Reconsidering my career path due to disrespect toward PAs

[cschreiner7701]

I somehow ended up on some weird discussion forum where someone was asking if they should schedule an appointment later with a different doctor because her clinic told her she would be seeing a PA and she didn't trust PAs and found it irritating she wouldn't get to see a doctor. This was in Florida which I never plan to live in. I'll likely spend my time in Oregon, Washington, or Colorado, or possibly California. I am just worried that I will never be respected or trusted like a doctor is, even if I have the training and have been in the profession for a while. Has anyone experienced this? I don't want to do med school mostly because I don't want to go through internship and residency and don't want to be in school for 4 more years to then have to go through a residency and I want to have more time with patients than I've noticed that doctors have. These are 2 of the main reasons I want to go to PA school, along with the fact that I want to be able to switch specialties more easily. Is this idea make or break on my pre-PA path? It has me worried. I would be shadowing PAs right now but none of them in my area are allowing shadowing due to COVID-19.

[CTPAAPPLICANT2018]

During my PA school interviews I get asked this question a lot! And honestly it's something you can't really take personally. Patients have the right to choose who provides them medical treatment. As a future PA, if thats the path you do decide to take, the best thing you can do is educate the patient of your role, and the PA profession. If they are still determined to see an MD then it's their loss but its their choice. They might just have to wait longer or reschedule an appointment lol. Also, in the next couple of years there is supposed to be a projected increase in the PA profession. With this increase I think people will be more aware the significant impact PAs have in our healthcare system. Its all about patient education! 

Edited May 6, 2020 by CTPAAPPLICANT2018

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

9 hours ago, cschreiner7701 said:

I somehow ended up on some weird discussion forum where someone was asking if they should schedule an appointment later with a different doctor because her clinic told her she would be seeing a PA and she didn't trust PAs and found it irritating she wouldn't get to see a doctor. This was in Florida which I never plan to live in. I'll likely spend my time in Oregon, Washington, or Colorado, or possibly California. I am just worried that I will never be respected or trusted like a doctor is, even if I have the training and have been in the profession for a while. Has anyone experienced this? I don't want to do med school mostly because I don't want to go through internship and residency and don't want to be in school for 4 more years to then have to go through a residency and I want to have more time with patients than I've noticed that doctors have. These are 2 of the main reasons I want to go to PA school, along with the fact that I want to be able to switch specialties more easily. Is this idea make or break on my pre-PA path? It has me worried. I would be shadowing PAs right now but none of them in my area are allowing shadowing due to COVID-19.

This is not a problem patients typically have and most of them cal you doctor anyway. I’ve had only 2 in 5 years mention that I was a PA negatively. I’ve had far more switch from their MD to me as their primary than I’ve had negative interactions. The second myth to dispel is that you will have more time with your patients. This is not true. You’ll have the same time slots, same paperwork, same everything to spend with your patients. If you’re hired by a private practice, more than likely your be taking the hours they don’t want to take because they arent hiring you so they can work on Christmas, it’s the other way around.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

12 hours ago, LT_Oneal_PAC said:

This is not a problem patients typically have and most of them cal you doctor anyway. I’ve had only 2 in 5 years mention that I was a PA negatively. I’ve had far more switch from their MD to me as their primary than I’ve had negative interactions. The second myth to dispel is that you will have more time with your patients. This is not true. You’ll have the same time slots, same paperwork, same everything to spend with your patients. If you’re hired by a private practice, more than likely your be taking the hours they don’t want to take because they arent hiring you so they can work on Christmas, it’s the other way around.

It still amazes me that some of the benefits of going PA compared to MD back in the 70's/80's continue to appear in discussion, yet are no longer applicable to the profession as a whole (I had a sweet gig to finish up with and I think Rev is in one at present).  That boat sailed MANY years ago.  One other benefit of being a disgusting Boomer I guess (which I'll happily accept).

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

51 minutes ago, GetMeOuttaThisMess said:

It still amazes me that some of the benefits of going PA compared to MD back in the 70's/80's continue to appear in discussion, yet are no longer applicable to the profession as a whole (I had a sweet gig to finish up with and I think Rev is in one at present).  That boat sailed MANY years ago.  One other benefit of being a disgusting Boomer I guess (which I'll happily accept).

I believe Rev does accept a typically lower than normal salary for his schedule to be so light, right @rev ronin? I mean, that’s not much different than negotiating part time pay.

[rev ronin]

3 hours ago, LT_Oneal_PAC said:

I believe Rev does accept a typically lower than normal salary for his schedule to be so light, right @rev ronin? I mean, that’s not much different than negotiating part time pay.

Yes and no.  The big deal is that I don't have benefits anywhere: no PTO, only state-mandated sick leave, I deal with my own healthcare, long term disability, pay cash for dental/vision...

[EMEDPA]

On 5/6/2020 at 7:22 PM, LT_Oneal_PAC said:

 You’ll have the same time slots, same paperwork, same everything to spend with your patients. If you’re hired by a private practice, more than likely your be taking the hours they don’t want to take because they arent hiring you so they can work on Christmas, it’s the other way around.

Agree. We are hired to do the work docs don't want to do at the times and places they don't want to do it so they can be home with their families while we work nights, weekends, and holidays in health provider shortage areas that they don't want to live in.

[alysd]

I work for a hospital's outpatient system where MDs, PAs, and NPs are employed. Every once in a while I hear a patient say something along these lines but it's not common. Usually it's just the type of patient who gets disgruntled about lots of things generally. I think part of the maturity of going into this career is being able to let some things roll off your back; there will always be individuals who give you trouble or are disagreeable.

If you do get a chance to shadow at some point and/or work directly with PAs, that would be invaluable in determining if it is the right path for you.

P.S. In my work I have not seen PAs to have more time with patients than MDs, but maybe that's not the case everywhere. Our clinics give all providers approx the same patient load.

[WestCoPA]

On 5/6/2020 at 9:32 AM, cschreiner7701 said:

I somehow ended up on some weird discussion forum where someone was asking if they should schedule an appointment later with a different doctor because her clinic told her she would be seeing a PA and she didn't trust PAs and found it irritating she wouldn't get to see a doctor. This was in Florida which I never plan to live in. I'll likely spend my time in Oregon, Washington, or Colorado, or possibly California. I am just worried that I will never be respected or trusted like a doctor is, even if I have the training and have been in the profession for a while. Has anyone experienced this? I don't want to do med school mostly because I don't want to go through internship and residency and don't want to be in school for 4 more years to then have to go through a residency and I want to have more time with patients than I've noticed that doctors have. These are 2 of the main reasons I want to go to PA school, along with the fact that I want to be able to switch specialties more easily. Is this idea make or break on my pre-PA path? It has me worried. I would be shadowing PAs right now but none of them in my area are allowing shadowing due to COVID-19.

Patients select providers based on the quality of care you provide. It doesn’t matter whether you have DO, NP, or PA behind your name. Or even if you’re merely a PA student still in training. During my family medicine rotation I had 2 different patients request follow ups with me over their regular provider. Awkward—but it just goes to show you that it’s not about the acronym behind your name. 
 

However—if you think you won’t be able to handle the daily questions of “when will you be a doctor?” and some of the other misconceptions that come with the physician “assistant” title, then you know what your answer is. 

 

Edited May 17, 2020 by WestCoPA

[ohiovolffemtp]

Since I do EM, there are times when I do spend more times with my patients - typically when I'm sewing up a complex lac or draining a messy abscess.  Other than that, any differences between a doc and me in terms of time spent with patients comes down to style differences.  At most of my previous jobs, my shifts were very similar to the docs.  Now, I do 12 hour overnights with the doc on call (very seldom called) and me sort-of on call during the 12 hour doc shift if the ED gets very busy or there is a long procedure needed.

It's about once every 3 years when I get someone who complains about seeing a PA.  The last one was just trying to make it difficult for me to clear him for incarceration.  The jail accepted his AMA just as well as it would have my clearance.

To the OP: you are correct about the differences in time spent training.  As a consequence, the docs typically make 2.5-4x what we make.  If you're going to work a full career in medicine, that pays off.  PA's do have some more ability to change careers, but given the growth of NP's, that isn't always true either, because there's fewer jobs available.

The trade off really comes down to: bigger front end training for docs leading to higher compensation and seeing the most complicated of patients vs less training and having to work your way up the ladder of patient acuity & complexity and topping out at a fraction of what the docs make.