Independent Contractor

 

Make A PEER RESPONSE OR REVIEW ON THE ESSAY BELOW

Length: A minimum of 150 words per post, not including references Citations: At least one high-level scholarly reference in APA per post from within the last 5 years

 

As advanced practice nurses, there are many concerns which we need to focus on when looking for employment. The first thoughts that usually come up to mind are salary, location, working hours, and bonuses. I also have to consider the 1099 employment, reimbursement from insurance company’s liability insurance, malpractice insurance, federal taxes, social security, continuing education credits, administrative time, collaboration contract, insurance credentialing and reimbursement, and contract agreements after reviewing an article by Brown & Dolan (2016). I discover that having a collaboration contract with a physician that is open, approachable, and willing to be a mentor is important to me. I would prefer to work close to home and not have to drive an hour to get there and back.

Hahn & Cook (2018), wrote that independent nurse practitioners can increase access to care in urban and rural communities. I desire to work in a rural community, and I would try to find a location of practice that is close to this setting. Lastly, salary, compensation, and bonus are important considerations for employment and are negotiable. I live in a state that has restrictive practices for advanced practice nurses and a collaborative practice agreement is required. Although a collaborative practice agreement is nonnegotiable the terms in it are negotiable. The outline on how we will work together, the responsibilities, geographic proximity, and coverage during absence are all negotiable (Brown &Dolan, 2016). 

An independent contractor is often viewed as “employment-as-will” and be terminated for no reason at all (Brown &Dolan, 2016). I had seen this with a few of my nurse practitioner friends who had seen their hours drastically cut due to the Covid pandemic. I find that I would negotiate for termination of contract notification of 15 days. As an independent contractor, I would be responsible for my taxes, personal liability, and malpractice insurance (Brown &Dolan2016). This implication makes the salary negotiable and oftentimes the independent contractor can get increase their salary with this negotiation. Independent contractors have control of the setting, hours, schedule, and benefits which are also negotiable (Brown &Dolan, 2016).

There are many great benefits to working in formal employment as an advanced practice nurse. I find the most beneficial would be the W2 status of employment and withholding of taxes. The credential process is another large benefit as an employee. It is often problematic and frustrating for advanced practice nurses to secure commercial-payer credentialing (Hahn & Cook, 2018). Often formal employment comes with benefits of paid leave, reimbursement of work-related items as in journal subscriptions, continuing education, CPR recertification classes, and sometimes tuition reimbursement (Brown &Dolan, 2016).

References:

Brown, L.A., & Dolan, C. (2016). Employment contracting basis for the nurse practitioner. The Journal for Nurse Practitioner, 12(2), e45-e51. DOI. http://dx.doi.org/10/1016/j.nurpra.2015.11.026

Hahn, J.A. & Cook, W. (2018). Lessons learned from nurse practitioner independent practice: A conversation with a nurse practitioner entrepreneur. Nursing Economics, 36(1), 18-22. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2007005926?accountid=10014