3 answers
Raelynne
Student
Antwerp, Ohio
4
Questions
Updated
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What are the most rewarding experiences you have faced and some of the most challenging moments you have had after becoming a physician assistant?
I am a senior in high school looking for advice on becoming a physician assistant after graduation.
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3 answers
Hwal Lee
DMSc, PA-C
275
Answers
Albany, New York
Updated
Hwal’s Answer
Raelynne,
I'm a primary care internal medicine PA in my 5th year of practice. I'm also from Australia and wasn't aware of the PA profession until moving to the U.S., and had planned to apply to medical school because I thought that was the only way to practice medicine. Almost a decade later, I feel comfortable telling you that going to PA school instead was the right decision for me. So, let me share some insights from this perspective.
Like many of my colleagues, one of my primary motivations to study medicine was to help fellow human beings. With each passing year, I feel personal and professional growth, and that certainly includes a more nuanced and mature empathy and compassion, as well as clinical knowledge, skills, and acumen. I'm currently the sole fulltime clinician providing primary medical care to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and, to say that it is incredibly rewarding to do what I do would truly be an understatement.
Challenges? PA school is often described as "drinking from a fire hose," and it didn't take me long to learn that it was not an exaggeration: I was in classroom, cadaver lab, and/or clinical skills lab about 8am-5pm Monday to Friday over for consecutive semesters (no summer semester break), and this was followed by about 14 months of clinical rotations in primary care, general surgery, women's health, orthopaedics, internal medicine, emergency medicine, psychiatry, paediatrics, and elective rotations. In other words, if learning and practicing medicine is what you want, PA education and training is bound to offer you a solid foundation for lifelong learning and rigorous preparation to become an integral member of any modern day healthcare team. So, the training was not without challenges, but was worth my time and effort.
The PA profession has evolved over the last 50-plus years, and it will continue to evolve because so do health care and medicine. Let me share the steps to become a PA, published on the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) website:
https://www.aapa.org/news-central/2018/08/6-steps-become-pa/
And here's a unique blog by a PA that is one of the most comprehensive and approachable sources of information on being a pre-PA, a PA student, and a PA:
https://doseofpa.blogspot.com/?m=1
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with.
Good luck!
Hwal
I'm a primary care internal medicine PA in my 5th year of practice. I'm also from Australia and wasn't aware of the PA profession until moving to the U.S., and had planned to apply to medical school because I thought that was the only way to practice medicine. Almost a decade later, I feel comfortable telling you that going to PA school instead was the right decision for me. So, let me share some insights from this perspective.
Like many of my colleagues, one of my primary motivations to study medicine was to help fellow human beings. With each passing year, I feel personal and professional growth, and that certainly includes a more nuanced and mature empathy and compassion, as well as clinical knowledge, skills, and acumen. I'm currently the sole fulltime clinician providing primary medical care to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and, to say that it is incredibly rewarding to do what I do would truly be an understatement.
Challenges? PA school is often described as "drinking from a fire hose," and it didn't take me long to learn that it was not an exaggeration: I was in classroom, cadaver lab, and/or clinical skills lab about 8am-5pm Monday to Friday over for consecutive semesters (no summer semester break), and this was followed by about 14 months of clinical rotations in primary care, general surgery, women's health, orthopaedics, internal medicine, emergency medicine, psychiatry, paediatrics, and elective rotations. In other words, if learning and practicing medicine is what you want, PA education and training is bound to offer you a solid foundation for lifelong learning and rigorous preparation to become an integral member of any modern day healthcare team. So, the training was not without challenges, but was worth my time and effort.
The PA profession has evolved over the last 50-plus years, and it will continue to evolve because so do health care and medicine. Let me share the steps to become a PA, published on the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) website:
https://www.aapa.org/news-central/2018/08/6-steps-become-pa/
And here's a unique blog by a PA that is one of the most comprehensive and approachable sources of information on being a pre-PA, a PA student, and a PA:
https://doseofpa.blogspot.com/?m=1
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with.
Good luck!
Hwal
James Hanson
Pediatric Intensive Care Physician; Consultant
158
Answers
Oakland, California
Updated
James’s Answer
I do hope that you get some actual PAs to respond. As a pediatric intensive care physician, I have worked with many PAs who worked in many different specialties. From my friendship with these wonderful people, I would say that there is great pride in learning, under the guidance of the right supervising physician, to expand one's capabilities fairly quickly. That empowerment feels good, as does the appreciation shown by most patients and other members of the health care team. Assisting a neurosurgeon or cardiothoracic surgeon doing some of the most complex operations is special. I know one PA who became the head of the entire hospital's wound care program.
My friends did not share many negative stories, but I have no doubt they felt very sad when a patient died or had a poor result (almost always despite excellent care).
As a physician, the worst moments were when patients ignored you or were confrontational when you were confident in your recommendations or when those bad outcomes happen. Bad outcomes occur when all the standards of practice are met, but patients and their families usually feel and act like someone did something wrong - and being told they hold you accountable for bad results (and worse yet, choose to sue you) is truly an awful experience.
One must, at such times, keep remembering that one is doing good things to help people.
My friends did not share many negative stories, but I have no doubt they felt very sad when a patient died or had a poor result (almost always despite excellent care).
As a physician, the worst moments were when patients ignored you or were confrontational when you were confident in your recommendations or when those bad outcomes happen. Bad outcomes occur when all the standards of practice are met, but patients and their families usually feel and act like someone did something wrong - and being told they hold you accountable for bad results (and worse yet, choose to sue you) is truly an awful experience.
One must, at such times, keep remembering that one is doing good things to help people.
Martin Schoen
APRN
387
Answers
Ocala, Florida
Updated
Martin’s Answer
Some of my most rewarding experiences come from unexpected outcomes. For example, I once had a patient who was an athlete and felt short of breath, even after seeing several specialists. She just wanted to return to her usual activities. I decided to order a CT scan of her abdomen and pelvis, which revealed large polyps that everyone else had missed. After her surgery, she was back to her normal life, and it was hard to get her to keep regular appointments. It's often the simple things, like truly listening, that make my day worthwhile. I also enjoy explaining things to patients and their families, especially when they say no one else has told them before. I believe in looking at the whole person, not just their symptoms, and treating them as equals in their care. This way, they can help manage their care better, and they tend to be more open, involved, and grateful.