aem19 Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Hi everyone, I need some advice about potentially switching jobs after only working at my 1st job for less than a month. I graduated from school in August and started applying for jobs right after that. I had interviews for 3 jobs. I was really interested in 2 of these but I took the first job offered to me and now i am regretting it. here's a little blurb about each job: job #1 was at a Large academic institution. I would be the 2nd PA on a subspecialty surgical service that also has resisdents and fellows. Schedule is great, 4 tens, no weekends or holidays. however I had heard terrible things about working at this place as a PA. (i worked there pre-pa school and loved it) job #2 was at a smaller academic center as a gen surg PA. I heard about the job thru an old preceptor and i interviewed for the job before the position was created. I really wanted the job. I called/emailed mult times to tell them i was interested, but i never heard back. I talked to my old preceptor who told me about the job and still works there but he didn't know the time frame about when the new PA position would be created. I was disappointed b/c it would be a great first job....they have plenty of PA's and i did two of my rotations at this hospital. In the meantime, I was offered job #1 and I accepted it. My loans were due and I only had a couple hundred bucks left in the bank. I didn't feel as though i could wait any longer to take a job. So I took it and I have worked there for 3 weeks. Unfortunately, i feel like the PA's(myself and the other one) have no real clinical responsibilities. The fellows and residents run the service and it seems our role as a PA is to man the floor while they are in the OR. We basically finish the stuff they don't have time to get to and write orders that the nurses would've otherwise paged the docs to do. I haven't seen the PA make one clinical decision on her own since i started. I also don't feel like the other PA will be a great mentor either. She started there as a new grad 2 yrs ago and was thrown on the floor and learned everything as she went from the residents/fellows. Last week, my 2nd week on the job, I heard from job #2 that the PA position was officially created and it will be in the subspecialty surg service working with 3 other PA's running the service. all of the pa's have been there for 10 plus years, so it'd def be a great place to start. At first i ignored the email and voicemail b/c i was already working and was trying to give the job a chance. But i've been so torn since i got the messages. I don't want to stay at my current job out of fear and guilt and become a mediocre PA b/c i have no one to mentor/guide me. But i also don't want to leave a job so quickly b/c i don't like it yet. After alot of thought, I called job #2 back today and told them i was interested in the position. I put all my cards on the table and told them i had accepted another position already and that I was already working. I didn't go into too much detail about what i think is wrong with my job, but I did explain that the residents run the service and i feel like there's not much for the PA's to do. I will probably be meeting with them next week. I guess i'm not sure what my question is. I know i'm the only one who can decide whether to stay at my current job or take the new job if its offered. I just want to burn as few bridges as possible in the process. I also know i'm going to feel tremendously guilty if i do decide to leave my 1st job. If anyone has any helpful advice or has been in a similar predicament i would love to hear about it. Thanks for reading this extremely long post. and thanks for your advice/help in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulPA Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 First, you had good reasons to take the 1st job and no one should fault you for that. Second, if the situation was reversed and they had to lay off a PA do you think they would feeling tremendously guilty about laying you off....my guess is probably not. My advice is to accept the 2nd job offer, and put an appropriate notice and do the best darn job you can until your last day. If they ask why, be honest and tell them that the job just isn't a good fit for you and leave it at that. Maybe even offer to let your fellow classmates know about the vacancy you are leaving. Do what you think will make you happy, if you don't and stay out of obligation you will be miserable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fireguy Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 no one will take care of you except you. DO what you gotta do for YOU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leahk Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 i totally agree. i will be in this position as well. i just accepted a position that is very far from ideal for a new grad, but i think they understand that with the low salary, no benefits and crappy conditions i will bail asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatcat Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 If after only 3 weeks on the new job you are already experiencing job dissatisfaction then don't give it much thought...find a job you enjoy in an environment that you find supportive. Only YOU are responsible for your own job satisfaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryfran123 Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Agree with the above--you spend ALOT of time at work, next to sleeping, it is the biggest investment of YOUR time AND life that YOU will have to invest in. Going to a job that you don't like and which provides no sense of satisfaction isn't worth that type of personal inverstment. Many moons ago--20yrs--I left my 1st PA job after 2 months because of the low PA, no satisfaction, and basically, just a bad job. It did not adversely affect my ability to get another job. If you feel that job #2 is a position that will allow to you to grow and develop professionally and be a position in which you actually like going to work everyday, I'd say grab it because jobs like that are few and far between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esmerelda Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 I'm glad you are getting such good advice from others. This first job is going to get you nowhere fast. I hate to sound like such a geek but to quote Dr. Phil, "What's worse than staying in a bad relationship (could include job) for three weeks? Staying in a bad relationship (job) for three weeks and one day." You need to do what makes you happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Hi aem, I was in a similar conundrum with my first job out of school. I ended up leaving after 1 month because the job I interviewed for and what they actually wanted me to do were as different as broccoli and oranges. Three weeks into the gig I handed in my resignation, and was gone after another two weeks. I pretty quickly found a new position in family practice with great folks and a challenging learning environment. Haven't looked back since. Don't stay if you are miserable - the insomnia isn't worth it. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leahk Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 a question along these lines. Under what conditions as a PA do you have to give 3 weeks notice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Leah, Fist of all, I agree with all of the advise above. Also, from the standpoint of the first place that hired you, (a) they have not spent all that much training you for 3 weeks and (b) they probably still have a hot list of people they passed over to offer you your job. Go quickly! As far as the notice time, you might consider telling them that you are leaving (AFTER you have a written offer from the new place) and give them the option of having you leave in 2, 3, or 4 weeks (at the latest). A month is all the time professionals in the business world ever give. As this is already the holiday month, you might consider accepting the new job starting in January if, for example, that works for the new job. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittryn Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 agree with all the above -- no harm, no foul -- go, go, GO! just give appropriate notice, as was said. you can let your new job know that you intend to give appropriate notice with the old job -- this is a plus all the way around b/c your new job will see that you have integrity, something that will boost you further in their eyes; and your old job will have a reasonable opportunity to replace you with, as was pointed out, one of the other candidates. the new job will totally respect that you are giving notice and, I have no doubt, support this 100% (they would want the same for themselves if you ever leave them). do 110% great work through the time of your notice, and after your notice is up, walk away with a smile and an untroubled conscience b/c you are handling this 100% professionally. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizchao74 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 A month is all the time professionals in the business world ever give. What about hospital-based jobs, where credentialing is involved and which is the bane of our existence and always the obstacle to getting a swift start date? If you are working in a hospital-based job, and starting there requires completing the credentialing process which is usually 2 months or so on average, is it still considered fair to give 1 month's notice considering the gap that would exist because of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febrifuge Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Your gig sounds not too unlike what I did for my first job, except that I was in inpatient medicine rather than surgery. It was almost a year ago, and we parted ways because it was "a bad fit." I'm not 100% sure, but I believe I'm still bound by contract not to say anything bad about that group. :) Long story short, I was fortunate to have a relatively graceful way out, but if that hadn't presented itself I would have just kept my head down and tried to muddle through, out of some misplaced sense of loyalty -- and the promises made during that sunny recruitment phase did not pan out. Looking back, I was a nice guy but sort of a sucker to stick it out like that. I got a nice severance deal, and am now with a group I really like, doing a job I'm far better-suited for, but I'm still stuck having to explain that whole "not a good fit" thing. If I'd had clear signs of how it would turn out, as early as you have, I would have gladly jumped ship then. I do wonder about the hospital privileges and credentialing part; that can be a pain. Also, is there any sort of probationary period in your job? If you've only been there 3 weeks the fine print of your contract might actually prohibit you from jumping ship, and/or they might be able to dismiss you without cause at their pleasure. (Then again, if it's an "at-will" contract, that remains true on both sides, and you don't have to have a reason to leave either.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.