Are these boards dying?

[CAAdmission]

I haven't really seen the moderators being too overbearing. What more frequently happens is that other participants in the conversation declare, "Your position is too horrible for me to even discuss!"

It leaves me with no desire to start new threads. Without new threads, you don't have  discussion forum. There's only so many times someone will be willing to read another thread on a name change. 

[Boatswain2PA]

31 minutes ago, CJAadmission said:

I haven't really seen the moderators being too overbearing. What more frequently happens is that other participants in the conversation declare, "Your position is too horrible for me to even discuss!"

It leaves me with no desire to start new threads. Without new threads, you don't have  discussion forum. There's only so many times someone will be willing to read another thread on a name change. 

Small correction - other participants declare "your position is too horrible for ANYONE to discuss and therefore you are a bigot/racist/etc". 

Where such woke behaviors are tolerated a lot if people just dont say anything.....which is what we see here.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Boatswain2PA

[Cideous]

4 hours ago, Boatswain2PA said:

Small correction - other participants declare "your position is too horrible for ANYONE to discuss and therefore you are a bigot/racist/etc". 

Where such woke behaviors are tolerated a lot if people just dont say anything.....which is what we see here.

How many times are you going to say "woke" Boats?  We get it, you are a Tucker Carlson and Shawn Hannity guy.  Everyone knows what you mean by it.  You inject politics into virtually all of your posts, and when you get called on it...you cry "woke!".  So man up and stop trying to "pwn the libs" and post constructively.   Passionate posting is fine, great I would argue such as in our ongoing name change debate but you just can't get past injecting right wing politics into everything can you?  It's sad because I'm sure you are a good provider, but like so many people I know, they have become completely consumed with hateful political rhetoric.  Consumed by Brietbart and FoxNews 24/7.  I would suggest you take a step back and remember that we all chose to go into a profession that by it's very definition should be compassionate and caring.  If that is "woke" then I guess we should all strive to be a little more woke for our patients and this profession.

 

 

On a side note, having been posting here for many years I can say the mods do a very good job.  A few times I have been told to turn down the heat, went back and re-read a post I had made and agreed with them.  That's what mods are suppose to do.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Cideous

[Rose66]

Boards will always be there in any shape or form if you want to cont. beeing a PA, used to be every 6 yrs now every 10, as regular PANRE or Pilot it has never be a big deal most people passed it, our real problem is lack of jobs everywhere I hope I was close to retirement. ..

[Boatswain2PA]

aaaand...there ya go.  Guess Ill check back in 6 months to see if there is anything to read.

 

BTW Cid - You were right a few years ago about the risk of the profession being overrun by NPs.  I disagreed with you then, but I was wrong.

[WakadanPA]

18 hours ago, Boatswain2PA said:

This site is an echo chamber of mono-thought.

Any thought patterns that are not congruent with the mono-thought are allowed to be personally attacked (racist, bigot, boomer, etc) by those of the mono-thought.

There are two regular posters here who do not succumb to this mono-thought.  The others, including myself, have mostly departed.  

I mostly departed because there is a moderator who throws out their mono-thought position, but then closes threads I engage in.  

What does an echo chamber sound like when there is only one sound?

A lot like this.

 

It's not covid.  There are many, many very active discussion boards.  This one turned into an echo chamber and is dying.

 

@Boatswain2PA
I couldn't imagine being constantly and consistently called a racist, bigot, behind the times etc everytime I voiced my opinion. That's got to, in the words of a millennial, suck.

But when does one self reflect and ask ..."WHY is everyone calling me racist, bigoted and/or behind the time?" As much as I can't imagine having your experience of being what feels like being silenced, I have a much harder time imagining being so blind and ornery as to ignore all the reveille to curb/change/acknowledge your unpleasant intolerant speech (ultimately, thought).

Please no need to send me a private message excusing your behavior and rhetoric on your "southern" upbringing in Georgia. We've crossed that bridge and it left me more confused than alleviated. Just instead maybe lay off the Tucker Carlson at night. 

As to why the forum doesn't see much action, my oopinion is that its because no one wants to engage when it almost always becomes political. I'm interested in the PA professional experience, treatment plans, DDx and rare case reviews. Not being inundated with crazy debates over gun laws or cancel culture vs woke-ism. Give us the goods; leave the rest for facebook.

Fwiw: had a corneal abrasion, sent home with no analgesics, pain was excruciating BUT motivated me to get to an ophthalmologist asap. Immediate relief from the corneal contact! If you can offer it to your patients in the ER or UC please do.

Edited March 28, 2021 by WakadanPA
typos

[CAAdmission]

13 hours ago, WakadanPA said:

"WHY is everyone calling me racist, bigoted and/or behind the time?"

One possibility is intolerance and irrational groupthink. Clearly not the only possibility, but still one that should be entertained. 

[ANESMCR]

Boats, you’re a broken record dude. They created an entire political thread for us, one which you refuse to use because you can’t troll those of us that don’t mind being trolled. You’re literally addicted to it. See you in 6 months pal.

[UGoLong]

I think we might be a little off the track a bit. If you look at the statistics, there usually at least 10 times as many guests here than members. We probably all started out as guests and decided to stay. Could it be that our level of our discourse is driving people away from staying?

To me, there has often been a disconnect between what you can read on the professional string and what you see on the pre-PA and PA student threads. Honesty is important, but so is being welcoming to newbies. Maybe some of the stuff on the professional forum is best said to some buddies over a beer or two than it being on line.

Let's be careful that we're not eating our young without even meaning to.

Edited March 29, 2021 by UGoLong

[sas5814]

well....let me show my age in regards to online forums. I was a mod in a live IRC channel on Mirc for several years that required about 4-5 live ops at any time to keep things moving and under some modicum of control. There were typically 80-100 live people there all the time. I dropped in a few years back and there were about 8 people there of which 4 weren't people but op-bots.

Nothing remains the same but change...

[Jofriend]

I believe that younger PAs probably use other social media platforms. 

[sas5814]

1 hour ago, Jofriend said:

I believe that younger PAs probably use other social media platforms. 

what are you trying to say JO?

[PickleRick]

Just checking in to remind myself why I haven't checked in.

[Cideous]

On 3/28/2021 at 1:18 PM, Boatswain2PA said:

BTW Cid - You were right a few years ago about the risk of the profession being overrun by NPs.  I disagreed with you then, but I was wrong.

 

It's funny you mention that, I just got an email back this morning from a company I had applied to (specifically said for PA's to apply on the ad), that they have decided to only consider NP's due to "supervision requirements of PA's".

 <....sigh....>.  

Gotta admit, I'm tired of getting that response...

Edited March 30, 2021 by Cideous

[Jofriend]

On 3/29/2021 at 11:08 AM, sas5814 said:

what are you trying to say JO?

You know as well as I do.  And, I'm using this board, so...

[ohiovolffemtp]

On 3/29/2021 at 11:08 AM, sas5814 said:

what are you trying to say JO?

That you're old enough to be my brother and his (grand) father. 

[ohiovolffemtp]

Separate question: where can you get the bandage contacts that folks have said work so well?

[Boatswain2PA]

On 3/28/2021 at 1:15 PM, Cideous said:

We get it, you are a Tucker Carlson and Shawn Hannity guy.  Everyone knows what you mean by it.  You inject politics into virtually all of your posts, and when you get called on it...you cry "woke!".  So man up and stop trying to "pwn the libs" and post constructively.   Passionate posting is fine, great I would argue such as in our ongoing name change debate but you just can't get past injecting right wing politics into everything can you?  It's sad because I'm sure you are a good provider, but like so many people I know, they have become completely consumed with hateful political rhetoric.  Consumed by Brietbart and FoxNews 24/7.  I

And you cannot see that a conservative viewpoint is compassionate and caring.

Haven't seen Tucker in years, Hannity makes me turn the channel.  

Healthcare is politics.  It's what happens when the government pays for and controls the majority of what happens in it.

On 3/28/2021 at 4:39 PM, WakadanPA said:

But when does one self reflect and ask ..."WHY is everyone calling me racist, bigoted and/or behind the time?" As much as I can't imagine having your experience of being what feels like being silenced, I have a much harder time imagining being so blind and ornery as to ignore all the reveille to curb/change/acknowledge your unpleasant intolerant speech (ultimately, thought).

Well..when someone other than a few INtolerant, ILliberal leftists on ONE internet discussion board thinks I'm a racist, a bigot, or I'm behind the time.  In my lengthy life experience, including serving alongside men and women of every skin color imaginable, nobody has ever thought I was a racist or bigot.   The only folks who think that way are the brainwashed leftists on the internet who have been ingrained with a pavlovian response to call everyone with a conservative idea "racist, homophobe, intolerant, white-supremacist".  
 

On 3/28/2021 at 4:39 PM, WakadanPA said:

Please no need to send me a private message

Well...at least you got that right.

 

On 3/28/2021 at 4:39 PM, WakadanPA said:

rhetoric on your "southern" upbringing in Georgia

Wasn't raised in Georgia, or any other Southern state.  
 

On 3/28/2021 at 4:39 PM, WakadanPA said:

Left me more confused than alleviated

Obviously....
 

On 3/28/2021 at 4:39 PM, WakadanPA said:

Just instead maybe lay off the Tucker Carlson at night. 

Haven't seen Tucker on TV in probably 2 years.  I was with someone going to an appointment with a medical specialist, and FOX news was on in the waiting room.  The news was regurgitating what Tucker had said the night before and had his highlights on.

There was also a big sign under the TV that said "don't change the channel."

There are 3 PAs in that office.  I know two of them and they are very conservative.  You think they come to these boards?

Nope.  They know about PAForums, but they don't post here.  I wonder why.....

BTW - Quick google search finds Tucker has about 3 million viewers.  Wonder how many of those are PAs who avoid this site because it allows such attacks on them.

 

On 3/29/2021 at 7:36 AM, UGoLong said:

Could it be that our level of our discourse is driving people away from staying?

Ya think?

People (understandably) bag on SDN, but there people are allowed to disagree on political things without being called racist/bigot/etc (or inferring that someone you disagree with is a "cuck").  The level of professionalism (on that front at least) is much higher than we see here.

 

On 3/29/2021 at 2:24 PM, mcclane said:

Cucker Tarlson

Cucker?  That is a term that is new to me.  Are you an expert on such things?  Perhaps you are a "Cuckee?"  Is that why you have such contempt for Cucker?

Ya know what, forget that .  Just like I'm a MLK racist (let's see each other's character instead of skin color), I'm a Billy Clinton Conservative and would rather not ask you, nor you tell me, about what persuasion of cuck you self-identify as.

Jesting aside, your comment "Cucker Tarlson" is disgusting and shouldn't have been posted let alone allowed to remain by the moderators of a supposedly professional discussion board.  Of course, it's a disgusting attack on a conservative, so that is apparently ok.

And the moderators allow such unprofessionalism....no wonder the boards are dying.  
 

Edited April 3, 2021 by Boatswain2PA

[ANESMCR]

He’s back flying the victim flag in the fastest 6 months I’ve ever seen. 

[Will352ns]

The forum tends to be a depressing read. Worse over the few years.

[Cideous]

2 hours ago, Will352ns said:

The forum tends to be a depressing read. Worse over the few years.

Can you elaborate?  I'm interested in what you mean.

[WakadanPA]

On 4/3/2021 at 12:33 AM, Boatswain2PA said:

Wasn't raised in Georgia, or any other Southern state.  

 

Obviously....
 

 

You are absolutely correct. I apologise, you weren't the conservative forum member who sent me a private message.

Again I APOLOGISE FOR THE MIX-UP.

 

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

On 4/3/2021 at 10:25 AM, Will352ns said:

The forum tends to be a depressing read. Worse over the few years.

I think you may be correct, however I think it is the state of the profession overall. Certainly there are exceptions where things are looking good for some individuals, but for others, the picture isn’t quite as rosy as it may have been in years, or even decades past. Speaking for myself, I’m glad I am now out.  I still find it enjoyable to look around the professional forums and see what others have to say. I do enjoy seeing how things are going for other individuals.

Edited April 4, 2021 by GetMeOuttaThisMess

[Rose66]

To " Getmeouttathismess" I am glad your are out and enjoying yourself, do you mind to share how much are you getting in retirement and how long you worked as a PA. My questions is because I have many yrs as a PA +10, I want to continued working but I am concern about the lack of jobs and not sure if I will have work to my retirement age, and wondering how much I will be getting if I have to work in something else. Thank you
 

 

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

My last day was Halloween ‘19 at age 60.  I wanted to tell my last patient that day that they were the end of the road for me but like so many others, they wanted to argue about what they knew that they needed so I just stayed quiet.

As far as retirement funding is concerned, I have been using a 457b plan through my last employer, retirement funds from my brief time with the VA, and a traditional IRA that I wanted to burn through since there was no other income from myself and thus it would lower the tax rate (worked out great this past year with taxes).  I also used this to cover our daughter’s wedding and a celebratory trip to Maui last March before widespread COVID with my in-laws since my B-i-L retired the same day from a municipal fire department.  I still have a Roth IRA to go through as well.  Once I hit 65 in ‘24, I’ll start drawing SSI (my full retirement age for SSI is 66/10), as well as two separate state pensions.  We’ve decided that my wife will retire at the end of the ‘21-‘22 college year at which point we’ll start drawing down her state sponsored Roth IRA, followed by her personal Roth IRA.  Since she is two years younger than I she’ll start taking SSI and utilize her pension (WEP impacted) at age 63.  We’re leaving a buffer of $200K between summer of ‘22 and ‘24.  Annual income at that point will be $120K, and we’ll be taxed on our SSI due to our pensions.  We have owned our home for about a decade or more and have no debt aside from monthly recurring utilities, etc.  I’ve got the taxes covered in my retirement budget even though they’ll actually be a withholding from the monthly SSI/pension disbursements, such as I do each month by prorating our annual property taxes on our home.  I check our numbers quarterly (just did so last week) to make sure that we’re still on budget, which we were.  We both may decide to go back and pick up a piddly job just to get out of the house.

Edited April 5, 2021 by GetMeOuttaThisMess