What drove you to PA? How happy are you?

[Animus]

Hey, I posted on here a few months back, with many pre-PA questions. Everyone was beyond helpful. I am still not 100% on my decision yet... I am very attracted to this career path, but just not 100% yet! I DO know, I love love helping people in need and distress, feel great satisfaction from that, and find an interest in medicine. I have close family and friends in the medical field who are encouraging me. Also, where I work an MD regularly comes in to see people, and he has really been going out of his way to encourage and guide me towards the PA career. He even encourages and allows me to sit in and observe his assessments... Basically, it seems all things in my life are pointing me saying "here, here, pick me, go PA!" But I just am not 100%. I'm not sure if im intimidated by the schooling, worried for some reason I won't be happy, then all these darn threads "O I should have just went md, I regret this n that.." I guess it's like anything else, some are happy, some are not. I have yet to shadow a PA. I am thinking that will maybe be the deciding factor, the "icing on the cake" if you will. So, can anyone who has a moment who is a PA, please briefly explain why, how, and a little backstory to their becoming a PA? What was your deciding factors? And how satisfied are they at the end of the day? Are you burned out frequently, do you have family time, happy with your pay, etc. Thank you all. I just want that moment where the light goes off and I'm like this is it!

[physasst]

Sure....

 

Backstory...Navy Corpsman (not by choice)....Went into the navy with plans to be a radioman and continue my econ degree. Had absolutely NO desire to do anything medical. My mother is a nurse and I wanted no part of her frustrations and problems. Got to bootcamp however and discovered I had actually failed my hearing test (barely). Years of playing guitar in a loud band had done some damage. Had to change my specialty. Wanted to be Gunner's Mate, but they were concerned that would make my hearing worse. Gave me a choice of 5 specialties. Corpsman, Yeoman, HR, etc.....all were essentially clerical with the exception of Corpsman. Still didn't want to do it, but figured I would try it and that it was only temporary anyway. So did that and fell in love with the science.

Got out after Desert Storm, and went to college still not sure. Met a PA while I was in the navy, and saw that he had attended a local college by me. Decided to go to PA school and the rest is history. The light never really went off for me. I went to an associates program and figured I could make more money being a PA than working as an economist...that was my basic reasoning.

 

At the end of the day? Depended on the specialty. Surgeons suck and while I have to work with them, I don't have to answer to them now which is a good thing. Ortho was fun, except for the surgeon thing as noted above, EM was fun, a lot of autonomy, but burns you out...HIGH, HIGH volume, angry patients, deaths, etc. I have plenty of family time, happy with pay, etc. In my current role I have protected time for research as well, which the ED was having a hard time providing.

[LESH]

Went into the Air Force because I couldn't be a Roadie for Earth Wind and Fire and had a degree and bass playing skills that were not going to support a family. Worked with PAs in the AF and was stationed at Regional Medical Center and AF clinic that were Phase I and Phase two AF PA training sites. Worked with AF PAs and they were our PCP.

 

Got tired of working in Toxicology Labs and applied to PA school. Have been doing the PA thing for a quarter of a century. Never regretted any of it. This was the best thing I could have ever done. To old to be a roadie now but I can afford all the classic guitars and basses I want...lol.

 

It may not be for everyone but it has been a blessing to me.

[Joelseff]

Went into the Air Force because I couldn't be a Roadie for Earth Wind and Fire and had a degree and bass playing skills that were not going to support a family. Worked with PAs in the AF and was stationed at Regional Medical Center and AF clinic that were Phase I and Phase two AF PA training sites. Worked with AF PAs and they were our PCP.

 

Got tired of working in Toxicology Labs and applied to PA school. Have been doing the PA thing for a quarter of a century. Never regretted any of it. This was the best thing I could have ever done. To old to be a roadie now but I can afford all the classic guitars and basses I want...lol.

 

It may not be for everyone but it has been a blessing to me.

 

Too bad Les, I could see u backing up Verdine on the bass! :D

 

Was a corpsman, when I got out I worked at Kaiser SF lab them as a MA for a doc who had a penchant for getting ex-corpsmen as MAs and encouraging them to become PAs so after a well documented (on this forum) long road, I finally got into PA school and have been practicing for almost 2 years. It is the BEST job in the world for me....it ain't perfect but its mine!

 

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[rcdavis]

Went into the Air Force because I couldn't be a Roadie for Earth Wind and Fire and had a degree and bass playing skills that were not going to support a family. Worked with PAs in the AF and was stationed at Regional Medical Center and AF clinic that were Phase I and Phase two AF PA training sites. Worked with AF PAs and they were our PCP.

 

Got tired of working in Toxicology Labs and applied to PA school. Have been doing the PA thing for a quarter of a century. Never regretted any of it. This was the best thing I could have ever done. To old to be a roadie now but I can afford all the classic guitars and basses I want...lol.

 

It may not be for everyone but it has been a blessing to me.

 

There are a few dinosaurs who have made a difference in helping subsequent generations of PAs become sucessfull. Les, you am one!

 

The bass may not be the lead guitar, but it provides the foundation onto which everyone else gets to lay their tracks. You are the bass in our band, buddy.

[Joelseff]

There are a few dinosaurs who have made a difference in helping subsequent generations of PAs become sucessfull. Les, you am one!

 

The bass may not be the lead guitar, but it provides the foundation onto which everyone else gets to lay their tracks. You are the bass in our band, buddy.

 

I'll second that! I would say Les was a HUGE motivator and counselor to me on this forum and was of great help to me and I'm sure countless others. He genuinely wants people to succeed as not only PA students, but as PAs.

 

Les, if you're going to CAPA in Oct. I'll look for you and buy you that long island I promised you!

 

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[EMEDPA]

went to college planning on md then was scared off by ochem and biochem(never took them, was just afraid of them). worked as an er tech through college then went to paramedic school. 5 yrs as a medic before becoming a pa. 5 yrs out from pa school graduation went back to school for 2 yrs to take prereqs for med school that I still needed( all A's and a b+ in stats). was planning on doing md at that point ( DO actually) the yr my first child was born. Thought I could do med school and be a dad at the same time but quickly realized that wouldn't be fair to my wife and child. stayed a pa and hit the pa glass ceiling very hard. continue to make more money but scope of practice has leveled off. started a doctorate in health science program a little over a yr ago and still have 3 yrs to finish that then will do some teaching.

I wish I had gone to medschool a few yrs after becoming a medic. now to get good scope of practice and respect from my physician colleagues I either have to work solo full time nights(which is my regular job) or at a rural dept 3 hrs from home which I do 1 weekend/month.

go to med school. you will never regret the decision.

[Contrarian]

By age 15 I had planned to join the Army for 4 yrs as a Military Policeman and while on active duty go to night school to complete a degree in Criminal Justice.

 

By age 16.75 my Girlfriend was pregnant and I needed some income. So I dropped out of HS and joined the Army at 17.

I scored particularly high on the ASVAB so could get pretty much any job I wanted. I told them I wanted to be a MP... they said I couldn't because MPs drove around base daily with loaded firearms and pulled people over in their cars,. So to be a MP, I needed to aleast be 19yrs old. It was the minumum age required.

 

I asked what else they had, and naturally they tried to get me to sign up for infantry, artillery, tanks, cook.

Me response to those offers was something along the lines of... "I'm NOT going to waste 4 yrs of my life doing something in the army that doesn't translate to civilian work. The last time I was driving down the highway, I didn't see any tanks in the trucker lane, If I become artillery, the only job I can do when I get out is civil war re-enactments (as a slave), I don't need to join the army to work at mcdonalds so cook was out of the question.

 

I asked te recruiter about being a medic... by the time I got out of the Army, 8 yrs later, I was a Paramedic (EMT-P) and had worked closely with a couple dozen Army PAs. I then went to Nursing school, worked as a EDRN, then CCRN, then attended a Dual NP/PA program.

 

I enjoy being a PA-C and don't regret one moment of it.

I have seen a bit of disrespct and nonsense from physicians and nurses and don 't tolerate it.

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

May I ask why you don't work as an NP?

 

By age 15 I had planned to join the Army for 4 yrs as a Military Policeman and while on active duty go to night school to complete a degree in Criminal Justice.

 

By age 16.75 my Girlfriend was pregnant and I needed some income. So I dropped out of HS and joined the Army at 17.

I scored particularly high on the ASVAB so could get pretty much any job I wanted. I told them I wanted to be a MP... they said I couldn't because MPs drove around base daily with loaded firearms and pulled people over in their cars,. So to be a MP, I needed to aleast be 19yrs old. It was the minumum age required.

 

I asked what else they had, and naturally they tried to get me to sign up for infantry, artillery, tanks, cook.

Me response to those offers was something along the lines of... "I'm NOT going to waste 4 yrs of my life doing something in the army that doesn't translate to civilian work. The last time I was driving down the highway, I didn't see any tanks in the trucker lane, If I become artillery, the only job I can do when I get out is civil war re-enactments (as a slave), I don't need to join the army to work at mcdonalds so cook was out of the question.

 

I asked te recruiter about being a medic... by the time I got out of the Army, 8 yrs later, I was a Paramedic (EMT-P) and had worked closely with a couple dozen Army PAs. I then went to Nursing school, worked as a EDRN, then CCRN, then attended a Dual NP/PA program.

 

I enjoy being a PA-C and don't regret one moment of it.

I have seen a bit of disrespct and nonsense from physicians and nurses and don 't tolerate it.

[ventana]

Through HS was thinking pre-med

WAY to young emotionally to do Pre-Med in college - wanted to XC ski and do rescue squad

After college (BS in Business) Grad got married and enlisted in USAF with then wife

QUICKLY figured out that crewing a jet was not my career and medicine was my future

Took all pre--req's and got 4.0 while serving in USAF

Applied to med school a couple years but did not get in

Went back to get and MBA -honors top of my class (knew I needed more education)

Worked as a claims adjuster and realized I was on the wrong side of the equation - reading medical notes instead of writing them

Learned about PA - applied one school, accepted off wait list

Grad about 10 years ago

worked in a wide range of specialties after about 5+ years in primary care - loved Interventional Radiology but too much fluoro and zero Dx thought

loved ER medicine but schedule was insane and 16 hour days are inhumane

Returned to Primary Care - where I always knew I would be

 

LOVE IT

 

 

But the ongoing power issues with doc's, the medical establishment, the insurance companies makes me really wish there was an alternative - IE 2 year bridge program to MD/DO or PA-->DNP or some type of additional certification for less supervision more open practice agreements. If you are young - put the effort into going through MD/DO school...... if you are older or have a family and not wanting to give up 11 years of life (easy for an 18 yr old, hard for a 40 yr old)

 

But a great side effect of doing PA when you are young - if you are not 100% committed to MD/DO - is that if you love it you will be in excellent standing to return and go through med school.

[Contrarian]

May I ask why you don't work as an NP?

 

I was/can be licensed in California as a NP and in any other states that don't require National BC for licensure. The state I live in does. Both of the NP boards changed to the Masters Degree requirement while we were matriculating into the program. The class before us was allowed to sit for the Boards but we weren't... and I refuse waste time and money on a MSN.