Life Changes

Hello again. Welcome back to this way of communicating. (Not instagram or TikTok :p ). It is amazing how social media has changed in 10 years. Who blogs now right? Millennials do!

This marks 10 years of me Eden being a physician assistant, Class of 2014. I have had my left hip replaced, 2 children, one during COVID-19 (strangest time ever). Lost my appendix and have been through a total of 4 physician assistant jobs, rural hospitalist PA, bone marrow transplant PA, chronic care PA and now... a rheumatology PA.

 

 

Class of 2014

PA feels

I am going to be honest about how I felt about being a PA over the years. As a new grad I was excited and thrilled to be in medicine and to learn anything and everything. My first job in a rural community really utilized my scope as a PA. I felt challenged, supported and had the perfect balance of autonomy which is what you strive to find in a PA position. As a PA you depend on your physicians in how they utilize and support you. When limitations are placed and there are restricted opportunities for growth even after trying to pursue change, I become jaded about being a PA. I haven’t posted anything in years and haven’t been involved in the program. I thought, if I am not happy as a PA, how am I supposed to inspire and teach future PAs.

Considering Med School

I had a strong urge to return to medical school. These thoughts would come at least twice a year starting around my 4^th year as a PA. With the support of my husband I dived into what was needed to be done. Lots!! It would take 2-3 years to get in. I envisioned my life and what I would be going through. 4 years of medical school plus minimum 2 years residency (knowing myself I would choose internal medicine, * 5 years minimum). 

1.       Cost – (Our salary is public: p) STEP 6 about $130, 000 gross + benefits x 6 years minimum lost.

2.       Time / Lifestyle – I just landed a Monday to Friday job with no call, evenings and weekends. This balance allows me to be fully present in my kid's lives, and I am grateful for it.

3.       Energy – I am soo tired (2 kids will do that to you :P) and I feel old, creaky bones and another hip replacement around the corner. You work in the day then go home to “work” with your children. Sometimes work is your break especially from weekends. :p

4.       Passion – I love medicine, and I love helping patients. I get to do both as a PA.

I asked female physicians with young families their opinions and anyone who can give me advice. In the end it is truly your decision to make. I decided not to go down that path. My main reason is the time that would take away from my family and the stress. I don’t want to feel stressed that I need to study when I am with my kids. I took another look at why I want to go to medical school.

Is it ego? just wanting to know I can get into medical school. Maybe

Is it wanting to be a doctor to do more?

Then I thought, I can do more as a PA I just need to find the right place and advocate for the profession. I am passionate about medicine, and I always have been. It is an honour of being able to practice it.

I have to shout out my fellow PA classmate who is entering his first year of medical school this year! I am so happy for you and maybe a bit jealous: p

Congrats Kod! He is famous on the U of M medicine website

baby PAs 2012

Where do I go from here

I am optimistic about my future and that of our profession. It takes a few years practising as a PA before you have a sense of what you want and I'm hopeful that my PA colleagues and I can raise awareness and advocate for the professional relationships with physicians we hope to have. I am interested in more than just being content. I want to be engaged, challenged and given a certain autonomy in my decisions and process. This takes patience to find the right position and time to build the expertise and trust with supervising physicians.

Since my new position my jadedness is fading. There is good support and the future vision on how they want to utilize a PA is exciting. I also want to try teaching and see if I would like to pursue more of it. I want to help current and future PAs feel seen, appreciated and happy that they have chosen this profession. 

MPAS Class of 2026

This is the largest class I have seen - 30! We were a mere 12 students 10 years ago. It was quite impactful to see this. The speeches were inspiring and brought me back to when I was a student and grateful to be accepted into the program. I absorbed the students' excitement and it revived some part of me I lost.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT SUPERVISING PHYSICIAN - The search for a new job

Hello everyone, I stumbled upon my blog and realized people are still reading it. It made 100,000 views!!

I’ve recently started a new job. On the search to finding my new position I realized how important the PA-physician relationship is to a happy work life. 

So.. what makes a great supervising physician from Eden’s (My) perspective

1. Being able to work as a team - treated as a colleague than just an employee 

2. Being approachable – to be able to ask questions if needed

3. Teaching when able – especially at the beginning of a new job or as a new PA. Acknowledging the PA's background including limitations and previous work experience. Being able to fill the gaps in a respectable way.

4. Treated as not only a clinician but as a person – for me lunch/coffee dates are great to get to know each other better and learn more about the person than the job title. This includes all health care co-workers, nurses, allied health, unit assistants, health care aids. 

I began searching for other opportunities as my commute, 50min one way (almost 2 hr drive per day), was becoming overwhelming especially with the crazy Winnipeg winters. They don’t call Winnipeg “Winterpeg” for nothing. 

The search for a good fit was more difficult than the first time. As a fresh PA the priority was to find a job and start paying off that student debt. The second time around it became more focused on who you will be working with and how much the employer will invest in teaching you. I was lucky that when I graduated PA school my first position provided both.  I compared it as a marriage as you will be closely working with the physician and trust is very important both ways. This time you think more about what area you will be working in and how much autonomy you would like. Also job longevity begins to play a factor as I begin to think of having a family and stability. 

Take home points - looking for a job 

1. Find an area you like to work in and determine what role you would play.

2. Find physicians who are invested in you as I discussed above. Our role is very much determined by our supervising physician and how much they are willing to teach and give autonomy.

3. Can you see yourself working there for 5, 10, 15 years? Does the job fit with your future goals?

Luckily I found a position at the same hospital that my fiancé works at. No more driving for me!! Now I get to sleep in the car when he drives me to work :P

More on my new job soon. 

CAPA CONFERENCE 2016: Winnipeg

Hi everyone! I’m excited to talk about the CAPA conference this year. Since joining the PA profession in 2012 I was lucky enough to participate in the CAPA conference in Calgary and Halifax. Unfortunately last year I missed the conference in Toronto but was able to make it this year! I was truly amazed and impressed of the conference this year in my home town Winnipeg. It was heart warming to see the amount of people that attended and how CAPA and the physician assistant profession have taken a global stage.

How I felt when I entered the CAPA conference and realized how many people were there and how much the conference had to offer. (Also how I felt for the morning after breakfast from the pub crawl & gala dinner :P )

There are more studies occurring about physician assistants in Canada. And the the poster competition this year was better than ever.  (I don’t think my poster could have competed this year :P)

BIG PUBLICATION! 

Conference Board of Canada Report: PAs saving the healthcare system millions of dollars. (Links below)

 Globe & Mail
 The Conference Board of Canada: Gaining Efficiency. Increasing the Use of Physician Assistants in Canada

This is a huge successful study for PAs in Canada. Hopefully this will open the door for more incentive to train, fund and employ PAs in all of Canada.

Physician Assistants Globally 

This picture has representatives and pioneers of the physician assistant profession and organizations from all over the world. On this panel it has PAs from United States, Netherlands, UK, Australia and Ireland. This was an eye opening conversation. We were able to compare the physician assistant profession progression in different countries. Able to compare notes of what worked and what did not. Canada still has a lot of work ahead but we are in good shape.

Stay tuned!... New PA promoting campaign! #CanadaneedsPAs

 

 

 GALA PICS

 

Trying to find a good selfie!! 3 times no luck

Even a pharmacist was present at the Gala :P who knew!

CAPA conference buddies. Throw back to 2013, Calgary

Brother Ryan! CAPA conference gala 2016