Working for Kaiser as an EM attending

[Gr42]

Does anyone know what is like to work for Kaiser as an Emergency medicine trained physician? Is it different depending on the region you work at? For what I understand you have little autonomy but the benefits are supposed to be great. How about Kaiser's work hours for EM physicians?

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[docB]

I never actually worked for Kaiser but we rotated there as residents and several of my classmates work there. There are a few attendings on the board who will hopefully chime in.

Here's a past thread with some good info on Kaiser.

 

[n2b8me]

 

[spyderdoc]

I worked in the Kaiser system, both in NoCal and SoCal. I posted a response in the link in DocB's post above. Take a look at that post, and if you have anymore specific questions, feel free to post them, and I surely will respond.

 

[igcgnerd]

deleted*

 

[diphenyl]

I have some colleagues who work at the one across town. They all seem to really like it. Having the screening nurse call line that patients actually use which can get them plugged in with their PMD instead of coming to the ED is nice. During day time hours they have an urgent care staffed by internists/ FP's who also filter off a lot of the "not so sicks" whom make it past the hotline nurse. So the patients you would be seeing are usually people that actually need a workup. The one downside I have heard is how inefficient the system is as far as the nursing staff is concerned. They are very limited in what they can do as far as protocol, antipyretics/ getting a work up going and such. However I think that is small compared to all the pluses. Especially having an internist who does all their own procedure/ runs codes, meaning no running upstairs at 3 am. They also have a pediatrician in house at all time which is sweet. No problem transferring because your seeing all kaiser patients, just call EPRP.

 

[spyderdoc]

Especially having an internist who does all their own procedure/ runs codes, meaning no running upstairs at 3 am. No problem transferring because your seeing all kaiser patients.

I (and I would guess ANY other FFS ER doc) LOVE getting the "can you intubate/line/OGT/code my patient upstairs" calls and going to code blues.... In the FFS world, this is procedure city, all billable. One can make more $$ in 15 min of "work" than a whole shift at KP.

Also, at Kaiser, not ALL pts that walk into the ER door are Kaiser (about 20% are non-kaiser), and these patients are not bound by arbitration (i think). They area a PITA to deal with, esp the semi-stable admissions...Well, actually, at my NoCal Kaiser job, it was easier since the hospitalists mostly admitted them and transferred them out the next day.....My SoCal job, the "culture" was for the ER doc to get them to another facility, or at least give it a good college try....

 

[Gr42]

I appreciate the replies....I find this info very helpful. Forgive my ignorance but what does FFS stand for?

 

[docB]

I appreciate the replies....I find this info very helpful. Forgive my ignorance but what does FFS stand for?

Fee For Service

Here's a thread that talks about FFS as opposed to some other pay systems in EM.