takemetoPAschool Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 Hello! My name is Drew Greene and I am a 24 year old physician assistant student that will be graduating from PA school in August of this year. Ever since I have been interested in medicine I wanted to go into womens health. As a PA, I believe I will be able to give back to the female community through women's health services, however, may not be able to be involved in the birth experience as much as I would like with living in a bigger city (Austin, TX). So, I realized that I would love to possibly become a doula on the side to give my patients an option for me to be present during birth, as well as doing something I love on my own. I also could do this as a side job, in case I don't get a women's health job right out of school. I inevitably just want to be involved in labor in some way/shape/or form. Has anyone been a PA and doula? Insight on this idea? Any information is greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted April 9, 2020 Administrator Share Posted April 9, 2020 Doulas are not paid like PAs are. So, to take a different job like that you would not only NOT be making overtime, you'd be paid at a significantly lower hourly rate. The training would undoubtedly be awesome for communicating with women in labor, but I'm not sure how much it would help you get your foot in the door in a women's health PA role. I would counsel ANY new grad to get out of debt ASAP. Then, you have the freedom to take a lower-paying PA job with more ability practice the way you want. Once you have Malcolm Gladwell's magical 10,000 hours of PA work underneath your belt, you would not believe how many doors begin to open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takemetoPAschool Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 My thought was that I could use it in practice (as a women's health PA), or on the side (if i don't end up getting a women's health job right off the bat.) I would not be doing it full time by any means. I also think it may look good on a resume for women's health positions, correct? I also do not have much debt, I was lucky to have family help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgriffiths Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 40 minutes ago, takemetoPAschool said: I also think it may look good on a resume for women's health positions, correct? I would certainly expect that it would look great. How effective will anything get you in the door as a PA and a male is highly questionable, due to women's health NPs and the vast majority of women would prefer a female OB/GYN provider. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takemetoPAschool Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 Just now, mgriffiths said: I would certainly expect that it would look great. How effective will anything get you in the door as a PA and a male is highly questionable, due to women's health NPs and the vast majority of women would prefer a female OB/GYN provider. I am a woman! haha, I know the name is deceiving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgriffiths Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 1 minute ago, takemetoPAschool said: I am a woman! haha, I know the name is deceiving. oh, that is deceiving, so disregard the second part of my post...but, honestly may need to get creative about it on your resume as many employers may dismiss your application because of a "boy's" name (even though that technically is illegal). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cideous Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 Lots of babies going to be born in about 9 months from now LOL 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted April 9, 2020 Administrator Share Posted April 9, 2020 59 minutes ago, takemetoPAschool said: I am a woman! haha, I know the name is deceiving. I have a (female) nurse named Drew, so I dodged that pothole too. Plus, I don't know that there is such a thing as a male Doula, so I correctly assumed your sex from literary cues. Oh, that and like 80% of currently graduating PA students are female. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediMike Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 Would that be a doulo rather than doula? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted April 11, 2020 Moderator Share Posted April 11, 2020 Look at planned parenthood type organizations. Not much ob but mostly women’s health. it’s a great time to be a pa. Get into the field. Then advocate for our profession and you might be surprised where you end up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camoman1234 Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 1 hour ago, ventana said: Look at planned parenthood type organizations. Not much ob but mostly women’s health. it’s a great time to be a pa. Get into the field. Then advocate for our profession and you might be surprised where you end up. I doubt she (wanting to be a doula) wants to work for or with planned parenthood type organizations....doulas want to bring life into this world not the other way around. But I do understand what you mean, just that PP is not the best example in this case! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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