Questions to Ask Prior to Accepting NP Job
Questions to ask before signing as a nurse practitioner, covering patient volume, collaboration and chart review, pay structure, malpractice coverage, contract terms, and onboarding.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What does a typical day's schedule look like: how many patients, and how long are the slots?
Why ask it
Twenty patients in fifteen-minute slots is a different job from fourteen in half-hour slots, regardless of what the posting says. Ask for a printed template of a full day rather than an average.
Would I have my own panel, or cover other providers' patients?
Why ask it
Continuity changes both the clinical work and the message volume. Covering someone else's panel means inheriting their refills, results, and follow-up without knowing the history.
What patient population would I be seeing, and how complex are they?
Why ask it
Ask about payer mix, average number of chronic conditions, and how much of the visit is social complexity. That determines whether the scheduled slot length is realistic.
Who is my collaborating or supervising physician, and how do we work together day to day?
Why ask it
You want to know whether they are on site, reachable by phone, or a signature on a document. An arrangement that exists only on paper leaves you without backup on a hard day.
How often are my charts reviewed, and by whom?
Why ask it
Requirements vary by state and by employer. Ask what percentage, on what schedule, and whether the reviewing physician is paid for that time, because unpaid review tends not to happen.
What can I order, prescribe, and refer without a co-signature here?
Why ask it
Practices sometimes restrict NPs more tightly than state law requires. Get the internal policy in writing, particularly for controlled substances, imaging, and specialty referrals.
What is the base salary, and what exactly triggers any bonus?
Why ask it
Ask for the formula, the threshold, and what the current staff actually earned against it last year. A bonus tied to a target nobody has reached is not compensation.
How much time is built into the day for charting, calls, and refills?
Why ask it
If the answer is none, the work follows you home, and that is the single most common reason NPs leave a post. Ask how many hours of unscheduled administrative time current staff report.
Who handles prior authorizations, results, and patient messages, and how many staff support me?
Why ask it
Support ratios predict burnout more reliably than patient volume. Ask specifically who works the inbox when you are in clinic, because in many practices the answer is nobody.
What are the call and after-hours expectations, and is call paid separately?
Why ask it
Ask how often the rotation comes around, how many calls a typical night brings, and whether you are expected in clinic the next morning. A practice that has never counted the overnight calls is telling you nobody has looked at that load.
What is the ramp-up: how does my schedule fill over the first three months?
Why ask it
A schedule at full volume in week two leaves no room to learn the systems. If pay includes a productivity component, ask how the ramp period is treated.
Which electronic health record do you use, and how much training comes with it?
Why ask it
Ask for paid training days and whether a scribe or a superuser is available in the first month. A system you have never used costs several hours a week until it does not.
Is malpractice coverage occurrence or claims-made, and who pays for tail coverage if I leave?
Why ask it
Claims-made policies stop protecting you when they end unless a tail is purchased, and that cost can be substantial. This detail is often left out of the offer letter entirely.
Does the contract include a non-compete or non-solicitation clause, and what area does it cover?
Why ask it
Read the geographic radius, the duration, and the definition of competing practice. A wide radius in a rural region can mean relocating if the job does not work out.
What are the termination provisions, including without-cause notice on both sides?
Why ask it
Look for whether the notice periods are equal and what happens to your bonus if you leave mid-year. This clause determines how quickly a bad fit can end.
What is the continuing education allowance in money and in days off the schedule?
Why ask it
Money without protected days means using vacation for required education. Ask about licensure and certification fees and DEA registration as separate items.
How long does credentialing with your payers take, and when would I actually start seeing patients?
Why ask it
Credentialing commonly runs 60 to 120 days, and some practices delay the start date or pay differently until it clears. Ask what you are paid during that window.
How is my performance reviewed, and what happens at the first review?
Why ask it
Ask which metrics are used and who sees them. Reviews built only on volume and patient satisfaction scores push in a direction you should know about before signing.
How many NPs have held this role in the last three years, and why did they leave?
Why ask it
This is the question that most often changes a decision. A role that has turned over twice in three years has a reason, and it is rarely the individuals.
May I speak with an NP who works here now, and shadow for part of a day?
Why ask it
A refusal tells you something on its own. Half a day in the clinic shows you the pace, the support staff, and how providers talk to each other in a way no interview can.
Evaluating an NP Offer
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you sign
Ask for the full contract, not the offer letter
The offer letter carries the salary; the contract carries the restrictive covenant, the tail coverage, the termination terms, and the bonus formula. Request it early, since reading it usually generates the questions that matter.
Have an attorney read the restrictive covenant
A healthcare employment attorney in your state can tell you what is enforceable locally and what is negotiable. This is a one-time cost against a clause that can limit where you work for years.
Verify the collaboration requirement with your board of nursing
Requirements for supervision, collaborative agreements, and chart review are set by state law and change. Confirm what your state requires rather than accepting an employer's description of it.
Compare offers on the whole package
Put base pay, bonus at a realistic volume, paid time off, retirement match, malpractice and tail coverage, continuing education money and days, and expected unpaid administrative hours side by side. The higher salary frequently loses.
What the answers tend to reveal
- A practice that can produce a sample daily schedule template, a support-staff ratio, and last year's actual bonus payouts is well run. Vagueness on all three is its own answer.
- Turnover in the role matters more than anything said about culture. Ask where the previous NPs went, not just why they left.
- If nobody can say who works the inbox during clinic hours, you will be working it after clinic hours.
- Restrictions tighter than state law usually reflect either a billing structure or a past conflict. Either way, ask what prompted the policy.
- Willingness to let you shadow and speak with current staff is one of the more reliable signals available before you start.
Common mistakes
Negotiating only the salary
Administrative time, panel size, ramp-up terms, tail coverage, and notice periods are all negotiable and often matter more over two years than a few thousand dollars of base pay.
Accepting verbal assurances
Promises about protected charting time, schedule length, or support staff should appear in the contract or an appendix. Managers change, and what is not written does not survive them.
Skipping the site visit
A tour during a busy clinic session shows you the rooms, the staffing, and the pace. Interviews scheduled for a quiet afternoon show you very little.