3rd Year Med and a new PA

[Doc AdamK in 2006]

My girlfriend is a PA and will be graduating in May of next year (04)

She plans to seek a job right away. She is most likely going to work in orthopedics or sports medicine.

We are pretty close and most likely won't break up anyime soon.

She has told me that she has 3 options after graduating.

Option 1: Get a job and work for her master's in education.
Option 2: Just get a job in a orthropedics office
Option 3 : Seek a residency in orthopedics in New York or Chicago.

We live in Buffalo and I know I will be busy during my third year of Med School. My question is.... Is a residency in orthopedics extremely important when working in the field, or will she gain the same knowledge by working in an orthropod's office.

The wy i saw it she will be able to do everything a resident would do, plus get paid more for doing it.

AK

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[CVPA]

Adam:

Its a good question as well as a common one that many graduating PAs have.

There was a time years ago when residencies were very common and necessary for graduates to be competitive in the PA job market. Then, the market turned the other way and when I graduated in 1996, there were about 6-7 jobs for every PA graduate. Subsequently, few of my fellow graduates went on to do residency programs. With the recent surge of PA programs, however, came a surge of new graduates in the market making it more competitive. As a result, graduates need to think about that and optimize their credentials as best they can. Residencies are a good way to do that as well gain additional skills and knowledge.

Personally, if I could do it over again, I would probably opt to do a residency program. I just think that a formal training program has benefits over being trained by (a) private physician(s). First of all, there is a certain level of knowledge that is obtained in a formal program that some would argue takes longer to acquire working in the field. Second, once you have done the training, you always have that on your resume and I think that it is a valuable asset to any PA's curriculum vitae. Thirdly, the more PAs trained in residency programs, the better the perception will be of the profession by other healthcare professionals as well as lay people. Some may argue against that, however, anything that both promotes our professional image as well provides valuable knowledge and skills, is a good thing in my book.

As far as education is concerned, most if not all, PA programs are taught at a postgraduate level. Whether or not they confer a masters degree is politically determined by the institution. I believe that all PAs should obtain their formal masters degree. There are multiple ways to do that including residency programs and online programs (George Washington University, Nova Southeastern University, University of Nebraska Medical Center, etc).

So, can your girlfriend graduate and find a good job as an orthopedic PA and be happy both personally and professionally? Absolutely. It is all a matter of priorities. What is more important to her, getting out and getting into the job market or continuing her training for an additional year or two? Only she can answer that question.


Good luck.

 

[Doc AdamK in 2006]

Thanks for all the great info.

It helped alot.

Next time my girlfriend and I talk about this, I'm sure it will come in handy.

The schools that you mentioned have residency programs in orthopedics?

What kind of skills will she gain in a residency over just private practice?

I know her degree will be a Masters in PA

Can she work for a year or two then go for a residency? Or doe that not make sense?

Would rthat be benefical?

Thanks
AK

 

[deleted6669]

For everything you ever wanted to know about pa residencies and more check out www.appap.org
there are several good ortho residencies as well as general surgery programs with an ortho component, which might be a better bet as they produce a more well rounded, marketable surgical pa who can work in any surgical setting.