PA questions

[jujubeans]

just graduated high school with a career in PA on my mind, im wondering is pa a good career choice.
Some people say its terrible with working hours like on holidays and being on call while also being extremely stressful which makes me want to run away from it, while others say that it has a good work schedule that can be very flexible with some stress but overall a good career which brings me back to it. 

Any pa's here that can share their thoughts on the career like what your family life, daily work, work schedule

[rev ronin]

The only way a PA can write their own ticket is to have their own practice.  Every other practice environment currently requires PAs to work as directed by a physician or corporation.  Sometimes, that can be pretty cool.  Usually, however, it means that PAs end up doing the work the MDs don't want to.

[bluepillow]

It truly depends on the facility and the specialty. Even the region of the country. Also, it's the same variety for every heath care profession. I've worked in labs that constantly yo-yo my schedule, and others where I'm set for life with M-F 9-5.

[MT2PA]

Healthcare, in general, is one of the fields that operates 24/7 365 days a year - so keep that in mind.  Someone has to work overnights, someone works holidays, etc.  Not all jobs are like that, but they definitely exist.  

 

If working a holiday or being on call turns you off of the career I'd say you've got a lot more research to do.  There's so much more to it than a schedule.  If you're looking for bankers hours (M-F, 9-5, no holidays), work in a bank.

[SHU-CH]

You have a good bit of time to decide, but your lifestyle goals may disqualify a bunch of medical careers. I heard someone say it well: medicine is the career you go into when you cannot possibly imagine doing anything else.

[newton9686]

While maybe not early on, as you progress in your career, you will have more and more say about the hours you work. And there are plenty of  Doctors/PAs and NPs who work 9am to 4pm with a two hour lunch break Monday through Thursday (assuming there is no holiday that week) with no call on the weekends ever. There are also PAs who  occasionally take call, will see a patient on a Friday or a Saturday and if needed, will stay late on a week night. Should you do that every week? No, you will probably get burnt out. But to answer your question, yes both people you talked to are correct.