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Hey, this is my first post!

 

I've been in Urgent Care x2 years (poorly run and need to get out), moving on to surgical specialty. I loved my OR rotations and I enjoy doing procedures.

 

I have two offers on the table for neurosurgery and having difficulty deciding which would be more enjoyable. They are very similar (including salary and travel) with a few big differences. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

1. Teaching Hospital. 0630-1500, M-F, no weekend or call.

17 days PTO, 10 holidays, 5 CME days

PA's at teaching hospital mostly round and consult. Have to fight residents for any procedures and you get extremely little (if any) time in the OR, but you are a part of a team that is present 24/7 and I feel I can gain much knowledge concerning the field and the staff is great and respect the PAs.

2. Community Hospital. 0700-1500, M-F, No weekend or call. (Generally)

18 days PTO, 6 holidays, 3 CME days

I will be sole neurosurgery provider at community hospital daily (more autonomy). Rounding and consulting, but 2 days a week in OR as first assist with elective neurosurgery cases. Neurosurgeons rotate in from nearby Level 1 trauma center (same hospital company) with a large Neurosurg ICU run by PAs 15 minutes away that gets the high acuity cases. I will have to rotate there one week every 2-3 months which may include a weekend shift (12 hr). Staff here also seem nice (but not as much of a family feel as the other) and one of the neurosurgeons teach for a nearby university so there's a sort of teaching mentality from them that seems like I can learn a lot from them as well.

Basically, anyone have input on working in an academic setting vs community? Would the perks at an academic setting be enough to give up scrub time and some procedures? I do enjoy "hands on" things a lot, but also want to gain experience and knowledge for the future.

 

Thanks a ton for any advice.

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I can't speak on the Neurosurg part but I started my career at a huge academic hospital in New York. It's hard to feel recognized but I think it laid an amazing foundation for future jobs and my medical knowledge. The teaching was great. The resident teams generally got sicker or better teaching cases than the pa team but I still learned a TON. But again it was hard to feel recognized. Hard to get a raise also as everyone fits into a "scale." I switched specialties and went to a community hospital that did have a resident program, however it was a weak residency program and I often found myself teaching residents. I was the sole provider at nights and weekends and did procedures, codes, consults, and managed any issues that arose on the unit (ICU based). I found it was a bit easier to be recognized because of the smaller vibe of the hospital, easier to move up in pay scale, and I ended up learning a ton here also because I was left to "sink or swim" and just had to learn what was thrown at me. It can certainly get scary, especially when your only contact with an attending is by phone and if you needed them present they were 30 min out....but it also made for me to be pretty marketable to new positions because I can essentially fly solo---don't worry I still know when to ask for help!

 

Ultimately it depends on what you want from your experience. You will undoubtedly learn from both positions. Consider which environment felt better, the salary and bennies can also make or break a deal, and think about how much support you may or may not want at work.

 

Best of luck!! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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