ICRob0351 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Hey Guys, I will be embarking on my PA school journey starting this coming June. As I look toward the future, I am quite confident that I will end up specializing in surgery (ideally trauma or CT). I was wondering if someone could enlighten me as to the benefits of working in a surgical residency after graduation from school. Are there particular advantages one can gain (besides overall experience) from doing a residency? Does doing a residency help an individual get hired, or make any difference in the way an employer determines initial salary? Is there any way to research hospitals or medical centers that offer residencies to PA's? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinchs03 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Hey Guys, I will be embarking on my PA school journey starting this coming June. As I look toward the future, I am quite confident that I will end up specializing in surgery (ideally trauma or CT). I was wondering if someone could enlighten me as to the benefits of working in a surgical residency after graduation from school. Are there particular advantages one can gain (besides overall experience) from doing a residency? Does doing a residency help an individual get hired, or make any difference in the way an employer determines initial salary? Is there any way to research hospitals or medical centers that offer residencies to PA's? Thanks. Congrats on getting into PA school. I too will be on embarking on the same journey next year, I have great aspirations of obtaining a surgical residency and practicing in a surgical sub-specialty as well. Any insight would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictoriaO Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Here is a link to the current residency/fellowship programs: http://www.appap.org/ From what I have heard, the benefits are numerous...higher salary, parity in the hiring process to someone with 3-5 years of experience, plus the unquestionable advantage of specialized training. I've been doing a lot of research on programs myself, some of the older, more established residencies seem to be the way to go. Talk to a graduate of the program if you can (there are some floating around on here). For me, making a dent in my loans was first priority, so I luckily got a hospitalist job at a teaching institution with great attendings who love to teach. But I plan to apply in the next 2-3 years, there really doesn't seem to be a downside (other than the paycut for 1-2 years). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICRob0351 Posted November 17, 2011 Author Share Posted November 17, 2011 That sounds awesome, thanks for the info. Will residency programs take PA's fresh out of school? I would imagine they would since the point of a residency is extra training. Either way, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alster Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I'm in the same boat - looking to specialize, likely in CT surgery. I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge about what residency programs look at. I figure PA school grades/performance and LORs would be big considerations. Do residencies look at all at undergraduate info? Could a lower GPA coming into PA school hurt your chances even with good performance in PA school? Also on a more positive note, would residencies consider if you had any prior experience with the specialty? Like shadowing or working in that specialty. I'm sure talking with each program would be the definitive way to answer these questions, which I will certainly do, but I was hoping for some general information about PA residencies. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 There is no formal study, to my knowledge, that shows that residency increases subsequent salary. If anyone has some information, post it! I can tell you that when I look at resumes I weight residency experience more heavily (although that my be bias since I did a residency). In my residency experience, I think programs are looking for someone who is both 1) qualfied and 2) able to succeed in the resident environment. Lots of hours, dismal pay compared to "the private sector"...when I was at Montefiore, one of my fellow residents and I calculated our hourly wage. It was about $10/hr. Granted, we got subsidized housing and meal allowance...but still...10/hr! A Pa resident should be going into it in order to get experience, see higher level acuity than they may see elsehwere, and practice in a setting structured for postgraudate medical education. Sometimes it feels like slave labor but we learn by DOING as much as by theorizing during daily rounds. Below are some blurbs from APPAP and AASPA. Not sure if they've updated this on thier current websites. From APPAP: WHY ATTEND A RESIDENCY OR POSTGRADUATE PROGRAM? Whether or not you are a current physician assistant student, a recent graduate, or an experienced physician assistant considering a residency or postgraduate program, you are probably asking yourself some of the following questions: Why should I attend a residency program or any other type of postgraduate program? Why not just take a job in orthopaedics, emergency medicine, primary care, surgery, dermatology, or other specialty area and learn that specialty from an employer? What advantages will an organized specialty program or residency offer me and how will it help my career? Will I get a certificate or advanced degree from the training? These may be just a few of the questions you may and should be asking. Residency programs and other types of postgraduate specialty training provide very intense, organized educational programming that offers the participants a wide variety of experiences in a short period of time. Most residency programs can be completed in twelve months, some require a longer time frame. In a short period of time you are able to develop confidence and experience that would otherwise take years to attain. This experience will make you a much more attractive candidate to an employer and hopefully, allow you to start your career with a higher level of responsibility and salary. If you are an experienced physician assistant, it may provide opportunity for you to change specialty areas or to significantly advance your skills and knowledge in your current employment. As you consider postgraduate training, please feel free to contact any of our member programs directly. By contacting programs that are members of APPAP, you are assured of both clinical and didactic training. Ask lots of questions so you can make a very informed decision about your career. Best of luck to you in your educational endeavors! From AASPA: Post-graduate Residency training for Physician Assistants is available in a number of specialties. Because the foundation of PA training is centered on primary care, many new graduates who are seeking employment in a non-primary care specialty may find it useful to expand their skill, knowledge and experience in their chosen field by attending a surgical residency program. It is important to remember that the basic principles of medicine and surgery acquired in PA school give the specialty Physician Assistant the ability to care for the patient in all settings. The post-graduate residencies hone these existing skills and offer the PA resident the opportunity to develop the judgement and technical abilities in a specialized practice area. Some employers even give preference to PAs that are residency trained (Many employers also give preference to AASPA members). Many of these programs cover the full spectrum of the specific specialty and the PA can gain both clinical and didactic knowledge that would take years of on-the-job training to master. In addition, the AASPA has created a special member section for Residents. We are the first PA organization to recognize PA Residents with a unique membership category. This category offers a blend of fellow and student memberships-- all at a special discounted rate. Please visit our membership section for more detail! The following programs are those that currently offer post-graduate surgical residency training. Please contact the programs directly for more complete details. Lastly, we encourage you to contact the Association of Postgraduate PA Programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted December 2, 2011 Moderator Share Posted December 2, 2011 keep an open mind through school - who knows what you might learn and what field you might want to enter...... fine to have a goal but as the ER clinicians all know - early closure is a bad thing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discogenic Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 With such a small percentage of PAs doing residencies, are these residency programs competitive in terms of being accepted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I have heard some horror stories about residencies (waste of time, money, backseat to MDs) so be careful. Definitely not to say that all are like this!! I'm sure many are great options. Just do your research first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 I have heard some horror stories about residencies (waste of time, money, backseat to MDs) so be careful. Definitely not to say that all are like this!! I'm sure many are great options. Just do your research first. Look to older, more established residencies (same rule with PA programs). And....no matter where you go as a PA early in your career.... you will face the problem of taking a back seat to physicians in different ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 They are competitive but remember the pay is low and the hrs are high....not too many PAs want to enter that environment so the total number of PAs applying is reasonable. It may increase as PAs enter with less HCE, the possibility of CAQ becoming a standard, or on the concern that employers want specialty training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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