Anyone a trauma PA? Something I am interested in

[rn2pa]

Hello,

I am a trauma/critical care nurse applying to PA school for August 2014 admission. I love trauma and am wondering if any of you work as trauma PA's? I am sure the world of trauma is very different for a PA than it is for a nurse...

 

One of the local medical centers in NC has a one year trauma surgery fellowship for PAs, looks amazing!

 

Thank you!

[uscbigdawg]

I'm not one, but work with them. Cool gig and they are deemed essential by the trauma surgical teams. We are a Level 1 trauma center and to say it's busy and fun is an understatement. Basically, our providers drive the ship but our nurse are the ones doing what needs to get done within scope of practice freeing providers to quarterback.

 

Other duties of our PAs are rounding the patients on days. They don't work nights which is nice, I suppose.

 

since you've been out after on a team now, just plug a PA in for the Doc and you've generally got it.

[SoCalPA]

Other than Hurley and St Luke's what other hospitals use Trauma PAs on a daily basis? I am having a hard time finding them. I would love to be a Trauma PA one day.

[GreatChecko]

Basically any Level I that doesn't have residents in their trauma program are more than likely going to have PA's. They jobs are out there, but they are rarely posted.

[EMEDPA]

both of my local trauma ctrs have very active PAs on the service, the level 1 moreso than the level 2 as they only have 2 PAs(the level 1 has probably 6 with 2 on at any given time, 1 for immediate response and 1 covering the ICU..

at the level 1 the PAs are first in on all "level 2 traumas" which are folks requiring workup and not going directly to the o.r.

folks with obvious major injuries are "level 1" and the whole team shows up, stabilizes them in the bay then whisks them to the o.r..

the PAs are involved with both level 1 and 2 but basically run the 2's including workup, icu admit orders, initial stabilization, etc. They also run the postop clinics, and do all the H+P's and hospital d/c's allowing the trauma surgeons to focus on working in the o.r..

the icu/trauma attendings may not even lay eyes on the level 2s until the next morning if the night pa did the initial eval, workup, and admit.

great job. lots of hrs, lots of call.

[rcdavis]

Please search for comments by maryfran123, the head PA and assistant director of trauma service at a level 1 center.. Started the program and is one of our strongest PAs on tgis forum.

[SoCalPA]

Thanks everyone for your comments. EMEDPA that was VERY helpful. RC I have seen MaryFran's comments here and there but I didn't think to check her posts. Good idea. Makes me feel hopeful!! I didn't think there were many Trauma PA positions out there.

[Guest JMPA]

large medical centers use strictly trauma teams while some of the smaller centers it is combined with general surgery. either way it is a fast paced high stress environment thats not for everyone

[CornellSPA]

Many smaller hospital, as listed above, combine ACS with trauma (Acute care surgery)--like a Surgical hospitalist PA...managing all surgical emergencies rather than calling in an on call person! ACS is a hot specialty for Surgical PA Practice now!

[rn2pa]

I work at UNC as a nurse and we have several trauma PA openings. Wake Med, a local level 1 trauma center here has a trauma PA residency. My concern is the NPs I saw working on my trauma unit only managed our stable (step down) patients, none of the level 1s or level 2s....it seemed like they spent their entire day putting orders in, no procedures, just boring horrible orders alllll day.

[EMEDPA]

I work at UNC as a nurse and we have several trauma PA openings. Wake Med, a local level 1 trauma center here has a trauma PA residency. My concern is the NPs I saw working on my trauma unit only managed our stable (step down) patients, none of the level 1s or level 2s....it seemed like they spent their entire day putting orders in, no procedures, just boring horrible orders alllll day.

that sounds like more of a trauma hospitalist position. the trauma pas I know are involved in resuscitation, go to the o.r., and see the pts from the minute they arrive in the er until they d/c them home days later. they spend more time with them than the docs.

[smrtmom1]

In my state, the health an human services people say the PA's don't "count" as being first "provider" to see trauma patients. SO a lot of the trauma programs in Texas don't use PA's as much as other states. They do use them, but not to their full potential in my opinion. FOr specialties that cover trauma services, like my ortho service, it's a HUGE issue right now. There are a LOT of so-called "trauma" consults we get that are bogus and I see ALL of those and many of the real trauma stuff I see first, eval, get tee'd up for the OR. But we get dinged by ACS and HHS saying we didn't "see" the patient in a timely manner because the doc didn't see them.

 

I would love to see Texas get it's act together on this. I think there would be a lot more trauma services here use PA's better....

[SoCalPA]

Is the Residency at WakeMed truly a Trauma Residency? It seems to be a Surgical Residency with a Trauma element.

 

http://www.wakemed.org/landing.cfm?id=1624

 

Anyone know if Legacy Emanuel has a Trauma Residency? I see from this document that they definitely heavily rely on Trauma PAs but I haven't seen a Residency Program.

 

http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/academic/som/surgery/divisions/general-surgery/TrainingPrograms/Residency/upload/EHTraumaSvcsResManual-2.pdf

 

Just wondering if there are other options besides Hurley and St Luke's

[EMEDPA]

Is the Residency at WakeMed truly a Trauma Residency? It seems to be a Surgical Residency with a Trauma element.

 

http://www.wakemed.org/landing.cfm?id=1624

 

Anyone know if Legacy Emanuel has a Trauma Residency? I see from this document that they definitely heavily rely on Trauma PAs but I haven't seen a Residency Program.

 

http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/academic/som/surgery/divisions/general-surgery/TrainingPrograms/Residency/upload/EHTraumaSvcsResManual-2.pdf

 

Just wondering if there are other options besides Hurley and St Luke's

 

emanuel had a residency but cancelled it when they couldn't fill the 2 seats/class.

there are several trauma/critical care residencies out there listed on appap.org

I know there is a new one in Idaho and several on the east coast.

[rn2pa]

good to know EMEDPA

[rn2pa]

SoCalPA...Yeah I think you're right...durn it

[SoCalPA]

Thanks EMEDPA you are a wealth of info. That is very disappointing to hear they cancelled the program cuz they couldn't fill the spots.

[FBIDoc]

emanuel had a residency but cancelled it when they couldn't fill the 2 seats/class.

there are several trauma/critical care residencies out there listed on appap.org

I know there is a new one in Idaho and several on the east coast.

 

1. The Emanuel program had more issues than not filling the seats, unfortunately.

2. Where is the Idaho program?  St Al's?

[quirkymedic]

There is a trauma PA program at St. Als, I am good friends with one of the trauma PAs there.  I was a trauma / acute care surgical PA for a company who contracts with hospitals in northern california and now new mexico..  good company but unfortunately they couldn't fill the second PA position at my hospital which meant I was working 16-20 hour shifts 15- 20 days a month. Couldn't do those kind of hours and have any kind of home life with my husband and kids.  Toughed it out for a year and a half.  Liked it most days but being salary and working those kinds of hours just wasn't worth it to me in the end.  I was at a level 3 trauma center and very busy.  if you choose to go into trauma/ surgery be prepared to be treated like an intern.  it can be brutal, but you do learn a lot... quickly.

[maryfran123]

m2PA,

I have been working as a PA for almost 27 years and  have been working Trauma/Critical Care for 22 of those years.

I have worked at a tertiary level I trauma center in south NJ, a level 3 Trauma in SE Pennsylvania, and am currently at a level 1 in NE Pennsylvania.

 

There are opportunities and a need for both Trauma PAs and an even stronger need for PAs in Critical Care.

These are 2 rapidly growing areas for PAs.

 

My experience has not been the same as quirkyPA. I have never been treated like an intern. Never. In all my positions, even my first year in Trauma I was treated as an integral and valued member of the team. Did I work hard? Did I work alot of hours? The answer to both questions is yes. Especially at my job at the Level 3,

At the Level 3 trauma center I was "it" for the Trauma service with very little attending availability.

I have been fortunate to have had a tremendous amount of autonomy in all my jobs.

 

In my current and past positions I have had leadership roles, supervising residents in the Trauma Bay, during rounds and in the ICU. This was in addition to managing my own set of pts. I also take part in the education of medical, PA and NP students as well.
I am assistant director for our post graduate fellowship in Trauma/Critical care and spend alot of time working with our fellows.

 

With your prior nursing experience, you may be able to find a Trauma or Critical Care job as a new grad. This would work well if there was a strong and organized orientation program. It is a tough field for OTJ training as the learning curve is very steep. Doable, yes. Do new grads do it all the time, yes, but most organizations rarely hire new grads in Trauma/CC.

 

A Trauma/CC post graduate fellowhip would provide you with the didactic and clinical training in a deliberate, organized fashion over the course of 1yr.

You give up a year of a "full" salary but my experience with those that complete our fellowship is that they end of with salaries comenserate with someone that has 3-4yrs experience. Plus, they are able to hit the ground running at these jobs already fully competent in caring for most patients and competent in performing invasive procedures.

 

I love Trauma/SCC. It truly is a passion for me and I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

[MedicalRN]

Do you guys think an NP could fill a similar role if desired? I've noticed some of the "trauma residencies" allow NPs and PAs, but I rarely hear of NPs in trauma or ED.

[rn2pa]

Do you guys think an NP could fill a similar role if desired? I've noticed some of the "trauma residencies" allow NPs and PAs, but I rarely hear of NPs in trauma or ED.

Yes- I am a nurse and have worked in both a trauma ICU and an ED....there were NP's working in both settings.  

[rn2pa]

Maryfran123-  Wow,  thank you for this information!!!!  I am glad to hear as a trauma PA you have had positive experiences.  Trauma/CC is where my heart lies so I am realllly hoping I a.) get into PA school and b.)  can do trauma/CC as a PA!  Was your first job out of school in trauma?  If not, what's a good pre-requisite experience?

 

Thank you again!!

 

 

 

m2PA,

I have been working as a PA for almost 27 years and  have been working Trauma/Critical Care for 22 of those years.

I have worked at a tertiary level I trauma center in south NJ, a level 3 Trauma in SE Pennsylvania, and am currently at a level 1 in NE Pennsylvania.

 

There are opportunities and a need for both Trauma PAs and an even stronger need for PAs in Critical Care.

These are 2 rapidly growing areas for PAs.

 

My experience has not been the same as quirkyPA. I have never been treated like an intern. Never. In all my positions, even my first year in Trauma I was treated as an integral and valued member of the team. Did I work hard? Did I work alot of hours? The answer to both questions is yes. Especially at my job at the Level 3,

At the Level 3 trauma center I was "it" for the Trauma service with very little attending availability.

I have been fortunate to have had a tremendous amount of autonomy in all my jobs.

 

In my current and past positions I have had leadership roles, supervising residents in the Trauma Bay, during rounds and in the ICU. This was in addition to managing my own set of pts. I also take part in the education of medical, PA and NP students as well.
I am assistant director for our post graduate fellowship in Trauma/Critical care and spend alot of time working with our fellows.

 

With your prior nursing experience, you may be able to find a Trauma or Critical Care job as a new grad. This would work well if there was a strong and organized orientation program. It is a tough field for OTJ training as the learning curve is very steep. Doable, yes. Do new grads do it all the time, yes, but most organizations rarely hire new grads in Trauma/CC.

 

A Trauma/CC post graduate fellowhip would provide you with the didactic and clinical training in a deliberate, organized fashion over the course of 1yr.

You give up a year of a "full" salary but my experience with those that complete our fellowship is that they end of with salaries comenserate with someone that has 3-4yrs experience. Plus, they are able to hit the ground running at these jobs already fully competent in caring for most patients and competent in performing invasive procedures.

 

I love Trauma/SCC. It truly is a passion for me and I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

[MedicalRN]

Yes- I am a nurse and have worked in both a trauma ICU and an ED....there were NP's working in both settings.  

 

Cool - thanks! I imagine most NPs in trauma/ED have experience though as an RN, right?

[EMEDPA]

we have a few PAs on our trauma team(and no NPs). one was a former medic and one was a former er rn.