Job Change

[Daisy23]

So I’ve been working at my current job in CV surgery at a teaching hospital on the west coast for about a year. It’s definitely been tough jumping in and learning EVH / first-assisting but it’s definitely a lot easier than it was starting out the first few months. Hours are reasonable (40-50 hrs/week), no call/no weekends due to resident coverage. However, this being my first job out of school, I’m looking to transition to another area of medicine given the lower than average pay (~90k). Of course I want to leave on good terms but also feel bad for them investing the time in training me (although I wouldn’t say it’s been the best training). I just feel my skills as a PA would be better utilized elsewhere (still deciding on which specialty). My question is how do I properly go about notifying my employer without feeling guilty about leaving? Also, I feel like I didn’t ask enough questions / the right questions when interviewing for the job so I definitely want to be prepared for next time. Thank you for any input.

[Colorado]

If you and your supervisor/coworkers are on good terms both professionally and interpersonally, then there can often be NORMAL bittersweet sadness when someone leaves. Those people may feel sad or a sense of loss of a team member when you are leaving but are just as likely to be happy for your next opportunities.

Your employer... Yes, they trained you but they HAD to train you, just like they would have had to train anyone else for that position. Perhaps you needed more time as a new grad but the training investment is what is expected of any employer of a new employee and not unique to our profession. Not even a seasoned PA can start a new job without some training on that specific workplace. You should try to not feel guilty for leaving an employer. Ultimately, this is a professional and business transaction in which you work for them by performing skills (medicine) that brings cash to the company and then they give you a cut of that income that they make. I tend towards the more emotional/guilty feelings when I leave a job so I can understand and which is why I try to force myself to force myself to think about the aforementioned more practical/transactional approach to the relationship between you and your employer.

That being said, we also work in a unique profession where we have these intimate relationships with patients which I think contributes greatly to a sense of guilt when we leave a job (except for maybe terrible toxic jobs). Check out some youtube videos and articles on the guilt that teachers face when they choose to leave a teaching position for similar personal reasons (such as low pay) and you may find some common ground in their feeling of obligation to their students. 

 

Best of luck!

[surgblumm]

Great Response as you covered all the bases. Any new PA should not be overconcerned about leaving a position because of the training they received but consider that they have an entire career in front of them. How long do you wish to remain stuck in the muck when you can be set free to make other decisions?

[charlottew]

I know you are looking for a change, but if you have EVH skills, you should be able to find a significantly better paying job in CV surgery without too much trouble. Although the hours might not be as good.

[MT2PA]

19 minutes ago, charlottew said:

I know you are looking for a change, but if you have EVH skills, you should be able to find a significantly better paying job in CV surgery without too much trouble. Although the hours might not be as good.

This.  With experience you should be making close to twice what you are currently in that field.  You are underpaid for a PA in general but grossly underpaid for the specialty.  You can take that experience and really capitalize on it if you like the field.

[Daisy23]

Thanks everyone for the responses. To give a little bit more insight, one of the surgeons I work with is more than difficult to tolerate. It seems despite my attempts to do everything right in the OR, nothing is ever good enough and I get yelled at pretty much every case. I continued to work here in hopes of it improving yet not much has changed. 

[ArmyPA]

40 minutes ago, Daisy23 said:

Thanks everyone for the responses. To give a little bit more insight, one of the surgeons I work with is more than difficult to tolerate. It seems despite my attempts to do everything right in the OR, nothing is ever good enough and I get yelled at pretty much every case. I continued to work here in hopes of it improving yet not much has changed. 

If you don't despise the work I would seriously consider looking for a new job in the same field...I suspect you would find a significant salary increase whereas a new field you might be at the bottom still. Good this is you have a year of first assist/surgery experience and can be considered for other surgery positions that also pay well without completely leaving surgery...trauma, general, ortho/spine,etc. Surgeons are surgeons however and more likely to have similar attitudes to the one you mentioned than non surgeon physicians.

 

[MediMike]

An intolerable CTS?! Say it isn't so!

I work in an academic center so I deal with fellows on a regular basis. Terrible creatures.

You are ridiculously underpaid, even for academics without call. There's a CTS PA at my institution pulling about $180k with limited call, no ICU responsibilities and no paperwork. It's possible that moving to a different position with better compensation would make dealing with surgeons more palatable of you enjoy the field.

Come on up to WA, we've got a couple CTS positions open locally last time I checked.