bike mike

Preceptors getting paid???......that's messed up.

Agree. And if some swearing offends you.......don't listen.

You must be in the Bay Area. Regarding the job market. Not saturated yet. A quick search on Indeed.com for Physician Assistant produces over 36,000 jobs. Sure they may not be exactly where you want to live or in your area of interest but there ARE jobs out there and I suspect there will be plenty of jobs in 2020. We have an aging population, an obesity epidemic, and DM is on the rise so plenty of people that will need primary care at a time with less docs going into primary care medicine.

Agree with EMEDPA.....central valley CA is a dump. There is a reason that the PA jobs offered there usually pay a ton. On the plus side, I'm sure there is affordable housing in that part of CA. Oh, and Salinas in the central valley has a fairly high crime rate/gang activity. I would say if you are thinking of working/moving there spend a day in the area to get a sense of the place.

Looks good. I say go for it. Make sure you get everything they are offering in writing.

In my very brief period working in NorCal I was on a team with two RNs, two PAs, and one NP. Of the the four of us one of the RNs made the most - 180K. And no, she had not been working there for decades. Nursing union is very strong in CA.

First day after completing residency: responded to 4 code blues and was first assist putting one on ECMO.

NP's are not physicians.....period

A cellar rat in a winery

Chest pain = rule out STEMI, aortic aneurysm, and PE. Right thing getting the chest CT!

Pharmacology

I personally have worked in Atlanta and San Francisco. In Atlanta I have a lot of autonomy - up titrate or wean inotropes based on my clinical judgement, run codes, place lines, etc. In SF I literally worked as a scribe, was not allowed to manage patients on my own, and my job duties included changing dressings. I lasted 6 weeks before I walked.....ran out the door.

Hey VB i can tell you that I had a great experience during the residency. There are rotations through general cards, EP, CVICU, CT surgery, echo, and a long stretch in the CCU where you learn to take care of the sickest of the sick. Having the residency located in the heartland of CVD of the US (in the south) doesn’t hurt when it comes to exposure to high acuity. After completing the residency you should be comfortable dealing with a wide variety of cardiac issues: cardiogenic shock, STEMI, VT storm, severe valvular disease, etc. During the residency you are trained to place Swan-ganz catheters, CVC, VasCaths, A-lines, TVP’s. You are also expected to go to all code blues, be able to run the code, determine if the are an ECMO candidate, and if the are you first assist for cannulation. It’s not for everyone but for those who enjoy that kind of job it’s an incredible experience. As far as opening up doors I can tell you that every cardiology resident graduate has had multiple job offers after completing the residency.

I completed a critical care cardiology residency at Piedmont Hopsital in Atlanta and loved the experience. Lots of procedures, running STEMI calls, bringing people back from the brink. I agree with what another poster said about the importance of drive and motivation - you need to want to get knee deep to get the most out of any residency.

Okay, to satisfy some curious minds: 1. Was told I'd be managing LVAD and ECMO patients. In fact was simply doing dressing changes (yes, changing dressings!), writing down LVAD parameters, and working as a scribe in the OP clinic. Didn't write a single order while I was there. 2. As I had not post OP or ECMO training I was told I would be trained on how to manage these patients - this was when I was still being told I'd be managing patients. One of my co-workers sat me down after work and told me flat out she was not interested in training me and that I better start reading the ECMO and LVAD manuals and train myself. When I was told to go see one of the patients on ECMO I reminded her that I had no training on EMCO she said "just copy forward the note from yesterday". 3. I was told the schedule was 3 x 12 and when I started it was 5 x 10 then transitioned to 4 x 11 and told there would no longer be a 3 x 12 schedule. 4. Was told the team dynamics were great and that everyone got along. Couldn't have been further from the truth. Badmouthing and backstabbing was the norm - honestly, I think there were two cancers on the team that others fed off of. Ugghh, I get the shakes just thinking about my brief period in Hell. Thank goodness I now have a job that I love.