OritChaia Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Hi. I'm a fairly new PA. I graduated in November 2011, and had some difficulty finding a job, since most places want 1-2 years of experience. So, I applied for an Urgent Care 3-month externship with a promise of a job upon completion. After I had completed the 3 months, I was told that I lacked confidence, and that I needed more experience before running a clinic on my own. It took me 2 months to find a new job at an Occupational Medicine/Urgent Care clinic(s). At my 6 month evaluation (done at 7 months), I was told that employers had told them that employees had said that I appeared to lack confidence, which they had never mentioned to me before. They had been cutting my hours from full-time to part-time in the 7 months, and had told me that at my 6-month review, they would increase my pay, give me benefits - health insurance, etc., and give me 45 hours per week. Since the review, they have cut my hours to 6-12 hours every week, and I was struggling to pay my bills and school loans before they cut my hours so severely. They seem to have fired a lot of people at this facility recently as well, so I'm concerned that something is going on behind the scenes as well, since all the MA hours have been cut as well besides the firings. I just want to be a great PA. I want to be, feel, and appear to be confident. Because I've had to depend on my family for living arrangements as my hours were cut prior to this review, I have that pressure on me to get another job. I have 5 months left on my contract, and have to give 90 days notice prior to quitting my job, and they have a clause in the contract that states I have to pay back any training that they have given me, which worries me about breaking the contract. I was not considering leaving until this Monday, when I got the review. I had been considering a residency or fellowship during my rotations while in school, but due to family pressure, I just forgot about it, and tried to find jobs. I very much want to maximize my skills as much as I am able. I love being a PA, I love suturing, and I love seeing patients. I've felt that either a residency or fellowship would help me with any confidence issues I may have, and I could get a lot of experience, but I still have a lot of family pressure to just get another job, which is difficult without those 1-2 years of experience. I also worry that I'll be told the same thing about my confidence in the next job. Would a residency or fellowship be right for me? Or the best course to apply to residencies/fellowships while still applying for jobs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted March 20, 2013 Administrator Share Posted March 20, 2013 1. Get a lawyer. 2. You say family pressures in such a vague nonspecific way. Learn to say what you mean. 3. Please state your age, gender, and prior HCE, just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 20, 2013 Moderator Share Posted March 20, 2013 a residency or fellowship is a good choice for almost anyone in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OritChaia Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 I've been looking at ER residencies/fellowships, and I'm wondering if you get to learn how to suture tendons. Does it depend on the program? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronjon Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 I agree with EMEDPA - residency is a good choice for anyone - and maybe especially for you Orit, as it seems you have gotten this "lack of confidence" observation from at least 2 places. That said - here is what I would do in your place - Do the residency for sure! that will help your confidence in SO many ways! Look at the ones out there and decide which will be best suited for you. You may just be a rather "soft spoken" type person that perhaps some types of practice would be better suited to. EMEDPA would probably have some insight into that - I'm only speaking as a nurse thats looking into PA instead of doing NP. And I know this may sound odd - but go to your local community college and take ALL the courses you can in Speech and Public Speaking. In those types of classes you have to learn to develop your demeanor and they even will give you tips on small cues such as posture and how important such a small thing as even "eye contact" can be. Tell your teachers why you are taking these classes and what you need to accomplish - tell them to be merciless and HONEST in their opinions - bc that is what you need... In the end Orit, I believe the residency will help you tremendously in your confidence just by sheer exposure to things over and over. And I know speech classes that focus on public speaking can help you in your overall "appearance" of confidence - especially if you tell your teachers what you need and insist they grill you - and give you hard and honest feedback! Go get 'um Orit!! You made it through PA school!! THAT - in and of itself is quite an accomplishment!! So you can TOTALLY do this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 24, 2013 Moderator Share Posted March 24, 2013 I've been looking at ER residencies/fellowships, and I'm wondering if you get to learn how to suture tendons. Does it depend on the program? I learned how to suture extensor tendons as an pa student on em rotation. if you did an ortho elective as an em pa resident you would likely learn extensor and flexor tendon repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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