PA_H44 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hello everyone, I am a newly certified PA (whooo-hooo, it feels so good to be able to say/type that) from Southern California. I took my boards in the beginning of Oct and have been actively seeking a position since mid October. In hindsight, I should've been looking before I graduated but I wanted to concentrate on passing my boards first. For the past 3 months, I have been looking into orthopaedic PA positions but for one reason or another, haven't been able to interview, except a few, with one being orthopedics. I have also been concurrently applying for part time gigs in Family Med, Urgent Care-whatever is listed so that I can start practicing, but no success. I am starting to get anxious and wondering if this is a normal experience for new grads. I know many of my former classmates are already working, some even in subspecialties such as orthopedics, without prior experience in a well sought out city such as Los Angeles. The only ones who actually call me back seem to be in rural areas where nobody wants to relocate to. Is this inevitable because of my lack of experience? Any advice from the veterans and alumni? Please share your wisdom with me. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 14, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 14, 2014 consider a residency(www.appap.org) or widening your search or specialty preference. try kaiser in socal. they use lots of PAs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA_H44 Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Thanks for your response, EMEDPA. I have take steps for all of the above... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrsmurf Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I'm a PA in San Diego, it wasn't/isn't easy for me. Contact/get a membership with local and state PA associations, they usually have job postings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA_H44 Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 I am already a member of CAPA and dligently check the listings, as well as AAPA. I would say about 90% of them either require experience or bilingual in Spanish. cbrsmurf, do you mind me asking how long it took you to find a job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrsmurf Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 3 or 4 months, and it was not a good job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Do you want surgery? What is wrong with rural areas? Somebody wants to relocate there! A rural job may be a blessing in disguise. Paula (rural medicine PA who has had some of the most fantastical experiences you can not even imagine!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA_H44 Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Do you want surgery? What is wrong with rural areas? Somebody wants to relocate there! A rural job may be a blessing in disguise. Paula (rural medicine PA who has had some of the most fantastical experiences you can not even imagine!) Paula, I used the wrong choice of words. I should've clarified that I rather not move to a rural area because I enjoy living in an urban city. However if this is absolutely necessary, I must do what I have to do for my career... And yes, I would like some type of surgical field so that I may transition into ortho in the future, if need be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlteredBeast Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 If you're interested in ortho, you should try the fellowship at RCRMC. They accept one per year, it might be two I can't remember. As far as I know no one applied to the current class. You get worked like a dog, a lot of floor work/clinic but as you start pulling your weight you take overnight call and there's plenty of OR opportunity. RCRMC is ridiculously busy. I'm also looking for a job in the socal area, there are a few urgent cares in the temecula/ murrieta area that are looking for PAs. You can easily find them if you do a quick search on craigslist. Seems to be some in the palm springs area too. Hope some of this was helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSUnoles Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I live in a very saturated area (south Fl) and most of my classmates were slow to find quality jobs here as well. If im not mistaken Southern Cal is pretty saturated. It took me 2 months to start working after passing my boards and i looked immediately after graduating. Just keep applying and someone will stick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA_H44 Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 Hello everyone, Thanks for all of your replies! I have an update...It's so funny how things either roll in all at once or nothing at all, well at least in my case. I got accepted into an ortho residency. At the same time, I had four other job interviews confirmed, 2 being in ortho and 2 in other surgical subspecialties, which received an ortho offer. I ended up accepting the residency. I hope I ultimately made the right decision, considering it as an investment to my long term career. Thanks, PA_H44 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA_H44 Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 I live in a very saturated area (south Fl) and most of my classmates were slow to find quality jobs here as well. If im not mistaken Southern Cal is pretty saturated. It took me 2 months to start working after passing my boards and i looked immediately after graduating. Just keep applying and someone will stick You are right. So Cal definitely seems saturated... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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