primary care physician

nurse

x-ray technician

nursing supervisor

medical laboratory technician

Patient First

Working as a PSR at Patient First appears to be a great job, if you have no idea what an actual good job is.  I went into it as an experienced professional who worked in a variety of settings and industries, and this place can't compare to any of those in terms of management or overall culture.

Yes, the benefits are good--but expensive! My current job has the same benefits for about half the cost. Yes, you can work in the healthcare field, but you get all the stress of being a healthcare provider with none of the benefits (like good pay, respect of your colleagues, etc.)

The pay, for the amount of work that's expected of you, is abysmally bad --and I found out that, because of my experience, I was actually making more than my colleagues who had been there for a few years! It's basically just above minimum wage for an extremely high level of responsibility, and high levels of accountability with zero control over your work environment and productivity--all of which produces supremely high levels of stress. Add a constant understaffing and the constant crowds of patients, and you have an unmanageable situation.

Management acts like you're joining the SEALS and need to be broken down mentally and physically until you accept the weird Patient First cult that includes agreeing to things like:

*Installing an app on your phone that allows them to constantly harass you at all hours, including your DAYS OFF (no, you're not paid for your time responding to this harassment or for use of your phone)
* Taking NO breaks during your workday, no lunch, no nothing, and even when you do get one, you can expect to be interrupted if things get busy--which they always do
*NEVER leaving the building --yes, this is a healthcare facility where apparently the management believes fresh air is bad for you...maybe they're just afraid nobody will come back if they're allowed to breathe the fresh, non-cult air LOL
*Schedules that can change with no notice, too bad if you made plans based on the schedule you were given a month ago

If you enjoy feeling like you're back in high school being bullied by a bunch of mean girls, you will love working as a PSR at Patient First. If you want to work in an environment that's a cross between a Scientology workshop and the inner halls of Mordor, come on down and apply. They're ALWAYS hiring.

I work at a very busy center with the highest patient volume in the state. The job itself can get stressful sometime but my coworkers and I work well together and help each other when needed to make things less stressful for each other. However management is not as caring. The schedule is made on a monthly basis where you would get the following months schedule 3 weeks before that month. The schedule would change a million times, even while already being in the month. There were times where we would be more than a week into the month and they would change the schedule without talking to you first, sometimes without even telling you. When we would have personal family emergencies, our options were find coverage for the shift, otherwise show up. Meanwhile our supervisor could text us an hour before her shift started saying she wouldn’t be coming in without even trying to find coverage. There was always miscommunication. I was disciplined for being “late” for an EXTRA shift that I didn’t agree to work due to a doctors appointment. I was still required to come in. I left for my appointment and still had to come back. There’s always double standards. You also can’t get a proper break. We are allotted a 15 min break but since we are so busy we don’t actually get that break because we are made to feel that if we do, we are hurting our coworkers. Our “breaks” are essentially taking 1-2 min segments to take bites of our food throughout the shift. Never felt appreciated

Patient First has great benefits. As a whole its a great company. But at the center level its horrible. There is a a lot of cliques, cattiness, people minding and telling other peoples business etc. I got singled out and bullied the entire time I worked there. It was like high school. As much as I loved what I did and the interactions I had with the patients. I hated my co-workers and supervisors. Supervisors had their favorites and they had no problem letting it be known. My supervisor was extremely annoying,she liked to micromanage, and she had a tendency to throw her employees under the bus. She never took any responsibility for the things she did. When she worked front desk it was horrible. She also had poor time management. Headquarters cut her office hours. So instead of coming in earlier to do her paperwork or taking it home. She'd do it at the front desk leaving the other person working to handle all the check-ins which were timed. But herself, was quick to write people up for any and everything. If I sound biased I am. Honestly in terms of work environment the place was very TOXIC and the worse. Pay and benefits are great. HR was really no help with my documented complaints regarding my toxic work environment. So I say all this to say. Whatever you do DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Keep record of any conversations with co-workers or supervisors.My supervisor was actually recording our conversations on her cell phone and thought I didn't know.  DONT TRUST ANYONE. Yall co-workers..not friends. Always cover you own butt FIRST!

What is the best part of working at the company?
Generous benefits. The centers are clean and well-maintained. In-house lab and radiology makes for rapid diagnoses.  Pay was OK but at a busy center you'll augment that with volume-based bonuses.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
They had me doing 7-hour days six days per week. The two weeks were often juxtaposed so that I'd be working 12-day stretches. When it began to take its toll and I discussed it with my supervisor they simply shrugged.
I also encountered problems that were caused by poor communication within the company. Lastly there was a woman in the home office in Richmond who handled administrative/payroll matters and made errors every time I dealt with her.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The mood varies among the centers. I was lucky to have good people at the two centers at which I worked but on some one-off visits to others there was a different feel. Encountered one RN who truly needed mental health treatment. But there were also many good people. The culture is, indeed, "Patient First," but sometimes its difficult to accomplish.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I could see as many as 20-25 patients in 7 hours on a typical 7-hour shift. Certainly the pandemic escalated these numbers. My home center went from 60-75 patients a day to over 120.

Company is flexible in schedule and work-life balance is nice; however, there are many areas where things could improve from a management perspective across all departments.  Seemingly, promotion is from within and having a similar last name or "knowing someone" will get you to where you are going quicker than others.  Support from the top-down could be drastically better.  Reactive company with a competitive culture and politics rampant throughout. No Career Advancement.  Compensation is not within industry averages across all departments, and will seemingly look for someone who is "cheaper", rather than retain the ones who are proficient and support the company from the ground-up.  If you are opinionated, your opinion does not go too far in being heard. Competitive market analysis consistently could help, but not on the radar. Great company from a medical point of view within Urgent and Primary Care industry; but, everyone is replaceable. Worst of all, conflicts of interest everywhere with nepotism leading to the downfall and unfair treatment of employees.  Culture, Compensation, Fair Treatment of Employees, Ethics, Career Advancement, and Management could all improve.

Patient First is an urgent care facility; a typical work day is very fast paced. Patients, adults as well as children, are seen for a variety of illnesses. In addition, physicals and drug screenings are performed. Time management, as well as organizational skills, play an important part in my work day. 

I have learned, and fine tuned, my skills as Medical Assistant. Accuracy in vital signs, phlebotomy and EKGs has been refined.
I have proven to be a team player, as well as dependable and flexible in regard to my work schedule.

Management has consistently provided an open door policy, being fair to all employees. I have had the opportunity to mentor several of my co-workers who were new to this field.

As customer service plays a huge role in health care, the hardest part of my job has been the sometimes unavoidable wait time for my patients. However, this also provided a goal for myself, and my co-workers, to strive toward.

The most enjoyable part of my job has been the satisfaction of being an important member of a professional team. It is extremely rewarding to have provided good care to my patients, as well as representing Patient First in the most professional manner.

Be prepared to only work 7 hour shifts, so 35 hours/wk FT. Part time is ONLY weekends! So, hope you can survive on 28 hours a MONTH! There is no room for advancement UNLESS you are a female tech (preferably non-married, without children & little tech experience). Also, look forward to triage patients, perform lab studies, assist with sutures & splinting, cleaning up vomit/diarrhea, handling all computer issues & cleaning the parking lot/building...all while doing x-rays too! Plan to work 365 days a year. You will be required to sign off on new policy changes every day. You MUST wear certain color polo shirts with only 3 buttons (tucked in) & white scrub pants. ONLY solid white shoes, minimal jewelry, certain hair styles & no tattoos. You will be put in a QA book every day for the tiniest infraction (marker slightly off film, technique isn't perfect, using capital letters instead of lower case letters & visa versa). MUST BE TEXTBOOK IMAGES 100% AT ALL TIMES! HR department will not help you even if you're in the right & will make promises & then take them back. All while denying they ever made certain promises. They will be sure to deny you for continuing education even if you qualify & followed the guidelines to the letter! P.S. never go to Central Park location!!

This used to be a good company, and at its core still has good values. But for the past couple of years things have gotten increasingly stressful for staff and doctors. Many people have quit and that has left things severly understaffed. This means the already tired overworked people have to work more hours and/or do the job of multiple people. This environment in gurn leads to more people quitting and the problem gets worse. The company pays well but many people who are worked to the point of exhaustion don't care about little bonuses anymore. The corporate structure leans to hard on their middle management to fix all their problems for them and cover all the open shifts. That leads to the managers and supervisors leaving in droves. The constant upheaval makes for a chaotic feeling on the treatment floor and tensions that rise daily. I have worked at multiple locations and there is always someone on the floor talking about quitting. It's a shame too, because this company used to be the best of the urgent cares.

I work at home as a transcriptionist, which is challenging because of the level of discipline required. Working in a patient first location I am told is great, especially working at the corporate office in Glen Allen. Sometimes breakfast, lunch or pastries are brought in. And there is always someones birthday or something to celebrate. The opportunity for advancement is great in house, but as a transcriptionist it is a dead end.  There is a 1400 line per day quota, which takes about 10 months to 1 year to acheive, but once you achieve it, it is not hard to do for someone not burnt out by listening to ESL doctors. (English as a second language).  The money at the 1400 line count minimal is not great, one really should type 2000 or 2400 lines a day for a decent paycheck. There is great flexibility as you have 24 hours to get your work done and you set your own schedule. Most of the managers are very accomodating, easy to deal with.  There is really little communication once you're on your own. Just do your quota and if there is no issue or query, they pretty much leave you alone.

By far my favorite employer I have ever worked for.  The benefits are amazing and the pay is competitive.  There are bonuses and overtime available almost every week. Paid Travel between centers. Paid time off as well. The people are amazing usually.  I never felt like I had to go above and beyond but with how awesome the team is, it's hard not to want to. Your hard work doesn't go unnoticed and everyone starts to feel like family. There are tons of opportunities to move up in the company. I started as a receptionist and within a year I was doing patient services and medical  assistant.  Training is always thorough and never has to be rushed. There is always someone that will help you if you need it. If you are thinking about applying at patient first just do it. The only real downside is there are not guaranteed breaks. But because everyone cares about each other, if you have to eat then they make sure you get a few minutes to do that. It's not as bad as it sounds. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Primary care physician 14 salaries reported	$259,893 per year
Nurse 10 salaries reported	$39.64 per hour
X-ray technician 4 salaries reported	$35.00 per hour
Nursing supervisor 7 salaries reported	$45.00 per hour
Medical laboratory technician 1 salary reported	$34.00 per hour

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