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IT IS OKAY TO LEAVE MEDICINE (x-posting from Reddit)


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I just want to normalize that we should not be a victim to the ‘Sunk Cost Fallacy’. IT IS OKAY TO LEAVE MEDICINE. If you needed a sign: your career isn’t everything and being a PA is not your only option

If you’re struggling with any of the following: lack of passion/motivation in your work, wanting to flex a creative passion, build out other skills in business/tech, burnout, or mental health. I would at minimum do the investigative work and entertain professional careers that are possible outside of medicine.

I’m writing this outline to detail how and why I made a career transition.

As I struggled last year, I searched reddit and the PA forum for key phrases such as “PA career switch”, “quitting medicine”, “PA working in other fields/industries”. There were very few posts on anyone switching industries successfully so here is mine.

MY CONSIDERATIONS

  • Strong interest in digital health products: With the rise and fall of COVID we saw a traditionally conservative and “in-person” field stretch to accommodate new technology. We saw emerging companies rush to meet this new demand and newfound spotlight into the intersection of healthcare and technology. Examples of products/platforms include: digital health visits, patient education apps, patient communication tools, pre- and post-op care. I found often times as a user of these health products (as a provider or in onboarding patients) I had many opinions on product improvement and how to optimize work streams but no capacity to do so as a PA.

  • Long term career trajectory: I looked forward 15-20 years and could not imagine myself operating under the same scope for this time frame

  • Emotional burden: I was working in ortho surgery. Patients are in pain. But it was shocking for me to hear how disrespectfully patients spoke to me as a provider. I do not blame them because I understand they were immense pain but I often felt like a doormat. This weighed on me. One gripe with medicine is a lack of focus on how to help providers deal with the emotional strains of being a giver

  • Lack of respect from management: This is specific to my department. I am one to speak up and be direct/vocal about changes and where we can improve in efficiency or patient care. In all the times I attempted to make positive changes. I did not feel my opinions as a provider were valued or acknowledged by management

  • Relationship with Attending: I had a great relationship with my attending. There was trust and the flexibility to be autonomous and make my own decisions. When I voiced my feedback about structure or treatment from management, there was empathy. However at the end of the day: this attending was unwilling to go out on a limb for me or other advanced practitioners

  • Medicine is not glamorous: It’s not solely about high quality patient care. Many practices care about finances and billings, as they should. It’s necessary to keep hospitals and clinics running but may not always result in the best working environment

  • Autoimmune Diagnosis: At the peak of COVID last summer, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition that resulted in physical pain and immobility. This was perhaps my final and last straw. The diagnosis helped me realize that your quality of life and happiness should be a non-negotiable and TOP PRIORITY

Constraints:

  • Background: Like most of you I studied Biology, worked a few years in direct patient care before attending PA school. This 'biology blinders mentality' isolated me and I had to think deeply about how my skills/passions could be extrapolated to other positions/careers outside of healthcare.

  • Most pivots I was seriously considering (medical science liaison, clinical operational roles, marketing) would be paying around 90-100K, a paycut I was willing to accept

  • Pivoting into other roles especially tech is insanely difficult. The type of transition I made was the 0.01% and unheard of

  • Debt: I have a significant 120K+ loan debt from PA school. I was initially planning to pay this off via PSLF. Instead I will likely use equity from stocks to eventually pay this off. It would have been more straightforward to continue working as a PA making good money and qualifying for loan forgiveness. Not only the financial but 12 year time commitment (4 years undergrad, 2 years patient care, 3 years PA school, 3 years of PA professional work).

  • Before or after landing an offer: I chose to not to transition until I landed a full time role/offer at a different company. I couldn't afford not to work. This was hard because it meant that I worked full time and dedicated nights and weekends to learning a new field in order to be interview ready. I’m now in my early 30s, I am single w/ no dependents, no mortgage payments, worst worst case scenario I could have moved back in with my parents.

How did I actually do it?

  • Networking: I leveraged my current network (friends, friends of friends, acquaintance) linkedin and even reddit to have coffee chats. I was shameless in my outreach. Rejection, or being left on read is not as bad as the potential missed opportunity for mentorship.

  • Specifically: I looked for clinicians who's full time role was not direct patient care. MDs, NPs, Nurses, pharmacists and PAs.

  • I asked friends what their career trajectory looked like, what they actually do on a day to day, what an entry level career path looks like, for others who have switched industries what that looked like.

  • I spoke with people from all fields from MSL/medical science liaisons for pharmaceutical companies, operations, marketing, sales, product, program/project management. I learned what skills allow people to thrive in those environments

  • A resume revamp: It's also important to know that most people are unfamiliar with medical jargon. My resume was completely reworked so it would align with the current tech and business terminology. I framed experiences as a PA that exhibited leadership skills, and initiatives that drove results.

How did I end up in my current role?

I applied to a role that trains and hires individuals from industry with little to no experience. These are called “associate” programs or positions. Most tech companies will have these roles released seasonally or on an as needed basis. I was vigorous in my approach: I mock interviewed with 60+ people, joined forums and slack groups, read 3 books, did case studies, practiced and practiced. I did nothing else for 2 months.

Pay Transparency:

Previous role — Ortho PA in California, 3 years of experience:
Salary 152K

Current role — Product Manager @ Tech company in California:
apprx Base Salary 120K, Sign on bonus 30K and stock equity 30K (not including annual bonus)

What I miss about medicine:

I really miss the intimate moments and the deep relationships you can cultivate with direct patient care. You are able to support them through some of their most vulnerable moments, help their lives drastically change/improve, give them the educational tools to make the best decisions for themselves and loved ones. The way you touch lives in medicine is not comparable.

What I love about my life now:

  • My managers and mentors are incredibly supportive, consistent and care deeply about my career growth. I’ve been able to be the most creative in problem solving. I’m learning product acumen and have a say in the long term business strategy. My decisions affect people on a way larger platform and scale

  • I have a flexible schedule, and have been working from home from different cities. I get 5 weeks of vacation, sick time, I pay $0 for health insurance, never feel guilty about taking time off or worry about coverage. In contrast, no one raises their voice at me, and I do not have to deal with insurance companies :p.

Networking: If you’re serious about a career change, I have a strong passion for sharing what I know (which is limited) and am always happy to connect. Please feel free to send me a direct message and I will find time for you usually within a few weeks!

Did I make the right choice?

For me, yes. For you, It just depends. Depends on what you value, if you can afford to, and how you want to spend the arc of your career. Whatever you do, I support you and believe in you!!!

For those considering PA school:

Really weigh the debt you’ll take on, and be open to other careers even if you have a science/biology degree. I irresponsibly took on debt for a career I ultimately decided is not the right fit. I have always loved people, biology and medicine. To me being a PA/provider felt like a natural fit and I convinced myself it was the only fit.

TL;DR: IT IS OKAY TO QUIT MEDICINE IF YOU HAVE STRONG CONVICTION; IT IS ALSO OKAY TO STICK IT THROUGH TO FIND YOUR BEST FIT (change work environments, specialties, work in private practice, inpatient/outpatient, academia)

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  • 11 months later...

Hi Thank you so much for this. I have been truly thinking the same and started my research and networking. I have been looking for transitioning into project management or something of that regard so to hear that you were able to do it is amazing! I work in Texas currently as a PA so I definitely don't make what you made in Cali. I am also not in ortho so that could be partly to blame too lol. I didn't know how to directly message you so I responded here. If you can see my email, you can email me when you get the chance so we can set up a chat. Otherwise, I hope we can figure out how to communicate soon, outside of here. 

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The key point is it is all about how your job fits you and whether you can see it as a long term career.

I went the opposite direction.  Undergrad degree in computer science to ~25 years doing IT for a major consumer products company and then ~ 4 years doing IT as an employee of a large computer company that bought the consumer products IT organization.  I liked IT, especially the technical problem solving, and truly hated the corporate environment.  I became a PA after a transition period of pre-reqs and work as a firefighter/paramedic and teaching EMS at a local university.  I do EM, and after working for large CMG's that have most of the same corporate culture I don't like, I'm blessed to work for a small staffing company that's absolutely wonderful.

As the OP said, it's all about looking at yourself and deciding what you want, doing lots of research and testing to see how something else might fit, and then executing a carefully thought out transition plan.

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  • 3 months later...
On 7/27/2021 at 7:42 AM, CAAdmission said:

If enough people read this we won't need a PA forum any more. I always thought it would be amusing to become a hospital executive and torment physicians. 

Very satisfying to be in an admin role over MDs/DOs. I love it when they try to pull the wool over my eyes about a clinical matter 😂

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