HanSolo

I'm sorry this happened to you, but shit happens. It's not the end of the world. You can take the exam again. A few things. - Practice active learning instead of passive learning. Listening to podcasts, watching movies, and reading is passive. You need to spend more time on active retrieval skills. - You'll likely have some test anxiety for this next round. Do whatever you need to get yourself in a mentally sound place. At a minimum, eat actual healthy food and get some exercise. - You studied a lot. I'm thinking you may have been fatigued by the time you took the exam. Marathon runners don't run full blast right up to race day. Take a few days off before to let your mind rest. - New plan sounds good. Don't expect a pity party. Get back up on the horse!

Where do you plan on living after?

It's also pretty early. If you go by the stages of group development, your class is probably somewhere between "forming" and "storming." I mostly kept to myself and studied alone early on. I prioritized spending time with my wife and dog, and actually made an effort to make friends outside of school since I had moved to a new city. I didn't really have any friends in my program until 5-6 months in. People became a lot more "real" by that point and stopped trying to prove themselves. I think they also realized it wasn't undergrad anymore. Things will get better. If it helps, I was your age when I started.

So PAs or NPs can no longer be a 1099 employee?

Yes, all California PAs please support!

Vacations. You'll likely end up with at least 4 weeks off per year, and you should do something with that time. Often, you need to physically remove yourself from your environment to give yourself a true mental break. It doesn't have to be extravagant, but costs can add up.

My understanding was yes based on the wording under the "status" page for the bill updated on 8/30, but I certainly could be mistaken. I'll fill out the link, too, just to be certain.

Looks like the bill passed through the Assembly 18-0 on 8/30. On to the next step.

It looks like AB-890, the NP Bill, did not make it out of the Appropriations Committee and has been postponed until next year. So, stay tuned for that one. https://a02.asmdc.org/press-releases/20190516-asm-jim-wood-will-continue-fight-ab-890-full-practice-authority-nurse

Certainly there is a misunderstanding here. 80 days PTO?

I'm satisfied. I haven't been out of school that long, but I've come to realize I am not really that passionate about medicine. I like it enough. I do like working with people, though. I'm well respected and my peers/colleagues have reinforced the fact that I am competent. It's a good profession with flexibility. I also get to put tubes in people's necks and pie holes, so that's fun. Regrets? Only fleetingly. My lifestyle is much simpler than my physician colleagues. I don't need a Mercedes or 4000 square foot home. I also didn't have to put up with years and years of built in systemic disrespect and mental abuse I see the medical students and residents go through. Sometimes it makes me cringe and I'm glad I am somewhat removed from that whole game. Honestly, I feel most of the time I lucked out and somehow was given the training to do what most of my colleagues do for a fraction of the cost/time investment. Yeah, I get paid quite a bit less, and I do work on average 5-10 hours per week more, but it really doesn't bother me. My whole professional life wasn't determined by some random Step score.

If you get a job offer for less than the RNs it is worth a negotiating point. "Why are you paying the person who receives orders more than the one that gives them?"

How many hours per week? Otherwise sounds pretty solid to me. If you're looking to counter, I would see if a 3-5% annual raise can be built in. What area of the country?

If the argument to obtain a doctorate is to "keep up with Jones" and get a seat at the table, then we better change our name to go along with it. Writing off the cuff here, but would the creation of a doctorate program designed for PAs focused on clinical and healthcare management/leadership be worthwhile? It would A) give us PhD level training, and B) help move PAs into administrative roles. Does this already exist?

ICU. Worthwhile to see the full spectrum of "general medicine" from primary care to ER to inpatient to critical care.