaction expectations is what seems a bit daunting.

[@johnumbach7064]

He quoted averaging 3 pts / hr but I more commonly hear 4 is the minimum and often much more.

[@TheMedicineCouch]

@@johnumbach7064 I am right there with you. The volume definitely scares me. I will say I've read many social media threads where providers talk about how many pts they see in UC. I would have to say, the majority answered about 38-45. Some were much higher and were dying, others were a little lower. I think if someone is looking at UC, it would be smart to really do their homework on a location there were considering working at. It really is so variable! One smart move may be to consider occupational medicine. You get a lot of UC type cases and experience, but the volume is usually significantly less!

[@NickNorland]

Great video, very informative. Thank you

[@TheMedicineCouch]

You’re welcome! Glad you liked it.

[@ccfalcon88]

Thanks for publishing this video. I love your fox sweater btw 😊 I'm interested as a soon to be new grad FNP (10 years nursing experience mixed wound specialist, ICU mother-baby), but I am afraid of being overwhelmed as a new grad FNP. Still I am also interested in being in the mix of things and being engaged in my environment. I have definitly heard mixed reviews from NPs about the workplace quality. That freaks me out the most!

[@TheMedicineCouch]

Thanks! I love my fox sweater too! 😃 As we tried to point out in the video, UC is a specialty that has HUGE variability between settings. Definitely take your time and check out jobs you are interested in. Don't be afraid to ask questions at the interview and don't be afraid to ask for at least one day of shadowing in the clinic. While you are there, talk to everyone working that day, not just the provider(s). See if they think it's a good place to work and if they feel supported. You can't ever really know for certain if a place is right for you, but if you do you best to scope it out as much as possible, you give yourself a better chance. And if you start working there and realize it's not the right place for you and the problems can't be fixed, don't be afraid to move on! Another things I would say is to consider looking at occupational medicine jobs. They almost always have a fair amount of urgent care cases (mostly ortho, lacerations, foreign bodies) but they are normally much slower paced and without all the "train-wreck" patients. Congrats on your upcoming graduation and best wishes in your career!

[@fdllicks]

My experience. It sucks. Patients are all Karens. They are WAY WAY overcharged. When they get their $10,000 bill they immediately write a handwritten bill complaining about you. Why? Because they heard at the gym and yoga class that another Karen depressed housewife got their bill cut in half by writing a complaint letter. So the administrator calls you into his office wondering why you got your 500th complaint letter. But the real answer is bcz the patients know they get their bill cut in half with a complaint letter.! Urgent care sucks

[@TheMedicineCouch]

I didn't have that experience when I worked UC, but that was 7 years ago, so I'm sure things have changed. Yes, the billing issues is one of those things that providers have no control over (other then setting the visit code), but that can negatively impact them. Definitely one of the frustrations in medicine. Well, that and administration not having your back!