When I first started PA school, I had the mindset that post graudate fellowships, or residencies for PAs was a waste of time. I mean, why work for less money as a resident when you can get hired on making a great salary and do training on the job... It makes sense right? or does it?
I started thinking more about this topic during my job search over the past few months. I had applied to about 3 or 4 job postings for emergency medicine. Every single organization replied back with an explination that they were looking for a PA with experience and not a new grad... this got me thinking of the old conundrum "how can I get experience without a job, and how can I get a job without experience?!"
So I took a serious look at what a residency program would entail, and if it would be a good fit for me. During my research I learned that a PA residency is a lot more than just getting some extra experience in order to get hired with that ideal, great paying job... its an opportunity to make you an amazing PA!
Ok, so now you're thinking to yourself... if this is such a great opportunity why doesn't every PA do a residency?! Well, it is a matter of personal prefrence, and It really depends on your career goals as a PA. A residency is not for everyone, but if you pushed it out of your mind, like I did, because you would make less money for a year... take a second, read my experience, and give it a chance to bounce around in your brain to see if it fits your PA career goals.
When starting as a brand new PA most places give you a few months to get settled in and learn the ins and outs of the hospital or clinic. After this period of time typically productivity is increased in order to see a bigger case load. This can really make it difficult to continue to learn and to make matters worse many collaborating physicians don't have the necessary time to teach when a unique case presents itself.
As a PA doing a residency you get an opportunity to take on a smaller caseload to really understand each medical decision, be part of unique cases, and get many opportunities to practice proceedures and perfect them.
Also, any hospitals require that you do a certain amount of proceedures before you can get credentialed to perform them at their facility. (chest tubes, intubations, ect.) Doing a residency gives you the opportunity to do many proceedures and get good at them, so you can not only get credentialed in them when you get your job, but perform them more often after you are hired.
So when I looked up PA residencies in Arizona, I found only a few. I saw that the Mayo clinic offered one in abdominal organ transplant, hospitalist medicine, and ear nose throat-head/Neck surgery. I always enjoyed surgery and wanted to go into a field that would provide me the opportunity to work in clinic and in the OR, as well as do many different proceedures. I had a history of going to an ENT doc when I was younger for vocal chord nodules, and I always found the field interesting.
The deadline had already passed for applications... but I figured I would send out an email and ask anyway, I figured the worse they could say was no. Lucky enough they asked me for an interview! I flew back home to Arizona and had an awesome time at the interview. I loved the environment there and found that all the PAs had a really great friendship and relationship with eachother. It felt like they were all just a bunch of friends hanging out. It was a really cool environment.
Mayo clinic selects only 2 PAs each year to be a part of this one year ENT fellowship (residency). I was hopeful, but at the same time I understood that my chances of getting accepted were low out of pure statistics alone. I must have done something right during the interview because...
I was selected to be part of the fellowship!
I was SO excited upon hearing the news... and of course i'm still very excited.
I learned that this is a very surgical heavy fellowship (which I like very much) and I also felt like the program would allow me to work in many different areas after completion. The education is so broad and provides some great rotations in peds, oralmaxillofacial surgery, reconstructive and plastic surgery, along with all the ENT specialties. I feel that I will be able to find an area I really enjoy and make my PA career out of it.
As PA residencies are not very common, I will continue to document my experiences for those who are contemplating if they want do complete one as well. And as always, feel free to ask any questions.
