grcia Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Greetings, I am looking to gain some insight on your lifestyle as a PA. Things that I am wondering about are: average hours you work per week, salary, speciality, and whether or not you have to take call, frequency of call. One PA i shadowed worked three 12 hour shifts in the ER and did some moonlighting at a clinic for extra cash and made 90K-100K I believe. Thank you in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTURedRaider Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 42-46ish hours per week depending if I want to work OT or not. Specialty is Urgent Care. I take call 1 weekend per year. Make 150k+ before taxes. Not a bad gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grcia Posted September 6, 2014 Author Share Posted September 6, 2014 Thanks for sharing! What does "call 1" entail? Also, I assume you're located in texas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grcia Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 Anyone else want to provide insight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 I currently work 4 10-12 hr shifts weekly in cardiology and generally don't take call, although I occasionally get called by hospitals regarding patients I've seen who have abnormal labs, BPs, rhythms, etc. For the most part, PAs different quite a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MassPA-C Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 I have been interviewing for my first job and have seen a little bit of anything. I think one of the things about medicine and PA jobs is that it can really be what you want it to be. In the past few weeks I have interviewed for: - a 8-5 M-F job in a specialty area that included two days a week at a main site and the other three days a week traveling around Boston to see patients at other sites. The two days at the main site where working with the SP and the other three days I would be on my own. I would also have a call pager/cell phone and all calls for the group would go to me first (I would triage the calls) - a 8-5 M-F job in a specialty that was mainly a research job working at a few sites all across Boston. I would be working with a specific patient group and responsible for the research side as well as the patient side (I worked in clinical research for 8 years before PA school) - a 36hr (3- 12 hr shifts) rotating with weekends and holidays but no nights or call in a specialty area with five shifts a month in the OR - a 36hr (3-12hr shifts) rotating with nights, weekends, and holidays but no call in a specialty. When on shift I would be responsible for surgical patients and hold the consult pager for the specialty. - a 36 hr (3-12hr shifts) rotating with nights, weekends, holidays and 3 call nights a month in a surgical specialty. (Call consists of having the pager and essentially calling the nurses/consults back for patients) - a 40hr (4-10hr shifts) rotating with 8-12 night shifts a year, weekends, and holidays in the ED - a 40hr (4-10hr shifts) rotating with no nights, but weekends and holidays in a surgical specialty As you can see it really is based on the hospital/group, specialty (i.e. surgical specialties tend to be hospital based and 12 hr shifts), and really what their needs are. I have found plenty of jobs that cater either to my background or to the schedule I am most interested in and I imagine you will find whatever appeals to you as well. As for salary a good place to look is the AAPA salary report which breaks it down by years worked/specialty/location, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grcia Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 Thank you for the response! That was helpful, I will definitely check out that site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Just came off a 60 hour weekend shift covering as sole provider in rural America. Hospital put wife and I up in nice house 2 blocks from hospital. Now I have 9 days off before I do 3 nights in a row (12 hour shifts) in a busier ED in another town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 8, 2014 Moderator Share Posted September 8, 2014 Just came off a 60 hour weekend shift covering as sole provider in rural America. Hospital put wife and I up in nice house 2 blocks from hospital. Now I have 9 days off before I do 3 nights in a row (12 hour shifts) in a busier ED in another town. sounds like my schedule. all 12s and 24s. either nights(solo coverage at an urban satellite facility) , 12s and 24s solo at a rural facility, or double coverage seeing all comers with a doc at a rural facility. 204 hrs so far for next month and one place has not given me my schedule yet. may end up around 228 or so. more than I want to work but my regular job is short staffed so I got 3 more 12s than I requested. rural jobs are the way to go. high acuity and pay, low volume. minimal administrative frustrations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStonethatRolls Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Sorry to hijack this thread. But how much do PA's typically make in the NYC area? Starting out? I've searched and read quite a decent number of threads in these forums (I lurk no posts). The consensus seems to be that the NYC area is saturated and the pay is abysmal for the high rent/cost of living. I also hear through family members who work at the VA hospital( RT's) tell me that PA's get a lot of work for little pay, less respect etc.. I'm currently a dental hygienist working part time and going to school to finish up a bachelors in biology. The dental hygiene market is completely saturated although the pay is okay @ 35-40 an hour. Any help or insight into the profession would help out greatly. Thank you for your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feedme Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 PAs make good money in NYC. I heard one hospital starts PAs around 93k a year. They make good money. Don't sell yourself short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 That. Is. Horrible. Pay. In. The. New. York. City. Area. I make a lot more than that in a place where the median income is $44K. Meanwhile New York City has a median income of $51K, almost 20% more....and a cost of living double where I live (and housing 3 times where I live). I would have to make $350k a year in the NYC area to afford the same standard of living I have living where I do in/near a city of 500,000 people. I'm looking at a 4 bed 3 ba house on 160 acres of mixed land, with 3 ponds and multiple outbuildings for under a half million. What does under a half million get you in the NYC area? A 2 bedroom flat?? Explore other options.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 And $93K a year is only $47/hr. Is it worth 2 years of lost wages, plus school costs, to make an extra $7-12 an hour?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStonethatRolls Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 There is no real upward mobility in dental hygiene. 40-45$ is where it would cap. And scope of practice is severely limited. There is also the problem with job stability. Bad economy can cause dental offices to close and finding work becomes even harder. Also that's 40-45$ with out any bennies. I've only found part time work till now. Any more insight is appreciated. Do PA's have opportunity to grow? Or are you capped at 93k? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kem2127 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Almost all the newish grads (<2 years) that I know working in NYC are making about $39-42.50/hr for FT and 10% for night differential, and most places pay straight OT. That's not all hospitals or all situations obviously but coming from my personal job offers and those of collegues and their recent experiences at Columbia, Cornell, Mount Sinai, Montefiore, LIJ and the HHC hospitals. The only people I know that started higher were at HSS, St Francis and Winthrop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStonethatRolls Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Almost all the newish grads (<2 years) that I know working in NYC are making about $39-42.50/hr for FT and 10% for night differential, and most places pay straight OT. That's not all hospitals or all situations obviously but coming from my personal job offers and those of collegues and their recent experiences at Columbia, Cornell, Mount Sinai, Montefiore, LIJ and the HHC hospitals. The only people I know that started higher were at HSS, St Francis and Winthrop. How hard was it to find work? I wouldn't mind getting paid 39-42.50 an hour if there is room for growth. I'm 25 years old currently and am taking classes at City College to finish up a B.S. in Bio. I've lived in NYC all my life and I can't fathom living anywhere else. How hard is it to specialize as a PA? Is it through residency or on the job training? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kem2127 Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 How hard was it to find work? I wouldn't mind getting paid 39-42.50 an hour if there is room for growth. I'm 25 years old currently and am taking classes at City College to finish up a B.S. in Bio. I've lived in NYC all my life and I can't fathom living anywhere else. How hard is it to specialize as a PA? Is it through residency or on the job training? If you are a strong job applicant, i.e. good interview skills, past medical work history, top of your PA class, high GPA, high PANCE scores, it's easy and you will be turning down job offers. The biggest barrier is HR who exclude you automatically based on lack of PA work experience. But the great thing about being a PA is you can apply to all fields that interest you and then compare salary, schedule, hours, coworkers and find the best fit for you. Tons of options. At larger hospitals many of my friends eneded up in subspecialties, like CT surg, heme/onc, transplant, derm with no prior experience and no residencies. PM me if you want more details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feedme Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I work outpatient in NYC and make somewhere in between 100 and 150k. People can make more if you work the right places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grcia Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 Are there any PAs browsing this topic that specialize in surgery that want to share their lifestyle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Sure. I work in specialty surgery at a large referral center in the upper Midwest. I work 12s, averaging 3-4/week. Work 1/4 weekends and 1-2 nights per month. I make $110K base salary not including shift differentials, which adds up to an additional $10-15K per year. My employer offers generous benefits, partial loan repayment, and lots of CME money and paid time off. I've been working for a year and because of the flexibility in our scheduling I've been able to take several long vacations without using any paid time off. My work is stressful and involves caring for acutely-ill patients with rare and serious disease but I think I'm well-compensated. Cost of living is absurdly low here and I have enough time off to enjoy it. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBIDoc Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 How hard was it to find work? I wouldn't mind getting paid 39-42.50 an hour if there is room for growth. I'm 25 years old currently and am taking classes at City College to finish up a B.S. in Bio. I've lived in NYC all my life and I can't fathom living anywhere else. How hard is it to specialize as a PA? Is it through residency or on the job training? Go to med school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStonethatRolls Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Go to med school Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBIDoc Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 You're 25 and getting basically a premed degree...if your grades are good and you have no other compelling reason not to (i.e. kids/family, mortgage, sick relative, whatever) holding you back, then go to med school and do everything you like about wanting to be a PA, PLUS make more money, have more autonomy, have more respect...I could go on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarlemPAS Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Hey just joining in on the thread, TheStonethatRolls I currently go to city college I'm finishing up the pa program at Sophie Davis are you considering going there? Message me if you have any questions. FBIDoc are you unhappy with your choice of becoming a PA or are you just suggesting med school as an alternative for him? I'm just curious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 I'm tired of seeing people say "just go to med school." Just because you regret your life decisions doesn't mean others will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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