i need advice

[scorpio12]

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Hello all...i just joined this site and have a couple questions...firstly a little background....i just started nursing school..but i want to eventually become a surgical PA...however, i find myself more interested in the medical model rather than the nursing model. i wanted to go to medical school but decided that i didn't want to spend years in school. my passion is surgery and i know that i have what it takes to be in the or....I want to be in trauma...so my question is: should i continue on with my nursing program or go another route...im also getting my emt-b...to try to get into the ed as a tech or something. ..how would i go about networking and making contacts with doctors..i only know one ed doc.but he lives in maryland....any advice, comments, thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tkim]

you must have mistaken SDN for myspace.

 

[gman33]

trying posting in one of the pre-med forums. you'll get more feedback.

 

[EM_Rebuilder]

Hello all...i just joined this site and have a couple questions...firstly a little background....i just started nursing school..but i want to eventually become a surgical PA...however, i find myself more interested in the medical model rather than the nursing model. i wanted to go to medical school but decided i wanted some semblance of a life. my passion is surgery and i know that i have what it takes to be in the or....I want to be in trauma...so my question is: should i continue on with my nursing program or go another route...im also getting my emt-b...to try to get into the ed as a tech or something. ..how would i go about networking and making contacts with doctors..i only know one ed doc.but he lives in maryland and we are kinda "friends with benefits"..so that's not good...any advice, comments, thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Is said 'ed doc' also on SDN?

 

[scorpio12]

"i must have mistaken sdn for myspace"........What?? What a dick...i have been a voyeur of sdn for sometime now and finally got the balls to sign up and post. Thankx for the unsavory welcome.

 

[scorpio12]

Is said 'ed doc' also on SDN?

no..i don't think so...but that wasn't my question...i just wanted some advice on which route i should take in life....i met the said "ed doc" in real life.

 

[shopsteward]

i wanted some semblance of a life [...] i only know one ed doc.but [...] we are kinda "friends with benefits"

If you want some semblance of a life, why are you "friends with benefits" with an ed doc?

 

[EM_Rebuilder]

If you want some semblance of a life, why are you "friends with benefits" with an ed doc?

This thread needs locked. Mods?

 

[tkim]

"i must have mistaken sdn for myspace"........What?? What a dick...i have been a voyeur of sdn for sometime now and finally got the balls to sign up and post. Thankx for the unsavory welcome.

You are still a voyeur. Try the premed forums. Or myspace.

 

[WilcoWorld]

If you want to be a doctor you should apply to med school.
If you want to be a surgical PA you should apply to PA school.
Becoming an EMT and working in an ED is a good step towards either of the above, and is a good way to "network" with doctors as well.

My best advice, however contradictory, is to not seek advice from online forums like this, because
a) Some posters are awfully quick to give people a hard time (even if it's just meant in good fun).
b) Anonymous internet avatars can falsify credentials and don't always know what they're talking about.

 

[shopsteward]

This thread needs locked. Mods?

My apologies to scorpio12 if my earlier comment was inappropriately phrased.

Scorpio12: Congratulations on your ambition to become a doctor. As you have already started nursing school, you need to consider carefully the potential paths for getting into medical school and then getting further training and employment as a doctor. You will either need to complete nursing school and then at some point apply to medical school (with a good explanation for this career path) or to drop out of nursing school and then at some point apply to medical school (also with a good explanation for your decision). Dropping out of things generally doesn't look good on a CV, but also continuing too long down a path that doesn't suit you or get you where you want to be is not a good way to spend your life.

As a more serious way of rephrasing my previous comment: you are probably considerably younger, poorer and (at the moment) less educated than your doctor friend. You apparently feel unable to talk to him about either his career or yours. You are probably female and you describe him as male. All this leads me to think that there is a serious power imbalance in the relationship between the two of you. You are an adult and can make your own decisions, but my view is that if your relationship with this man is to be life-enhancing for you, it will need some serious re-engineering so that it is on a more equal basis.

Finally, regarding the presentation of your request for advice, talking about a casual sexual relationship at the same time that you are asking a serious question about your career was probably not a wise move, and writing in proper sentences with capital letters at the start and full stops at the end might mean that the people reading what you have to say take you more seriously.

Shutting up now.

 

[RustedFox]

I have to agree w/ the above post.

1. Capital letters and proper punctuation are a must; otherwise, the whole point of your sentence is lost. People judge your intelligence and level of sincerity by your ability to communicate properly.

2. Don't schools teach spelling anymore?

3. Abbreviations such as "kthxbye" and using numerals in the form of words (ex: I just want 2 be sure that b4 I ... whatever) are never acceptable.

 

[WilcoWorld]

I have to agree w/ the above post.

...

3. Abbreviations such as "kthxbye" and using numerals in the form of words (ex: I just want 2 be sure that b4 I ... whatever) are never acceptable.

Consistency is important as well.

 

[docB]

So here's the obligatory "Let's keep it civil" and "No name calling." That said, to the OP as a lurker you should know that sometimes some newbie questions get snarky responses. It's best to let those slide while you get the hang of things.

As for your questions it sounds like you're a bit confused about some of the differences between Emergency Medicine and Trauma Surgery. They are completely different specialties. In EM we don't go to the OR so if you really want OR time you would need to do a surgical specialty. It also sounds like you are more interested in doing something like PA or nursing due to the time committment involved. You might be looking more at doing PA and trying to become a surgical assistant. If you go that route you won't be seeing patients right as they roll in, you'll see them in the OR.

 

[RustedFox]

"w/" is a pretty universally accepted abbreviation, sir. Its so accepted, that I bet everyone here writes it in their patient's charts.

You'd never write "b4" in a patient's chart, would you?

 

[tkim]

"w/" is a pretty universally accepted abbreviation, sir. Its so accepted, that I bet everyone here writes it in their patient's charts.

You'd never write "b4" in a patient's chart, would you?

"/c" is what I write in pt charts, though I have been known the write the occasional "NGT to low suction, kthnkx".

 

[deleted109597]

"w/" is a pretty universally accepted abbreviation, sir. Its so accepted, that I bet everyone here writes it in their patient's charts.

I use a c with a line over it because of working with a pharmacy in undergrad. However, with computerized charting, I use the word with because I type fast enough.

 

[WilcoWorld]

I'm simply pointing out the inconsistency of your statement. The acceptability of using abbreviations depends on context, internet forums being arguably the most acceptable place for such abbreviations. And since I'm being uppity, I'll point out that while lamenting "the decline of the English language" you have made multiple grammatical errors. "Everyone" is actually a singular pronoun, so the correct adjective to use would be "his" or "her". Also, when using "its" to mean "it is" you should use an apostrophe.

Am I being a jerk? Yes. But I'm doing it on purpose to make a point about attacking people's grammar/spelling/capitalization on internet forums...it's kinda silly.

 

[RustedFox]

- You got me on the apostrophe. I know that rule - somehow I missed a keystroke there.

- Otherwise, you can screw up a obscure pronoun and still be professionally acceptable. Abbreviations such as those that I mentioned belong only on pop album track listings.

 

[hackinmage]

Simplest response:
1. the nation is strapped for health care providers you don't need to make "contacts" to get a job. focus on getting through school.

2. figure out what you want to do, asking a bunch of strangers what's best for you isn't going to help. Each job PA/MD/RN is vital and different. I would suggest not spending years doing something you don't want to do. (on that note, why are you doing nursing school if you wanna be a PA that makes no sense)

3. This is an EM forum, not trauma surgery as has been pointed out, while i've seen a little bit of crossover in hospitals not enough for this forum to be incredibly useful to you

hope that's helped a bit, when i was debating between getting my paramedic cert or just going to med school my fellow emt's told me i wasn't "built for this blue collar stuff" and basically gave me the kick in the ass i needed to go to med school, and also kicked my ass in a push up contest (i thought 40 was respectable, i was wrong)

 

[Venko]

Hello all...i just joined this site and have a couple questions...firstly a little background....i just started nursing school..but i want to eventually become a surgical PA...however, i find myself more interested in the medical model rather than the nursing model. i wanted to go to medical school but decided that i didn't want to spend years in school. my passion is surgery and i know that i have what it takes to be in the or....I want to be in trauma...so my question is: should i continue on with my nursing program or go another route...im also getting my emt-b...to try to get into the ed as a tech or something. ..how would i go about networking and making contacts with doctors..i only know one ed doc.but he lives in maryland....any advice, comments, thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Scorpio,

You're right to be asking questions of which future you are looking for, and unfortunately, there are no universal answers. In general, the things you are talking about (nursing vs. PA vs. MD (OR vs. Trauma vs. ED)) are big lifestyle and practice questions that are best answered through observation in these venues, and introspection.

Once you have made a decision regarding RN vs. PA vs. MD (or DO), then we may be able to help you out with career specialty choices. In general, the best thing I can say, is do whatever you think will make you happiest, and try not to consider money or lifestyle as a selection criteria, because no matter what specialty of physician you choose, you will work extremely hard and will likely feel under compensated; this wont matter to you if you love what you do.

Good luck in your travels!

TL

 

[bulgethetwine]

- You got me on the apostrophe. I know that rule - somehow I missed a keystroke there.

- Otherwise, you can screw up a obscure pronoun and still be professionally acceptable. Abbreviations such as those that I mentioned belong only on pop album track listings.

That should be "an" obscure pronoun.

 

[nlax30]

"/c" is what I write in pt charts, though I have been known the write the occasional "NGT to low suction, kthnkx".

Ok, THAT made me laugh. And now to wipe the tea off my keyboard.