Military PA asking Civilian PAs. What is the daily schedule like for you?

[rocksmann]

Hello i don't post often but i wanted to ask civilians how your day works,

Me: Just about to graduate. knows will be in family health, knows requirements of schedual

My immediate future: Pass the pance, start my first job.

Schedule:

-First patient at 0730. Last morning pt at 1105. Last afternoon pt 1530. total pt 18/day.

-I have one tech, likely a high school grad with some training but not used well. He will get vitals and do med rec but nothing else really. See first morning patient ~5-10 mins late. we often behind out of the gate

-minimal charting in room, ordering labs/meds/imaging

-stay until 1800 charting

-must see 90 patients a week + military reindeer games  

 

Qualms: 

-0600-1800 to scrub clinic list read and chart x 5 days a week sometimes charting on weekends = 60 hours a week 

-stuck in family for 4 years

 

Questions:

Do you have more patients?

Do you have better support?

Does your doc respect you?

Do nurses pretty much own the command structure of your hospital?

How much in words or paragraphs do you chart in HPI? In A/P?

Are you happy with your EMR? If so what is it?

Do you get paid hourly or salary? Do you get paid for charting? Do you get over time?

typical, is the grass greener?

 

Thanks for your valuable time. 

 

[sas5814]

I'm not sure I understand. You are about to graduate a military PA program? Are you AD or NG/reserves?

When I graduated the Army program we all we assigned to field units. Important position in the unit with a lot of responsibility. My last tour I was in a MEDDAC and hated it. Buncha fat rear echelon pukes, nurses ran everything. In a line unit you saw sick call...no matter how many that was and then usually in the afternoon or sometimes in the evening we were in a community clinic seeing family members.

Been retired for 20+ years. I have worked in rural FP where my schedule was 30 a day and often ran into more. The docs I worked for were great... friends and colleagues. I have worked in UC where it is everyone that walks in. I'm at work now and 3 of us are going to see about 100 people over a 12 hour shift. The work isn't too difficult and they pay me well. There is the usual corporate BS and nurses run everything. I worked in a private/physician owned UC and the doc was nuts..literally. He was hospitalized twice for psychotic episodes in the last 3 months I was there. Still has an unrestricted license and his clinic. he treated everyone including the PAs like tools to be used to make money.

Bottom line is every clinic or hospital is different. Every physician is different. You just have to pick and choose and once in a while you will draw a loser.

[rocksmann]

Thanks sas5814 for the reply. Yes i will be ad usaf in a few months. 

 

 

[Reality Check 2]

For us civilians - can you translate the military jargon?

I now work in the VA system doing Primary Care which should really be called Intense Internal Medicine.

Probably not a new grad first stop but good for me at this point. Very autonomous but lots of support.

I will never see more than 14 patients in a 10 hr shift with 4 scheduled phone calls. 

TONS of busy work managing a max panel of 900, I am not maxed yet. 80% male, 20% female w growing female population. I am designated as Women's Health - not everyone is. 

Full time RN, LPN and clerk. 

There is a ton to do - remember military based - every damn thing has a form, procedure or protocol. 

It beats all hell out of private family practice seeing 25+ folks a day in 10 minute slots with MAs who can only parrot what you say. Govt bennies are nice too - and the holidays.

Patients are TOUGH - polypharmacy, complex stuff - TBIs, Agent Orange, PTSD, CHF, DM, CAD, CKD and every other acronym.  Some patients are jerks but most are pleasant.

No real prior auth's, some formulary limitations (DM meds SUCK), old computer system but it is good work for me.

Quantity never equals quality in medicine....