Question for practicing Dermatologists who have hired mid-levels for your practice

[PA-Student]

I am about to start PA school this year and I wanted to find out what you look for when hiring a mid-level for your practice.

I will be choosing dermatology as one of my elective clinical rotations in my second year, and am looking for advice on what post-grad education if any would help me. And also what type of prior work experience (assuming my first job after certification is not in Derm) would work in my favor.

Appreciate any advice!

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[asmallchild]

I am about to start PA school this year and I wanted to find out what you look for when hiring a mid-level for your practice.

I will be choosing dermatology as one of my elective clinical rotations in my second year, and am looking for advice on what post-grad education if any would help me. And also what type of prior work experience (assuming my first job after certification is not in Derm) would work in my favor.

Appreciate any advice!

It's a difficult balance. Ideally, I'd like someone who can operate with minimal supervision but has the wherewithal to seek me when they need supervision. It's rare to find this in someone who just graduated from PA school. To be fair, derm residents can sometimes struggle with this so it's not fair to expect this from a freshly graduated midlevel. The best way to achieve this is to get derm experience and start in a derm position right after school.

The next best thing would be a PA who is willing to learn and listen (especially if freshly graduated).

I've had the luxury of working with both kinds of PAs.

I've also worked with newer PAs/NPs who asked me for supervision more often than I liked. I'm still willing to tolerate this especially if I see that they're making an effort to learn and not just grabbing me to hold their hands. The ones that get removed from my team quickly are the ones who overstep their limits and don't come to seek me for help.

(e.g. This is fortunately not someone on my team. But within my group, there was a PA that continued to treat "acne" on the cheek as acne when it was really a SCC. The supervising physician ultimately got involved when the SCC hit buccal mucosa.....)

 

[TMP-SMX]

Listen to dermcast.tv (podcasts) to get a good grasp on hot topics in dermatology. This is put on by the society of dermatology PAs.

 

[werd]

it's so hard to find mid-levels with significant derm experience; when we hire we more or less assume the PA/NP will be starting from scratch. we typically look for someone with enthusiasm, who interacts well, and who is willing to work hard to learn. showing interest during PA school and a bit of derm exposure whether on rotations or shadowing is a plus.

 

[OraclePL]

A few things I look for:

1) A lack of ego + willingness to learn. I've seen midlevels who (not initially, but after a few years of experience) develop a complex and refuse to change bad habits they pick up along the way. The state of medicine is constantly changing. It might be as simple as overtesting on labs or mismanaging a patient, but you have to be willing to take feedback.

2) Self-awareness. This is the hardest to quantify. Will you come ask me for help when you're in over your head? I'd rather you ask too many questions than too few.

3) Derm experience - ideally, at least some. But some PAs go train under dinosaurs who practice 1950s dermatology and then pick up bad habits along the way; in those cases I'd rather train someone from scratch.

4) Shows a knowledge of advancements in the field. No, you don't have to be a dermoscopy expert. But if you own a dermatoscope and go to conferences and try to learn? That'll impress me. Do you keep up with trends in the field? I need some measure of competence/trust before I hire.