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I'm strongly considering a career as a PA and would like to hear about your experiences with:

 

1. Level of autonomy in your practice/if you reach your full scope or find yourself more limited

2. Level of respect/general treatment by MDs (since this field is so new to canada!)

3. If you see yourself reaching a plateau in the next few years in terms of level of interest in the more limited scope of practice compared to MDs

4. How good the job prospects are so far (from what you've seen)

5. And in what area of medicine you practice!

6. Oh, and which province you are in

 

Hope there are Canadians here who are willing to reply to this :)

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Hi there.  I'm an ex-military PA working in Manitoba.  I'm on my second job here - I work ER now, but was in family med for 3 years prior to that in a small town where I was the sole provider and my supervising doc was about 40km away from me.  I found that I've been treated pretty decently by most docs I worked/work with - there are a few where they take their own insecurities out on me, but I push back.  Down side right now is I was used to working alone, so now that someone is looking over my shoulder, it's a little annoying.  My level of autonomy is increasing and I'm doing more and more as I go.  I'm reasonably happy with my pay cheques.  We are in fact unionized in MB with our own association.  www.pcam.ca

 

As the U of M trains PA's here, the government (so far) ensures there are jobs for the grads.  I work in a semi-rural hospital just north of Winnipeg that is generally busy as frig, since we've become a hub for a region with increasingly more local hospitals on diversion...to us.  We get pretty interesting medicine - I see something new or interesting pretty much daily.

 

If you have any questions, drop me a note through here.

 

SK

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi there.  I'm an ex-military PA working in Manitoba.  I'm on my second job here - I work ER now, but was in family med for 3 years prior to that in a small town where I was the sole provider and my supervising doc was about 40km away from me.  I found that I've been treated pretty decently by most docs I worked/work with - there are a few where they take their own insecurities out on me, but I push back.  Down side right now is I was used to working alone, so now that someone is looking over my shoulder, it's a little annoying.  My level of autonomy is increasing and I'm doing more and more as I go.  I'm reasonably happy with my pay cheques.  We are in fact unionized in MB with our own association.  www.pcam.ca

 

As the U of M trains PA's here, the government (so far) ensures there are jobs for the grads.  I work in a semi-rural hospital just north of Winnipeg that is generally busy as frig, since we've become a hub for a region with increasingly more local hospitals on diversion...to us.  We get pretty interesting medicine - I see something new or interesting pretty much daily.

 

If you have any questions, drop me a note through here.

 

SK

Thanks for your reply! Great info. I can totally understand it being a little frustrating having less autonomy, but nice to hear it's increasing as you go! I'm not so sure there are the same kind of job prospects here in ON; a couple postings I've seen literally look like the job duties of an assistant for a physician as opposed to an actual PA haha. I guess it remains to be seen how the future for PAs in Canada turns out.

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  • 6 months later...

In my opinion with my limited experience since graduation in 2013 as a CCPA in Southern Ontario practicing clinical Cardiology,

 

1. "Level of autonomy in your practice"

Greatly varies and is highly setting dependent. I practice in clinical Cardiology and enjoy a healthy balance of direct and indirect supervision and autonomy. But such is not always the case, as some PAs are treated as medical clerks.

2. "Level of respect/general treatment by MDs (since this field is so new to canada!)"

Again, highly dependent on setting and individuals. Generally, we are treated as colleagues by physicians, but some with narcissistic qualities naturally feel threatened, and are condescending toward us.

The RNAO, Registered Nursing Association of Ontario, are officially hostile to the profession, and have embarrassed themselves with their positions and statements.

However, I find most nurses to be very respectful and friendly in my experience.

3. "If you see yourself reaching a plateau in the next few years in terms of level of interest in the more limited scope of practice compared to MDs"

Hopefully, as legislation is amended, and CCPAs are regulated and licensed in the country, let alone Ontario, the I expect there to be more practice opportunities and expansion of the practical scope and levels of autonomy.

Actually, I do hope that soon CCPAs will be accredited to write the US exams and practice in the US, at least for fairness and opportunity, and to force the Canadian system to catch up.

 

4. "How good the job prospects are so far (from what you've seen)"

Currently, they are very limited. It would be difficult to find a position in one's desired specialty interest and geographic location, on top of that, desired pay. There are unfortunately trade offs often times. I was very blessed with my position, but not all have this opportunity.

5. "And in what area of medicine you practice!"

Clinical outpatient cardiology. No procedures. Mainly focused on CVD risk factor management and prevention.

6. "Oh, and which province you are in"

Southern Ontario

 

I hope this helps,

 

Kindest regards

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