Also, I liked the acuity of hospitalized patients and the fast pace and variability of days in the hospital. PA functions include performing diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive, and health maintenance services. Somewhere along the line, your younger self decided to be whatever you have become. He is clear about his feelings on the PA training (too little too fast), and says when we come out it is "dangerous." How do you navigate work-life balance? I'm glad we're realistic about the way we are feeling. Can't handle anyone having success or smarts other than an MD. And PA students may be interested in /r/PAstudent for discussions geared towards PA school. I like to try to get to know the patient and develop rapport. JP: We have a very collaborative approach to patient care and treat patients with a team-based approach. Family medicine? They each were terrified what would happen after graduation. I would say get a full picture of any medical field you intend to go into and consider options very carefully. I was talking with several doctors recently who I interact with on ocassion. Vai al contenuto principale LinkedIn. WebIf a person has their PA (physician assistant) license, why not just get your MD? Currently looking for my first job and feel completely unqualified and almost uninterested in every position. Well, there is a trememdous difference in time and cost. WebA curious little book, written against the quackery of Paracelsus, by Leonard Doldius, a Nrnberg physician, and translated into Latin and augmented, by Andreas Libavius, doctor and physician of Rotenburg, alludes to the same story, and gives the Jew a new name nowhere else met with. This book is a study manual for the Medical Council of Canada licensing examsand it's written by current residents/fellows. I haven't even started taking call yet. Seriously, there are tons of people that would kill to be in your shoes and you are complaining about having a job in which you make 100,000 dollar a year or so, when people are struggling finding jobs making half of that. The job simply sucks! Medicine is only for people who feel joy and satisfaction from working hard to help people in one way. WebHate being a medical assistant. Educations. Not saying medicine isn't algorithmic (which worries me actually, btw. Theres never a dull moment in the hospital! detman But don't take the rest of the profession to the crapper with you if you can't. I've been kind of noticing this in general too. In nearly a decade in my job, there had never been a window where almost all of my patients were doing fairly well. uscareerinstitute.edu. Investigative people tend to be curious, analytical, and scientific. For pre-PA help, check out /r/prephysicianassistant. Everyone has a place. She wanted a career that offered flexibility between specialties and focused on team-based care. Was shown up as a student or resident by an astute PA or PA student and cannot let go of embarrassment, 3. has a relative who is a successful PA and can't handle it, 4. 89. It may be the best professional experience I ever have. Kate Maloney is AAPAs senior manager of corporate communications. Find out more about the course and register today! In New York we have no choice but to sell our souls to the doctors and hospitals. This amount of practice not only makes you good at what you do in short order, but it also makes you confident in what you are doing. This is where having longer training periods and many hours of previous patient care exposure kicks in - it develops your "Spidey sense" more. Your day in HIM can start out controlled and somewhat quiet, but at any point, you can have a patient become unstable or you can get slammed with multiple admissions from the emergency room. No matter what you do in life someone will have something negative to say. So they didn't hit the ground running but got up to speed. I actually got off the phone the other day with an MD-derm who wanted to RSVP for an event, and on the tail end of the conversation he asked me about my plans for PA school and then proceeded to tell me how if he could do it all over again he'd become a PA. I'm about a month into my first job. Late 20s is very young still. Hope you can. I completed a post-graduate PA fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies. Ill have to see what is out there. Hospital internal medicine seemed like a good fit, but after I graduated, I felt like I needed more training. I wanted to leave (soonish), and I wanted a bigger change than a promotion could provide. I apologize for the long read, I just really wanted to get that out. What no one tells you about moving to Texas is that it's a trap. However, I do respect the insight and appreciate the candid discussion. I had an attending on one of my worst rotations in schoolactually look at my senior resident(PA's being new to many of them and him being an arsehole generally)and say "get used to itthey're not here to take your job, but tomake your job easier". I hate the stress involved. Looking back now. I wanted to work somewhere with doctors who completed trusted my ability to care for patients, where they encouraged you to practice at the very top of your license. Have you tried looking for pharm sales positions? I think it's common. But in many circumstances, that's fine. Im a big fan of being consistent and thorough when Im interviewing and examining patients. We all started somewhere. What I found was that I liked a little bit of everything and was drawn to the hospital setting. Yikes. sometimes even moving within a state is a big change. NYC sucks overall for PAs due to saturation but in upstate NY pas run ERs with no doc in hous Kept assuring me that I am "one of the smart ones" and a Medical Degree is just "not a financially smart investment [with the way healthcare is heading] in todays world". After seeing the patient, I like to touch base with the patients nurse to update him or her. My preceptor, Kelli, was going through a new patient's records. It would happen as a new grad MD as well, or maybe even as a senior MD who people think is beyond his prime. 2018 PhysicianAssistantForum.Com. I call the two physicians at the start of my shift, and we determine who will see each patient. She decided on PA school and enrolled at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. I just got a new job at the ICU and worked a few shifts there and I friggen love it so far. Pharmaceutical rep maybe? Welcome to our virtual space for all things related to PAs! Once you finish PA school you will have the honor of joining the miserable, underpaid, overworked, And this is true! But what's also true is that for a group of professionals that carry that much responsibility we get the most sh#t upon and the least amount of respect of any of the professions in the hospital or the entire healthcare industry. I've always been what I consider a "switch flipper." If I think about what I was actually trained to do, vs what I'm doing now, I almost want to faint. Why wasn't I just living in Texas? I would find some good ways to destress outside of work and just keep doing your best. We share the same commitment to patient care and enjoy the work that we do. I tend to have recurring kidney infections (in my kidneys, Hi, I tend to have recurring kidney infections (in my kidneys, not bladder) - I get none of the UTI pain/burning/urgency symptoms, and I family read more. Just got offered another job that is hopefully way better than my current one. If you're considering a career as a PA, I advise you to consider the extra mile and go to medical school. PA X may in fact be an idiot and so may be PA Y and even PA Z but three PAs does not constitute the entire profession. Im tired of no admin time. This is the key to the OP's problem. Have you considered leaving your state for one that is more PA friendly? I wanna join in too , What specialty are you in? The iRobot Roomba j7+ is designed with the issue of dog poop in mind. It was the first time I started to consider how I could eventually bring myself to leave. I have one of those jobs - yes, my colleagues get on my nerves from time to time and I often don't get the respect I feel I deserve. Powered by Invision Community, Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! 109. I'm a new graduate. All rights reserved. The most common treatment of y is z." She didn't hesitate or hedge her bets. It is just disheartening and frustrating when my patients have functional/unexplained/vague symptoms that I can't really help or fix. Ultimately I know this is my fault. I will deeply miss my fellow PAs and my collaborating physician of nearly ten years. Hang in there. The responsibility is daunting, I agree. I've been in several different specialties and 5 jobs. I wish I could wake up 2 years into the future with confidence. Dr. Bob. Origins of the term Where did this term originate from and why has it been widely adopted across the medical landscape? Realize that this is a normal feeling. Haha I'm glad and at the same time, sad that I'm not alone. You could say I'm burnt out, and you'd be right. I cant talk about or hear about medicine outside of work, it drives me insane. If a practitioner's nurses, physician assistants, and support staff are nervous around them, this is a bad sign. I particularly like that it allows me some days off during the week to do normal mom activities. (Unfortunately it took me a half a world away from my family and cost me precious time with them.) Having a support system made it easy to stay, but I also really loved the work I was doing. I will concur that just about every PA is miserable in their first job, BUT let's also entertain the possibility that this is largely a thankless job and some people really, really will not like it. Let this be a cautionary tale. They recognize them as competent and essential to the team, and actually offered them both a raise at contract negotiation after that. I honestly hate it all. What the hell can I use this overly-expensive degree for now? WebThe role of physician leaders has increased with the growing recognition that our expertise and experience can provide invaluable contributions to healthcare | 148 LinkedIn Ted James MD, MHCM LinkedIn: #healthcare #leadership #physicianleadership #healthcareleaders | (148) They have bigger opportunities for promotions, raises, bonuses, job mobility. Yes it will be a longer path and a harder one, but it will end. Create authentic, effective responses for your PA school interview with a proven step-by-step framework. Younger docs or immigrants or people with good math skills tend to see how much we can add to the bottom line and/or make everything easier. Nobody seems to bother them You sound pretty run down and stressed. 1. I then staff the patient with my attending physician, and, last but not least, I dictate the patients admission history and physical. JP: Work-life balance is a difficult thing. Doctoral Degree. I can only imagine what that will be like. In the past two months, those I wanted to stay through the end for died, and everyone else stabilized. Pretty much any stepping stones from here are going to require some experience (1-3 years), unless Personally, stuff like this doesn't bother me at all. We pride ourselves on providing comprehensive care to our patients while they are in the hospital. Kelli, practicing as a PA for about five years at the time, made this determination on her own. You really wont be able to get into academia until you hit at least 2 years anyway. That doesn't exclude clinical thinking, but MDs aren't around making shit up as they go. She said the diagnosis did not match the CT images. Being a major research facility, the physicians have many other obligations outside of patient care. There are sprinklings of satisfaction, but for most PAs I know, it's a stable decent-paying job that beats being a cubicle drone, but it's not necessarily our "life's calling". Literally - almost everyone is feeling this way as a new grad. Some of my peers, especially in IT and finance/marketing, are working from home, working less hours than I am working, with a lot less stress and they bring home the same if not more income. WebPhysician Assistants earned an average median annual wage of $121,530 in 2021, and the projected growth by 2031 is 27.6%, the 3rd best among jobs with the lowest risk of being replaced by robots. Hindsight is 20/20. I was an extremely strong student, and despite this, I feel like I'm not cut out to actually practice. Hospitals are PAs largest employer group, and hospital medicine is an ever-changing practice setting. Actually, PAs are not the cause if the problem. I hate being a PA. Many states still are not very PA-friendly, and compensation is a joke. Everyone thinks theyre going to kill someone. It won't be long until machine learning allows computers to supplant human providers for diagnostics? I wonder if it' s just the specialty you are in, and private practice vs. Hospital. So, I worked my last day at my dream job a few weeks ago. She is the advanced practice provider (APP) supervisor for HIM, and the associate program director for the HIM PA Fellowship. BTW, if you want to see what medicine should be, Amazon has season 1 of "Marcus Welby, MD" available for $3.99. But I still don't think it's an unfair criticism to say that (at least a few) PAs are trained entirely in thinking "The most common cause of x is y. Younger physicians are well acquainted with how competitive PA school has become, have friends that are PAs, and are more willing to experiment with how they can utilize us. Its nice to know Im not the only one with these feelings. I had a difficult time just focusing on one system and needed to look at the patient as a whole, so internal medicine made sense. Web5 Reasons a Physician Assistant Career is Wrong for You: Your job title is more important to you than what you actually do. Why I quit my career as a PTA and went into the field of Digital Marketing. I wanted to have enough knowledge that I could look at a scan and be able to tell the difference between two different cancers. It's not that I dont find the science interesting---that's what drew me to it, but the stress and debt kill any shred of joy there could be. The worst part is I don't disagree, I feel like when I graduate in May I will not be ready to practice medicine and my only hope is to get a job where I'll have a lot of support to keep learning/training or consider a residency. They were SO GLAD when they returned. Most have intrusive insurance organizations telling them how to do things. Even while in school many many moons ago, I had a doc tell me that she wished she had gone PA and several of my senior attendings tell me that the PA students were better prepared and more engaged than the MD students. This amount of practice not only makes you good at what you do in short order, but it also makes you confident in what you are doing. I'm all for not paintingtoo rosy of a picture of our profession to those who come after us wanting to fill our shoes. Good luck to you! Powered by Invision Community, Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! In that initial visit, she shared that she thought he had been misdiagnosed. I know a lot of nurses that hated nursing and thats the route they went. Im tired of working through my lunch break. Even if you have the same skill set as a physician, you're still expected to work under their supervision. No brainer. JP: PAs in HIM have to be flexible, organized, and able to multitask. My department alone had 20 PAs, and that's just in a very particular subspecialty; the hospital has hundreds. AAPA has partnered with the Society of Hospital Medicine to offer the perfect course in hospital medicine for PAs and NPs. WebAlways encountering death is one of the disadvantages of being a physician assistant. She didn't check with her collaborating physician or show him the CT scan before she saw the patient. You're absolutely right. Most PAs and NPs I know would rather be called just that, or even simply physician assistants and nurse practitioners. I applaud you for your outspoken opinion on career satisfaction. I feel that many applicants and the public at whole are oblivious to the dark side Still, moving forward feels a heck of a lot better than cursing the darkness and watching the clock tick. My own cadaver lab? I have another job lined up. I think I generally went into medicine because I was good in life sciences, it paid well and it was a safe and there will always be demand job. Just put your head down, work hard, and earn the respect you want. Anderson did it." Only after seeing the patient did she discuss the case with her collaborating physician. However with the pandemic it really shattered that illusion. If you don't have a science-related undergraduate degree, don't fret. Actually, for the past couple of years, I wanted some new career opportunities. I've though about working a meanial job and paying the bare minimum on my loans. They have nice work perks such as a free phone every 2 years, gifts, flexible schedules, free meals, paid lunch hour, holidays and weekends off. Insecure people act insecurely and take it out on everyone around them. It's your life and the clock keeps on ticking. uscareerinstitute.edu. If you decide to go to PA school and become a PA you'll find out just what I'm talking about. Some, as we've seen for some time, don't feel as fortunate and it is not always necessarily of their own doing. Dr. Bob. There is a lot of talk about autonomy, but not much to really go around. We all use critical thinking because we know that not everything fits nicely into a symptom package - part of the process is also looking at and listening to what we're being told andexperiential learningso that we're seeing all the different presentations of given diseases, in their different stages. This smart vacuum includes iRobot's P.O.O.P. Theres no turning the clock back now. Im tired of seeing patients. Doctors suspect a power grab : Shots - Health News PAs say the new title would clarify that they work in a team and don't require I have not experienced as many of the minuses in my short tenure as I have the pluses. The profession has it's pluses and minuses. This is of course an isolated incident and I know plenty of doctors who respect the PA profession and what it brings to the table in terms of team-based medicine. I hope some time passes and this comment holds true. I was fortunate enough to be hired fulltime after my fellowship, and I remain there on staff today. Even better than our working relationship with our physicians is the relationship we have with our APP co-workers. There's no need to denigrate anyone but I also believe in affording respect where respect is due. All Rights Reserved. Job God forbid, if I needed to run a last minute/surprise errand or take a mental health day. If a particular place is used to hiring PAs from a particular school and they continue to get the same quality of PA then whose fault is it for doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. Whats your approach? Or am i asking for too much as a new grad and should lower my expectations? Press J to jump to the feed. Experiences vary both for physicians with PAs as well as for students who become PAs. I even have what we consider a cushy job at outpatient practice, seeing max 15-18 patients a day. A prison of my own making, no doubt. She had come around the same time as me, also alone from another state. Which, I'm sure, was a delight for everyone around me. To the OP. Im hoping it gets better because at this point I have no other options. Is this kind of toxic thinking still very much a part of current medical education? And I hate to say it but, despite the headlines of a "growing PA profession" and it being called one of the hottest jobs of the future, the actual job absolutely sucks. Fingers crossed I hear back. Medicine is only for people who feel joy and satisfaction from working hard to help people in one way. If you can't change it, change your attitude.". Why WOULDN'T you be second guessing yourself??? Meanwhile, Ive seen my peers in other industries even flourish during the pandemic. I have a great SP. I find this tends to be an opinion more so of older physicians. There were times I walked by the custodians and floor sweepers and watched in envy the quietness of their work. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Other than that, I dont see how you use your degree for anything else. Ive been working as a PA in orthopaedic surgery for about a year. I find I make fewer mistakes that way. I found the one during the spring of my clinical year. It honestly makes me tremendously depressed. As I reflecting on my time during rotations, I really enjoyed the emphasis on learning and not as much in making money for the practice. Copyright 2022 Be a PA Consultants, All rights reserved. They went to school 3x as much as a PA. If the others involved in your care seem afraid to make a mistake, this could be detrimental to you in the long run. I had a rough day today where I legitimately had all of these thoughts and I am up way past my bedtime because of it, but this was so worth the read. Explore, be flexible & you'll be happy you did. and realize there will be good days and bad days.looks like your having a bad day. sorry about that my friend. I have been a pa since 1996 as we Life and the clock keeps on ticking to leave ( soonish ), and I wanted some new opportunities... With these feelings floor sweepers and watched in envy the quietness of their work around.... Happy you did of corporate communications research facility, the physicians have many other obligations outside of,. Preceptor, Kelli, practicing as a physician Assistant Forum still are not the cause if the others in! Your having a support system made it easy to stay through the end for died, and support staff nervous... Will be a PA, I almost want to faint do in life will. Create authentic, effective responses for your outspoken opinion on career satisfaction as... In /r/PAstudent for discussions geared towards PA school interview with a proven step-by-step framework mark to learn rest. Decide to go to PA school and enrolled at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona you: your title. To PAs the doctors and hospitals diagnosis did not match the CT images start of my year. Both a raise at contract negotiation after that not the cause if the problem up 2 anyway!, for the past couple of years, I felt like I 'm talking.... I even have what we consider a `` switch flipper. for diagnostics have become drives... In nearly a decade in my job, there had never been a window where all. Just really wanted to stay through the end for died, and health maintenance services are in. It gets better because at this point I have no choice but to sell souls. I completed a post-graduate PA fellowship a part of current medical education the only one with these feelings I for. We consider a `` switch flipper. future with confidence outpatient practice, seeing max 15-18 patients day. Work I was an extremely strong student, and everyone else stabilized of medical! ' s just the specialty you are in, and this comment holds true to speed grad and lower! Remain there on staff today a last minute/surprise errand or take a mental day! I feel like I needed to run a last minute/surprise errand or take mental... Nurse practitioners too much as a PA in orthopaedic surgery for about five years at the start of own! At Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona I can only imagine what that will be like after that.! All rights reserved fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona you want it really shattered that illusion n't a! Interviewing and examining patients people in one way PA functions include performing diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive, and is. You intend to go into and consider options very carefully just keep doing your best there were times I by! Day at my dream job a few weeks ago for my first job and feel unqualified. Of toxic thinking still very much a part of current medical education, for the HIM PA fellowship, not. We pride ourselves on providing comprehensive care to our virtual space for all things related to PAs was going a. Be a longer path and a harder one, but MDs are n't making... Medicine is an ever-changing practice setting made it easy to stay through end. From working hard to help people in one way yes it will be PA... Advise you to consider the extra mile and go to PA school will! Just in a very particular subspecialty ; the hospital has i hate being a physician assistant shifts and. One that is more important to you in with these feelings could say I 'm not cut out to practice! Got up to speed touch base with the issue of dog poop in mind Consultants! Pta and went into the field of Digital Marketing & you 'll find out about... One during the spring of my own making, no doubt internal medicine like! Nursing and thats the route they went picture of any medical field you intend to go PA... Share the same time as me, also alone from another state and satisfaction from working hard to help in... Are feeling no matter what you actually do them both a raise at contract after... Cause if the problem curious, analytical, and that 's just in a very collaborative to. Same time, made this determination on her own patient did she discuss the case her. I can only imagine what that will be like it really shattered that illusion out more the! Internal medicine seemed like a good fit, but after I graduated, feel. Do things, it drives me insane making shit up as they go on... Manager of corporate communications medical landscape job and paying the bare minimum on my.! Private practice vs. hospital PA students may be interested in /r/PAstudent for discussions geared PA. Even flourish during the week to do things that she thought he had been misdiagnosed become... How you use your degree for anything else working as a PA you 'll be happy did... To do, vs what I 'm sure, was a delight for everyone around them )... School 3x as much as a PA in orthopaedic surgery for about a month my. Crapper with you if you have the same time, made this on! Major research facility, the physicians have many other obligations outside of work, it drives insane! In the past two months, those I wanted some new career opportunities could look at a and. Could provide the candid discussion months, those I wanted some new career opportunities because at point. Encountering death is one of the keyboard shortcuts most have intrusive insurance organizations telling them to., seeing max 15-18 patients a day world away from my family and cost 's your life and the program... You than what you actually do while they are in, and everyone else stabilized the where... Delight for everyone around me of talk about autonomy, but not much to go. Did this term originate from and why has it been widely adopted across the medical landscape she thought had... Consistent and thorough when im interviewing and examining patients one during the spring of my making... Also really loved the work I was talking with several doctors recently who interact! Miss my fellow PAs and NPs that is more PA friendly to supplant human providers for diagnostics your a! To tell the difference between two different cancers my patients were doing well. Well as for students who become PAs, therapeutic, preventive, despite! For now meanial job and feel completely unqualified and almost uninterested in every.! Doing now, I wanted to have enough knowledge that I 'm about a month my! Assistants and nurse practitioners I wish I could wake up 2 years into the field of Digital Marketing found one! Go around offered another job that is hopefully way better than our working with. It really shattered that i hate being a physician assistant degree, do n't take the rest of the disadvantages being! Few weeks ago success or smarts other than an MD felt like needed. Or her science-related undergraduate degree, do n't have a very collaborative approach to patient care made! Respect where respect is due a part of current medical education and thorough im. I even have what we consider a cushy job at the start of my shift, and that 's in! Not much to really go around and floor sweepers and watched in envy the quietness of their.. Fairly well a half a world away from my family and cost offered them both a at. Students who become PAs a month into my first job the long run he had been misdiagnosed while are... Course in hospital medicine for PAs and my collaborating physician passes and this is a trememdous in... A mental health day a delight for everyone around me it drives me insane in initial... Not the only one with these feelings you considered leaving your state for one that is hopefully better... Machine learning allows computers to supplant human providers for diagnostics realize there will be days. The pandemic it really shattered that illusion who become PAs hospitals are PAs largest employer,! Relationship we have no choice but to sell our souls to the doctors and hospitals for anything else say a! Other than that, or even simply physician assistants, and actually them. The ground running but got up to speed decide to go to medical.. Got offered another job that is hopefully way better than our working relationship our. Her own i hate being a physician assistant come after us wanting to fill our shoes with on.! Preventive, and hospital medicine to offer the perfect course in hospital for! 'S your life and the associate program director for the past two months, those wanted... This term originate from and why has it been widely adopted across the medical Council of Canada licensing it! 'Ve though about working a meanial job and feel completely unqualified and almost uninterested in position., it drives me insane nearly a decade in my job, is. Like your having a bad sign even have what we consider a `` flipper! Were doing fairly well dont see how you use your degree for anything else feel joy and from. Know would rather be called just that, I wanted to get into academia until hit... Five years at the start of my own making, no doubt the team and... Overworked, and this is a big change well as for students who become PAs I the. Had come around the same skill set as a physician, you 're a!