envirocopy512 Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I'm 25, have a bachelor's in MIS, and have spent the last year taking the prereqs for PA school part-time at a community college. I'm on the fence about whether I want to continue down the path I'm on. Right now I work in an office and find it to be almost soul-crushing. I just don't feel like I'm making a difference in anyone's life. I spend most of the day staring at the clock in the lower right corner of my computer screen, dying for it to be 5pm so I can leave. Its my first real 9-5 job, so I could always work it a little longer and try to find something better in a year or two, but I feel like business/IT isn't going to be rewarding for me in any setting. But then I read the resident/attending forum over at SDN and its filled with miserable physicians, guys and gals who regret ever getting into medicine in the first place and laugh at the notion of going into it "because you want to help people." They see it as a job much like any other, in other words, and feel there are a million other ways to help people than this. And then I read about PAs that feel kicked around and under appreciated....is anyone in this field happy? How do you feel? Would you do it all again? Do you regret not going into a career like accounting or something like that? What gets you through the lousy days at work? Do you ever look back on a patient from a few years back and feel genuinely proud inside that you were able to help him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 7, 2011 Moderator Share Posted May 7, 2011 do I love medicine? yes. that being said if I did it over from scratch I would do medschool(DO) followed by an em/fp residency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain1028 Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I'd rather be a rock star! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joelseff Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I agree with emed except I would do IM/FP. Not because I dont like being a PA i think its just that the docs dont have all the political roadblocks to practicing that we do, but dont get me wrong, I L O V E Medicine!!! I would never worked in any other field again! Well Rock Star sounds pretty cush though Iain! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 I challenge you to find a job where everyone is happy with their field of work. Life is what you make of it. There miserable SOB's everywhere you go, just like there are highly motivated, satisfied people everywhere you go. YOU get to decide if YOU are happy or not. NO ONE gets to bring you down unless YOU let them. Sure, we all have crappy days, sometimes those crappy days roll into a crappy week or two but if YOU let it perpetuate, then you get what you deserve. My happiness in my line of work of medicine has NOTHING to do with your possible happiness in medicine. Only YOU can set that tone. Do I love medicine? Yes. Do I love late nights, being puked on, working weekends, holidays, birthdays, missing my kids after school activities, and being part of that "essential personal must report" recall in the times of natural disasters or terrorist attack? hell no I don't...but it's part of the job. Those negative aspects are far outweighed by the fun I have making a positive difference in the life of another human. They tell me through studies that in pre hospital medicine (I am currently a paramedic for the past 12 years), that only 2-5% of my call volume are true Advanced Life Support Emergencies. That means 95-98% of my job really doesn't challenge me. But that 2-5%.....ooohhh man what a rush! Life is tough, wear a helmet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 8, 2011 Moderator Share Posted May 8, 2011 They tell me through studies that in pre hospital medicine (I am currently a paramedic for the past 12 years), that only 2-5% of my call volume are true Advanced Life Support Emergencies. That means 95-98% of my job really doesn't challenge me. But that 2-5%.....ooohhh man what a rush! . yup, if 25% of the calls were legit emergencies I would still be a medic. by the way that 5% rule holds for em in hospitals as well. 95% are urgent(need to be seen within 24 hrs) or ambulatory(could see pcp in office within 1 week). only 5% of cases as reported by acep actually need to be seen within 1 hr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beorp Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 do I love medicine? yes.that being said if I did it over from scratch I would do medschool(DO) followed by an em/fp residency. Just curious, why DO specifically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemedic13 Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Happiness in any job is determined more by you than by the job itself. I have seen people unhappy with jobs I thought were awesome, and people happy with jobs you couldn't pay me enough to do. Also, unlike MDs, PAs usually have enough health care experience to get a feeling whether or not this is right for them before going to school. I am half convinced that half the people who become MDs and find they hate it are people who never even saw a patient before they were already two years and $100K in the hole. By the time their residency is done they have dedicated a decade of their life to this, plus $200K in debt, and they simply find they can't stop now. A shame really, as 6 months as a CNA, EMT, MA, or anything like that would've saved them a lot of time and money. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemedic13 Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 yup, if 25% of the calls were legit emergencies I would still be a medic.by the way that 5% rule holds for em in hospitals as well. 95% are urgent(need to be seen within 24 hrs) or ambulatory(could see pcp in office within 1 week). only 5% of cases as reported by acep actually need to be seen within 1 hr. I know this is off topic, but once I went rural and a solid 15% of my calls were actual emergencies my happiness with my professional life went WAY up. Not enough to keep me from applying to law school, but enough that the last 3 years have seemed like a blessing to me. This way I least get to keep some great memories instead of being a bitter burnout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 8, 2011 Moderator Share Posted May 8, 2011 I know this is off topic, but once I went rural and a solid 15% of my calls were actual emergencies my happiness with my professional life went WAY up. Not enough to keep me from applying to law school, but enough that the last 3 years have seemed like a blessing to me. This way I least get to keep some great memories instead of being a bitter burnout. why do you think I work solo nights and rural. 3 codes last week on night shift! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 8, 2011 Moderator Share Posted May 8, 2011 Just curious, why DO specifically? mellower human beings overall, fewer gunners, appreciation for things other than mcat scores(life experience, courses other than chemistry....). even if I had a perfect mcat I would only apply DO. the focus and the final product is very different and it's a difference that matters to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemedic13 Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 why do you think I work solo nights and rural.3 codes last week on night shift! Nice! I am jelly. Haven't had a proper code (without a DNR) in a while. Hopefully I'll get one to go out on before August. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriarMedic Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 On average I do about 10 calls in a 12 hour shift. Usually 1 or 2 are actually ALS emergencies despite all being dispatched as ALS. So I figure a shift is about 85% boredom/ 15% excitement. Of those legit emergencies most the patients put themselves in those positions (lots of O/Ds where I am, unhealthy lifestyles, helmet-less riders ect). But probably about once a week or so, I come across a good wholesome individual or family and I feel my presence made a difference in this person/family's life-- even if they end up passing. Having come from a desk job myself-- sitting all day at a computer or in meetings, I can say the 20% pay cut was worth it. I find the "make a difference/empathy towards mankind/patient" vibe has to be balanced with the "holy crap I've seen 4 patients die under my care in the last week, but I know its out of my control and I still need to keep on working and not let that get to me" vibe (obvi this depends on your specialty and may not really apply to you if you're in something like derm or primary). To the OP- you should really have HCE prior to submitting that app because all you'll get on here are anecdotal subjective tales from folks in the field or in the hospital. See for yourself whether you like it. I have a classmate doing his pre-med prereqs that just started working as an EMT and he had his first code the other week. He told me it really really got to him and that he had to leave work. Good thing he figured that out early and can now focus more on a primary care path and less on an emergency/critical care setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Just curious, why DO specifically? I lived in the dorm with the DO students...they would help each other ALL the time. I hear that's not so with MD... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyrelight74 Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 The doc I work for is constantly complaining about his school loans, and the patient frustration we deal with at times. He walked by my desk the other day and saw my PA school orientation paperwork, and said, "I'm so stupid. I should have done that. I wouldn't be so deep in debt now if I had." Basically, he was a respiratory therapist, went to chiropractor school, then went to med school for his MD, as he kept wanting to do more... he has loans from ALL of that. He's not only envious of the PA option, but irritated that it took so many years as well. I asked him what his favorite job had been... he replied "musician". He is a very caring doctor, and gives so much of himself each day. I see his frustration, and have felt much of it, as we are locked in to less than the best care by insurance issues many times. So far, I'm still determined that I want to be in the medical field, but I want to do more... which is why I'm going to PA school. I do believe being in the medical field is more of a "calling" than just a career choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
envirocopy512 Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 I know this is off topic, but once I went rural and a solid 15% of my calls were actual emergencies my happiness with my professional life went WAY up. Not enough to keep me from applying to law school, but enough that the last 3 years have seemed like a blessing to me. This way I least get to keep some great memories instead of being a bitter burnout. How come you're leaving to apply to law school? (if you don't mind my asking) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSUnoles Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I agree with medicine being a calling more than anything. There are certain things people are geared to do in life. Just like you couldn't stick me in a blank room and tell me to design something. That is not what I'm built for. The best thing about medicine is the its hard to get redundant . Sure you have similar cases but the patient behind the case is different. And every once and a while you make a true impact on someones life that sends ripple effects through their family and everyone they know. There aren't many fields that have that strong interpersonal connection. Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COTA for now Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 This thread seems to have meandered a bit. To the OP, I have worked for 8 years in healthcare, the last 4 in occupational therapy. I love the theory of it, and sometimes I love my job, but there are definitely downsides. I think this is one of the reasons HCE is so important. Knowing the nittygritty of the job is important, and whenever I have students, I try to make that clear to them. I love healthcare, and yes it is about helping people...but not every minute of the day. There are many mundane tasks, lots of paperwork(some of which is pointlessly redundant and never read) and apathetic clinicians who are in a rut. There are also apathetic or downright oppositional patients who don't want to make changes in their life, and want to be fixed by a magic wand. There are patients who are unintentionally difficult, or smelly and gross. There are politics involved, and constantly changing and increasing pressures from administration to do things there way, sometimes with lip service to clinical appropriateness, and sometimes not even that. There are payment and insurance issues, that affect the care patients are able receive and affect the choices some clinicians make. Knowing all of this, I am confident about continuing on in healthcare, maybe not for the next 40 years, but definitely for a good while. Once you really understand what you're getting into and what about healthcare pushes your buttons, you can decide if it's right for you. Someone gave some stats about the number of emergent cases and that's a very important thing to know. The percentages might be different in other fields, but know that not every patient wants to be helped, some can't be helped, and you have to focus on the ones who you actually help to keep you going, and let go of the rest. That is something that I am still refining every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper06 Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I could've been a Rock star! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimrgal02 Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 (edited) I'm 25, have a bachelor's in MIS, and have spent the last year taking the prereqs for PA school part-time at a community college. I'm on the fence about whether I want to continue down the path I'm on. Right now I work in an office and find it to be almost soul-crushing. I just don't feel like I'm making a difference in anyone's life. I spend most of the day staring at the clock in the lower right corner of my computer screen, dying for it to be 5pm so I can leave. Its my first real 9-5 job, so I could always work it a little longer and try to find something better in a year or two, but I feel like business/IT isn't going to be rewarding for me in any setting. But then I read the resident/attending forum over at SDN and its filled with miserable physicians, guys and gals who regret ever getting into medicine in the first place and laugh at the notion of going into it "because you want to help people." They see it as a job much like any other, in other words, and feel there are a million other ways to help people than this. And then I read about PAs that feel kicked around and under appreciated....is anyone in this field happy? How do you feel? Would you do it all again? Do you regret not going into a career like accounting or something like that? What gets you through the lousy days at work? Do you ever look back on a patient from a few years back and feel genuinely proud inside that you were able to help him? How you worked in a health care setting yet? Maybe that would help you feel more confident about continuing on your journey to becoming a PA. When biochemistry is getting me down, it's the memories of the patients I've helped that keeps me going. And besides, even rock stars complain. And they really have nothing to complain about. :) Edited May 8, 2011 by swimrgal02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemedic13 Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 How come you're leaving to apply to law school? (if you don't mind my asking) It's complicated. There are a lot of reasons, some good, some bad. The very, very short version is that law will allow me to be a professional, have a versatile career path, will be intellectually stimulating, will let me help others (providing service to others is important to me), and will only take 3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
envirocopy512 Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Thanks for the responses everyone. I have about 6 months of HCE volunteering at a rehab hospital. I originally wanted to go into physical therapy that's why. By the end of those 6 months I was miserable and couldn't wait to get out of the hospital each week. Volunteering is like that though...you can't do anything (understandably) and feel largely like dead weight (which you are). The one thing I did take away from the experience is that PT is not a good fit for me. PA has a lot more scope and I find that attractive. I know, I need to shadow a PA and see what I think. What I really ought to do is pass the CNA test and look for a job in that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiovolffemtp Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 OP - my BS is in computer science (the "real" techy degree :) - had to slide that in there). I spent ~25 years working for P&G in their IT department. I had some times of great satisfaction, when I got to solve hard technical problems. The corporate culture changed over time, with much more emphasis on playing the game. We were then outsourced/sold-out to HP. That was a miserable place to work. So, after 4 years, I took a retirement buy out. In parallel, I'd been a volunteer and then a part-time firefighter/medic and EMS instructor. That was also a source of great satisfaction, especially because in public safety the action/response loop is very short. While working full-time+ hours I took pre-reqs and applied to PA school. Two motivations: wanting to be able to do way more for my patients than I can as a medic; age making being up all night fighting fire much more painful the next 2 days. I start PA school tomorrow. Along the way, I spent lots of time shadowing and just chatting with PA's, MD/DO's, RN's, etc. That gave me the "feel" for what life as a PA would be like for me. So, the path exists. They key for me was getting a feel for what life as a _____ would be like. The answer for you depends on you - so - go shadow, chat, whatever to find it for yourself. My answer fits me, but may not fit you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcdavis Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Short of being back on a submarine hunting and sneaking up other subs or creeping up rivers with other guys who are as sharp an electrical whip's crack, there really isn't anything else in day to day life where-in the drama, the pathos, the joy and yes the tedium is as thick as it is in medicine. I would never change my choice. And I am glad that I am a PA. I have had a great run, made good money, have a pretty good reputation, and still find it to be a kick to work - even if it is part time . The over whelming negative sentiment you are hearing is the resentment of of the cost basis of becoming a MD . Or even a PA. the cost benefit ratio has changed.. The status of physicians has changed (. Diminished). The salaries have decreased. And many now are coming out of school so saddled with debt that the stethoscope does not represent the key to the kingdom of happiness and fulfillment, it represents a noose slowly tightening around their neck and stifling any protests as they get to the "ta-da" moment of their life and realize that they may be a doc, but they are essentially indentured economic slaves for the rest of their lives. Stay the PA course.. DO NOT LISTEN TO OR WORRY ABPUT SDN.. your happiness does not come from other peoples' perceptions, it comes from within. Check your priorities.. What is more important.. Cash or caring for people? Can you accept that you will never be really rich doing this job ( although you will make much more salary than the national average)? I am one happy dude. And, when I look at how I made the decision to become a PA ( balancing family demands at a time when family demands were paramount due to young children), I never have looked back. davis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primadonna22274 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Deeply in love with medicine--so much so that I am one of the crazies moving on to med school in 2 mos! PA has been a great career for me--a great first career--but I need to learn what I don't know and do more than I do now as a PA (and I do quite a lot). E and Davis: I'm starting to think EM. It kind of gets in the blood, no? ;) To the OP: only you can make this decision. I will tell you that my experiences of 11 years in PA practice have been anything but "soulless". Frustrating, challenging, exhilarating, satisfying, inspiring, exhausting, rewarding...but I have rarely been bored and have never felt unneeded. Good luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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