Will352ns

Sounds legit.

If given the same circumstances when I retired from the military....I would do it all again. I really like being a PA. I have good and bad days but overall, I enjoy it. If talking about the 20-something me....I would go to med school.

Not gonna lie, I am the embodiment of sexy.

EM Boot Camp, EM: RAP are great suggestions. Seriously, take notes on the Boot Camp. I always found that the best reference is myself. I carry a leather (sturdy) note book in my backpack that I sectioned off by system (cards, pulm, renal....). When I started, I went back through my notes from school and further broke it down to big ticket items in each system. Over the last few years I have added further notes for things that I have encountered with best treatments and tricks. I still add to it and reference it.

Dickies....cheap and do the job.

Work in a busy ER. Sometimes I will start my own IV's and and such when the nurses are legitimately busy, I do this when I am afraid a pt might slip through the cracks and there may be a delay in care...ie, I think pt has appy or may be septic....you get the point. I will sometimes turnover gurneys and get pt areas ready for the next patient and even sometimes load them. I only do this when the nurses are obviously sandbagging. They tend to get the point after a couple of times.

My ER has a separate trauma team that responds to all major traumas. The ER Dr. does initial stabilization but the trauma folks quickly take over. The trauma service has their own PA's so we are surplus to requirements. We are level II. Sucks not to really be involved with the major traumas, but we otherwise have a good scope in my ER.

I got lucky and fell into an ER position that I had a rotation in during school. They hired me because of my previous experience and how I was able to demonstrate how it was useful. I was a 20 year military medic. 9 years as a basic hospital medic (mostly ER) and 11 years as an Independent Duty Medic. During my time in, I saw my share of trauma and such, which was helpful. Most people would assume that is what would give me the advantage in ER; it wasn't. It was my ability to safely see low/mid acuity patients at a good pace. It was essentially what I had been doing for years, just easier now that I had a better foundation of knowledge (not to say I knew everything...definitely did not). Experience dose matter. I landed a >90% pay range job in a good location with a good group right out of school. I encourage everyone with my similar background to apply, there are hundreds out there.

Haha, I sometimes say pretty much the same type of thing. The ED I work in has always had a policy on briefing the Docs on level 3 and above; I believe all the local hospitals here have the same policy. It doesn't bother me. It's usually is a casual conversation with who I'm working with, "hey pt in 3 came in with X, workup is Y, I'm gonna Z". To which I usually get something like, "cool, thanks". Done.

Laughable

You can give Dex IV solution orally as well.

I started actually applying 2 months prior to graduation. That said, I was looking at availability and trends in the local market about 4 months prior. Know the key players in the area that you are in; groups, hospital systems, large practices...ect. Talk to folks in the specialty you want and ask about, who is hiring, who is good to work with, who isn't. I ended up getting lucky and got an offer from a place I had a rotation with.

Option B seems a popular choice....

Reach out to the other PA and see if you guys can have lunch or something. Get the real skinny on the job and pimp him/her for the info that you will need to know. Sounds like a good offer.

First: I don't work cards and I didn't look anything up. To GMOTM's question. It sounds like a structural issue to me. Maybe undiagnosed patent Foramen Ovale that wasn't visible on previous echo? Just a random quick though.