Are rotations in ER mandatory?

[mrand]

I am currently preparing for entrance into the PA program. Are all students required to do clinical rotations in the ER/surgery? Or can PAs who want to specialize in family medicine and work in a doctors office avoid doing clinicals in the ER?

 

I ask because I really really really want to become a PA, but I know I couldn't handle the ER or surgery. I'd hate to not be able to pursue this career because of being forced to do rotations in a specialty I do not want to pursue at all!!

 

Do all PA schools make this mandatory?

 

Thanks

 

 

[Z PA-C]

So these are the types of students that EMEDPA fails...

I hate to break it to you but if you want to practice family medicine it is extremely important that you also have ER and general surgery rotations in PA school. As a primary care practitioner you will have to be able to recognize what is and is not an emergency and one of the best ways to do that is to have experience in the emergency dept. Likewise, you will have to be performing surgeries even in a clinical setting so why are you so afraid of these exposures? If you are so adverse to these aspects of medicine you may want to really think long and hard about if this is what you really want to be doing. FNP programs may or may not have an ER rotation.

[primadonna22274]

Quite honestly, you won't be safe in FM without being at minimum slightly comfortable with emergencies. Guess what, you have to do a surgery rotation also...at least one. And OB/gyn. More surgery.

I was a FM PA who did an urgent care rotation instead of EM (you could do that in 1999). Bad move. I didn't get over my discomfort with really sick folks until I forced myself into EM six years into my career. Better move. Went back to med school in year 11 and am now a family physician resident...guess what, more surgery and more EM. It's all part of making a well-rounded practitioner who can handle most anything that happens to walk in my door. I very nearly went IM or Med/Peds cuz I hate OB just that much...but in the end I'll be glad I chose this path.

Suck it up or move on to another career. I mean that with every kindness.

[dchampigny]

A regular Troll buffet, if you will.

[Deanj59]

All great points made here above. I'd also add you shouldn't be too presumptive about what areas of medicine you would or would not want to work within. How can you be sure if you haven't even covered those topics yet, let alone done a rotation within that field?

 

It seems to me the goal of the rotations is to expose you to the various areas to see how they all fit with you as well as giving you a deeper appreciation for the conditions and treatments MC within that subset of medicine. At least that's my hope for once I begin mine soon!

[tenjjetnis]

Yes. I believe that it is an arc-pa requirement.

 

I think your underestimating your ability to handle EM and surgery. There will always be areas of medicine that you will be uncomfortable with at first, but you need to trust the system. PA school will push you beyond your limits in every way possible, clinical rotations being one of them. Expect to be uncomfortable, embrace the challenge and reap the reward of confidence after you overcome.

 

Even if you end up hating your EM or surgery rotation. You don't have to work in those areas after graduation.

 

First thing first. Focus on getting into PA school and shadow/work in a healthcare environment to get experience to see if this is for you. If your accepted already focus on your didactic year.