Help finding my specialty

[jcash]

Hello all,

I'm looking for advice. I'm starting to wonder if direct patient care is the right place for me?

 

I currently work in urgent care. I'm overwhelmed most days with volume as well as severity of patients. It's also very isolating. I'm the only provider in the building with two MAs and my supervising doc available by text or call. But sometimes I need a direct consult not over the phone and then I have to make a quick decision. I feel like several patients that come in are over my head and I need help but at that point it's sending them to the ER and hoping they take your advice. This element causes me so much stress. "Did I make the right call?" "Did the pt actually do what I said?"

 

I'm not sure if I just need to find another area of medicine to practice in. I've done OB/GYN and really liked it but the money wasn't great. I've thought about primary since I'd have other providers in the office to help me. Or maybe look into admin or teaching? Something not direct pt care?

 

Can anyone tell me about non pt care jobs as a PA? Or maybe empathize with my current stress? [emoji16]

Thanks!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BruceBanner]

Good luck, there arent any. 

 

If urgent care is burning you out (walk-in clinics suck, IMO), try FM or PC. Scheduled visits, better staff, less acute.

 

Ultimately job satisfaction as a PA totally depends on where you work though. I wish I could offer shortcuts but it's part experience (to get your foot in the door) and part luck. 

[Febrifuge]

I can definitely empathize; I've been doing Urgent Care for nearly six years, and today I worked 8 hours when I was actually scheduled for 5.

 

But, no offense, how long have you been doing this? When did you graduate? If you are thinking that direct patient care in general may not be right for you, then I really hope you're just venting. Because if you're serious, how did you ever get into and then get through PA school? What kind of experience did you have prior to that?

 

This may not even apply to you, but it's something of a demographic trend that people are getting into PA programs younger and younger, with little to no experience first. And this is what can happen. It's not cool. I hate to see it, for the sake of the overwhelmed, under-qualified people who are struggling, and also for the sake of the profession in general.

[jcash]

I can definitely empathize; I've been doing Urgent Care for nearly six years, and today I worked 8 hours when I was actually scheduled for 5.

 

But, no offense, how long have you been doing this? When did you graduate? If you are thinking that direct patient care in general may not be right for you, then I really hope you're just venting. Because if you're serious, how did you ever get into and then get through PA school? What kind of experience did you have prior to that?

 

This may not even apply to you, but it's something of a demographic trend that people are getting into PA programs younger and younger, with little to no experience first. And this is what can happen. It's not cool. I hate to see it, for the sake of the overwhelmed, under-qualified people who are struggling, and also for the sake of the profession in general.

Hi! Thanks for your input. I've been a PA for nearly five years. But I've only done urgent care for 10 months. I had quite a bit of experience in the hospital as a CNA prior to school. I used to love being a PA that's why I'm thinking it's just UC and I'm burned out..... I used to love seeing pts and making a relationship.

I'm also a mother of two young kids so I feel like there's never down time so it's hard to have a stressful job. I think too just UC in general is hard. There are multiple situation I've been put into that I had little to no training as a PA and I have NO back up except 911 or telling them to go to ER. So I think I'm realizing I need a supervising physician in the office not just by phone.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[electric130]

I really think that your burn out and stress is situational.  I did UC for couple years right out of PA school part time, you never know what will come in and it is non stop.  I had really good back up, at least two physicians in house and I still found it stressful.  Add that to having young children and I can totally see where you are at.  I honestly struggled for a few years with having the energy and stress tolerance at a high volume practice while my kids were young.  

I would look at finding a better fit rather than just thinking you want completely out of patient care.  I have been exactly where you are, even thought about going to school part time to do something else.  With some soul searching I realized I was just burned out because of the high volume and unrealistic expectations along with having two young children at home, but realized I do really enjoy patient care and am very good at it.  I am still struggling some as I am still seeing more patients per day than I would prefer but I am able to handle the stress level better.  I am 14 years in and only plan on working another 10 years part time.  

For me I enjoy being in a specialty, you could look at more outpatient specialties like ENT or derm, or even a family practice where you would have physician back up as long as they gave you a reasonable schedule of patients per day.  I think even a position as a hospitalist as long as you only had a set amount of patients to see each day would be less stressful.  

I was recently offered a UC position part time and declined it exactly for this reason, I would not have a physician on site and it has been over 10 years since I have done UC, I just didn't feel like it was a good idea for me or the patients.  

[jcash]

I really think that your burn out and stress is situational. I did UC for couple years right out of PA school part time, you never know what will come in and it is non stop. I had really good back up, at least two physicians in house and I still found it stressful. Add that to having young children and I can totally see where you are at. I honestly struggled for a few years with having the energy and stress tolerance at a high volume practice while my kids were young.

I would look at finding a better fit rather than just thinking you want completely out of patient care. I have been exactly where you are, even thought about going to school part time to do something else. With some soul searching I realized I was just burned out because of the high volume and unrealistic expectations along with having two young children at home, but realized I do really enjoy patient care and am very good at it. I am still struggling some as I am still seeing more patients per day than I would prefer but I am able to handle the stress level better. I am 14 years in and only plan on working another 10 years part time.

For me I enjoy being in a specialty, you could look at more outpatient specialties like ENT or derm, or even a family practice where you would have physician back up as long as they gave you a reasonable schedule of patients per day. I think even a position as a hospitalist as long as you only had a set amount of patients to see each day would be less stressful.

I was recently offered a UC position part time and declined it exactly for this reason, I would not have a physician on site and it has been over 10 years since I have done UC, I just didn't feel like it was a good idea for me or the patients.

Thank you I appreciate your empathy. It's hard all on my own! I love you used the term "unrealistic expectations" I say that so much in regards to work. I feel it from pts who expect you to take care of everything and get so upset that I can't take care of a complex issue needing a specialist. And same from the company expecting me to see all of these levels of acuity at a high volume all by myself. I don't really mind the volume so much, it's not ideal but it's do able. But the acuity is a lot to deal with.

 

I think you're right I need an office with set hours and a schedule with an SP in the office.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cinntsp]

I think I'd feel the same way if I worked in urgent care.  I wouldn't be able to deal with all the patients that obviously(or not so obviously) should have gone to the ED as well as all the patients that should be at a PCP's office.  I also don't think I'd enjoy the stress of dealing with the non-stop unknown of acute vs non-acute every day.  I love having the ER as a buffer zone as a hospitalist.  The patients have been screened as being sick enough to see me(which is accurate about 95% of the time) and I get to spend my time thinking about the fine details of medicine.  What aspects of medicine do you enjoy?

[sk732]

You could use this as a stepstone and go into EM - you at least have (hopefully) some in house back up, get to see a wide variety of things, and get to go home at the end of the day...one of the reasons I left FM was because the work never really ends - EM does as soon as handover rounds ends.

 

SK