permanent ambulatory care job vs. federal contract job

[clarkbar]

I'm torn between starting a private, full-time ambulatory care job and a full-time federal facility hospital job, but through a staff agency for an eight month contract with possibility for renewal...

I have some IV experience and LTC experience, but my hospital experience is limited to some rotations some time ago in school. I will need some training wheels, so to speak for drugs and care centering around surgery.

Is there any training in staffing jobs when you get to the facility? How difficult is the transition from LTC to inpatient staffing? What is the nature of working for a staffing company? If the facility doesn't like an employee, is thrown to the wolves or reassigned? How valuable is federal experience if one wants to be a federal employee in the future? Ultimately, this is where I want to be.

Thank you for your support!

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[bacillus1]

Federal contractor job DOES NOT EQUAL TO federal job. You do not get federal benefits, and are not treated as a current federal employee when being ranked by HR on job applications. Take the private am care job, since it's permanent.

 

[lord999]

Federal contractor job DOES NOT EQUAL TO federal job. You do not get federal benefits, and are not treated as a current federal employee when being ranked by HR on job applications. Take the private am care job, since it's permanent.

And if I know where you're talking about, there's a reason why it's contract despite everything else. It's probably not worth the environmental headache.

 

[Saiyo]

Federal contractor would've been good in the days when they made bank but those days are long gone.
As a fellow federal hopeful I would still have to say that I'd take the amb care job and try to use that experience to get in externally unless you know for sure that contractors there get dibs on the gs jobs. For me it wouldn't be worth the uncertainty and decrease in qol vs the amb care job.

 

[clarkbar]

Thank you for all the replies. This is inpatient hospital, a setting I am interested in and have never had the chance to get in with before. From an experience point-of-view, is it worth considering? Additionally, qol is poor where I am, due to the geographical location I live in. (I would consider a wash between the two places--cooler federal locale, but less of a learning curve at the ambulatory job, which is mostly infusion work.)

Apart from this particular location, isn't it true that federal contract work is sought after for candidates that are keen on federal work? I have been notified that the supervisor of the facility will call upon my request. Any good questions to ask?

Not sure of the import, but the staffing agency said that it is a long-term contract and there is a possibility of temp-to-perm after one year.

 

[Z-Qualizer]

Permanent & full-time >>> contract work almost every time - especially in this job market.

 

[clarkbar]

Yes, but, as you will find out when you graduate, pharmacy is strategic in amassing skills. This is an inpatient hospital job. If it is not toxic, that is valuable.

 

[clarkbar]

I just found out the contract position is in the ambulatory dpt. I know they like to push residencies for those jobs. Would the experience, say a year or so, be beneficial to getting employment in such a position, VA or private clinic? Would the residency be an ultimate barrier?