What's it like being an ED PA in the Pacific NW?

[Willamette]

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My wife and I are both interested in practicing EM in the Pacific NW. I'm going the MD route and she'll be finishing PA school by the time we head off for my residency. Like most of you, she's plenty smart enough to have gone to medical school but chose the PA path for lifestyle reasons. One of those lifestyle reasons was the desire to bear children. That said, I have two (bodies of) questions: (1) What is it like to practice as a PA in the Emergency Room? What kinds of Pt's/duties do you have? (2) What are the hours like? How does the scheduling usually work out (i.e. how far in advance do you know which days you'll be working)? Is there generally an opportunity to work part-time?

Thanks! And for those of you getting ready to start the clinical part of your education: GOOD LUCK!!

Willamette

 

[Willamette]

Hey there EMEDPA. I was hoping you might have something to say about this subject, esp. considering the great info you provided in the FM Forum! Thanks.

Willamette

 

[Monika]

Hello,

Have you been over to "physicianassociate.com"? You are sure to get a response over there from EMED, he is the moderator in the "EM" section of that site. Check it out, it's a great site!

Good luck,
Monika 🙂

 

[deleted6669]

I work as an empa in the pnw. the scope of practice and salary vary considerably depending on setting. I currently work in 5 different settings with different rules/scope/salary at each. fast-track positions are generally low acuity stuff( uri, minor lacs/abscesses/minor ortho, etc) and the hours are usually arranged to cover busy times during the day, typically 9a-11p or so.
in an integrated community hospital setting( 1 chart rack only) pa's see more than in a fast track setting and may cover day/swing/night shifts as double coverage with an md. frequently there are a few restrictions in place such as cardiac chest pain/cva seen only by md. in a large/busy trauma center setting pa's are often used to see everything except the most critical patients and in some settings see all comers. typical pts have appendicitis, gall bladder dz, shoulder dislocations, boxers fxs or colles fxs requiring reduction by the pa, large lacerations requiring 2-3 layer closure and/or regional blocks +/- conscious sedation. solo positions for pa's also exist in satelite/rural er's in the pnw. I do this a few days/month and see all comers including codes, major trauma, anaphylaxis,mi's, etc. with transfers to other facilities as needed. often these settings are 95% low acuity and 5% high acuity( oh !@#$% let's transfer this guy out now!!!).
salary at these different settings generally is influenced by scope of practice with fast track paying the least and trauma ctr or rural paying the most. often there are differentials for nights/weekends/holidays. at one of my jobs they pay 11/hr extra for these shifts. some places also pay production bonuses which can be sizable( > 20k/yr on top of base and differentials). overall pay varies by setting from around 65 k/yr to >125 k/yr for an experienced provider.there are part time, on call and per diem positions available in all settings. send me a pm at my box at physicianassociate.com for a list of area hospitals using em pa's. also check out the em forum at www.physicianassociate.com for more info. good luck-e