Lifestyle Issues

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OwlMyste

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I was wondering....

1.) How many hours per week does the typical PA work?

2.) How many days per week does the typical PA work?

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Bouncing from forum to forum until you find a cushy career that'll accept you, eh Owl?

Good luck, I don't think the 30 hours/week and $200,000/yr job that you are looking for exists.
 
Originally posted by OwlMyste
I was wondering....

1.) How many hours per week does the typical PA work?

2.) How many days per week does the typical PA work?

I met a surgical PA who worked 3 days/week for 35 hours/week. I think he pulled about $70-80K/year. Not a bad gig.
 
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In the small ED (~20k visits/year) where I've done most of my shadowing, the PA's work about 15 shifts a month and make 70-75k.

A friend of mine has a brother who works as a cardiac surgery PA at a large university medical center. I don't know a lot about his call schedule, but I do know he works 5 days a week and is on call at least a couple times a week. He makes ~85-90k.


That's all I know about PA's and their pay/lifestyle
 
According to the 2002 AAPA PA Census:

87% of PA's work full time (32+ hours per week). Of these PA's the hours worked per week was:

Mean: 44.6
Median: 42

and the yearly pay was:

Mean: $72,241
Median: $69,567

There was no information on the number of days per week worked.
 
As stated earlier...it will all depend on the setting and specialty/subspecialty the PA is practicing in...
 
Originally posted by themadmedic
As stated earlier...it will all depend on the setting and specialty/subspecialty the PA is practicing in...

what about the following specialties:

Emergency Medicine
Pediatrics
Family Medicine
OBGYN
Surgical-all surgical specialties
Radiology
Dermatology
Radiologic Oncology
Neurology

and any others I missed...
 
think hours/call similar to an md/do in most of these fields. the line that working as a pa provides a better lifestyle stops when pa school ends and work begins. yes, the training is shorter and no residency is required, but when you hit the work force you have to work the same hours as the docs who employ you. em pa's work nights. surgical pa's take o.r. call
fp pa's are called in the middle of the night to deliver babies.
the pa's I work with work on avg 3 shifts/month more than the em docs in the group.so short term there is a lifestyle bonus because you are done with training sooner, but in the long run you are still working your butt off.
 
So, emed, it sounds like you would disagree with the assertion that a non-trad (read: creaky 33-yo) would benefit from going PA rather than doc, in order to get into the game a little sooner, yes? It's not like either option leaves time to write the great American novel, or go on tour with Ani DiFranco part of the year.
 
I am older than you and going back to school, so age shouldn't be the primary factor.
just think about where you want to be in 20 yrs and go from there. if you want to be a doc, take the time to go that route. if you are set on pa it is a great career. I wouldn't recommend pa as a stepping stone to md/do, it's a major pain in the butt to become a student again once you are established and relatively comfortable.in my previous post I was just trying to point out to the youngins that being a pa doesn't necessarily mean m-f 9-5 and home every night for dinner.as a pa or an md/do you can control your own destiny and decide that you only want to work 2 days a week, etc but it might take some time to find the right job.best of luck whatever you decide
 
Originally posted by OwlMyste
what about the following specialties:

Emergency Medicine
Pediatrics
Family Medicine
OBGYN
Surgical-all surgical specialties
Radiology
Dermatology
Radiologic Oncology
Neurology

and any others I missed...

:rolleyes:
 
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