Physician Assistant
(Female, Age 30) from CLEVELAND, GA
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 30 who works as a Physician Assistant in CLEVELAND, GA. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Physician Assistant |
|---|---|
| Salary | $80,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 50 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | CLEVELAND, GA |
| Years Experience | 2.5 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
I work in an outpatient Family Practice clinic that is part of a local not-for-profit hospital organization in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Provide care to individuals of all ages that includes but is not limited to, diagnosing medical problems, prescribing medications, ordering laboratory and radiology tests (and interpreting results).
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
under compensated, especially for my field and area in which I am employed.
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes. I love being able to care for my patients as well as work with the staff that are employed at my office.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
Outpatient clinic. Extremely busy office which can be good and bad.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 2
Benefits: 4
Hours: 6
Co-Workers: 8
Supervisors: 7
Job Title: 3
Level of Responsibility: 1
The Actual Work: 5
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | Already at work after leaving my house at 6:00 AM. Preparing charts and papers for the day. An office meeting with our office manager and physicians to discuss work-related issues. |
| 8am to 9am | Begin seeing patients at 8:00 (both scheduled patients and work-ins) |
| 9am to 10am | Continue seeing patients. Answer phone messages from patients as well as call in needed medications. |
| 10am to 11am | Continue seeing patients. Review information sent to me from specialists in whom I referred previous patients to. Review all available lab tests and xrays as well as CT scans, MRIs, etc |
| 11am to 12pm | Completing the morning with scheduled patients until 12:20. Usually meet with drug representatives for approximately 30 minutes each lunch to discuss new medications, changes in medications already being prescribed, etc. Attempt to complete tasks at lunch that the morning time did not allow. |
| 12pm to 1pm | Being seeing afternoon patients around 1:20PM. I work in patients about a “full” schedule to try and accommodate all individuals who need to be seen. Will occasionally consult with my physicians regarding difficult cases. Also work-up and transfer unstable patients to the nearby hospital if needed. |
| 1pm to 2pm | Continue seeing patients. Usually have patient physicals scheduled which include newborn testing, immunizations, performing xrays, breathing tests, and/or laboratory tests as needed. Vaginal and prostate exams. School physicals. |
| 2pm to 3pm | Still seeing patients as above |
| 3pm to 4pm | Continue seeing patients, reviewing old tests, calling in prescriptions, etc. Towards the end of the day I tend to do alot of scheduled procedures which include mole removals, toenail removals, suturing, biopsies, etc |
| 4pm to 5pm | Ending my day with the last few patients and try to get caught up on answering all the phone messages from patients during the day. |
| 5pm to 6pm | Try and complete my day by finishing dictating my charts and preparing for the next day. Occasionally I will have meetings off site either for my company or a regional meeting with other Physician Assistants and/or midlevel providers. |
| 6pm to 7pm | Hopefully on my way home by this time. |
| 7pm to 8pm | |
| 8pm to 9pm | n/A |
| 9pm to 10pm | N/A |
| 10pm to 11pm | N/A |
| 11pm to 12am | N/A |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
Through volunteering in the medical field
What was the application process?
Submitted resume, talked with staff/physicians, interviews, etc
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes. Several interviews with both the physicians I would be working under as well as the office manager and several staff.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
What hours I would be expecting, would I take call, what salary I would be willing to work with, etc
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Not necessarily my employer,but my medical program did.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes. 9 1/2 year of college and 18,000+ hours of hospital work (volunteering, office work, CNA, lab technician, RN, etc) prior to beginning my Master’s.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. I obtained well about the expected number of clinical hours in the medical field even prior to entering my master’s level program. This well-prepared me both educationally, physically, and mentally for what I would be doing.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
yes
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Search the internet for information pertaining to the job. Ask those with the current job how to better prepare themselves for this particular career. Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer!!
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Definitely great personable skills as well as the ability to make quick yet sound decisions. The willingness to stay ahead and continue to build one’s knowledge as medicine is ever-changing.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Definitely. Not only is a higher level of education needed, but also, a strong background of knowledge prior to entering this career
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Take care of yourself as taking care of others can be taxing on your health, the health of your family, and the health of others. Be willing to go with your gut feeling and be ready to become a “lifetime” student.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Physician Assistant | 2.5 yrs | 75000 | see above |
| Prior Job 2 |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.89
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.6 | Brenau | RN, BSN |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
3.66 | Emory Univ | MMSc, Physician Assistant Program |
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