scott079 Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Hello, I have been looking into CT surg and spoken with a two PA's who work in that field, briefly shadowed one in the CICU. Currently trying to do more shadowing/ research opportunity in structural heart disease program. I am leaning in the direction that this is the specialty I think I want to pursue. 55-60 hours per week is totally fine, find cardiology interesting, the EVH seems like a really incredible procedure, and overall interested. I am old enough to know that I might change my mind, and that I need to pursue the area I connect with the most, so take the next part with a grain of salt. I looked online, on Indeed.com, I am seeing CT surg full time jobs starting at 140k going to 200k. Various parts of the country. I also heard that the CT surg chief PA at the hospital I shadowed made over 200k, closer to 250 (heard, not confirmed). Is this for real? I feel like there is a catch or I am missing something? Can anyone share their thoughts or experiences. thank you and I apologize in advance if I come across as money blinded. Also not sure if this topic belongs here, I hope it can help others in their job search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewconvert Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 40 hours a week for $100,000 60 hours a week for $150,000 Same rate Yep, it's possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgriffiths Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Definitely possible. It is likely those starting rates are for experienced PAs, but it is very possible to get there quickly. In my job search as a new grad focusing on orthopedics I came across multiple jobs where I would have been getting pretty close to $150k in just a couple of years - but the hours and call were more than I wanted. So I accepted a job where I'll be starting at ~$100k with zero call/weekends and will go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
south Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Worked in that field for a short time. Salaries are very high but they tend to work a lot, and there is an initial training barrier. It takes a year or more to train the average PA to do EVH on their own reliably, and (from what I have seen) that is with every day, fairly intense repetition by good teachers. This is why you have to either be lucky with someone who is willing and able to train you, or do one of the fellowships that are increasingly popular. Your typical CABG runs between 3 and 5 hours all told, with one surgeon and one PA - sometimes another of each is called to help with a more complicated one. The PA is utterly critical - once they finish the EVH and repair any holes in it, they move to the chest and assist in the install. A lot of times, while the EVH is going on, the surgeon is taking down the LMA and connecting it. It's a busy place. There are other types of surgeries or procedures going on sometimes - endovascular or open valve replacements, lung lobe removal, etc. Outside of that, it's rounding on patients and taking call, with the occasional clinic day of course. CT surgery is kind of a horrible thing to endure and those folks are often pretty sick as a result, so rounding and call is no joke - there is a lot of work to both. Very little cardiology per se - usually punted to the cardiologist to manage. (my experience only) Emergency surgeries are reasonably common - where I worked we were not allowed to say the words "aortic dissection" because of a supposed 19-hour procedure that caught everybody around dinner time one day (before I got there). Apparently some guy dissected backwards into the heart itself enough to cause MI from the physical blockage and, later on had problems with clots. Hell of a mess. Of course, you are going to have your cath lab failures that require immediate CABG. If I was young and full of beans I would definitely go for it, because it's some of the coolest stuff I ever saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott079 Posted December 8, 2016 Author Share Posted December 8, 2016 Hello Everyone, Thank you for the insights on the salary. South- I am extremely grateful, your description covered a hell of alot and I liked nearly all of it. More of what I was hoping to hear, I think I am heading in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
south Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 One of the more interesting things I found was an opportunity for temp or contract work in this, after a while. There was this young lady where I was at who got herself a few years' experience and then started a business filling in for CT surg PAs at a few of the hospitals. The demand for her was incredible - part of my job was to get her on the phone and plugged in when there was a need for her. If she put up any resistance because she was booked or wanted a day off or something, I was invariably told "I don't care how much extra money she wants - I will pay it - get her in here, end of story". Of course, there were hassles I am sure, and she got cancelled if the surgery got cancelled, which it often did - but man, was this girl rolling. The worst arguments I saw between our surgeons was that someone was hogging her or stole her away, etc. I'm definitely a company - employee sort of person, and can't go into CT surgery anyway, but man if I had that option... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgriffiths Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 Wow, that girl is brilliant south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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