tmac12 Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 I was at work and was talking to a nurse (we work at an urgent care clinic), he is having second guesses about his career as a nurse and is unhappy. He is been working as a nurse for a bit I think he is either late 30s or early 40s. He tells me that if he was to do it over again, he would choose a career that fits with his personality. Me and him have similar personality. He was saying how patients can wear on you, the stress of the medical field, and coworkers can be a problem etc... The big take away I got was the personality issue. However one thing I noticed is that everyone is always complaining no matter the profession, but it got me thinking. Now, I have been researching PA for quite awhile and PA makes alot of sense to me it checks off what I would want in a career (low debt, great income, move to any specialty, 2 years of schooling, very in demand profession etc..) , however I am not sure if it fits my personality. My personality is pretty laid back chill guy, low stress, athletic guy who works out alot, i like to have autonomy and be the boss (PA I have seen has good autonomy), I like a stable income, work 8-5 go home and enjoy my hobbies, very cali attitude (im from so cal btw), my mindset has usually been work to live not live to work. My ideal life would be work 8-5 job make good income (80-100k), do brazilian jiu jitsu/mma, do some various other hobbies, travel more. Now, I know that PA can offer that depending on the specialty, but one thing I have tend to notice is the type of students I am surrounded by. PA/Med tend to be alot of gunners and A type personalities and to be honest I never really gelled with them well. Also, some of the docs can be irritating to work with, you always have your good eggs and bad eggs. Is being a PA right for me for someone who has this type of personality? Is it better to focus on lifestyle than career/money? For someone who has worked in professional setting for awhile, does finding a profession that fits your personality triumphs choosing a more career/money focused one? I originally worked in a Physical therapy clinic and pursued PT, but what stopped me from pursuing that was two of the PT I shadowed said that there is no money in PT anymore, he spends alot of his time charting and not seeing patients, and now with DPT the loans is high in comparison to how much money you make, so I changed my focus to something else like PA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 I consider myself a laid back kind of guy but I also don't need to be the boss. I don't mind taking charge but the desire to be top boss is not a requirement. For me, the profession fits perfectly. I don't mind working a stable (3) 12s/week or (4) 9-5s/week in an outpatient clinic and bring home 80-100K/yr that's 3 times my salary atm. To have the privilege to practice evidence-based medicine after 2-3 years of accelerated medical training...who wouldn't want that? I can milk ~40 years out of this profession ;) In the interim (when I am not practicing), I can pursue getting my pilot license and fly ALL over U.S./world (although I am pseudo-terrified of planes). I also have interests in starting up a few non-profit community organizations. Medicine, although a large portion of my life, it is not my only interest. Keep digging, and you'll find out that the pros outweigh the cons in pursuing this path... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameWasUsed Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Low debt, great income, move to any specialty, and very in demand profession applies to MD as well. You must be able to objectively see actual pros and cons. Shorter trainer is definitely a pro and the ability to start your career earlier. You stated that you want autonomy and to be the boss. Depending on how important that is to you, PA might not be the right profession for you. There are some PAs with great autonomy but that doesn't mean all PAs have great autonomy. The major negatives about the PA profession that seasoned PAs tend to bring up is the lack of respect and low earning potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick87 Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Low debt, great income, move to any specialty, and very in demand profession applies to MD as well. You must be able to objectively see actual pros and cons. Shorter trainer is definitely a pro and the ability to start your career earlier. You stated that you want autonomy and to be the boss. Depending on how important that is to you, PA might not be the right profession for you. There are some PAs with great autonomy but that doesn't mean all PAs have great autonomy. The major negatives about the PA profession that seasoned PAs tend to bring up is the lack of respect and low earning potential. Quite frankly, in today's medical climate, "be the boss" applies to neither doctors nor PAs. If you want to "be the boss", become an administrator. Further, MDs can move to different specialties, but, in most cases, the move is very very difficult. For PAs, it's certainly still possible (but is becoming more rare). When I was looking for jobs recently, I was offered family medicine, urgent care, pain management, urology, neurology, and ENT surgery, despite only having family medicine experience. Do you think a MD would have similar options? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 He's right you know :) ^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameWasUsed Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 Quite frankly, in today's medical climate, "be the boss" applies to neither doctors nor PAs. If you want to "be the boss", become an administrator. Further, MDs can move to different specialties, but, in most cases, the move is very very difficult. For PAs, it's certainly still possible (but is becoming more rare). When I was looking for jobs recently, I was offered family medicine, urgent care, pain management, urology, neurology, and ENT surgery, despite only having family medicine experience. Do you think a MD would have similar options? Yes, MDs aren't necessarily the boss anymore but they most certainly do have more autonomy than PAs. As for the lateral mobility aspect for PAs, I've just been hearing that lateral mobility is disappearing and it's not a realistic expectation anymore. MDs absolutely would not be able to switch specialties without going through another residency but they are still allow to choose their field during medical school is what I mean (depending on Step 1 scores of course). You even said it, lateral mobility is becoming more rare. I just want OP to make the right choice. Rather it PA, MD, or accountant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick87 Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 Yes, MDs aren't necessarily the boss anymore but they most certainly do have more autonomy than PAs. As for the lateral mobility aspect for PAs, I've just been hearing that lateral mobility is disappearing and it's not a realistic expectation anymore. MDs absolutely would not be able to switch specialties without going through another residency but they are still allow to choose their field during medical school is what I mean (depending on Step 1 scores of course). You even said it, lateral mobility is becoming more rare. I just want OP to make the right choice. Rather it PA, MD, or accountant. Have you just been hearing about this or have you been out there experiencing it? Because I've been in the looking for jobs and I can tell you honestly based on my personal experiences that you can still change specialties with relative ease. I'm a new-ish PA so I don't have the experiences of many of the old timers here. I don't have anything to compare lateral mobility to (as I was not practicing 10+ years ago), but I can definitely say that it is a hell of a lot easier to change specialties as a PA than as a doc....and it's not even close. As far as autonomy goes, I agree the doctors have more of it. But that's their role in health care. And, in some cases, it's a great thing. At my current job, my SP does not allow his PAs to write controlled substances. He is not on-site and we have to fax him the orders. Some may be upset about this, but I love it, personally. Yet, it's reduced autonomy (but, with that, comes reduced liability). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pancakes Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 Yeah I was gonna say... Is lateral mobility becoming more rare, as you say MyNameWasUsed, because PAs are satisfied with where they're at speciality wise and don't want to switch, or is that huge advantage to the PA profession becoming harder to achieve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newton9686 Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 No health care provider is their own boss unless they own 51% of a practice, even then they are managed by insurance companies. So for me instead of going to Med school and likely working for a hospital, i decided to go to PA school with the hopes of starting my own practice and setting the example for other PAs to start their own practices and increase their autonomy as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmac12 Posted April 16, 2016 Author Share Posted April 16, 2016 You think in the future PA will have more power career wise? I feel like with a much more influx of PA into the health care field they will be more established. Can a PA work under a Podiatrist? I think PA can only work under MD or DO, but a Podiatrist does not count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 Can a PA work under a Podiatrist? I think PA can only work under MD or DO, but a Podiatrist does not count? No. PAs cannot work in collaboration with a DPM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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