Job offers -- which to take for PA?

[dutchie000]

Hello,

So I have a dilemma that is both a blessing and a curse as I was lucky enough to receive 3 job offers in the past week. I was just wondering if anyone has advice on which to take. Here are my options:

1) Clinical research assistant working for a drug research organization essentially as a medical assistant/phlebotomist.
2) Clinical information manager (scribe) working in the ER
3) Patient care associate in the ER

I could do 1 and 3 in collaboration with each other as 1 is a per diem in which I would work with PAs and NPs. I already have 1000s of patient care hour experience as an EMT and medical assistant. I don't know what to pick!! Should I go with the patient care or should I go with the experience of working as a team with a provider?

Thanks!

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[pamac]

Is a patient care associate like a CNA?

I'd skip the scribe job. Do something where you have actual responsibilities. I know... Scribes get a glimpse into a providers mind... Bla bla bla. It's the same as shadowing, except it's paid. You want to be doing things that set you apart and demonstrate aptitude. Any story you tell in an interview will be more impactful if it's an "I did this" experience vs an "I watched someone do this" event.

 

[dutchie000]

Is a patient care associate like a CNA?

I'd skip the scribe job. Do something where you have actual responsibilities. I know... Scribes get a glimpse into a providers mind... Bla bla bla. It's the same as shadowing, except it's paid. You want to be doing things that set you apart and demonstrate aptitude. Any story you tell in an interview will be more impactful if it's an "I did this" experience vs an "I watched someone do this" event.

Very true. I'm heavily leaning toward the PCA job. It's essentially working as a tech in the ER. Taking vitals, EKGs, phlebotomy, bed pan action. The only downside is the fact that it pays significantly less than scribing. I haven't gotten an official offer but I'm assuming around $12 vs $15 for scribe. Though they do offer lots of overtime, and if I can swing the clinical research job I could offset the low pay of the full time job with those hours. So many choices! I would much rather do the patient care...

 

[deleted6669]

Very true. I'm heavily leaning toward the PCA job. It's essentially working as a tech in the ER. Taking vitals, EKGs, phlebotomy, bed pan action. I would much rather do the patient care...

Go with your gut instinct on this one. ER tech >>>>>>>>>scribe as far as pa school admissions.

 

[pamac]

So working full time for $3 an hour less gets you roughly $6k total less. But realistically, you should look ahead to what you think will be best. If it's money you want in your hand right now that you want you can (or could have until recently) go to the oil fields, but quick money is not the end goal, is it? Leave scribing for the pre meds who don't need to get real hce. PA school recruits from a different pool of applicants, so you should focus on checking off the right boxes. Scribing might be easy and informative like shadowing would be expected to be, but there isn't any degree of responsibility. I'd pick the tech job, but that's me. ER is a cool place because you really do end up being a part of the team with docs. As a nurse on float services, I interact with docs in ER more than any other unit I work in.

 

[mfk248]

I think it depends on where you scribe. Ask about that position. I currently scribe and it is awesome. Because the clinic I scribe in gets mainly Spanish speaking patients I also do the interpreting. Through scribing I have learned how to use the EMR system and I essentially write the providers notes for them. I understand medical terminology so much better, and I have seen a range of providers. This has also allowed me do develop great relationships with providers since I have to sit down with them and go over what I wrote. (This will be important for letters of RECs) Also, since I am getting EMT certified, I am allowed to do some of the patient care services if a nurse is not present. Some PA schools accept it as HCE and some do not, but most consider it valuable experience. I would say see if you could scribe part-time because it is worth it. Comparing it to shadowing, it is not the same thing. When you shadow, you are more of an observer. As a scribe you are fully integrated into the patient care team. I am expected to make a relationship with the patient I am working with just as the provider needs to, so there is more responsibility.

 

[deleted6669]

I think it depends on where you scribe. Ask about that position. I currently scribe and it is awesome. Because the clinic I scribe in gets mainly Spanish speaking patients I also do the interpreting. Through scribing I have learned how to use the EMR system and I essentially write the providers notes for them. I understand medical terminology so much better, and I have seen a range of providers. This has also allowed me do develop great relationships with providers since I have to sit down with them and go over what I wrote. (This will be important for letters of RECs) Also, since I am getting EMT certified, I am allowed to do some of the patient care services if a nurse is not present. Some PA schools accept it as HCE and some do not, but most consider it valuable experience. I would say see if you could scribe part-time because it is worth it. Comparing it to shadowing, it is not the same thing. When you shadow, you are more of an observer. As a scribe you are fully integrated into the patient care team. I am expected to make a relationship with the patient I am working with just as the provider needs to, so there is more responsibility.

that sounds like a good scribe job. many scribe jobs do not have the scribe talking to , or touching, the pt. Some don't even have the scribe in the room with the pt. They get dictation from the provider when the provider leaves the room. That being said, your emt will provide some much needed pt interaction and open up more opportunities when you apply as many programs don't take scribe experience.

 

[pamac]

Scribes always say things like that, but I've seen plenty of scribes. None of them do anything other than follow the docs with computers on wheels and keep silent. If one can translate, that's more helpful than your typical scribe by a factor of 10, because it involves interaction with a patient. To a scribe with no real healthcare background, it probably seems like remarkable experience to listen to a physician talk and then have that sink in as you type it in the computer, but it's really the roll of a super up observer. The difference between shadowing and that is you have a formalized process by default to see that information twice... And have two different learning pathways utilized. Scribes are "super shadowers". No critical thinking or responsibility to demonstrate there. My letters of recommendation have always come from people that I work alongside under conditions where I'm responsible for doing my job right or else someone gets hurt. My actions get cited in those letters. Those are what you want because there is no shortage of letters like what an applicant submits from a provider they shadowed or scribed for. They are basically form letters.

 

[mfk248]

I need to ask, have you been a scribe yourself?

I am a scribe, but I have a louder personality. I am passionate about medicine so I am going to talk to the patients and interact with them because I want to know what is going on just as much as the provider. I find the patients really appreciate that. Not all scribes do that, and not all scribes are expected to do that. Going above and beyond in any position is important.

And in terms of having no healthcare background, you need to start somewhere. Scribing, can and will get your foot in the door for other opportunities, and even if it is "super shadowing", at least you can cross that off your list because that is hard to come by too. You need to get your feet wet somewhere. Not everyone gets exposure to medicine, this is good exposure to start with, and not just for those who want to go to medical school.

As for responsibility, I also order the labs, imaging, and help the providers write the prescriptions. I need to make sure the patients get everything they need and it is written correctly, otherwise the next provider will not know what is going on, or something might be overlooked. My notes have to be written concisely and with good medical terminology as well. This is high responsibility because if I screw up then the patient is screwed.

In terms of critical thinking, I do it all the time. If the EMR system is malfunctioning, I actually have the computer programming skills to fix it...maybe not pertinent, but still a good skill to have. Developing familiarity with those systems is important anyway because everything is going electronic. It amazes me the amount of people who have trouble with these systems to begin with because they are not used to technology. Because I am an EMT, I am allowed to take vitals and run other tests, the nurses have taught me how to read a lot of the tests, so I know what is going on. I need to think about what I will do if a patient reacts badly (which has happened), and I need to remain professional. These actions, and that I care are what get cited in the letters of recommendations. It is all about building a relationship with whom you are working with, and if you are not good at doing that in any job it will go down hill.

I have shadowed before, and it is not that similar. Most of the times the providers will not show me the notes because they think I will be bored by it. I need to ask them for that information. Often times, I am not allowed to stay in the room for the assessments either. As a scribe I stick with the provider 24/7.

Maybe not all scribing positions are not like mine, but I know a few that are. Scribing is emerging and growing so it should not be discounted or saved for the med students. Pair it with something else, or do it for free (I volunteer in my scribe position and do all that).

 

[pamac]

It sounds like whomever let's you scribe for them gets a good deal. You do the providers job of ordering tests and interpreting results, you do the nurse and cna's job of taking vitals and getting an accurate history. You do the IT departments job of fixing the computer. Impressive. I can't help but think you are more of a medical assistant than a true scribe.

No, I've never scribed. I work beside them, so I know what they do for the doctors. None of them need to do what you seem to be tasked with doing because everyone else does their jobs. The physicians even manage to run the EMR when no scribe is around to save the day.

What seems most likely to me is that you are allowed to do all the things you do because you are an EMT, which basically qualifies you as an ER tech. Our ER techs do all of the things you mentioned, from ordering tests for physicians to taking vitals, etc. Medical assistants also do all the things you described.