Throwaway account because my other account has too much identifying information. Leaving some details intentionally blank for the same reason.

New grad here, just started a job (not in a specialty). Had two months of training where I was on shift at the same time as another PA, sharing patient load. Finishing up my fourth month total at this job, second month as a solo PA. And I hate my job. It’s a job that most other people would kill to have. Great benefits, great staff, great team camaraderie, great pay.

On paper, it’s amazing. But I can’t stand what it’s done to me. I look like a completely different person. I throw up every day I have to go into work. I barely eat. I barely sleep. I lost contact with all of my friends outside of my job. And it’s only been 4 months.

I feel like I’m at a crossroads. Because this is a job I’ve wanted since before I started school. I just don’t know if I can continue doing this every day. If I had read this post as an outsider, I would be screaming at the OP to quit their job. The only problem is, my contract states if I leave before X amount of time, I have to pay them back X amount of my salary.

I’m just very lost and need some advice.

I have been working in urgent care for 3 years - it was my first job out of PA school. I am usually the only provider and see anywhere from 30-50 patients in a 12 hour shift by myself. All sorts of acuity levels. I am now looking to move out of the larger city to a smaller area. Jobs I’m considering/interviewing for are urgent care, emergency, and hospitalist. Urgent care feels comfortable since I’ve done it, but I also feel like I want to develop a deeper understanding of medicine. Urgent care can be quite superficial when you are seeing too many patients each shift. I am really struggling with imposter syndrome when it comes to the new jobs because everything not urgent care left my brain. I worry that I will be lacking knowledge and feel intimated by switching to something different. I am someone very willing to learn and am capable, but I also hear horror stories of people being thrown to the wolves. Thoughts? Advice? Opinion on UC vs ED vs hospital?

I’m a new grad and it seems like it’s taking me forever to get my CDS and DEA. Has anyone experienced this in Maryland? Some of my friends in CA got their DEA in a couple days

If I was placed on academic probation for the end of the clinical year for failing a few EORs, but I returned to good standing and aced everything else, passed the PANCE, passed my EOC — will this affect my licensing in the state of California? I’m just anxious and need some reassurance 😖

I recently started a derm PA job where I’m paid on commission for the first time. Every month, I receive a document which shows the total charges and the total collections for the previous month. I’m consistently seeing charges around $110-130k per month, but collections of around $29-35k. In other words, they’re collecting between 25-30% of what was billed out. Does this percentage sound about right? I’m trying to understand if this is about average in this field. Thanks for any insight.

Long story short, going from full time to per diem in an hourly rate job. New contract offers same hourly rate as I had as full time. Is a per diem hourly rate usually higher since there are no added benefits? I want to negotiate the pay, but also don't want to be under the wrong impression that the hourly pay is supposed to be higher just because it is per diem. Also, how would you go about asking for a raise if you are decreasing your hours? If at all?

thanks!

Brand new PA in FM. I have been working on myself and how to not take things personal. But I promise this one just feels different. I truly care about my patients and spent ample time with them. Most are satisfied with my care as they express that during the visit. But I get a bad one on google and just feels so off to me. Just takes a toll on me

I have worked with the same group with same SP for 20 years. Started at 65K 2005 started seeing my own pts in about 3 months and after first year moved to 100K. After about 10 years moved to about 160K. After 15 years moved to 200K After 18 years 225K. Currently billing about 1M Seeing 45 pts per day. Office reports about 65% collection rate. We see a lot of Medicaid. I do general derm with an emphasis in inflammatory skin disease. Have 2 MAs always helping chart.

I have always been straight salary. New Administration ( same owner and SP ) past 6 months want to bill more and move toward production based model. I should collect around 650K this year. How would you all handle percentages and this situation. I’m the highest tenured provider of about 40 in the group. Never had a sick day lol. Any insights or suggestions appreciated. Thank you.

I don’t have official offers yet, but the employers want to reach out to talk post interview about the position. However I wanted some advice before scheduling the phone calls.

I don’t have details on CME, PTO, contracts, etc. This is just based on specialty and pay (and "vibes") and would like some input.

About myself: I recently graduated last month. I’m sure I’ll get shit on for this, but I do want to break into the derm/aesthetics field and obviously that is very difficult for a new grad. So I’m not sure if I wait a while or if I should do what it takes to get my foot in?

Both positions are HCOL area.

One place is a sleep clinic with part time (3 days a week) being $100k and full time (3 days in person + 2 days WFH) $130k. Doctor seems like a super laid back, nice doctor who notes that turnover rate is low and the other APPs there say work-life balance is great.

The other place is a plastic surgery clinic which actually left me a voicemail that they want to offer me a position where they needs a PA for non-surgical procedures (injectable, laser, etc) full time 9-5 M-F and 10-4 every other Saturday for $125k + bonuses. However, if you search on Yelp, this place sounds like a walking malpractice and has so many bad reviews saying they want to sue the surgeons and that the PAs are inexperienced. Their turnover rate is high - soly based on the fact that Yelp says they always see a different provider and that I have seen this job listing come on and off since June. But do I want to try to get my foot in the door? Or is it too high of a risk?

TLDR: Basically, do I take a job in a specialty that isn’t necessarily my calling, but is low stress and try to eventually find a job in derm/aesthetics/plastics; or do I take a job in a specialty as a stepping stone that can provide training (and try to leave within 6 months - 1 year), but seems like a sketchy ass practice?

I'm a retired PA and my certification expired 5 years ago. I've recently been offered work as a medical record reviewer by an attorney who defends PAs/MDs in medical malpractice cases.

How should I calculate my rate schedule?

One of my friends is in their clinical year and they have been posting on social media of them injecting Botox and/or fillers. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought students aren’t allowed to do that? I’ve had derm rotations and I did almost everything besides aesthetics. Just thought that was odd…I’m curious if this differs from state to state too.

Does anyone have advice on how to go about finding a financial advisor, specifically for PAs?

On my brief internet search there’s a lot of focus on physicians and nurses and am just looking for someone a little more specific to our profession.

Hi Everyone,

I'm not sure if this is the best group to post in, but like the title states I resigned from my full-time position and will be doing PRN work for 2 different companies. I've always had full time benefits so I'm nervous about transitioning to private healthcare options. I've been looking at the healthcare.gov marketplace, does anyone have experience using this? would you recommend or not recommend?

I do have a generic controlled substance prescription and am required to see my PCP every three months. Otherwise, no health issues.

Anyone heard things or have personal experience with the immersion program for new grads at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia?

Hi, I’m planning my daughter’s upcoming graduation party in December and I am looking for ideas of what you have done/seen and what made it fun. We rented a house near the graduation and will have about 50-60 people( half family, half friends and classmates). She graduated undergrad during Covid so we didn’t have a big party so I want this to be a lot of fun. Could you please share any ideas to make this a fun party? Thank you!

I’ve been at my job for over a year and I’m really just over it. The management is really bad. They treat people so poorly. They expect providers to see over 30 patients a day with lack of proper staffing. They barely train new hires. Schedule is released weekly so you never know where you’re going or who you will be working with. They have poor communication & leave people on read. They expect you to respond to them immediately when they don’t even do the same. Because of this, people are quitting left to right. The good ones have already left and the ones who stuck around are so bad at their job. They’re making it more difficult to do my job properly ie. insurances aren’t getting checked properly and specimens are getting sent to different labs. I wanted to stick around a little longer for more experience and I have something big planned for next year that requires financial stability. However, every week goes by and I literally wanna pull my hair off. I noticed I’m also starting to get gastritis sx bc of the stress. Is this worth it? This is my first job out of school so I don’t rlly know how the transition will be like. Ideally, I wanna have another job lined up first before I leave. Can anyone walk me thru the job hunt & how it’s like to leave ur current job & start a new one?

I am a new grad PA and recently got an emergency medicine position. I currently have BLS, ACLS, and ATLS. The only cert I need is PALS. Today, the office manager found a course for tomorrow and signed me up. While I was completing the pre-course work, I got a voicemail from the health center providing the course stating that it is now going to be held via zoom. How do they go about this? What should I expect?

Update: just did the course. We started with the megacode and talked through it. If people were doing a recert, then they got to take the written and leave. If people were taking it for the first time, then they watched the videos and then took the test. The person in charge of it ended up cutting the videos short and just let us take the test. Took about 1.5 hours total and I received my AHA PALS ecard.

Currently making 100K base (plus productivity) as a recent grad with less than a year experience after accepting my second job. What can I expect when it’s time for a yearly raise? What’s the typical performance based raise? I would like to be at around 110K base after the raise, is that realistic? TIA

Hi all, I’m currently in the credentialing process at a large hospital as a new grad and they are requiring me to send case logs, including CPT codes. Well, none of the case logs I submitted to my school include CPT codes because I never billed patients. Has anyone ever dealt with this? I’m basically having to go into the logs (over 500) and just find a CPT code to put down. It’s insane.

Hi everyone! I am a new grad and licensed in the state of FL. I live in the Tampa area and have been having a hard time getting any interviews or interest at all. Anyone in this area and know of anywhere hiring / tips for getting interviewed around here? Thank you!

To those that take surgical call.

What's your call schedule like?
What are your roles while on call?
I was reading somewhere on reddit, that taking home call is a scam. Can you please explain why?
In your opinion, what do you think is a good call schedule? (pls don't say - taking no call, is the best call).

What is going on with PA salaries? I have yet to see a salary over 120K anywhere. Do these salaries of 150K+ even exist?

About a year ago, I posted here seeking career advice about quitting my Monday thru Friday outpatient surgery job for an overnight inpatient hospital position. I was nearing burnout due to poor compensation, unpredictable work hours, and lack of support for parental leave. I took the leap to overnight work, and I wanted to share my experience for anyone considering either a significant career change or an overnight role.

Since transitioning from my previous job, my salary has increased from $112,000 with about 45 hours of work per week to $160,000 for 10 twelve-hour shifts a month, including a 25% overnight differential. I’m extremely satisfied with this change in compensation.

Overnight shift work has been going well for me personally. I work from 6 PM to 6 AM and have been pleased with how I’ve managed the schedule. I discovered I was pregnant right at the start of my overnight shifts, and while I had some exhausting days, I generally coped well and managed to sleep about 7-9 hours during the day between shifts. Ironically, this is more than I was getting during my day job. A major advantage is that I only work 10 shifts a month, allowing me ample time to rest and relax between work blocks. This schedule will also come in handy for childcare needs in the future!

Overnight shifts aren’t for everyone, but I’ve noticed that many people on this forum have a negative view of them. I’m here to say that night shifts can work well for certain individuals! For any students considering overnight rotations, I highly recommend giving them a try. Understanding how you handle overnight work can open up more employment opportunities.

I made a significant change in my specialty and schedule seven years into my career, and so far, I’m very happy with my decision! I have a much better work-life balance, and I finally feel fairly compensated. I’m learning new things, expanding my skill set, and networking with physicians in a new setting, which offers even more future opportunities.

Taking a leap like this can be daunting, but trust your instincts and know your worth! It took me two jobs before I found my current position. My "wishlist" has changed significantly since the start of my career. It is okay to leave jobs, it's okay to change your priorities mid-career, it's okay to make a big specialty shift. These are all major perks of being a PA; take advantage of them!

I'm currently on parental leave with my 7-week-old son, and I have a wonderful group of colleagues covering my absence until April. I am so thankful to be able to be a parent and a PA and feel like I'm succeeding at both!

Florida PA: I am doing a temporary position right now, and the hospital has told me that because I am not fully credentialed I can only see post operative patients. My understanding is because they are in a global period and therefore would not be billed for these visits.

The concern is I keep seeing established patients on my schedule and hospital follow ups. The supervising provider is usually in surgery and not in the office with me. My question is I can’t see and bill for these patients? Nor can I bill under him if he did not see them? All my notes are being co-signed by SP. thanks for any guidance/advice.

Hello guys, I’ve been having some difficultly with making decision with jobs since I am a new grad. I’ve been offered a position in NY at a family practice PA position and here are the benefits: Salary $140k based on 40 hr per week Malpractice covered Dental/health insurance for myself and family 50k term life insurance contribution to 401K 39 days of vacation 6 paid CME days per year and 1500 allowance per year. I am not sure if this is a good offer or if I should negotiate something. This organization is called urban health plans in NY. Any advice/ suggestions would be appreciated.

Would love to work on my Spanish using my jobs CME allowance if anyone has had good experiences with a course!

looking for some advice.. I’m a new grad PA who recently just started my very first job in an ER fellowship program. The fellowship was advertised as a training position in which we would have didactic lectures, emergency ultrasounds, simulation based learning and an emergency airway course. I was excited about this as I am not yet comfortable being completely on my own in the ED. Even though I would be taking a significant pay cut from other non-fellowship positions, I was okay with it as I wanted to go through more training through the fellowship to become a confident provider. I just worked my first shift in the ED and was basically was thrown in with no help. I was picking up 1-2 patients an hour as I’m still getting used to the EHR and because I’m a new grad and this is literally the first time I have patients on my own. I had no one teaching me and was held to the same standards as PAs who have been there 15+ years. At one point, the ED director called me and told me I’m not picking up enough patients and how I should have 4-5 patients at all times and average 18-24 patients minimum in a 12 hour shift. It was my FIRST day. I also spoke with other PAs in the fellowship who said that we are assumed to do all the work that a PA who already finished the fellowship does, except we get paid half the amount. They also said there are no lectures, simulation learning, etc. it’s all basically just figuring everything out on your own. I feel very taken advantage of and uncomfortable being forced to pick up more patients when I am not yet ready, as I’m nervous I’m going to overlook something/wont be able to be as thorough as I’d like to be. I also think it’s incredibly unfair to pay us half the amount of other PAs since we’re “PA fellows” yet we are held to the same exact standards and patient load. Anyone have similar experiences/advice what to do? What’s the average amount of patients typical to see in a day in the ED as a new grad? Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks so much in advance!!!

I recently accepted an ortho job as a new grad and it sadly only pays 115k. Anyone else on the same boat or was? If so what repayment plan are you in and what’s your strategy? PLSF and other loan repayment jobs aren’t an option for me at the moment although all my loans are federal.

Can anyone give me a particular formula to help me get better at sign outs?