I was hired about a month ago and granted temporary privileges to work in an ER. This was my first job postgrad. My orientation was supposed to end at the end of this month. I have been told I'm doing well and there have been no concerns.

I received a phone call today, out of the blue, saying that there were causes for concern on my application and it would be in my best interest to withdraw my application before it gets denied and sent to the national committee and follow me throughout my career. After further discussion with the medical staff office, I was told they reached out to everyone on my resume (not just references) and received red flags regarding my professionalism, ability to practice on my own, and medical knowledge. I don't even have specific people listed on my resume. So essentially I was fired. Has this ever happened to anyone? Has anyone ever heard of this? I am so distraught, traumatized, upset, sobbing, etc. I'm shook to think people would say that about me.

Now I'm back to square one. looking for a job with basically no experience. I am wondering if someone I was working with didn't like me or thought I was incompetent? Idk I'm so upset and disheartened :/

I am debating whether to become a PA that specializes in peds rheum or do med school and become a Peds Rheum. I am mainly in between because from what I researched, this kind of speciality is "niche" for PA's so I wanted to know anyone's experience in the job market who attempted or are in this speciality. Along with anyone's general experience in this field. I appreciate it!

I'm a PA with about 2 years of outpatient cardiology experience and am debating whether to switch jobs. I'd appreciate advice from other PAs!

Current job:
- Salary: $138k
- Established outpatient cardiology practice
- I like my supervising physician and feel comfortable in my role.
- I manage my own patients but also help with my supervising physician's patients and in-basket, which can get overwhelming.
- Annual raises have been less than 1%.
- I'm not fully vested in my retirement benefits until I reach 3 years of employment.

New job:
- Salary: $154k
- Shorter commute (about 30 minutes by car).
- Relatively new practice with a small team and some organizational issues.
- The PA I spoke with seems to be handling things largely on her own, and they appear eager to hire another PA.
- My responsibilities aren't completely clear yet because the practice is still getting established.
- A separate in-basket pool is planned, which could mean less administrative work for me.

I'm torn because I'm frustrated with my current workload and limited raises, but I'm nervous about leaving a stable, familiar job for a practice that seems somewhat disorganized. I'd also be giving up my retirement vesting benefits by leaving early.

Would you take the new job for a $16k raise, or stay at the current job for the stability? Is joining a new practice an opportunity or a red flag when responsibilities aren't clearly defined?

I'd especially appreciate advice from PAs who have switched jobs early in their careers or joined newer practices. Thanks!

Hey everyone! I was wondering if anyone could share their experience with applying for their license after passing the PANCE. I’m in IL and was filling out the license application, and I’m confused whether they need our transcripts. If so, did you guys send your official undergrad and high school transcripts as well or just one for PA school?

Hi everyone I’m a new grad went through the credentialing at one hospital, but the last two weeks i got another offer that I believe is better although a longer commute. I just got word that I have been cleared and can start this upcoming week. However I have a shadowing opportunity with this new job in the next day.

Has anyone just completely declined an offer w days away of potential start? And after months of clearance?

So I’m actively being “recruited” by another health system in the area about coming over to work for them. I don’t want to give too many details about the job itself, but it’s a surgical specialty with a call component which is what I’ve been doing for years. I got the informal new offer which it seems like a fairly significant raise, but has down sides like I’m going to have to switch my school loans to a standard repayment plan instead of PSLF (because of forbearance and stuff I only have like 17/120 qualifying payments). They asked if I could start in 4-6 weeks, which I’m sure I won’t be able to as I probably will have to give a 60-90 day notice.

What are things I should be asking? Have you made a big switch to a competing health system before and how did that go?

I’m a PA-C in Miami and a new mom who left telepsych after burnout and concerns about prescribing expectations.
My parents have a massage practice with over 10 years of loyal clients. I’d love to build on that foundation by serving women in midlife, especially during perimenopause and menopause.

My goal is to address mood, sleep, nutrition, physical health, and hormones together, with training to offer appropriate hormone treatment alongside mental-health care.

Where would you start? Looking for practical, evidence-based functional/integrative medicine and menopause training, plus remote mentorship. Would love to hear from someone who’s made a similar transition!

I currently work at an outpatient cardiology office and have been for the past 3 years. While I do enjoy it, I’ve found it not working out best for me as I am already an extremely anxious and stressed out person. Add cardiology to the mix, I’m a mess. I’ve went to therapy and start medications with little improvement in my anxiety surrounding my job.

I recently interviewed and accepted a job for Sleep Medicine. Of course this is lower acuity and should be less stress, but a part of me is worried I’m making a big mistake switching my specialties drastically. The doctors I work with have also made comments about how they think I’m making a mistake going there.

Am I making a bad decision by switching to a lower acuity specialty from a higher stress one? I just need a job with less stakes.

I didn’t file my taxes for the 2 years I was in PA school - I thought I did my due diligence and attempted both years but was told I didn’t have to file because no income. I didn’t question it at all, and now I feel like the biggest idiot ever. I was applying for IDR on Mohela today and am realizing that I need my previous 2 years of taxes showing that I had no income to be able to pay $0 for the first year. The only other option I see is to upload a paystub, but that would mean I am paying based on the salary I haven’t even gotten payed yet. Has anyone run into this before and mind giving me advice? I think I can file late but I’d have to send it in via mail and that could take weeks/months my deferment period ends in like a month sooo. I don’t think this is pertinent but I am planning on doing PSLF too. Thanks!!!

I'm sure this has been discussed numerous times, but for the Florida PAs, what does your salary look like? I know Florida pay is not the best overall, but I was just curious what the average salary looked like in this state right now. I just left a job making around $120k and got a new job now making around $160k base. I do work in the ER. I feel like the pay at my new job is a rarity in this state. What's everyone take on this?

Hi!! I am a new grad PA-C and I am getting ready for interview #3 with an ortho group. They are bringing me in this Friday to visit the site and meet the surgeons and PAs I would be working with, see the clinic and OR etc.

This is my dream job and I really want to make a good impression! Any thoughts or advice on things to prepare for what they call a "shadow" day with them?

TW pedophilia

I started my dream job very recently, it is a small family medicine clinic that is owned by non-physicians. The physician who has been at the practice for many years is retiring and I was hired to work weekdays with a new physician working weekends. Well today I found out one of the owners of the company has several charges of sexual assault against minors spanning several years. I am extremely disgusted and cannot believe I have been working for a pedophile. I am strongly considering quitting even though this is my dream job.

hi everyone. Im just wondering how long, in the recent months if you’ve applied for the DEA in New York, have you waited? Im on 7 weeks now. NYC Job says I need it before November begins or they move my start date again. Funds are running low. I call and check almost everyday, idk what to do

My husband just recently got military orders for a one year mobilization to Tampa, FL. I currently work as a surgical physician assistant in VA with plans to return after the orders are up. Traditionally, most full time jobs are looking at 2 year commitment due to the time/effort/cost of credentialing with insurance companies. Wondering if anyone else has had this experience of only needing a job for a year and if it should be disclosed during the interviewing process. Money isn’t that big of an issue due to BAH allowance, but would like to keep up with clinical practice and experience during the year away.

Also looking at locums in Tampa but not seeing many job offerings for surgical PAs in the area.

Any and all advice is appreciated! Thank you!

Hi! I’m a new hearing aid wearer and have been struggling with auscultation while wearing them. I was wondering if anyone who wears hearing aids has any tips? Do you take them out when auscultating?

I should note: i work in trauma! So it’s not usually a quite environment + fast paced and will slow me down to take them in and out/ i need to communicate but don’t want to miss breath sounds for the obvious reason!! I am considering assigning another provider to just listen to breath sounds for me while i do the rest of the exam 🤣

Any advice would be appreciated <3

I’ve been seeing a lot of job postings for Advanced Practice Providers in my area; however most of them (80-85%) are for rotational shift jobs. Is this is normal for hospital systems that have a large inpatient area? Should I consider it as a possibility or just hold out until a day shift position is posted. Also for reference, I live in Columbus, Ohio. The main hospital systems are OSU, OhioHealth, and Mount Caramel.

I'm a new grad and I start my first job in less than 3 weeks. I'm struggling with feeling like I'm wasting this time even when I try to relax. I just finished PA school a month ago and finally feel like I have all this freedom that I dont know what to do with. I also don't want to spend it studying a ton for the position especially after i spent the last several years studying all day everyday. I also keep thinking about how I'm about to start working for essentially the rest of my life which makes me feel like I should be making the absolute most of these last few weeks.

I'm wondering how working as a PA compares to PA school in terms of work life balance. Did you find that you actually had more free time once you started working or did you feel like you had even less time for yourself? I'm worried that once I start working I'll feel the same way I did throughout PA school which was constantly overwhelmed/tired and feeling like I'm drowning in responsibilities with no real time to relax.

For those who have already made the transition, did you experience these feelings before starting? What are some things you wish you had done before starting your first job, or things you did that you're really glad you made time for?

Hi everyone, I am currently a PA with over 5 years experience in psychiatry and am hoping to ask for a raise. I am currently working as a 1099 and paid 95 per hour and hit 40 hours weekly. I do not get any benefits with my current employer since I am a 1099. Would love to know what psychiatry PAs are currently making and what their schedules look like as either a W2 or 1099. I see new patients for a full hour with 20 minute follow ups, generally seeing about 15 patients per day. I have not had a raise in the last 2.5 years at my current job which I did ask for 6 months ago and was told volume is not high enough. I would like to ask for a raise at my 3 year mark here and wanted to poll for opinions. I feel pretty stagnant here right now. I am located in a medium to high cost of living city. Any advice or insight is appreciated.

I plan to soon apply to jobs in EM in Western PA, northeast OH, and the panhandle of WV. I have been told by a few PA’s to avoid USACS and any hospital that is affiliated with them (nobody went into specifics about it). Unfortunately, a majority of the jobs in that area are associated with USACS. I am a new-grad PA and am hoping to have a first job that will train me and prepare me well rather than throwing me to the wolves in the first month because they need more staff. Basically, I am wondering if anyone has personal experience because it seems that I may have to consider applying. Thanks!!!

I am 11 months post grad working as a hospitalist PA in a large metropolitan city. I work 6 12.5 hour shifts every 2 weeks, and 2-3 weekends a month. I started out on day shift and strongly disliked the workflow as I felt like an order monkey, whatever the attending wanted I had to do. I was also constantly bombarded by messages from social work, consults, RNs. Our service also has no continuity, so we switch both attendings and patient lists (11-12 pts) every 2-4 days. It was very difficult to learn about the patients and then be able to have meaningful learning experiences with the attendings due to the lack of time. I went to night shift 8 months in, and am liking the workflow a lot better. However, I feel like I have had very minimal progression in my clinical knowledge since starting the job. This makes me feel like I should not be autonomously taking care of 20-30 patients (in addition to doing admissions) as I get no feedback on whether my decision making is correctWe are expected to be collaborative with the other PAs and ask questions but it seems even the more experienced PAs don’t have a good grasp on pathophysiology and are operating on pattern recognition. I dread coming to work due to the chance that I will have a patient decompensate and I know I will not know what to do and will have to exclusively rely on others to help me. I’ve been thinking about changing jobs about 2 months in and the feelings are only getting stronger. Not sure if this is a personality and perseverance thing that I need to work on or if the job is just not a good fit for me. The pay is really great, but I’ve started to go to therapy because of the amount of anxiety and doom I have around this job. Would really like some advice or words of wisdom for this situation, thank you!

I had my last set of questions this quarter and I got an email that I passed and I can see my passing score online. My certification hasn’t updated yet with a new expiration date. Has anyone’s certification updated yet or do we wait until it gets closer to our current one expiring?

What are you guys wearing to interviews these days? I have been at the same job for a while so it’s been a minute since I interviewed. I’m a man and sometimes I’ll see men wear suits when they interview for hospital-based positions, but I’m not sure how formal I need to be. Thanks!

Looking for a new job in NYC. Ortho PAs that work at HSS- could someone let me know their experience working there? Feel free to DM me instead. TYIA

I'm interested in getting fellow PAs' perspectives on an issue involving the distinction between practicing as a PA and working in a nonclinical capacity that draws upon one's medical education and professional experience.

For context, I'm a PA-C with >5 years of clinical experience. I'm currently out of practice for personal health reasons, and participating in my state's professional monitoring program, thus my PA license is active with a non-disciplinary restriction.

My monitoring agreement includes the following language:

"Refrain from practice as a PA until this IRP is amended and their license status no longer states non-disciplinary restriction. The Licensee shall gain written approval from XXX Staff prior to starting employment that requires the respective license."

I fully acknowledge and have been compliant with this restriction. I have my next clinical job lined up for early 2027, when my license is scheduled to become "conditional practice" contingent on my ongoing compliance in this monitoring program. For the past several months I have been working an entry-level job to make ends meet.

In the meantime, I've established an independent medical-legal consulting business, primarily working with criminal defense attorneys. No civil cases/medmal/standard of care cases. My responsibilities would include reviewing medical records; developing chronologies and identifying clinically relevant information; explaining medical terminology, diagnoses, injuries, and clinical concepts to attorneys; assisting attorneys in understanding medical evidence and its potential relevance to their cases; potentially providing testimony explaining medical concepts or findings.

No clinical duties, patient care/interaction, period.

Importantly, I have received written confirmation from the organization engaging my services that PA licensure is not required for this work. My medical education and experience are relevant to my qualifications, but an active PA license is not a prerequisite for the position.

The question that has arisen is whether performing this type of nonclinical consulting, while identifying myself accurately as a PA-C, nevertheless constitutes "practicing as a PA" under my monitoring agreement.

My interpretation is that there is an important distinction between using the knowledge and experience acquired through PA training to work as an independent medical legal consultant, and actually practicing as a PA.

My questions are:

1. Would you personally consider the nonclinical work I've described to constitute practicing as a PA?
2. For those who have transitioned into nonclinical roles, how have your employers or state licensing boards distinguished those responsibilities from licensed PA practice?
3. Are there aspects of medical-legal consulting, particularly expert testimony, that you believe could cross that distinction?

I'm aware that the ultimate interpretation of my agreement is a regulatory/legal question. But I'm genuinely interested in how my colleagues understand the professional boundaries of PA practice, especially as more PAs move into nontraditional roles.

Thanks in advance for your perspectives, including those who disagree with my interpretation.