Cgrizzle Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 Hi everyone. Wanted to get some opinions on taking an outpatient psych PA job out of school. I've learned that I actually love psych which I didn't know prior to going into PA school. I have an offer for an outpatient psych job making 110k out of school with opportunity for bonus. It seems to be a great offer. My main concern is getting pigeon holed early on in my career if for some reason I want to make a change. I may be completely fine doing psych for the rest of my career, I'm just not 100% sure at this point. Do you think new grad PAs should absolutely do general medicine before transitioning into a specialty? Or do you think I could possibly stay current with some UC side gigs? Also, I know that psych has traditionally been dominated by NPs. Do you think this could be a problem for psych PAs in the future? Or do you think once I have experience or a CAQ I could be just as marketable as psych NPs? Overall it seems like a fast growing area of medicine with a lot of growth potential. Thanks in advance for any input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediMike Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 Do what you think will make you happy. I'm not a fan of the idea of doing FM/IM right out the gate if you don't want to do it. Who's to say that 3-5 years down the road you're not going to find yourself in a position where you CAN'T change jobs, or maybe you'll never find another psych position open. If you want to do psych, do psych. Be happy. Make others happy. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas5814 Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 (edited) Anytime you take a specialty job you run the risk of getting stuck. More so if it is your first job because you Have not spent any time rounding out the core skills you just learned in school. So if, 3 years down the road, you decide psych isn't for you, you'd have trouble going back to some kind of primary care because your core skills have eroded. That may be more true because it isn't physical medicine. If you went to, say, ortho you would be in a specialty but still be doing some physical medicine. That said, if you like psych go for it. It is a discipline that isn't for everyone and one that will always be in big demand. NPs have owned this space because they have a training track for psych and traditionally we haven't. To me that means MORE of us need to break into the field so others can follow. Edited March 21, 2022 by sas5814 extra thoughts 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 21, 2022 Moderator Share Posted March 21, 2022 There are a few psych postgrad programs out there now as well. I had a great psych rotation in school at a lock down psych facility. LOTS of real pathology there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayamom Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 I say go for it. I'm assuming you will need a Bup waiver (if people still need this). All your patient will have lots of medical problems that on your free time you can learn more about with on line reading and CME. Its a pretty underserved area right now so I'm sure they are eager to get you going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted March 22, 2022 Moderator Share Posted March 22, 2022 Need to know more I have seen some psych jobs be doing the IM stuff for the psychiatrists and others actually doing psych management It is not a bad field to get into, and if 1-2 years you realize it is not for you and you go to PCP medicine you will appreciate the knowledge you have The whole "stuck in one field" argument can be used against any one field now... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiovolffemtp Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 On 3/21/2022 at 8:03 PM, ventana said: I have seen some psych jobs be doing the IM stuff for the psychiatrists and others actually doing psych management One of my PA school classmates did this and transitioned to primary care. I've not spoken to him in several years, but when last I did he was happy with his path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Psych jobs doing IM stuff would be in inpatient settings (some jobs, not ALL, and some may be mixed). Outpatient jobs would be for psych stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted March 23, 2022 Moderator Share Posted March 23, 2022 1/3 of my patients today were MH/Psych.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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