Gearing up for prereqs and HCE. just some general questions about the field

[TBP11]

Not sure if this is already posted somewhere else, relatively new to this field and site.

 

Just some background before i jump into questions. I have always wanted to go into healthcare but decided that i would not be happy spending so much time and money in medical school to become a specialist. Didn't know where to go after graduating from university and spent the summer looking through options before i stumbled onto PA. learning more about it, it seemed to fit exactly what i want in terms of time to finish and flexibility in what i could do after i finished.

 

so heres a few new guy questions since i havent decided for sure yet and therefore haven't shadowed, etc.

 

1. i found some general descriptions about what PA's do and i get it but i was curious about what a general work day looks like for a PA? what are you limited to do in your scope? what things can you do that most patients might not know?

 

2. I know the field is growing fast, what are the advantages/disadvantages in this field? PA/PA students, what would you say are some issues you have to deal with specific to this field that others might not know?

 

3. and finally, beyond the awesome job of helping people, what are some things you see every day specific to this job that made you love it?

[TBP11]

Not sure if this is already posted somewhere else, relatively new to this field and site.

 

Just some background before i jump into questions. I have always wanted to go into healthcare but decided that i would not be happy spending so much time and money in medical school to become a specialist. Didn't know where to go after graduating from university and spent the summer looking through options before i stumbled onto PA. learning more about it, it seemed to fit exactly what i want in terms of time to finish and flexibility in what i could do after i finished.

 

so heres a few new guy questions since i havent decided for sure yet and therefore haven't shadowed, etc.

 

1. i found some general descriptions about what PA's do and i get it but i was curious about what a general work day looks like for a PA? what are you limited to do in your scope? what things can you do that most patients might not know?

 

2. I know the field is growing fast, what are the advantages/disadvantages in this field? PA/PA students, what would you say are some issues you have to deal with specific to this field that others might not know?

 

3. and finally, beyond the awesome job of helping people, what are some things you see every day specific to this job that made you love it?

[TBP11]

Not sure if this is already posted somewhere else, relatively new to this field and site.

 

Just some background before i jump into questions. I have always wanted to go into healthcare but decided that i would not be happy spending so much time and money in medical school to become a specialist. Didn't know where to go after graduating from university and spent the summer looking through options before i stumbled onto PA. learning more about it, it seemed to fit exactly what i want in terms of time to finish and flexibility in what i could do after i finished.

 

so heres a few new guy questions since i havent decided for sure yet and therefore haven't shadowed, etc.

 

1. i found some general descriptions about what PA's do and i get it but i was curious about what a general work day looks like for a PA? what are you limited to do in your scope? what things can you do that most patients might not know?

 

2. I know the field is growing fast, what are the advantages/disadvantages in this field? PA/PA students, what would you say are some issues you have to deal with specific to this field that others might not know?

 

3. and finally, beyond the awesome job of helping people, what are some things you see every day specific to this job that made you love it?

[mackjacks]

Hi! Based off of your first paragraph, I want to make sure you realize that PAs can work in specialties, and MDs/DOs can work in primary care/family practice. If what you were saying is that if you spent all the time/money to become a MD/DO you'd feel more pressure to specialize, I completely understand! Part of my decision to go to PA school over the physician route is my desire to work in primary care-to me it's not worth all the debt if you're not going to specialize/subspecialize and make big bucks to make up for it.

 

Your questions:

1. PAs days vary depending where they work. I'd recommend shadowing in different fields to get an idea. I shadowed a primary care PA who saw pts after they were roomed about 4-5 an hour and finished charts when there were open timeslots between patients/at the end of the day, another PA working in a university student health center who saw a bunch of viruses/sprains and less hypertension/overweight pts (great gig for a family person as good salary and reduced hours during summer when not as many students on campus), a PA on a cardiology service who did pre-op H&P and educated pts on procedures, and a neurosurgery PA who implanted deep brain electrodes on Parkinson's pts, ran the wires down to their chest, and the doc just came and gave the pt a once over as he was in the adjacent OR. The last PA also spent 1 day a week doing research. Hours varied from 9-5 type jobs to 3 12's per week or 12 shifts a month.

 

2. Advantages can vary depending what your goals in life are. For many: less time in school, less debt, lateral flexibility, HCE can help you get in if you had prior poor grades, along with less time in school there's no residency requirement, good salary in 2 years. Disadvantages: In many settings, no matter how hard you work you'll never be the "top guy/gal", might not be able to do procedures you'd like if there are residents who need to do them, not making physician salary, can be stuck with scut work the docs don't want to do, some fields and states are more NP friendly and not as good for PAs, friends/family/patients asking what a PA is, repeating what a PA is, repeating again (just kidding, this seems to be a problem for some on here but not me, can depend on location), not getting as much autonomy as you want, feeling like you're not getting enough support as a new grad when they expect you to function independently after 2 years of PA school and you only had CNA experience before that (I'm worried about this because I realize how much I don't know). Many of the disadvantages are situation-specific.

 

3. I love science and people. Can't imagine sitting at a desk all day, I want to be moving around interacting with people. The following reasons are not necessarily why I love it, but rather my reasonings on PA vs MD/DO as I did thoroughly consider (because of comments of members of this forum) if I was making the right choice. They all lead to my love of the PA profession on a personal level. On a larger scale, I appreciate that the profession can make healthcare access available to those who otherwise would not have access to care. Here it goes... I don't have any need/desire to be the head honcho, but at the same time I'm flexible and capable of either functioning independently or deferring to others. Depends on the situation, but generally I'll always politely stand up for what I think is correct if I'm confident in my thoughts. I moved around a lot as a child and didn't like it so by going PA I'll be settled into a career sooner and not have to move out of state for med school/residency/fellowship. Parents had me in their 40's and I don't want to be an "old mom" nor put the stress on myself/my potential family/would-be fellow house officers by having kids during residency if I went to med school. Instead I'll hopefully be 30ish with PA school loans paid off and comfortable morgtage/other loans. Even with these plans which revolve heavily around family life, I'd be comfortable with this decision if I found out I was infertile tomorrow since I want to go into primary care and worry that if I went to med school I'd be tempted into a higher-paying speciality to pay off what would be a much higher sum of med school loans. Not specific to PA, but I love to continue learning so I like that the medical field is always changing and you can never feel like you "know it all". Lots of different types of settings to work in. Rural, city, private-pay, free clinics, teaching hospitals, 12 hr ER night shifts vs part-time 8 hour days.

 

Apologies because I think this is rather poorly written (and LONG!). I was throwing out lots of thoughts. Hope it helps answer your questions.

[mackjacks]

Hi! Based off of your first paragraph, I want to make sure you realize that PAs can work in specialties, and MDs/DOs can work in primary care/family practice. If what you were saying is that if you spent all the time/money to become a MD/DO you'd feel more pressure to specialize, I completely understand! Part of my decision to go to PA school over the physician route is my desire to work in primary care-to me it's not worth all the debt if you're not going to specialize/subspecialize and make big bucks to make up for it.

 

Your questions:

1. PAs days vary depending where they work. I'd recommend shadowing in different fields to get an idea. I shadowed a primary care PA who saw pts after they were roomed about 4-5 an hour and finished charts when there were open timeslots between patients/at the end of the day, another PA working in a university student health center who saw a bunch of viruses/sprains and less hypertension/overweight pts (great gig for a family person as good salary and reduced hours during summer when not as many students on campus), a PA on a cardiology service who did pre-op H&P and educated pts on procedures, and a neurosurgery PA who implanted deep brain electrodes on Parkinson's pts, ran the wires down to their chest, and the doc just came and gave the pt a once over as he was in the adjacent OR. The last PA also spent 1 day a week doing research. Hours varied from 9-5 type jobs to 3 12's per week or 12 shifts a month.

 

2. Advantages can vary depending what your goals in life are. For many: less time in school, less debt, lateral flexibility, HCE can help you get in if you had prior poor grades, along with less time in school there's no residency requirement, good salary in 2 years. Disadvantages: In many settings, no matter how hard you work you'll never be the "top guy/gal", might not be able to do procedures you'd like if there are residents who need to do them, not making physician salary, can be stuck with scut work the docs don't want to do, some fields and states are more NP friendly and not as good for PAs, friends/family/patients asking what a PA is, repeating what a PA is, repeating again (just kidding, this seems to be a problem for some on here but not me, can depend on location), not getting as much autonomy as you want, feeling like you're not getting enough support as a new grad when they expect you to function independently after 2 years of PA school and you only had CNA experience before that (I'm worried about this because I realize how much I don't know). Many of the disadvantages are situation-specific.

 

3. I love science and people. Can't imagine sitting at a desk all day, I want to be moving around interacting with people. The following reasons are not necessarily why I love it, but rather my reasonings on PA vs MD/DO as I did thoroughly consider (because of comments of members of this forum) if I was making the right choice. They all lead to my love of the PA profession on a personal level. On a larger scale, I appreciate that the profession can make healthcare access available to those who otherwise would not have access to care. Here it goes... I don't have any need/desire to be the head honcho, but at the same time I'm flexible and capable of either functioning independently or deferring to others. Depends on the situation, but generally I'll always politely stand up for what I think is correct if I'm confident in my thoughts. I moved around a lot as a child and didn't like it so by going PA I'll be settled into a career sooner and not have to move out of state for med school/residency/fellowship. Parents had me in their 40's and I don't want to be an "old mom" nor put the stress on myself/my potential family/would-be fellow house officers by having kids during residency if I went to med school. Instead I'll hopefully be 30ish with PA school loans paid off and comfortable morgtage/other loans. Even with these plans which revolve heavily around family life, I'd be comfortable with this decision if I found out I was infertile tomorrow since I want to go into primary care and worry that if I went to med school I'd be tempted into a higher-paying speciality to pay off what would be a much higher sum of med school loans. Not specific to PA, but I love to continue learning so I like that the medical field is always changing and you can never feel like you "know it all". Lots of different types of settings to work in. Rural, city, private-pay, free clinics, teaching hospitals, 12 hr ER night shifts vs part-time 8 hour days.

 

Apologies because I think this is rather poorly written (and LONG!). I was throwing out lots of thoughts. Hope it helps answer your questions.

[mackjacks]

Hi! Based off of your first paragraph, I want to make sure you realize that PAs can work in specialties, and MDs/DOs can work in primary care/family practice. If what you were saying is that if you spent all the time/money to become a MD/DO you'd feel more pressure to specialize, I completely understand! Part of my decision to go to PA school over the physician route is my desire to work in primary care-to me it's not worth all the debt if you're not going to specialize/subspecialize and make big bucks to make up for it.

 

Your questions:

1. PAs days vary depending where they work. I'd recommend shadowing in different fields to get an idea. I shadowed a primary care PA who saw pts after they were roomed about 4-5 an hour and finished charts when there were open timeslots between patients/at the end of the day, another PA working in a university student health center who saw a bunch of viruses/sprains and less hypertension/overweight pts (great gig for a family person as good salary and reduced hours during summer when not as many students on campus), a PA on a cardiology service who did pre-op H&P and educated pts on procedures, and a neurosurgery PA who implanted deep brain electrodes on Parkinson's pts, ran the wires down to their chest, and the doc just came and gave the pt a once over as he was in the adjacent OR. The last PA also spent 1 day a week doing research. Hours varied from 9-5 type jobs to 3 12's per week or 12 shifts a month.

 

2. Advantages can vary depending what your goals in life are. For many: less time in school, less debt, lateral flexibility, HCE can help you get in if you had prior poor grades, along with less time in school there's no residency requirement, good salary in 2 years. Disadvantages: In many settings, no matter how hard you work you'll never be the "top guy/gal", might not be able to do procedures you'd like if there are residents who need to do them, not making physician salary, can be stuck with scut work the docs don't want to do, some fields and states are more NP friendly and not as good for PAs, friends/family/patients asking what a PA is, repeating what a PA is, repeating again (just kidding, this seems to be a problem for some on here but not me, can depend on location), not getting as much autonomy as you want, feeling like you're not getting enough support as a new grad when they expect you to function independently after 2 years of PA school and you only had CNA experience before that (I'm worried about this because I realize how much I don't know). Many of the disadvantages are situation-specific.

 

3. I love science and people. Can't imagine sitting at a desk all day, I want to be moving around interacting with people. The following reasons are not necessarily why I love it, but rather my reasonings on PA vs MD/DO as I did thoroughly consider (because of comments of members of this forum) if I was making the right choice. They all lead to my love of the PA profession on a personal level. On a larger scale, I appreciate that the profession can make healthcare access available to those who otherwise would not have access to care. Here it goes... I don't have any need/desire to be the head honcho, but at the same time I'm flexible and capable of either functioning independently or deferring to others. Depends on the situation, but generally I'll always politely stand up for what I think is correct if I'm confident in my thoughts. I moved around a lot as a child and didn't like it so by going PA I'll be settled into a career sooner and not have to move out of state for med school/residency/fellowship. Parents had me in their 40's and I don't want to be an "old mom" nor put the stress on myself/my potential family/would-be fellow house officers by having kids during residency if I went to med school. Instead I'll hopefully be 30ish with PA school loans paid off and comfortable morgtage/other loans. Even with these plans which revolve heavily around family life, I'd be comfortable with this decision if I found out I was infertile tomorrow since I want to go into primary care and worry that if I went to med school I'd be tempted into a higher-paying speciality to pay off what would be a much higher sum of med school loans. Not specific to PA, but I love to continue learning so I like that the medical field is always changing and you can never feel like you "know it all". Lots of different types of settings to work in. Rural, city, private-pay, free clinics, teaching hospitals, 12 hr ER night shifts vs part-time 8 hour days.

 

Apologies because I think this is rather poorly written (and LONG!). I was throwing out lots of thoughts. Hope it helps answer your questions.

[TBP11]

no that was perfect! that was exactly what i meant with medical school too. its a little scary that this sounds like an answer I would've written for something i was knowledgeable about. haha. i have barely started looking into this field and have already run into so many comments on "repeating what a PA is". you hit the things i was concerned about so i have a few followups.

 

I am currently an EMT (seems like many do this route) and i too am concerned with the short graduate work time period. you said you are concerned about being independent as a graduate, could you elaborate on this/your situation? what do you think is lacking?

 

you mentioned not having a salary comparable to a physician. like it or not, money is always an issue when it comes to your career so i thought I'd ask. i have attended a few info sessions and of course i feel they give me skewed numbers. what is normal starting range and how much do you expect it to increase over your career. (based on what you've seen)

 

one question i forgot to hit. how much independence from the doctor can i expect? ( feel free to use your own experience/shadowing to be specific if you'd like)

 

thanks for the response

[TBP11]

no that was perfect! that was exactly what i meant with medical school too. its a little scary that this sounds like an answer I would've written for something i was knowledgeable about. haha. i have barely started looking into this field and have already run into so many comments on "repeating what a PA is". you hit the things i was concerned about so i have a few followups.

 

I am currently an EMT (seems like many do this route) and i too am concerned with the short graduate work time period. you said you are concerned about being independent as a graduate, could you elaborate on this/your situation? what do you think is lacking?

 

you mentioned not having a salary comparable to a physician. like it or not, money is always an issue when it comes to your career so i thought I'd ask. i have attended a few info sessions and of course i feel they give me skewed numbers. what is normal starting range and how much do you expect it to increase over your career. (based on what you've seen)

 

one question i forgot to hit. how much independence from the doctor can i expect? ( feel free to use your own experience/shadowing to be specific if you'd like)

 

thanks for the response

[TBP11]

no that was perfect! that was exactly what i meant with medical school too. its a little scary that this sounds like an answer I would've written for something i was knowledgeable about. haha. i have barely started looking into this field and have already run into so many comments on "repeating what a PA is". you hit the things i was concerned about so i have a few followups.

 

I am currently an EMT (seems like many do this route) and i too am concerned with the short graduate work time period. you said you are concerned about being independent as a graduate, could you elaborate on this/your situation? what do you think is lacking?

 

you mentioned not having a salary comparable to a physician. like it or not, money is always an issue when it comes to your career so i thought I'd ask. i have attended a few info sessions and of course i feel they give me skewed numbers. what is normal starting range and how much do you expect it to increase over your career. (based on what you've seen)

 

one question i forgot to hit. how much independence from the doctor can i expect? ( feel free to use your own experience/shadowing to be specific if you'd like)

 

thanks for the response

[ghostnineone]

These are pretty much the same question's I was going to ask. Although I have some others. (Please forgive me if I seem more ignorant than I should be about things, this forum is the first real chance I've had to really ask someone for a change instead of reading web pages)

 

I've sort of been planning a path towards getting prior HCE before attempting PA school (I don't have any right now, and I've just recently switched from IT to health sciences, so sorry if it seems like I'm jumping the gun.) I was thinking about starting with ER volunteering to get used to working in a hospital and then possibly ER tech or Surg tech later on. ER tech seems like it would be good experience since emergency medicine/trauma is what interests me the most. (The hospital that lists the job here only says HS diploma as a pre req) Surgical tech, from what I've gathered doesn't have as much PT care but it still seems like a good field, though it would take a little bit to get there. (My school has a certificate program for ST) would this be a decent way to go?

 

I would go EMT but I'm not sure if the physical disabilities I have would hinder me too much. (Scoliosis, Mild Cerebral Palsy that gives me tighter than normal arm and leg muscles, corrected eyesight of 20/30 in my left eye and 20/200 in my right, nearsightedness and an astigmatism, my eye Dr. has said to avoid driving at night since everything is pretty much fuzz like TV static) and I'm only about 5'7" and 110 and not very fit.

 

Specialty flexibility: What is this like? I know PA's don't have residencies (or at least I've read that most don't), so I would assume that there is nothing for them to finish first before being able to switch. Is it a fellowship? or is it an exam like for becoming an ED nurse?

 

Clinicals: My closest PA school has clinical's that send you all around the state and has you pay for lodging, travel, etc. yourself, is this how most are? Or do they tend to stay within the same hospital/City?

[ghostnineone]

These are pretty much the same question's I was going to ask. Although I have some others. (Please forgive me if I seem more ignorant than I should be about things, this forum is the first real chance I've had to really ask someone for a change instead of reading web pages)

 

I've sort of been planning a path towards getting prior HCE before attempting PA school (I don't have any right now, and I've just recently switched from IT to health sciences, so sorry if it seems like I'm jumping the gun.) I was thinking about starting with ER volunteering to get used to working in a hospital and then possibly ER tech or Surg tech later on. ER tech seems like it would be good experience since emergency medicine/trauma is what interests me the most. (The hospital that lists the job here only says HS diploma as a pre req) Surgical tech, from what I've gathered doesn't have as much PT care but it still seems like a good field, though it would take a little bit to get there. (My school has a certificate program for ST) would this be a decent way to go?

 

I would go EMT but I'm not sure if the physical disabilities I have would hinder me too much. (Scoliosis, Mild Cerebral Palsy that gives me tighter than normal arm and leg muscles, corrected eyesight of 20/30 in my left eye and 20/200 in my right, nearsightedness and an astigmatism, my eye Dr. has said to avoid driving at night since everything is pretty much fuzz like TV static) and I'm only about 5'7" and 110 and not very fit.

 

Specialty flexibility: What is this like? I know PA's don't have residencies (or at least I've read that most don't), so I would assume that there is nothing for them to finish first before being able to switch. Is it a fellowship? or is it an exam like for becoming an ED nurse?

 

Clinicals: My closest PA school has clinical's that send you all around the state and has you pay for lodging, travel, etc. yourself, is this how most are? Or do they tend to stay within the same hospital/City?

[ghostnineone]

These are pretty much the same question's I was going to ask. Although I have some others. (Please forgive me if I seem more ignorant than I should be about things, this forum is the first real chance I've had to really ask someone for a change instead of reading web pages)

 

I've sort of been planning a path towards getting prior HCE before attempting PA school (I don't have any right now, and I've just recently switched from IT to health sciences, so sorry if it seems like I'm jumping the gun.) I was thinking about starting with ER volunteering to get used to working in a hospital and then possibly ER tech or Surg tech later on. ER tech seems like it would be good experience since emergency medicine/trauma is what interests me the most. (The hospital that lists the job here only says HS diploma as a pre req) Surgical tech, from what I've gathered doesn't have as much PT care but it still seems like a good field, though it would take a little bit to get there. (My school has a certificate program for ST) would this be a decent way to go?

 

I would go EMT but I'm not sure if the physical disabilities I have would hinder me too much. (Scoliosis, Mild Cerebral Palsy that gives me tighter than normal arm and leg muscles, corrected eyesight of 20/30 in my left eye and 20/200 in my right, nearsightedness and an astigmatism, my eye Dr. has said to avoid driving at night since everything is pretty much fuzz like TV static) and I'm only about 5'7" and 110 and not very fit.

 

Specialty flexibility: What is this like? I know PA's don't have residencies (or at least I've read that most don't), so I would assume that there is nothing for them to finish first before being able to switch. Is it a fellowship? or is it an exam like for becoming an ED nurse?

 

Clinicals: My closest PA school has clinical's that send you all around the state and has you pay for lodging, travel, etc. yourself, is this how most are? Or do they tend to stay within the same hospital/City?

[Guest]

I work in ER and we have PA's and MD's, and even NP's. PA/NP's work pretty much independently. I often hear them interact with doc's. Here is a typical conversation:

 

"Hey doc, this patient in room 37 has ______ and ______. CT was negative but I want to admit them anyway because _____"

Doc: "Ok sounds great"

 

The doc will go to the room at some point, but usually doesn't spend more than a minute there.

 

I'd say it's pretty independent, but of course things wary from ER to ER. :).

[Guest]

I work in ER and we have PA's and MD's, and even NP's. PA/NP's work pretty much independently. I often hear them interact with doc's. Here is a typical conversation:

 

"Hey doc, this patient in room 37 has ______ and ______. CT was negative but I want to admit them anyway because _____"

Doc: "Ok sounds great"

 

The doc will go to the room at some point, but usually doesn't spend more than a minute there.

 

I'd say it's pretty independent, but of course things wary from ER to ER. :).

[Guest]

I work in ER and we have PA's and MD's, and even NP's. PA/NP's work pretty much independently. I often hear them interact with doc's. Here is a typical conversation:

 

"Hey doc, this patient in room 37 has ______ and ______. CT was negative but I want to admit them anyway because _____"

Doc: "Ok sounds great"

 

The doc will go to the room at some point, but usually doesn't spend more than a minute there.

 

I'd say it's pretty independent, but of course things wary from ER to ER. :).

[mackjacks]

I'll number your questions 1, 2, and 3 again if you don't mind. :)

 

1. I mentioned concern over being expected to be too independent right off the bat as a contrast with my previous statement that some PAs don't have as much autonomy as they want. I was just pointing out that for someone with not a lot of prior HCE it could be really daunting to be managing some pts as a new grad without much experience. I haven't started PA school yet btw so I have no idea how it will work out for me, but I am just worried about the possibility of being in a situation where more is expected of me than I am able to comfortably do. Hopefully this won't happen! I have heard some stories about new PAs who go work in a practice that has never had a PA and doesn't know how to get them "up and running" so to speak. I plan to work my butt off to become the best, most competent provider I can possibly be, but I feel there will probably be an inevitable learning curve and I'll be a much better PA after 2 years on the job vs 2 days after graduation.

 

2. Depends a lot on the specialty and location. For primary care in my location, I would want to start out making at least in the 70s and that should have really good benefits with it. You can look up actual PA salaries from any hospital that isn't totally private because of the Freedom of Information Act if you are interested in it.

 

3. Again really depends. Could be family practice and you're treated like another doc in the building, could be family practice and the doc is only there with you once a month, could be on a team in the hospital where you are treated more like a resident at first but after years are the doc's "right hand man" because you're a constant amongst the continual turnover of residents, surgical assisting, running a small ER solo. I've heard of bad situations where PAs are treated like glorified MAs too.

[mackjacks]

I'll number your questions 1, 2, and 3 again if you don't mind. :)

 

1. I mentioned concern over being expected to be too independent right off the bat as a contrast with my previous statement that some PAs don't have as much autonomy as they want. I was just pointing out that for someone with not a lot of prior HCE it could be really daunting to be managing some pts as a new grad without much experience. I haven't started PA school yet btw so I have no idea how it will work out for me, but I am just worried about the possibility of being in a situation where more is expected of me than I am able to comfortably do. Hopefully this won't happen! I have heard some stories about new PAs who go work in a practice that has never had a PA and doesn't know how to get them "up and running" so to speak. I plan to work my butt off to become the best, most competent provider I can possibly be, but I feel there will probably be an inevitable learning curve and I'll be a much better PA after 2 years on the job vs 2 days after graduation.

 

2. Depends a lot on the specialty and location. For primary care in my location, I would want to start out making at least in the 70s and that should have really good benefits with it. You can look up actual PA salaries from any hospital that isn't totally private because of the Freedom of Information Act if you are interested in it.

 

3. Again really depends. Could be family practice and you're treated like another doc in the building, could be family practice and the doc is only there with you once a month, could be on a team in the hospital where you are treated more like a resident at first but after years are the doc's "right hand man" because you're a constant amongst the continual turnover of residents, surgical assisting, running a small ER solo. I've heard of bad situations where PAs are treated like glorified MAs too.

[mackjacks]

I'll number your questions 1, 2, and 3 again if you don't mind. :)

 

1. I mentioned concern over being expected to be too independent right off the bat as a contrast with my previous statement that some PAs don't have as much autonomy as they want. I was just pointing out that for someone with not a lot of prior HCE it could be really daunting to be managing some pts as a new grad without much experience. I haven't started PA school yet btw so I have no idea how it will work out for me, but I am just worried about the possibility of being in a situation where more is expected of me than I am able to comfortably do. Hopefully this won't happen! I have heard some stories about new PAs who go work in a practice that has never had a PA and doesn't know how to get them "up and running" so to speak. I plan to work my butt off to become the best, most competent provider I can possibly be, but I feel there will probably be an inevitable learning curve and I'll be a much better PA after 2 years on the job vs 2 days after graduation.

 

2. Depends a lot on the specialty and location. For primary care in my location, I would want to start out making at least in the 70s and that should have really good benefits with it. You can look up actual PA salaries from any hospital that isn't totally private because of the Freedom of Information Act if you are interested in it.

 

3. Again really depends. Could be family practice and you're treated like another doc in the building, could be family practice and the doc is only there with you once a month, could be on a team in the hospital where you are treated more like a resident at first but after years are the doc's "right hand man" because you're a constant amongst the continual turnover of residents, surgical assisting, running a small ER solo. I've heard of bad situations where PAs are treated like glorified MAs too.