Not enjoying medicine, wanting out

[TWR]

quote: "You may not end up where you thought you were going but you will always end up where you were meant to be." I came across this several years ago and kept it in my mind. As I too have doubts about continuing in clinical medicine after 29 years for many of the same reasons stated above. I have become cynical and upset with patients that have learned how to abuse the medical system that was put in place to help, not become a way of life. On the other hand, I am greatful to have the opertunity to help those who try to help themselves but hit a road bump. I (we) are there to pick them up and fix what we can. Just remember the quote. I have owned 6 businesses in my career as a worker and wonder what #7 will be. I think that will be the last one.

[FSUnoles]

i think we are in the situation that because we arent making 300-500k a year we need to work somewhere that we are happy. We are also not the main shot callers in a practice so how you are viewed in your practice has a massive impact. Right now i'm in the university setting and i think its a great medium to be in for PAs. We get autonomy but at the same time if things our out of our hands there is always backup.  The pay isnt the great but from a medical standpoint you have backup regarding if anyone treats you poorly and your pay is not directly tied to your SP. So much of our happiness is dependent on where we are and how we are treated

[whoRyou]

It has been said, "Money may not be everything, but it sure beats the hell out of whatever is in second place" Of course, being poor or financially stressed definitely does affect our happiness. But it is not the prime determinant of our happiness and satisfaction in life, and we would do well to remember. Otherwise, we will be driven to amass large sums of money in a way that may well impinge on or even destroy the happiness we hoped money would create.

[problem child]

google: "locums tenens physician assistant".

 

you'll find more jobs than you can imagine, short and long term, different specialties, different places, new people, even indian reservation jobs.

 

I am doing locums now after 8 years inpatient and outpatient work (hating being owned by abusive institutions) and have never looked back.

 

you can name your price, tell them when you're available (and not), and sometimes extend contracts you like (if they like you). every locums I've worked has needed my help enormously and I've felt appreciated and valued. I am paid for every minute I work. I leave when it's time to go. if I don't like the job, I don't have to return when the contract is up.

 

check it out.

[problem child]

Honestly, non-English speakers are on your list?

 

1. Would our ancestors have survived to the point where we would have been born without a healthcare provider helping them at some point? Thank God someone took care of my immigrant grandparents!

 

2. Don't you have access to translators? It still makes for a slightly longer patient visit, but it's better than pantomime.

 

While a fair amount of what happens to people's health is in their hands, all of it isn't. While some frustration goes with the job (and other jobs as well), if one finds themselves constantly judging the motives of their patients, then they are in the wrong place. And if how a patient looks or talks or got to the US is an issue that interferes with the job, then another profession might be in order.

 

google translator is GREAT in the office setting! ask your provider to give you a laptop to document your visit DURING the visit, and you can pull up google translator while seeing the patient. the patient is usually very grateful for this extra effort, and it is MUCH easier to get to the heart of a problem (if one actually exists) ;) then you can just look up and say, "ok, thanks for coming. buh-bye!"

[whoRyou]

google: "locums tenens physician assistant".

 

you'll find more jobs than you can imagine, short and long term, different specialties, different places, new people, even indian reservation jobs.

 

I am doing locums now after 8 years inpatient and outpatient work (hating being owned by abusive institutions) and have never looked back.

 

you can name your price, tell them when you're available (and not), and sometimes extend contracts you like (if they like you). every locums I've worked has needed my help enormously and I've felt appreciated and valued. I am paid for every minute I work. I leave when it's time to go. if I don't like the job, I don't have to return when the contract is up.

 

check it out.

I agree with this statement, BUT I would add to your google search: "locums tenens physician assistant + your city and state". It will help narrow your search otherwise you will get overwhelmed.

[chatcat]

 

 

It seems like this may be a pretty common feeling among many especially early on in their career.  I wonder how much of this is related to still being relatively new and trying to settle in as a PA versus legitimate "I hate what I'm doing".  That could be an interesting sociological study for any PA student out there looking for a grad project.

 

 

 

Good insight. I think if we surveyed the population at large there would be a very large percentage of the population throughout many professions

that also reports job dissatisfaction issues.

 

I do think it's very common to search for the right niche in medicine as a PA . Very few find their niche early in their career.  Lots of focus on the tangible attributes of getting that first job (salary,benefits etc) but few take into consideration those equally important factors such as the patient population, the practice environment and how this all mixes into having a good experience during our working hours.  I think it takes a while in the profession to  really know what makes us succeed on a personal & professional basis in any given medical setting and to gain insight into making changes accordingly.

 

Over the years I have had great difficulty with nonclinical administrators having oversight of my role (yes, they are out there in staggering numbers)…so…when making  job changes I have always steered clear of any job that had a nonclinical person in a supervisory position of my clinical role.  It took me a while to realize that all my job related angst was due to bad administrative practices but once I did it  was a professional game changer for me.

I don't care how lucrative the tangible salary package might be if I feel like I am spending my days in a fluorescent lighted hell  ….life is too just too short!

 

Best wishes in finding your niche very soon!

[problem child]

I don't really like being a PA either - although I am grateful for the income it allows me and the chance to serve. I remember thinking in my FIRST WEEK of PA school that I wanted out, and calculating each passing day how much I could get back in tuition....but I pushed through, always hoping fit would get better, and after graduating, for the "right fit", and I think I'm as close as I'm going to be. I work in gen surg but think ultimately I would like to be in IR or pain management (not narcs - trigger pt injections, etc). and I love locums bc I HATE being owned!

 

being a PA is VERY hard work - brutal at times - but I have finally committed to the responsibility I took on when I took that oath. and it's what I need to do for me and my family. at least for now.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

I agree with the IR idea. I would have liked to have given that a shot, or even still, should another opportunity present itself.

[peak38]

I just wanted to post as one of the "you are not alone" people...

 

I have been out of PA school for 2 years. I went to one of the oldest and most reputable programs in the nation. I was a straight A student throughout my program. Great reviews from my clinical year. Passed the PANCE first try. However, after a dozens of "close seconds" at interviews it ended up taking me a year to find a job because I lacked PA experience. When I did, after completely lowering my expectations and out of desperation, my first job was that "don't take this job" they warned you about, and in a couple of months I left it (private urgent care). Finally I ended up at a community sliding scale family practice clinic. I have been there for about half a year now. And every day I think the same thing - I hate my job. I have done a lot of crappy jobs in the past, including fast food and janitorial, and never dreaded going to work more than this. I actually don't look at this forum very often, but came here with the exact thought as your posted topic,"I am not enjoying medicine, and I want out", wondering if anyone else felt like I do. But I too am strapped with big school loans that will only realistically be paid off in my lifetime by working at the income level of a PA. If I was forgiven of my loans or hit the jackpot tomorrow, I would quit and never look back (but forever kick myself for wasting my time with the whole PA idea).

 

But what to do? Currently my plan is to suck it up, keep working my job and pay off my loans as fast as possible. IF it comes together then, I will continue being a PA. If it still sucks I'll back to my old job(s) or go down a different road altogether. 

 

But how did I end up here? I knew I liked medicine before. I worked as a paramedic for 15 years before this and I have always been that nerdy paramedic who loved learning as much as I could about medicine and disease and applying it to my work. PA seemed like a natural step. But PA school was less than satisfying. I didn't feel like I got anything useful towards my actual work as a PA out of it. I feel I could have clumped all the useful info I got out of 2+ years of PA school into about a 2 week period. I feel like the stupidest PA in the world. I spend most of my time in between patients frantically looking up info on UpToDate and Epocrates. My supervising doc is nice enough (and the staff are angels that I dearly love), but she is busy seeing patients of her own and is honestly annoyed at my ignorance about many routine medical conditions. My patients are much like yours - drug seekers, whiners, manipulators, and patients who have been fired from every other practice in town. I would agree that about 1 out of every 100 patients I see do I feel like I am really helping or making a legit difference for. My job satisfaction is nil. I wish I was the barista at the coffee shop where I pick up my coffee on the way to work. 

 

I know I work in a tough patient population. I see the wisdom many here on the forum have shared about finding a different speciality that may be a bit more rewarding. I think this is good advice, and in your case it might just be the ticket! Run with it if that is the case. 

 

My experience so far has been that the job market and work environment for PA's has changed. maybe 10-15 years ago a PA could get that core medical education during didactic, and then go out into their clinical year and their first job and have their mentoring/supervising physicians finish their training and molding into competent providers that shine and make the profession proud. What I see now (at least from my perspective) is PA programs that want to push students through with the bare minimum required content to pass the PANCE on their first try so their school stats look good, collect their hideously high tuition, and kick you to the street to find your own way, figuring that the docs out there will finish the fledgling PA's education for them. My experience so far has been that doctors and organizations don't have the time, energy or desire to finish any PA's education - they want you to hit the ground running and see 20-30 patients a day and not need any coaching.They have bills to pay and money to make. You were supposed to be "plug and play" right out of the PA school box. 

 

There's my experience and thoughts. I know there are many great PA's out there who have had better experiences, and love their work - after all, they are the one's who inspired me in the first place. But I think there are a lot more PA's out there who are struggling and regretting like me. Maybe we are the dark underbelly of the profession that nobody likes to talk about. Or, maybe the others out there feel the same way I too - too ashamed to admit that they aren't that brilliant PA that got that great satisfying job right out of school and are saving lives left and right every day and can't wait to go to work every day. Honestly, this post is the first time I have shared my sentiments with anyone other than my immediate family. But I just wanted you to know you aren't alone. 

 

I sincerely wish you the best of luck finding your way "out", whether it is finally latching onto that PA niche that is perfect for you, or you get that Forest Ranger job:) 

 

(sorry for the lengthy post - I don't think you're supposed to do that in forums)

[PACdan]

^^^ You were a paramedic for 15 years... maybe emergency medicine would be more fulfilling and provide more of that immediate difference of saving lives you mention.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

peak38, very well articulated.  One common thread that I'm beginning to see is 1) an interest in medicine to begin with, 2) experience in EMS/EM in some capacity, and enjoying it, 3) thinking that more knowledge and responsibility is the next obvious step, and 4) taking that step and realizing that maybe step 2 is where they should have stayed.  PACdan, based upon my observations just stated, I'm not sure that a reasonable conclusion to take EM to the next level is the answer for some of these folks.  As I've stated previously, field EMS and EM in a facility are two separate animals and don't always correlate, IMO.  Using myself as an example, I could easily see myself doing field EMS follow ups on non-transports and referring to appropriate agencies as needed for my local FD, but I really have no burning desire to return to an ED environment.  EM still gets the juices flowing, just not in a suburban ED knowing that there is no ability to utilize special procedure skills even if trained/mentored in that capacity.

[PACdan]

^^^Interesting. It does seem that these individuals end up in some other practice besides EM after PA school; I was wondering if that was a contributing factor to the job dissatisfaction.

 

Overall the potential for new PA abuse seems high. Groups/hospitals/clinics want physician level service without the continued training, and for a fraction of the price. I often see "take a job that is going to put the time/effort into your training" as advice from experienced PAs here. How to sort those jobs out from the chaff, 60-seconds post graduation, is the dilemma.

 

[Acebecker]

Out of curiosity, how much experience did you all have directly with PAs before you applied to PA school?

 

From all reports, there was good prior healthcare experience - 15 years a medic, etc.  That's great. 

 

Just wondering if everyone who is saying, "I shouldn't have gone to PA school because now I want out," had enough direct exposure to PAs before applying to PA school.  I've been sitting here, reading these and thinking, "We need to do a better job during the admissions process to help those folks who think they want to be a PA but really don't," but then the thought occurs to me, "Wait, is this the school's responsibility, or the student/applicant's?" 

 

It makes me quite sad to hear my colleagues beleaguered and upset about this profession; I think it is a noble profession full of opportunities for growth, service, self-sacrifice, and with the potential for huge rewards but tangible and non-tangible.  I want everyone to enjoy it is much as I do.  Yeah, there are days when I don't want to hear another whiner and days when I just want to throw the chart in the air and yell, "52 card pickup!" and walk away.  But I take a step back and look at the overall trajectory of my life and the lives I have affected and realize that I - you, we - do good things for people.  Some days it's telling the chronic back pain patient who's addicted to narcs, "Hey, you realize you're addicted to narcs, right?"  Some days it's catching an acute appendicitis and getting them to a surgeon.  Still other's it's shocking a lifeless body back from the dead.  But think of all the patients you have seen in the past year - think that if you touched 20%, or maybe just 10% of them in a meaningful way - that ads up to hundreds of people you have done a good thing for.  Hundreds.  Those of you who have been in practice for a decade more...  Think of the *thousands* of people you have affected. 

 

The impact we make is tremendous, whether we feel it on a daily basis or not.  The knowledge of that impact will carry you a long way if you let it. 

 

FWIW.

[peak38]

Thoughtful considerations....

 

Indeed, EM would be my first choice. However, locally I have found it hard to get an ER type job without usually a required 2 years of experience (despite my background). I greatly value to role of primary care, and think it is a fantastic background for any specialty. This is part of why I took a primary care job anyway. And for the reasons mentioned above about it being a bit like triage, sorting out the worried-well from those with truly concerning problems, and referring them to the specialist they need, etc is indeed fun (just wish that it was more than 5% of my panel!). I think that I will not give up on the PA thing without having tried an EM job - just to be sure that it wasn't just a lack of trauma that was causing my disappointment:) I must say it has been rewarding to see patients come back in to the clinic having recovered from their injury/illness and seeing that my work has made them better. That's something medics rarely get to see. 

 

Another point I have noticed brought up in this thread, and that I heed, is that there is no "perfect" job, and that no matter where you go there are going to be unsavory patients and frustrating politics/administration. I am willing to take my share of punishment in this regard alongside my colleagues (but not TOO much). However, this is one reason that I have also considered NOT going back into EM in the PA role such as in an ER or urgent care. I know from experience that you deal with a lot of drug seekers, BS, etc, working in an ER. Honestly, I see a lot of the same patients at my sliding scale take-all-comers clinic that the ER sees (usually bouncing back and forth for narc's). And, often the PA in an ER has the "fast track" and sorts out the whiners while the SP gets to work on all the exciting/intriguing trauma, MI's, acute medical, etc. I don't have to have non-stop action and excitement, but I would choose my ER job carefully so as to at least get a reasonable mix. 

 

As others have mentioned, I am also strongly considering the locums jobs. I love to travel and have worked contract here and abroad before and really liked it. And I like the idea of if I get a yucky contract it will be over in x number of weeks and I don't have to renew or go back. I am also going to investigate if there are some kind of hybrid PA/EMS positions that would draw on my previous experience that I could do, such as travel med, retrieval med, flight med, EMS, backcountry, wildland fire, tactical, etc. *Feel free to respond to this part with awesome links to cool jobs;)

 

Oh, to answer a question above, I stumbled on to the PA profession while working contract abroad and for a clinic at a National Park here in the U.S. Maybe I need to follow in their footsteps. 

 

Too late for me, but and I would really like to see PA schools move to including something more like a physician's residency where the PA student is actually responsible for a panel of patients and is a working member of the clinical team - not just the student - and having to actually go through all the motions of a being provider and actually using the EMR (not just watching or talking about it) and having to deal of a busy schedule of their own patients that they are accountable for would be very valuable. I compare my clinical year experience to an M3 equivalent; it was a nice sampler of seeing what different specialties do, but often observing or just doing a few things (e.g. taking a history, doing a PE) I didn't get near the hands-on experience I wanted or that I felt was needed to be a competitive and competent provider fresh out of school. This "residency" I suggest might be in the form of a 3rd year of PA school or might just be restructuring of the clinical year. It could even just mean every PA does a required 6 month residency in primary care besides the "specialty sampler". Or maybe PA students would have the opportunity to choose/bid for a residency that best suits their future career ambitions (ortho, EM, etc), which would also give them a boost finding that first job - not only in skill and experience but also in confidence.  I think this would also make the new grad PA's a little closer to the "plug and play" PA that hiring entities are looking for. What I would hate to see is that PA's are coming out of school unprepared, employers get disgruntled with these under-prepared providers that "aren't done with school", and get a bad taste for PA's and it hurt not only these poor souls looking for first jobs, but also the PA profession as a whole. 

[Acebecker]

peak -

 

My experience was just as you described an ideal clinical year.  I was responsible for every patient I saw - their initial visit, their follow-up visits, making the diagnosis and determining treatment.  I had to consult with my preceptors of course, but that was - in my mind - how PA training is supposed to go. 

 

At my school we had a 4 month family practice rotation - during that rotation I started at about 3-4 pts/day and progressed up to a full day.  That's ideally how it's supposed to work.  A good school, good preceptors, will arrange things as such. 

[Dichotomy]

Hello, 

 

First of all, please allow me to post here as I am a Pre-PA.

 

Reading through the posts, I have one question for the unsatisfied/unhappy PAs. Will you please comment on your reason for wanting to become a PA at the first place. I assume you were probably asked the following question during your PA interview : Why do you want to be a PA or why PA? Can you please share your answer back then and maybe relate that to your current feeling about the profession? 

 

Acebecker, I really like your input. Most of your comment is why I personally want to be a PA. Of course there are plenty of reasons why I am seeking admission to PA school, but the most important one is "the reward of having a medical training". Being an african, I can't wait to get this medical training and make use of it, not only here in the USA but around the world wherever applicable. I like the fact that I can go to mission trip in South America for instance and help save lives or that I can respond to medical emergencies ( ie: Joplin, MO tornado, 9/11 disaster or a car accident that I witnessed) and contribute my talent/training.

 

I have being a Phlebotomist for 7 years, and the good phlebotomists can testified of the good feeling when you get excellent feedbacks from patients. Phlebotomy isn't as demanding as being a PA, however I am just amazed by some of the positive reaction that I get from patients, their satisfaction gives me a priceless feeling as well and I look forward to be at work the next day. I will also say that some days are more challenging than others but isn't that what life is all about? I feel like, even if everything else has gone wrong, I will always look back to the "why I wanted to be a PA." Personally, it is getting that medical training and utilize it in the above mentioned circumstances; The reward and good feeling of making an impact.

 

I could be wrong as I am not a PA yet (Keep applying), so I would like others opinions. Thanks !

[delco714]

 

 

...not only here in the USA but around the world wherever applicable. I like the fact that I can go to mission trip in South America for instance and help save lives...

Yeah, not so easy..

 

[cinntsp]

Too late for me, but and I would really like to see PA schools move to including something more like a physician's residency where the PA student is actually responsible for a panel of patients and is a working member of the clinical team - not just the student - and having to actually go through all the motions of a being provider and actually using the EMR (not just watching or talking about it) and having to deal of a busy schedule of their own patients that they are accountable for would be very valuable. I compare my clinical year experience to an M3 equivalent; it was a nice sampler of seeing what different specialties do, but often observing or just doing a few things (e.g. taking a history, doing a PE) I didn't get near the hands-on experience I wanted or that I felt was needed to be a competitive and competent provider fresh out of school. This "residency" I suggest might be in the form of a 3rd year of PA school or might just be restructuring of the clinical year. It could even just mean every PA does a required 6 month residency in primary care besides the "specialty sampler". Or maybe PA students would have the opportunity to choose/bid for a residency that best suits their future career ambitions (ortho, EM, etc), which would also give them a boost finding that first job - not only in skill and experience but also in confidence.  I think this would also make the new grad PA's a little closer to the "plug and play" PA that hiring entities are looking for. What I would hate to see is that PA's are coming out of school unprepared, employers get disgruntled with these under-prepared providers that "aren't done with school", and get a bad taste for PA's and it hurt not only these poor souls looking for first jobs, but also the PA profession as a whole. 

 

This is school-specific and preceptor-specific.  Hopefully you gave feedback to your school so that they can make improvements.  I am currently in my FM rotation and essentially work as an independent provider.  I see whoever is in the next room, do an exam, order labs/imaging, make a dx, write up any scripts, and then quickly present to my preceptor who will then sign off the scripts.  They will pop in if I ask them to take a look at something or just to say hi to the pt.  I chart everything and it's signed off by whoever I presented to.  My EM rotation was similar.  I would grab a chart from the rack(any level 3-5 or most 2s with a quick "hey doc, can I grab this level 2 in room 4?"), do H&P, present to the doc/PA, and then tell them what I want to order and how I want to treat.  They would usually go in after to do their own thing and tell me if they agree with my plan or want to change something.  I'd chart everything in the EMR and they would go back through and sign off.  On the flip side, I also had a rotation that was awful and for the most part was nothing more than a shadowing experience, which I'm sure this is not entirely uncommon as a guy rotating through an OBGYN clinic.

 

There are quite a few actual residencies out there(especially in EM) but they are very competitive due to the limited # of slots, and most students don't see the value in them since they aren't required.

[BruceBanner]

I just wanted to post as one of the "you are not alone" people...

 

I have been out of PA school for 2 years. I went to one of the oldest and most reputable programs in the nation. I was a straight A student throughout my program. Great reviews from my clinical year. Passed the PANCE first try. However, after a dozens of "close seconds" at interviews it ended up taking me a year to find a job because I lacked PA experience. When I did, after completely lowering my expectations and out of desperation, my first job was that "don't take this job" they warned you about, and in a couple of months I left it (private urgent care). Finally I ended up at a community sliding scale family practice clinic. I have been there for about half a year now. And every day I think the same thing - I hate my job. I have done a lot of crappy jobs in the past, including fast food and janitorial, and never dreaded going to work more than this. I actually don't look at this forum very often, but came here with the exact thought as your posted topic,"I am not enjoying medicine, and I want out", wondering if anyone else felt like I do. But I too am strapped with big school loans that will only realistically be paid off in my lifetime by working at the income level of a PA. If I was forgiven of my loans or hit the jackpot tomorrow, I would quit and never look back (but forever kick myself for wasting my time with the whole PA idea).

 

But what to do? Currently my plan is to suck it up, keep working my job and pay off my loans as fast as possible. IF it comes together then, I will continue being a PA. If it still sucks I'll back to my old job(s) or go down a different road altogether. 

 

But how did I end up here? I knew I liked medicine before. I worked as a paramedic for 15 years before this and I have always been that nerdy paramedic who loved learning as much as I could about medicine and disease and applying it to my work. PA seemed like a natural step. But PA school was less than satisfying. I didn't feel like I got anything useful towards my actual work as a PA out of it. I feel I could have clumped all the useful info I got out of 2+ years of PA school into about a 2 week period. I feel like the stupidest PA in the world. I spend most of my time in between patients frantically looking up info on UpToDate and Epocrates. My supervising doc is nice enough (and the staff are angels that I dearly love), but she is busy seeing patients of her own and is honestly annoyed at my ignorance about many routine medical conditions. My patients are much like yours - drug seekers, whiners, manipulators, and patients who have been fired from every other practice in town. I would agree that about 1 out of every 100 patients I see do I feel like I am really helping or making a legit difference for. My job satisfaction is nil. I wish I was the barista at the coffee shop where I pick up my coffee on the way to work. 

 

I know I work in a tough patient population. I see the wisdom many here on the forum have shared about finding a different speciality that may be a bit more rewarding. I think this is good advice, and in your case it might just be the ticket! Run with it if that is the case. 

 

My experience so far has been that the job market and work environment for PA's has changed. maybe 10-15 years ago a PA could get that core medical education during didactic, and then go out into their clinical year and their first job and have their mentoring/supervising physicians finish their training and molding into competent providers that shine and make the profession proud. What I see now (at least from my perspective) is PA programs that want to push students through with the bare minimum required content to pass the PANCE on their first try so their school stats look good, collect their hideously high tuition, and kick you to the street to find your own way, figuring that the docs out there will finish the fledgling PA's education for them. My experience so far has been that doctors and organizations don't have the time, energy or desire to finish any PA's education - they want you to hit the ground running and see 20-30 patients a day and not need any coaching.They have bills to pay and money to make. You were supposed to be "plug and play" right out of the PA school box. 

 

There's my experience and thoughts. I know there are many great PA's out there who have had better experiences, and love their work - after all, they are the one's who inspired me in the first place. But I think there are a lot more PA's out there who are struggling and regretting like me. Maybe we are the dark underbelly of the profession that nobody likes to talk about. Or, maybe the others out there feel the same way I too - too ashamed to admit that they aren't that brilliant PA that got that great satisfying job right out of school and are saving lives left and right every day and can't wait to go to work every day. Honestly, this post is the first time I have shared my sentiments with anyone other than my immediate family. But I just wanted you to know you aren't alone. 

 

I sincerely wish you the best of luck finding your way "out", whether it is finally latching onto that PA niche that is perfect for you, or you get that Forest Ranger job:) 

 

(sorry for the lengthy post - I don't think you're supposed to do that in forums)

 

Excellent post. I've had a very similar experience.

 

I thought I'd post an update to this thread, it's been a few months. I actually "resigned" (was forced to resign) my job at the occ med clinic a month ago. It was a both a relief and slight blow to the ego, but I knew it was coming. It was mainly a political decision on part of the clinic owner; my 2 other PA colleagues had both QUIT within a two week time period, for similar reasons of dissatisfaction. One quit without even having a new job lined up, and the other found a gig at a different clinic. I was next, but I really wanted to wait until I had another full-time gig lined up before jumping ship. I have a per diem job that pays well, but it's not steady enough to rely on. Long story short, they hired 3 new PAs covertly, and I was called into the office on a monday morning and paid out for the month. They told me if I submitted a letter of resignation they would treat it as such, and to protect the image of the practice they needed to start with a clean slate. Fair enough, I was at my breaking point and I'm sure it was evident.

 

Well, fast forward 6 weeks and I'm immensely happier, still working my per diem job and making ends meet but having a hell of a time finding new work. I'm running into the same issues as Peak38 above; lack of overall experience, and experience in all the wrong areas. Where I live it is a tight market for PAs (very desirable city), and the only jobs out there are the "dont take one of these" jobs like sliding scale community clinics, STD clinics, weight loss clinics, more occ med and some surgical slavery. 

 

I'm trying to get into an established IM clinic or subspecialty clinic where I can get that paradoxical level of experience that one needs to be employable, but cant be employed without. As far as my mental health goes, leaving that job was like having an abscess drained. I am considerably happier in day to day life (even with the stress of being quasi-employed) and my outlook on the profession has recovered a little bit. 

 

I think the poster above is right; there are a lot like us out there who represent the unsung darker underbelly of the medical profession. There is just no way you could know what you are getting yourself into unless you had some prior exposure to this side of the PA world---the occ med clinics, the community free-for-all clinics, and the dubious para-health jobs like weight loss and hormone replacement clinics. I think this will continue to worsen as PA schools churn out more and more grads in a shorter time period. The market is already inundated with available PAs (mainly in desirable cities), and real career gigs like IM or inpatient medicine are basically inaccessible to those without years of experience. THAT is what they don't tell you in school, and maybe they aren't even aware. Schools are a business, first and foremost, and their priority is maintaining good stats and cranking people through the program.

 

I still don't regret becoming a PA, but my caution to all would-be PAs is don't expect your search for a job to be a cake walk, and don't expect to get right into the specialty and type of practice you want (or think you want). Medicine is a wide world, and there is immense variation in between PA jobs, more than any other direct provider profession. I was lead to believe that once a PA I could essentially write my own ticket for work, but this is not the case, believe me. Maybe in time, but for me at least and I think many others, the struggle doesn't end after school.

[PACdan]

I think this will continue to worsen as PA schools churn out more and more grads in a shorter time period. The market is already inundated with available PAs (mainly in desirable cities), and real career gigs like IM or inpatient medicine are basically inaccessible to those without years of experience. THAT is what they don't tell you in school, and maybe they aren't even aware. Schools are a business, first and foremost, and their priority is maintaining good stats and cranking people through the program.

 

I still don't regret becoming a PA, but my caution to all would-be PAs is don't expect your search for a job to be a cake walk, and don't expect to get right into the specialty and type of practice you want (or think you want). Medicine is a wide world, and there is immense variation in between PA jobs, more than any other direct provider profession. I was lead to believe that once a PA I could essentially write my own ticket for work, but this is not the case, believe me. Maybe in time, but for me at least and I think many others, the struggle doesn't end after school.

 

I think the expectation should be that new grads go rural. The programs should market themselves this way, and some do. But this constant clustering of "I only want to work in big city X..." is part of the problem. That's whom most of the pay/job dissatisfaction statements are coming from on this board. Even people in my class feel entitled to this notion. We could make more and do more as a profession if we fulfilled the founding ideal more.

 

I would just not expect the saturated big metro jobs to produce as much satisfaction for new grads. This should be advertised for all applicants.

[BruceBanner]

^ This is a problem in many career fields, not just medicine. "Go rural" sounds great on paper, but I'm not sure you realize how unfeasible it is for most people. Rural jobs are in.......rural areas. And I don't mean rural as in 30 minutes outside a major city. I mean rural as in HOURS away from any major or even medium-sized cities. Places with nothing to do, nowhere to shop, and far from your family and friends. I know because I've looked. They really do sound great on paper---big pay, big benefits, and loan repayment. But there is a reason they pay so well. They cannot find (or keep) anyone. That's why they hire recruiters. Most grads are either married or on track for marriage, and moving involves uprooting your significant other or having to deal with a long distance relationship for 2 years minimum; not to mention all the logistical hassles like breaking a lease, commuting home, etc. Even if you can get past those, you have the issue of boredom and loneliness in a one-horse town while you wait out your contract. It's a tough sell.

 

Schools can market and push rural healthcare all they want, but people's wants and needs wont change.

[PACdan]

^^^Some people don't see rural living as this great burden...they actually prefer it.

 

As for the leases and SOs, well I'm not talking about going rural as a stopgap. Not as something just to earn you two years and out. But as a planned career choice. Plan accordingly.

 

I never saw medicine as a lifestyle path. It's all about priorities and choices I guess.

[Guest Paula]

^ This is a problem in many career fields, not just medicine. "Go rural" sounds great on paper, but I'm not sure you realize how unfeasible it is for most people. Rural jobs are in.......rural areas. And I don't mean rural as in 30 minutes outside a major city. I mean rural as in HOURS away from any major or even medium-sized cities. Places with nothing to do, nowhere to shop, and far from your family and friends. I know because I've looked. They really do sound great on paper---big pay, big benefits, and loan repayment. But there is a reason they pay so well. They cannot find (or keep) anyone. That's why they hire recruiters. Most grads are either married or on track for marriage, and moving involves uprooting your significant other or having to deal with a long distance relationship for 2 years minimum; not to mention all the logistical hassles like breaking a lease, commuting home, etc. Even if you can get past those, you have the issue of boredom and loneliness in a one-horse town while you wait out your contract. It's a tough sell.

 

Schools can market and push rural healthcare all they want, but people's wants and needs wont change.

 

Rural rocks.  Best place to live is in the rural areas.  You will only be as bored or depressed or lonely as you choose to be.  They do let me off the reservation once in a while and boy, oh, boy it is such a treat to go shopping at Walmart.  They have everything you need.  No joke. 

 

Love, love , love my rural job!

 

I would have a serious meltdown if I had to work in LA or NYC, even Chicago creeps me out.  

[JohnnyM2]

Rural rocks. Best place to live is in the rural areas. You will only be as bored or depressed or lonely as you choose to be. They do let me off the reservation once in a while and boy, oh, boy it is such a treat to go shopping at Walmart. They have everything you need. No joke.

 

Love, love , love my rural job!

 

I would have a serious meltdown if I had to work in LA or NYC, even Chicago creeps me out.

So true and rural has lots of people really needing care who aren't drug seekers or addicts. People in rural areas, including patients, docs and admins are more likely to treat you with respect. Your autonomy and scope of practice are likely to be greater than in the big city. Life is more relaxed, cost of living is generally lower and there are just as many things to do that you can't do in a big city as there are things that you can only do in a big city. To be sure, it's a trade off but one week worth making.

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire HDX using Tapatalk 2