Are you saying PA 'residents' are pulling 28 hours shifts and doing 80 hour work weeks? Because if they aren't, they are most definitely not being 'treated exactly like a PGY-1."
YUP THEY ARE. I have several friends who have done and are currently doing these and I actually visited one of them while he was a resident. he was scheduled interchangeably with pgy-1 surgical residents.
pa residencies are 1-2 yrs in length in the fields of ct surgery, critical care, derm, emergency, IM/hospitalist, neonatology, neurosurg, obgyn, oncology, ortho, psych, rheumatology, sleep medicine, urology, gen. surg, and trauma.
from a prominent pa surgical residency program:
Physician Assistant Residents will be assigned a workload and duties similar to those of first year (PGY1) physician surgical residents. Duties will include history & physical examinations, writing patient orders and progress notes in the hospital record, responding to and evaluating patient problems, making rounds, ordering diagnostic studies, assisting in the operating room, and performing invasive procedures with appropriate oversight by the supervising physician. Night call will be assigned on a rotating basis. The PA resident will be assigned first-call responsibilities with appropriate supervision and within the scope of his/her practice parameters. The PA Resident will avail himself/herself of additional direction and/or assistance as needed.
FROM ANOTHER PROGRAM:
Didactic: During the two-month didactic phase, the PA attends lectures and conferences covering surgical and medical topics designed to deepen knowledge and prepare him/her for the clinical rotations. Included are ACLS training, surgical skills, radiology, orientation to the operating room and techniques and preparation for clinical rotations.
Clinical: The clinical portions consists of eleven four-week rotations and one month of vacation. The PA receives four to five months of general surgery, one month each of emergency room at a level I trauma center, cardiothoracic surgery, peripheral vascular surgery, and three months at surgical specialties. On rotation, the PA works side-by-side with physician house staff and assumes full PGY-1 level responsibility, which includes assignment to the operating room. Education on the clinical rotations comes from bedside clinical teaching by house staff and attendings as well as formal conferences. The call schedule is every third night.
from a pa obgyn residency:
The PA residents are trained along with the OB/GYN physician residents, working 70-80 hours per week, and are exposed to the management of complicated and non-complicated antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, postoperative, acutely ill, and well OB and GYN patients. Upon completion of this residency, the PA should be competent in performing vaginal deliveries, 1st assisting in Cesarean deliveries and gynecological surgeries, and performing colposcopies and other common gynecological procedures.
from a pa critical care residency:
PA fellows will have the opportunity to manage the care of complex surgical populations, including heart transplants, ventricular assist devices (VAD) intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP) and kidney transplants, as well as learn and perform procedures such as: central lines, arterial lines, intubations, airway management, bronchoscopy, and thoracostomy.