Jump to content

Any PA's working in Western MI, especially Grand Rapids?


Recommended Posts

Hello all! I'm currently in school in PA, but I'm originally from MI and my husband and I are strongly considering moving back when I graduate. If there's anyone here that's working in Western Michigan (especially around Grand Rapids), I'd really appreciate the opportunity to talk about your experiences in the area. I'm from Mid-Michigan but have spent quite a bit of time in Western MI and always visit when I come home - it seems pretty ideal from the outside and I would love to create some contacts. Please reply to this thread or PM me.

 

Another question - how friendly is the area to new grads? I realize that there are 5 PA schools in MI with grads also competing for jobs so I may have to either a) take what I can get or b) work in PA for a while and get some experience before applying out of state. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks very much for your time - hoping to hear back!

Brie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Brie! I'm a recently-retired(disabled dagnabit!) PA who spent the last 20 years in rural Southwest MI. Started after school (PA Program @ WMU) with a BS/M in Internal Medicine, transferred to Emergency Medicine after a couple years, ended up in General Practice for the past 13 years. LOVE the area, the people and the challenge! Didn't do much work in GR (filled in at walk-in clinics a couple times) but haven't much regret about my career. If one is looking to make big bucks, it's possible here in the bigger cities, doing things like CV Surgery (one of my friends/students has been in CV Surg for nearly 14 years in downtown Gr - she must like it!), but be prepared for lower salaries, docs who STILL don't get what a PA is capable of, and yes, we still have to explain to some people what it is we do! Currently I'm not very happy with the 'big city' practices because of my personal situation but I spent a very happy 15+ years working for small local hospitals. That era appears to be ending, but the rural areas still need primary caregivers, and fewer and fewer docs seem willing to do that. Luckily, my program was designed to primarily graduate PA's for primary care, so I felt very ready to go upon graduation (boy, was I kidding myself! I got very lucky with a brand-new post-resident who LIKED working collaboratively!)

New grads everywhere have a certain amount of competition, but I don't think it's any worse here than any other locale - every place I've worked has been happy to hire new grads that want to do the job! I think recruiters sometimes put up candidates who don't want a given job just to show they're working, but if you want to work hard, nearly any place will want you.

Don't know if this was any help, but feel free to reply; will be happy to answer what I can. Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn More