oky Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Hello everybody. I am considering becoming a physician assistant, but I'm concerned that I may not be treated well by patients, doctors, nurses, etc. I consider myself a nice person, but I know that even the nicest of people can be treated unfairly. Can anybody tell me how many times they've had problems with people on the job? What was the nature of the problem? How was it resolved? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jankr Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 If your primary concern is being spoken too in a rude manner you probably shouldn't go into any feild which is customer service oriented. No matter the work environment people can just be mean and unfair sometimes. This isn't just a PA issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCMA79 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I have been sworn at more times than I can count, assaulted twice, had a death threat and dealt with just generally snarky patients often. Patients in pain or seeking drugs often lash out and sometimes patients lash out just because the can. If you have a thin skin being a PA might not be a good field for you. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lov2xlr8 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 By patients? 4 times... tonight. But really, depends on specialty but Patients can be cranky anywhere. Just probably happens more often in the ED or a busy outPt clinic where Pt has been waiting for an hour to see provider. From another provider or employee? Rarely, and rarely OK (an Intensivist once made me call chief of CT Surgery to basically ask how to r/o a dissected AAA - I proabably deserved that, Hospitalist is no longer here and I was a new grad at the time), you can't be disrespected by your own and will learn ways for that to not happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonlegit Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 As others stated: it varies. EDs, Clinics, and probably some hospital medicine? Well, it is very common to have strained interactions with patients, family members, and occasionally other staff, due to the "intense" atmosphere. There are essentially fights that occur weekly in the ED I work at, involving psych patients, drunks, drug intoxications, etc. We have had staff permanently disabled in fights with drunk/high/altered patients. I was part of a small group (I wasn't involved in this patient's care but I was sitting in the wrong spot) that had a finger pointed at us and was told they (patient's family member) would be back to shoot us. Probably 1 in 2 patients are strongly dissatisfied with something in their care before they leave, whether it was the wait in the lobby, not getting narcotic medications, or generally wanting something that is impossible to provide such as steak dinners on demand, or a stat MRI on a knee pain on a monday afternoon. Now, the areas I mentioned do not constitute all medicine. You could probably find a fairly low key job doing any variety of other kinds of medicine. It is important to know though, since so many PA jobs are in an arena that this sort of thing could happen. Regarding other staff being hard to deal with, this too is probably location dependent. If you work in a prestigious, large teaching hospital, it is like any other competitive work environment...it's competitive. With resident doctors trying to get ahead, attending physicians who wield a good deal of power, nursing staff that tends to be more highly educated (and will often want to prove it) with a strong presence in executive leadership, well you get my drift. Its not to say that we work in high level finance or anything like that, but you must be ready to stand up for yourself in a environment like this. Conversely, it does breed a pretty tight group. We can be close personal friends, we go out together (providers included), we know each others' families, we have thoroughly networked in this mid-major sized city, and generally take care of our own. We have a bracket with about 110+ people in it from our hospital and pulling from the other few EDs around us. Thats a big chunk of change for the winner - guess who is sitting pretty? This year will be it! I know it! ETA: Someone else mentioned it already, but it goes without saying - in the end, this job is being pegged as customer service driven these days, NOT judged on your care you provided. So whether or not you have any dramatic interactions, be prepared to receive inane complaints through the proper channels for any reason at all. Of course, the hospital takes these very seriously, and someone from leadership will make sure that you are aware. Only half tongue in cheek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I have typed about 3 different responses to this, but none of them were very nice, so I deleted them. Bottom line to the OP: If you are worried about this, choose a different profession. I don't care if someone yells at me, I do care if that 13 year old asthmatic crashes and dies in front of us despite us doing every single frigging thing we can think of to save his life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SocialMedicine Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 you need thick skin in medicine. a lot of turf and ego among colleagues. Patients are often sick/uncomfortable and sometimes suffering mental health and other devastating social pathology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBanner Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I think it's worse in hospitals. I am almost never spoken to harshly or talked down to in the clinic, at least in FP. In hospitals it's much easier to step on people's toes (read: nurses), plus patients and their families are usually under duress to some degree. I also think it has a lot to do with how you carry yourself. When you walk into that exam room it's your show. Dont allow yourself to be disrespected, you are a professional. Males tend to have more of a command presence in the exam room and they carry more perceived authority. This is just my observation. I hear a lot more female NPs/PAs talking about rude or difficult patients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFarnsworth Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 To the OP: it doesn't happen often, but it DOES happen. The nature and situations vary. As others have stated, some areas are more prone to this, others are not. I have never been yelled at by a patient in Dermatology, but I have been chewed out by a Dermatologist (although, to be fair, that was her way with everyone working there). I don't think there is a job out there where you are guaranteed to be treated fairly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted March 29, 2015 Administrator Share Posted March 29, 2015 I don't think there is a job out there where you are guaranteed to be treated fairly. Harshly != unfairly. If you don't liked being talked to in a way that makes you uncomfortable, don't go into any job that requires any amount of customer service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teacher2PAC Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Just do not take things personally and you will be fine. Leave your emotional self out of it and just be positive. Also do not be afraid of confrontation, it is going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maynard Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 This would be a good reason to get your feet wet early on with some HCE. I've worked as a CNA, the least respected member of the licensed professional team and I've had to do it in some relatively unprofessional environments to boot (in my experience, hospitals are not the worst, nursing homes are). Do some of the work and it can give you a good idea of whether you can hack it or not. Harshly != unfairly. I think that's the first time I've seen C++ coding conventions enter into common speech. +1 for Rev! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted March 29, 2015 Administrator Share Posted March 29, 2015 I think that's the first time I've seen C++ coding conventions enter into common speech. +1 for Rev! It's actually just straight C, in which I learned to code 25 years ago... I never really liked C++, but I did do a lot of coding in LPC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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