Certifications to make me more employable?

[SurgeryPA88]

I know there is quite a bit of talk about PA jobs being harder to find lately. I have a job that I love but my hospital did lay off quite a few PAs in our first round of COVID so I want to be prepared for that possibility. 
 

I am looking for ways to make myself more marketable as a PA or to give myself a bit of an edge on the job market. I’d love to do a residency but right now I can’t leave my family for a year and make half of my salary to do so (my husband had to shut down his business due to COVID).

 

I have 4 years internal medicine experience and 2 in surgery. I’ve heard of PAs becoming certified in additional areas like nutrition, etc. I don’t mind the extra academic work or paying for these but I’m wondering if there are any reliable sources for certifications I could add to my resume? Appreciate any help I can get  

[rev ronin]

So, there are minor and major certifications.  Not formally, but I'm going to call anything you can do in a week or less minor, and anything more extensive major.

Minor certs include all the AxLS and similar: ACLS, PALS, ATLS, ABLS, ALSO, FCCS, NRP, AWLS/WALS.... All of those are pretty standardized, and worthwhile in certain areas, but mostly EM.  ACLS and PALS are probably required in surgery.  I've managed to get away with not having had an AHA BLS card in years by keeping my EMT up to date.

Other minor things that I have and would recommend include a POCUS course and a sleep medicine cert.  These are about a week of effort or less, but aren't instantly recognized; you kinda have to explain what they are and what that will allow you to do.

The one major cert I have is Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, FAWM. It's probably a solid month worth of effort, and to get it I ended up doing 3 in-person courses, a lot of online CME, and writing an article.  Again, very niche benefits, and nothing I'm currently working on.

The other major one I'm working towards is Certified Eating Disorders Specialist, CEDS.  THAT's a tough cert, in that you have to have a certain number of documented, supervised clock hours to get a it, but I love the ED work I do.

There are SO MANY directions you can go, you'd be better off thinking about what you would like to do next, and identifying what certs would make you a better candidate for those jobs.  The more specific your question, the more likely someone is going to be able to give you specific advice.