Between Graduation and EM Residency

[NewbieEMPA]

I'm graduating from PA school in December, and I am planning on applying to several EM residencies. Most of these programs start in the fall, which leaves me with at least 7-8 months between graduating and residency. Luckily, my parents are letting me live with them for that period of time, but I know that loan payments start 6 months after graduating. What do you recommend doing in this long strength between the two? Where I live, there aren't very many PA jobs that hire new grads.

[JMann]

That's a long time, so you should try to line up something. Any kind of experience as a PA would be good, but certainly try to get a EM or Urgent Care job if you can. No reason you have to tell them you are applying to residency. I graduated in December as well and my residency began in July. You forget a lot quickly if you don't use it, so you should definitely find something. 

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

Agree with Mann. Not saying low ball yourself or take some grueling job, but you can find something, even if you have to commute a ways. Review contract thoroughly so you can leave quickly. Don’t have to tel them about the residency. 6 months when you haven’t ever practiced is enough time to lose a lot of knowledge. If you truly can’t find anything, you can apply for income based repayment or get a couple months deferment from the loan servicer. Can’t pay anything if you aren’t making anything. You can start listening to crack cast. Podcast that goes through Rosen’s textbook. It’s free and will put you on a good start for residency.

[NewbieEMPA]

Thank you so much for the advice! I'll keep my eyes open and see what's available. I'm applying to 8 different programs, so I'll be interviewing a lot in April/May hopefully. I'll download that podcast; sounds great!