New Grad Advice for Surgery Job

[sajohnson]

Hi! I'm currently on the homestretch of clinical rotations, graduating in May 2022 where I'll be looking for jobs ideally in surgery. I've had no prior experience in the OR before school (such as a scrub tech or anything else). OR experience includes 5 week rotations in Women's health, Gen Surg, and Ortho.

I was looking for any advice anyone may have on landing a surgical specialty job as a new grad (nonspecific specialty). How do new grads secure these positions without previous experience? How do I make myself stand out amongst other applicants to the interviewers other than being eager to learn? I'd appreciate any help on tailoring resume/CV towards a surgical PA job.

Any and all advice/shared experience you can give me will be extremely helpful.

Thank you in advance!

[CAAdmission]

There's a lot of surgeons that are happy to hire new grads. They prefer to teach someone fresh rather than someone that has been "contaminated" by another surgeon. You'll find something in ortho or general surgery without too much trouble if the local market is ok. 

[arnosr190]

As a prior Ortho PA, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. If you want to stand out, write a badass cover letter and if you get the interview be yourself and drop some humor. Some Ortho docs tend to be pretty fun and like to have a good time. Practice suturing in your off time and know anatomy really well. One question that I think got me my job was "Tell me what you think you'd be doing on a day to day basis." Knowing a bit about the doc and the practice beforehand helped me know it involved a lot of hours rounding, first assisting, and high volume clinical days.

[SedRate]

Prepare for your cases, practice your suturing, offer to help wherever you can, do all the procedures you can, seek feedback when appropriate and demonstrate improvement on that feedback, and demonstrate competency.

Give your resume to those who are familiar with your competence, someone you'd might like to work with, or someone who would be willing to pass your resume onto others who might be looking for a PA. Notify preceptors that you are interested in the field and you are looking for a job in surgery. Tell your clinical coordinators that you are interested in working in surgery and would like to be placed with a site that might be hiring. Keep in touch with your professional network throughout didactics, clinicals and beyond. Join surgery associations.

Bottom line: network, network, network!

-from someone who got a job offer in surgery as a student

[justanotherperson]

Offer to shadow at clinics to get experience during off times if you can--sometimes they even hire you! I shadowed at an orthopedic office during some of my holidays, took tons of notes and dressed professionally when I shadowed and they ended up hiring me while I was still in school

[ventana]

be aware

from my vantage there are two type of surgery positions

1) hired as an Surgery PA in a hospital where there are surgery residents - you will not get much OR time and most your time spent on floors managing surgery patients

2) help in OR and the floors - likely FA and have a lot of OR time - in a hospital with out a surgery resident program. 

 

 

I have never worked in Surgery, but have read a lot of posts from PA hired into surgery that never see the OR as they are #1

[SedRate]

On 10/31/2021 at 5:26 AM, ventana said:

be aware

from my vantage there are two type of surgery positions

1) hired as an Surgery PA in a hospital where there are surgery residents - you will not get much OR time and most your time spent on floors managing surgery patients

2) help in OR and the floors - likely FA and have a lot of OR time - in a hospital with out a surgery resident program. 

 

 

I have never worked in Surgery, but have read a lot of posts from PA hired into surgery that never see the OR as they are #1

Yep, if you're hired by the hospital, which may have a residency program or residents filtering through. But there are also positions out there in private practice that have PAs who see pts in the office, round and assist. These may or may not have residents. 

[CAAdmission]

If you work for a private practice, they will want you in the OR as much as possible because that's where they bill for you and make all their money.

[sailordeac]

On 11/16/2021 at 8:57 AM, CAAdmission said:

If you work for a private practice, they will want you in the OR as much as possible because that's where they bill for you and make all their money.

That's not true in ortho anyway. PAs are way more profitable/turning RVUs in clinic than in the OR, and not all cases reimburse for a FA (ie, simple knee scopes, carpal tunnels, trigger fingers). 

When I was in private practice, I'd do a split OR day twice a week - help with reimbursable cases in the morning, go to clinic in the afternoon while he stayed and scoped knees.

[surgblumm]

Fair question and some good answers to this question. Sometimes instead of depending on luck and interviewing with surgeons and orthopedic surgeons, your time may be better spent working in an ER for a year or two where the skills necessary for first assisting will be partially learned. You must master suturing and I am not talking about simple sutures. Go to the Ethicon site and they have great education for many OR experiences , including laparoscopic work. I was a lecturer for Ethicon for about fifteen years and taught master classes for Residents as well as PAs. This focused on new techniques or new sutures such as Stratofix. If you can get into one of those classes (ask your ethicon Rep) you will be at the same table as the residents and surgeons. This brings you into the atmosphere and you can sometimes impress a Doc with your attitude and humility. Knowledge is power and the ER idea will put you in touch with surgeons and if you are in FT you can excel in radiography interpretation. The main ER experience will give you abdominal and thoracic radiography experience as well as CT scans. Take an ultrasound course. Do anything that distinguishes you from your fellow applicants and join their societies such as SEMPA and AASPA. This gives you a side door to acceptance.