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We're hiring, BUT first you must have experience... *Frustrated*


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Hello everyone, 

 

This is my first post, so naturally I'd like to thank everyone for contributing to such great forum from one way or another.

 

I graduated from PA school this year (2014), took my board exam and passed, and have my state certificate. basically I did all the initial steps required to put me in the right path of finding a decent entry level job. Unfortunately, many interviews (from different fields) later I am still here at home without a job. 

 

Thing is, I want to become a Derm PA, but it wasn't what I always wanted to do. At first, I was more geared toward P.C. or E.D./urgent care. During my job hunt, I was "used" as a temporary replacement for someone that was about to leave a derm practice but then she changed her mind and decided to stay with the practice, leaving the MD no choice but to let me go (he was already supervising 4 PAs me/her included). Within these 3 weeks, I fell in love with dermatology.

 

Almost every week now I see a new job posting for derm PA, however, the requirements to apply always include between 1-5 yrs of experience! And that is where I am starting to become very depressed about looking for a derm position. I keep asking myself how in the world will I EVER acquire some experience time if not one single place is willing to take a new grad!?

 

Then I found this forum. I would like to know if anyone reading would please offer some advice on how to get a job for Derm PA as a new grad.

 

 

Things I've done: 

 

- googled map "dermatology around me" to see how many derm clinics around me, then I called most of them asking if they are hiring PAs.

 

- emailed my resume to almost every derm postings I see.

 

- using Indeed, Craigslist, Monster, Glassdoor, DocsCafe, NCCPA, HealtheCareers, etc.. to search for postings 

 

 

 

 Thank You!

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I occasionally see postings for derm positions where they sound like they'd train you but, since that's not my area, I don't remember the details.

 

You may have to go broader in your search, maybe getting linked up with some actual derm PAs in other parts of the country and be willing to move. In the mean time, I would suggest that you get a PA job ASAP in whatever you can get. It will help your morale, help your networking, and give you some experience. You don't want to be 2 years out of school and never having had a job. The ED might be good; at least you'd probably meet some plastics docs.

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Any prior HCE before PA school? I've used mine as leverage in the job hunt. So far my Pre=PA HCE is what has got me in the door, even on jobs that were posted "No new grads"...And I'm still 2 months from graduation. Obviously, Derm experience is quite hard to come by but like others have said, get experience in another setting (FP, etc) then make the transition. Or expand your search area to out of state if feasible.

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I'd include a cover letter with your CV that says your interest in derm along with the following very helpful nuggets:

 

You are willing to take a lowered starting salary commensurate with your experience. You are willing to go above and beyond the requirements of the job by reading and studying current research, literature, and dermatology-specific texts. You are willing to take shelf exams for dermatology residents after such study. You are willing to do whatever it takes to be in this field. You will learn everything you can about how the SP wants their notes done, their orders written, their preferences. You will learn everything that you are able to about their practice.

 

I'm a practice manager, and I'd take you with those stipulations.

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I would add a few things here.

First, see if that first derm practice can at least give you a reference and possibly referral.

Second, maybe consider a recruiter and specifically lay out that you want a derm job and the lengths you will go to obtain a position. With PA employment becoming a hot thing again, more practices and facilities are turning to recruiters to help them sift through the applicants. If you can find someone that will be an advocate for you, that may separate you from the pack.

Third, in your geographic location, are there any PA centric conferences coming up soon that you could reasonably travel to? Sign up for attending one day, go to the vendor hall and engage the different hiring agencies and recruiters that are there, specifically looking for derm.

4th, does your program maintain an employment database? Employers that contact the program directly and post jobs? Is there an Alumni organization? Can you contact program alumni that may be derm PAs that can refer you to a job?

5th, a local job in anything as a PA gets you out in the medical community. Something always pops up. Is there a local PA chapter to join where you may network?

When I had geographic flexibility a looooooong time ago, there were limitations to that. I was based in South Dakota and was contacting employers there, Wyoming, Colo, Montana, Idaho, Utah. I got a rather cool response from many contacts. Such things as 'you dont live here, why would you stay?', 'we only want to employ residents of the state', 'you can come for an interview but we wont reimburse costs for you', along with the 'you dont have experience'.

Finally, you need to talk to decision makers. This may or may not be a physician, a business manager, a HR director. That is a hard thing at times to figure out. I had 2 specific jobs I entertained right out of school that the initial people I spoke with were fired up to have me.....until I actually spoke with the person whom would hire me, who wanted nothing to do with a new grad.

Good luck.

G Brothers PA-C

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Get a job first in FP , ED or UC and then look around to find what you want ..any one jobless for more then six month is not good.....dermatology is very hard to get if you don't have surgery or cannot do minor  procedures , try these specially also .. 

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Thank you again for the replies. I will do my best to adjust and as of today, I decided to postpone finding a derm job. My new aim is to get some experience practicing medicine. Later down the road I'll target derm. 

 

Am I willing to move? the answer is no. I can't move right now for family reasons, relationship reasons, and financial reasons.

 

Have I had prior Health care experience before PA school? Nope.

 

Can I do punch bx, acne surg, intra-lesional injections? I have not had the chance to, but observed plenty and I believe I can do them. 

 

Derm residency? after 25 years of non-stop schooling (started school at age 3), I am not ready to go back yet.

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Guest Paula

There is a real possibility that once you get a job in FP/EM/UC  and have been at it for 3 weeks you will fall in love with it.  Just saying........

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There is a real possibility that once you get a job in FP/EM/UC  and have been at it for 3 weeks you will fall in love with it.  Just saying........

agree. derm is a frequent set of skills used in all of these settings. I do punch biopsies, treat all kinds of rashes, etc in the ER.

What I don't do is cosmetic derm.

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  • 2 weeks later...

agree. derm is a frequent set of skills used in all of these settings. I do punch biopsies, treat all kinds of rashes, etc in the ER.

What I don't do is cosmetic derm.

Ahhhh, but do you know what the rash is that you're treating!  ;-)  (according to PANRE I sure don't, and like in The House of God, I take pride in saying "I don't know")

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Apply to positions regardless of how many years of experience they say they require.  They may put the requirement in there to shrink the submission of resumes.  Or if they are not getting a lot of resumes they may look past lack of experience.

 

When I finished my Nuclear Medicine Technology program the job hunting was very hard because of a shrinking field.  I applied to anything and everything where I thought I could use my knowledge, regardless of what experience they said I needed.

 

A decent number of interviews and a few job offers for positions that required experience that I did not have.

 

I ended up getting a job in clinical research.  Job posting said 3 - 5 years of experience.  I had zero.  In my cover letter I explained what I could bring to the table that someone with experience might not necessarily have.  Luckily for me it was military experience which showed attention to detail.  The main focus of the position is data monitor so they loved the attention to detail.

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When I finished my Nuclear Medicine Technology program the job hunting was very hard because of a shrinking field.  I applied to anything and everything where I thought I could use my knowledge, regardless of what experience they said I needed.

 

Chris: If you do not mind me asking where do you live as I am 'considering' getting into a Nuclear Med program for HCE.  (BTW I am in TX)

 

In its essence, all job-hunting is a search not only for information, but also for people for human links between you and information, between you and a prospective employer. These days, such links are called “contacts”, and a common word for all of your contacts is your “network” talking to these people is “networking”.

 

In the job-hunt, networking is often the secret of the game. Consider: a 2003 study showed that for the companies participating, 60% of their new employees were hired through employee referrals, or the Internet. Since other recent studies have shown that the Net accounts for less than 10% of new hires, that leaves us with at least half of the open jobs being filled through networking.

 

The quickest way to find a job is when a friend tells you that they need someone exactly like you where he is currently working. Now of course, it isn’t usually that easy. But if you don’t directly know someone who can tell you of a job opening, then the next step is to see if any of your friends know of someone else, who might be aware of an opening. Or maybe one of their friends do. And so on, extending farther out away from you. And interestingly, the further out you go, the more likely you are to find a job this way, and it’s not just because of the increasing number of people involved. This principle is called the Strength of Weak Ties, and it is central to your job hunt.

 

Every resource on the Internet (and off) can always be used for contact/data mining and name gathering. Who are the authorities in the field? Who is it that others listen to? Who is respected and well-known? What people write the bulk of the articles and periodicals in the field? Who are the people that others interview most? Quote most? Generally, the people that are more highly placed in their field will be the ones who know the most people in their field; and, as a corollary to “The Strength of Weak Tie” principle, the people that they know well, will also tend to be more highly placed.

 

And the more highly placed they are, the closer they are to the people who have the power to make hiring decisions.

 

These people will, of course, tend to be busier than most, but they are no less approachable for that. Just remember that anyone you contact on the Internet (or off) should be approached respectfully, politely, courteously, with keen awareness on your part that this is a busy person who may or may not be able to respond to you. If they do give you any help, thank-you notes should always be sent to them promptly (within a day or so), by letter or email, for the help they gave you.

Source: What Color Is Your Parachute? 

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Chris: If you do not mind me asking where do you live as I am 'considering' getting into a Nuclear Med program for HCE.  (BTW I am in TX)

 

I went to Rutgers in NJ.  Right now I would only suggest getting into for HCE unless you are willing to travel where ever you might find a job.  I'm married with kids so relocating out of NJ is an extremely last resort.  I lucked out with the clinical research (which there is a lot in NJ) but the Nuclear Med Program was 60% to make me stronger for a PA Program.

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I went to Rutgers in NJ.  Right now I would only suggest getting into for HCE unless you are willing to travel where ever you might find a job.  I'm married with kids so relocating out of NJ is an extremely last resort.  I lucked out with the clinical research (which there is a lot in NJ) but the Nuclear Med Program was 60% to make me stronger for a PA Program.

A rhetorical question, but like you already mentioned what is the point getting into a program i.e., nuclear med if you can not get the experience for PA schools or even as a plan B if there are no jobs ($$$) out there. What's the point? You just 'wasted' your time and money. That is why it's so important to network and do your homework beforehand so you know what to expect.  

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No waste. Calculated risk. Nuclear med has always been cyclical with the job market. I went into the program hoping for the job market to swing in my favor. Didn't happen.

 

I need to strengthen my pa application, wanted to be in medicine, and wanted to be outside the box.

 

I have a lot of skills from my background with military so I wasn't worried about being unemployable. My current job isn't far under a PA's salary and it involve nuclear medicine. It's a good place to be if I have to stay. It's just not my ultimate goal.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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To the OP:

It is very difficult to get a Derm job right out of school, unless you rotated with a Derm and they hire you.

I agree with every one else- get a job, any job. I got my first Derm job because I had years of surgery experience and could do excisions , I&Ds, and had wound care experience. You can get this kind of experience in a FP, urgent care, or ER job as well.

Another option (albeit a less savory one) is to shadow a Derm for free and get training that way; you may land a job with this approach. 

Derm is not all about the skin as an isolated organ. There are systemic and medical issues to be considered, like autoimmune disease, diabetes, vascular disease, etc, and it helps to know as much as you can about medicine in general. I hope this helps.

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