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Posts
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This has been stuck in my craw for months and it pops into my head from time to time so I want to run up the flag pole. Its a bit long. Last year our ortho department had a few people show up who had splints applied in the ER who had sores under the splints because they weren't constructed or applied properly. this led to a conversation between the chief of ortho and the vice pres of clinical services also a physician. They decided some training on splints would be a good thing for all the PAs and NPs and not any of the physicians. Then it went from the folks in the ER to us in the UC (totally unrelated and unconnected department) because "they apply splints too." I pushed back because they expected us to capture this "opportunity" on our days off making no allowance for the fact we are 50% staffed and working mandatory OT for almost a year now. It died out for a while and then the great high mucky muck told my medical director "there will never be a good time. Get it done." Now it is a mandatory 3 hours of training on 3 different days totaling 9 hours. I pushed again. We are hourly employees. Mandatory training on our days off without pay? Nuh-uh. So they figured out a way to make it CME. Nope...no pay no work. It got pretty tense and I thought I was going to get fired but finally they agreed to pay us for the time and it is mandatory and we have a choice of days to pick, on our non-work days, to go. All this painted with the "it will make you better providers" brush. Here are man some disorganized thoughts: What could have been a good opportunity turned into an unpleasant obligation as soon as it became mandatory. It is pure hubris for the admin/physicians to cook this up and then be stunned when everyone didn't see what a great thing they were doing for us. Why exclude the physicians if it will make us all better providers? Can't they be improved too? I have worked first in the military and then for 17 years in medically under-served areas. I have done primary casting and splinting by the barrel full. I would bet I have rolled more plaster than any physician in the ER or UC . Do they get a pass because they have more semesters of biochem that I do? The entire concept stinks of "they are all the same with the same knowledge,skills, and education. So they all need the training." It is insulting on it's face because it presumes we are all the same and need the physicians to decide what training we all need regardless of our experience level. "It will make you a better provider" is a bit of philosophical sophistry that can be used to justify almost anything. Pushing back makes you "not a team player" meaning you just have to eat whatever shit sandwich they hand you with a smile on you face. "Just get it done" is the laziest kind of sad excuse for leadership. No consideration for our work schedules, time off, whether or not it was good for the mission of the department etc. That is it. My rant of the day. Now off to start my 12. I hope there is a physician somewhere I can call when something hard comes in. -
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By Michigander · Posted
Still a little off the original topic, I was a participant in the Bureau of Labor Statistics this year and gave my occupation as PA. They asked for my daily duties including "assisting the physician". I refused to pick that one and said "there is no physician at work to assist". I work in one of the states that has switched to "collaboration". I like "collaboration" much better and it is more descriptive of our relationship. -
By Michigander · Posted
I've kept my social work license too. It's nice to have on the rare occasion I have to detail some psychiatric issue that is outside the scope of my usual PA job. I can also see myself transitioning into a psych PA job towards the end of my career and that would be helpful. -
I received an interview invite for Nov. 16/17 yesterday
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