Long clinical hours in PA school

[Epona]

Hi everyone! :=D: I am thinking of going to PA school. I currently work as an RN. I sometimes pull 15 hour days on my unit.

 

I heard someone say who went to PA school that they pull 24 hour plus clincials in school. Is that true?? I don't mind long hours, but 15 is enough for me at one time.

 

Can someone please tell how long a typical clinical is?? If you all do pull 24 plus hour clinicals, I don't think it is for me.

 

Much thanks!! :wink:

[DizzyJ]

Clinicals all very. I had shifts from 4 hrs to 36 hours. My long shift was on my general surgery rotation. I had to take trauma call once a week. Some nights I got to sleep and others I was a zombie walking out of the hospital on my 36th hour.

[marilynpac]

It depends on many variables. One is where you do your rotations, you may or may not have any say about that. If you do them in the rural areas you won't do anything like the above. If you do urban rotations then you will. It also depends on how busy your preceptor is and what type of rotation it is. One forum member just started his clinicals and he happens to be rotating at a new practice....not many patients so he's bored. Usually FP(that's what he's doing) is very busy. If your in the rural areas there will be alot of down time. I try to tell people to avoid the rural areas for clinicals b/c anything that is more complicated gets transferred out to the larger hospitals.

[Epona]

Ok. So I guess there is no telling then. Ugh. I am the type of person who needs to sleep at night. I don't mind working 15 hours from sun up to sun down and don't mind working the evening shift where I get off at 2 AM. But I am usually in the bed by 3:30AM. I had to do one night shift once and almost fell-out at 6AM. Nights are not me and no sleep is not me. So I guess PA school is out for me then. That is a shame. I was really interested in doing this. I am NOT gonig to pull all-nighters though. Thanks.

[klb48]

I never once had to do a 24 hour shift. I was worried about night shifts though because of some minor medical conditions I take medications that I had to figure out how to manage on a night shift. But I had very few night shifts (maybe 6 or 7 my entire clinical year) and I was fine. Stay up late the night before, sleep in, take a nap before you go and you'll be fine. Not a reason to not go for something you really want....but if you don't really want to be a PA then don't be one. It shouldn't depend on a few possibly long shifts.

[marilynpac]

I have to say to the OP...if you have the ambition to be a PA something like pulling an allnighter is so insignificant. Sleep is a fond childhood memory once you enter into PA school. If sleep is the one hinderance that's stopping you...then don't apply, leave that spot for someone who is more motivated to b/c a PA.

[lapelirroja]

This weekend I'm pulling 24 hour in house call for inpatient psychiatry. This is the first time I've had an overnight call though, on rotation 6/9.

[bradtPA]

My internal med rotations would last for 12 hours a day except for once a week when you pulled call; it then lasted for 30 hours (6 am to 12 pm the next day). If you were lucky, you could cat nap for an hour or two in between admissions. This was the same schedule worked by the family medicine residents, and the longest you can work based on current med school training guidelines.

[rev ronin]

Look, if you want to prioritize sleep, it's possible in PA school. Personally, I've never pulled an "all nighter" for study purposes--not in college, and certainly not in PA school. I know my own limits, and getting 6 hours of sleep every night is important to me actually being able to learn. Sitting exhausted and zombie-like through lecture and then trying to make up for lost time by studying in the evenings is a losing proposition.

 

Of course, I'm often studying on the weekends when my peers are off adventuring, but that's OK. Slow and steady wins the race.

 

Sleep deprivation helps no one. It's detrimental to your personal health, emotional resilience, and ability to learn. It's been shown to increase the risk of cognitive errors in any number of disciplines. Medicine, as a discipline, may have the arrogance to think that it can train doctors who can make good judgments without sleep, but it cannot. We're human, and we do the patients no favors by pretending otherwise. When asked to do something that compromises patient safety, the answer is and must always be the same.

[elainelise]

To the OP I can second just about everything here. I just woke up from a nap after finishing a 30 hour shift on internal medicine. In my program we take call every 5th night for 2 months while on internal. I also prioritize sleep and have never pulled an all nighter and even working these 30 hour shifts I have managed to get at least 2 hours of sleep on all my calls (hunched over my desk, but hey, I'll get sleep wherever I can, lol). There are call rooms with beds we can sleep in and I've gotten a few hours in one of the beds on a few nights. It all depends on when we finish getting our admissions. In my program internal medicine is the only rotation you take call on. I've also completed my surgery rotation and I worked 15 and 16 hour shifts a lot on that rotation. But your work hours are very rotation dependent and even team dependent once you're on a rotation. I have classmates who only worked 11 hour shifts on surgery and I had classmates that got at least 6 hours of sleep on every call night. They were rare cases but the point is there is no way to know for sure what your schedule will be like but don't let the fear of a few all nighters stop you from pursuing what you really want to do. I never thought I'd be able to adjust to the sleep schedule because I'm someone who needs at least 7.5 hours a night to function and keep my migraines at bay but I'm doing well so far. I don't do much more than work and study right now but I get at least 7 hours of sleep a night when I'm not on call. And post call isn't too bad either because I nap in the afternoon and then go to bed early so I'm pretty caught up by my post- post call day. During my ER rotation I worked 12 hour shifts both day and night shifts and I was able to transition pretty easily. Keep in mind you're working, up walking around during this time, it's not like you're sitting at a desk trying to study. I found night shifts to be pretty easy to cope with. Thirty hour call is not a whole lot of fun, I'm not going to lie, but it's not nearly as bad as I was afraid it was going to be though. I hope this is helpful! If you really desire to be a PA, don't let a few long shifts while in school keep you from becoming one. Good luck!

[EMEDPA]

I did 24 hr shifts on my trauma surg rotation. over 600 hrs in 5 weeks.

many students who wanted outpt primary care careers didn't do many hardcore rotations and were home for dinner every night.

I did it to myself; trauma surg, peds em, adult em x 2, inpt IM, inpt psych, hardcore inner city ob, etc

[Guest cabkrun]

rev ronin is absolutely right on. This is something I worried about as well in regards to PA school. Not because I cannot handle a bit of sleep deprivation once in awhile, but it's extremely unhealthy in so many ways. I know from my previous career that mistakes will happen when sleep deprived for long periods. I will do whatever I can to manage my time and hope to minimize sleep loss. I know there will be times, but the fewer the better. Patients will thank me.

Just my opinion.

[CJKitty]

And look at this way... if you REALLY want to be a PA (which may not be the case, if something as minor as a few long nights is enough to turn you off of the career), then keep in mind this is ONLY for a year. That's one year out of a 15 or 20 or even 30+ year career. Once you're out of school and back in control of your life, you choose where you want to work- and you will absolutely have the power to say "no, I don't want to work in a hospital setting where I will be taking long call."

 

I'm one of those unfortunate people who HAS to sleep. I need my six hours or I just will not function properly. During my didactic year, I will make time for sleep- even if it means I'm spending weekends at home while others are out playing, like Rev said. For my clinicals that require crazy hours, I'll be stocking up on Tylenol and healthy snacks... and coffee, of course :)

[acozadd]

And look at this way... if you REALLY want to be a PA (which may not be the case, if something as minor as a few long nights is enough to turn you off of the career), then keep in mind this is ONLY for a year. That's one year out of a 15 or 20 or even 30+ year career. Once you're out of school and back in control of your life, you choose where you want to work- and you will absolutely have the power to say "no, I don't want to work in a hospital setting where I will be taking long call."

 

I'm one of those unfortunate people who HAS to sleep. I need my six hours or I just will not function properly. During my didactic year, I will make time for sleep- even if it means I'm spending weekends at home while others are out playing, like Rev said. For my clinicals that require crazy hours, I'll be stocking up on Tylenol and healthy snacks... and coffee, of course :)

 

While PA school is intense there's no reason anyone should have to pull all-nighters or not get 6+ hours of sleep unless they choose to do so. The few nights I haven't been in bed by midnight was my own doing and had nothing to do with school.

[EMEDPA]

while pa school is intense there's no reason anyone should have to pull all-nighters or not get 6+ hours of sleep unless they choose to do so. The few nights i haven't been in bed by midnight was my own doing and had nothing to do with school.

really rotation dependent. On trauma surg and ob i was up all night many times. On em i had to cover my share of night shifts along with my preceptors.

[TXPA23]

And look at this way... if you REALLY want to be a PA (which may not be the case, if something as minor as a few long nights is enough to turn you off of the career), then keep in mind this is ONLY for a year. That's one year out of a 15 or 20 or even 30+ year career. Once you're out of school and back in control of your life, you choose where you want to work- and you will absolutely have the power to say "no, I don't want to work in a hospital setting where I will be taking long call."

 

I'm one of those unfortunate people who HAS to sleep. I need my six hours or I just will not function properly. During my didactic year, I will make time for sleep- even if it means I'm spending weekends at home while others are out playing, like Rev said. For my clinicals that require crazy hours, I'll be stocking up on Tylenol and healthy snacks... and coffee, of course :)

 

completely agree. more time spent on rotations=more learning, even if you are sleep deprived. You only have ONE YEAR! Learn as much as you can...

[joanna.nola]

It it's any help, I rarely got less than 8 hours during my didactic year. I refused to get too little sleep. I'm about to start clinicals, though.....

[mktalon]

If you're a RN why not go NP? Not as much clinicals that route.

[kayakr]

Obviously everyone learns at different paces with different time requirements, but I am not a natural genius and more than half way through didactic and think I have only not gotten 8 hours of sleep due to school once (and it was only down to about 6.5 hrs) so don't worry too much about it. If you stay organized, on your game, sacrifice a little TV or internet time as needed, and make good use of your studying time, you'll get plenty of sleep if you want it. I find that I certainly get a better return on investment on studying time when I'm well rested, so it becomes a positive feedback cycle for me.

[kayakr]

Obviously everyone learns at different paces with different time requirements, but I am not a natural genius and more than half way through didactic and think I have only not gotten 8 hours of sleep due to school once (and it was only down to about 6.5 hrs) so don't worry too much about it. If you stay organized, on your game, sacrifice a little TV or internet time as needed, and make good use of your studying time, you'll get plenty of sleep if you want it. I find that I certainly get a better return on investment on studying time when I'm well rested, so it becomes a positive feedback cycle for me.

 

oops...meant to reply to a specific poster concerning a comment about didactic year only. Clinicals are a whole new game. I think it largely depends where you are and what rotation...at my school, some rotations sound like hell and others sound very manageable.

[panelson]

If you really want to be a PA, it is only a year of rotations. If you are worried about sleep, you don't want it bad enough..

[JC30]

The longest day I've done so far during my clinical rotations was 19 hours (7am to 2am the next morning) in the ER. It was only once, and I was only required to stay for 12 hours.

[JC30]

The longest day I've done so far during my clinical rotations was 19 hours (7am to 2am the next morning) in the ER. It was only once, and I was only required to stay for 12 hours.

[HopefulPA]

Hi everyone! :=D: I am thinking of going to PA school. I currently work as an RN. I sometimes pull 15 hour days on my unit.

I heard someone say who went to PA school that they pull 24 hour plus clincials in school. Is that true?? I don't mind long hours, but 15 is enough for me at one time.

Can someone please tell how long a typical clinical is?? If you all do pull 24 plus hour clinicals, I don't think it is for me. Much thanks!! :wink:

 

My longest shift was 37 straight hours. Thank goodness it only happened once. But there were other 30 H shifts when doing call but not that many. For the most part expect 10-12H shifts but realize these could be days, afternoon, nights, weekends and holidays.

[HopefulPA]

Hi everyone! :=D: I am thinking of going to PA school. I currently work as an RN. I sometimes pull 15 hour days on my unit.

I heard someone say who went to PA school that they pull 24 hour plus clincials in school. Is that true?? I don't mind long hours, but 15 is enough for me at one time.

Can someone please tell how long a typical clinical is?? If you all do pull 24 plus hour clinicals, I don't think it is for me. Much thanks!! :wink:

 

My longest shift was 37 straight hours. Thank goodness it only happened once. But there were other 30 H shifts when doing call but not that many. For the most part expect 10-12H shifts but realize these could be days, afternoon, nights, weekends and holidays.