I was hoping by now I could post about my new clients. Problem is, I don’t have any.
First, I got my liability insurance. I’m covered as a part time contractor and the insurance is pretty cheap. My NASW membership was more than twice the insurance cost.
I waited for a while to see if I could get self pay clients but the agency I volunteer at didn’t have any for me. I found out during the school year, interns take a lot of their self pay and sliding scale clients.
So I asked if I could apply to work with insured clients. I filled out all of the paperwork (it’s really long), got an NPI number, turned in copies of my license and learned how to do all of their insurance paperwork and I have been waiting for over a month. I know from a previous job that insurance companies take a long time to approve new clinicians. I know from volunteering that the agency takes a long time to get things done. So right now I am actually losing money by volunteering since I am paying for insurance and a NASW membership.
There is always the possibility of going to another agency to be a contractor or fee for service provider but I like the agency I volunteer at. I can come in on the days I choose and see only adults. The other agencies I have come across want a Saturday and a clinician that will see children and families.
At my job, I’ve started supervising interns and coordinating the internship program instead of just assisting. I like working with interns. It amazes me when I say something and they write it down. I have a good relationship with my students and they seem to accept that I am learning as I go. They tell me “for the next round of interns” when they find mistakes in our supervision or orientation process.
I try to be very hands on to learn how to make everything better for the students. This is a huge time suck. I’ve spent hours meeting with a student that I was not supervising. I am at the point that my job could be split off into two positions, one dealing only with interns and universities. Too bad that I am in non-profit land and that will never happen. So I will have to do a better job of preparing other supervisors “for the next round.”
I just discovered your blog and I don’t know whether to say I am happy or sad. I am just starting the process of looking into a private practice and already am feeling a little overwhelmed about the road blocks. I just got an EIN number, I have a NPI number and I was starting to look into NASW membership and malpractice insurance. I don’t want to loose money renting space without any client’s or ways of getting referrals but it seems like the insurance companies want you to already be practicing before approving you. I feel like they are asking me to get the egg before the chicken. Ugh! I will be watching your blog and hoping you figure it all out first! Good luck.