Just Steve Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 @davemarco: If you can't handle being "punched, clawed and pooped on", PA isn't for you. Oh I don't know about that..not many family practice clinic providers deal with those things. Nor derm, surgery, ortho, sleep medicine, allergy, endocrinology, women's health...list goes on. ER or inpatient, where altered mental statuses are common, is a common place for those things but there are plenty of places to practice where life isnt so tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 ^I'll give you derm, but there is always fecal potential in healthcare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemarco Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 @davemarco: If you can't handle being "punched, clawed and pooped on", PA isn't for you. There is a stark contrast between a doctor/P.A./N.P.'s experience with the patient and an R.N.'s. Especially in a hospital setting, a nurse spends drastically more time with each patient than the physician (or assistant), which in turn translates to an enormously different experience. Please do not presume to group the two together. As P.A.'s/M.D.'s, we will never be exposed to the same level of patient violence as Nurses, and it would be insulting to them to presume otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemarco Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Thank you for the information. I had wondered if a strict undergrad cutoff could be superseded by a solid Grad performance -- it is important to know that it cannot. I do admit to the same failing that many doctors are often chided for. I am a great medical problem solver and I love the act of making a person better than they were, but I do struggle with the tougher, dirtier aspects of the job. It's my hope to become a Sports Medicine or Ortho P.A., so that I can stay within the field that I already love and excel in, and avoid the somewhat "dirtier" aspects of other specialties. I actually was originally going to go the Physical Therapy route, but after the Medicare reimbursement scandals of years ago, it has become an increasingly unprofitable venture. It is now a 3-3 1/2 year mandatory Doctorate that pays $50-$55k starting (in a major metro area), which makes it difficult to pay off the hefty loans. Compared to the P.A. track with it's infinitely greater flexibility, higher starting pay, and lower average loan size after graduation, it is a tough pill to swallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemarco Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 With the exception of the HIV stick, those other things aren't that big of a deal. Frankly, it would be good for you to experience dealing with difficult patients, walking a mile in the shoes of the folks who will be carrying out your orders (few things suck worse than a clueless provider telling you to do something that just isn't practical), and being acquainted with patients on the level that a nurse or other staff does. You really should encourage your girlfriend to become a pa... She could probably hack it. You are probably right, and honestly I may have no other choice to do just this, in light of being currently frozen out of grad school by undergrad performance. As for my girlfriend -- I have actually said the same thing to her on many occasions, and have been actively encouraging her to get her Masters and become an N.P. I think that I may have finally gotten through to her, so I'm crossing my fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 @Davemarco: Please don't imply what I do and don't know, considering it appears you only know what goes on in a hospital second hand thru your significant other. The typical day of an RN doesn't include daily abuse from patients and exposure incidents, nor does the usual day of a provider. However, depending on the setting, the risk is real for both professions. I can't tell you how many times we've already been warned to not wear stethoscopes around our necks or ties in the ED for fear of strangulation from an irate patient. Point being; if you want to go to PA school, you're going to have to at least partially get over your hangups if you intend on doing well during rotations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 ....and @ PAMAC, I'm locking up my Jack's Links Beef Jerky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Yesterday I had a patient come in the ER who had fallen in the bathtub and was stranded there 4 days. He was covered in blood an feces. The patient stunk up the place but when you're in that scenario (at least in my case) I wasn't thinking wow I don't want to be around a guy who smells and is covered head to toe in s$&@... Without saying the staff including myself got our materials and PPE ready and made the patient feel more cobfortable by cleaning him up, getting a line in and raised his BP that was sitting at 50 systolic... In my opinion a lower GI bleed smells 10x worse. The point being PA/Doctor/RN or anyone who worked in a hospital setting has to deal with crap. If your first thought is how gross is that and keep the patient away and not hey let me make this guy better then ask yourself what are your motivating factors for wanting to be a healthcare provider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 And that's enlightening that your nurse girlfriend can handle the situations that you don't wish to face. You should suggest PA school to her, because that is what used to constitute the traditional route of entry into the profession. Now, academic performance is starting to feature higher at many programs. http://www.pahx.org/period01.html Kind of fun to go through the history decade by decade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Nurses were not PAs. They had their chance and turned it down. Their loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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