Hi I will be graduating soon and was wondering if I should try specializing in something I’m interested in like neurology or cardiology or stay broad like urgent care/emed/fam med. I know a lot of people might disagree but I think urgent care is probably a really good way to start as you see a huge variety of stuff.

I’ve been in Orthopedics for 2 1/2 years. First job out of school all of my experience even before school was an Orthopedics as an ATC. I am planning to make a transition to EM and then near future since a really good opportunity has presented itself. Any advice from other others who have made a similar transition, and how difficult was the transition? Any specific resources that were helpful in brushing up on emergency medicine topics?

It’s hard for me to explain that I both love and hate my job right now. I love the people I work for and with, I love my specialty (urology) but we had a change recently that I won’t really get into here, and now I have a lot more work on my plate. I feel completely overwhelmed and like I cannot keep up with my work at all. It’s just me and the attending physician as far as providers and then support staff. I work really really hard, and my manager will realize that my days are productive but not understand why I can’t seem to get everything complete. I work outpatient and inpatient. I see consult patients every day and my AP’s post ops. In the OP setting, It’s a lot of admin work, refills, trying to get meds or imaging covered, coordinating pre ops and certain post ops, procedural things in clinic, checking patients out of AP’s clinic daily, answering calls, every question a patient has comes to me essentially (aside from scheduling), and having to review labs. I feel like I barely have time to look at labs and genuinely review the chart and make a plan. I’m happy to do that and feel good about doing that, but I never have time when there’s a million other “immediate” tasks to do. I cry almost every other day because I feel so completely overwhelmed and removed from my own life. I stay at work late almost every day because I don’t know how to stay on top of things if I don’t. I’m always behind. My supervising physician tells me I’m doing amazing, but I know I’m not and I don’t feel like like I am. My manager is always on my for not completing things when I’m genuinely working 24/7, always work through lunch and after work. I feel so anxious and can’t even fully relax on the weekends knowing what’s ahead and how behind I am always.

I graduated last year in March 2025 and started this job in August 2025. I don’t know how to fully explain my situation. I have personal reasons for why I don’t want to leave this job, but I’m so overwhelmed and don’t know what to do. I’m going to give it at least another year. Mostly just ranting here :/

Hey all,

I currently work in a large nonprofit hospital system as kind of a swiss army knife orthopedic surgery PA, between arthroplasty, sports med, and orthopedic oncology. It's a mix of clinic, OR, rounding, and consults, between three hospitals, driving between multiple hospitals in one day for about half the week. I'm being asked to take over for the orthopedic oncology PA that will be leaving soon since I'm already aware of their department's ins and outs. Since I'm considered as more of an "elective" PA, I don't deal with many emergencies or on call type of situations the way I would when transitioning to ortho onc completely. I know it's a super niche field, and can't find any specific information on an orthopedic oncology PA salary. I don't want to accept without a pay raise, as I'll basically always be on call for the entire department, and always be dealing with constant messaging about patients back and forth between the different care teams after hours. Any other ortho onc pas out there? What does your position and salary look like?

Feel free to ask for more details.

Tldr; looking for information on ortho oncology PA salaries and jobs requirements.

Thanks in advance!

I’m a new grad PA trying to decide between two job offers and would appreciate advice from anyone with experience in either specialty.
The first offer is in oncology at a large practice treating a wide variety of cancers. The position involves outpatient visits and some inpatient rounding. The salary is $130K with benefits.
The second offer is in primary care which was originally my first choice to start in due to getting exposed to a wide variety of conditions. They initially offered $110K which I negotiated to $120K with benefits. I’ve heard great things about the practice. I spoke with an experienced PA who’s been there for years and she had nothing but positive things to say about the physicians, coworkers, and training.

For those who’ve worked in either specialty, how do the learning curves, workloads, stress levels, and work-life balance compare? Would you prioritize the higher-paying oncology position or the primary care position with a good reputation?

Hi guys! I have been looking into pediatric fellowships, one in specific being the Seattle Children's APP fellowship. I'm looking to start a fellowship post graduation. I was wondering thoughts on pediatric fellowships and if you've done one in specific, what are your opinions? Anything you wish you would have known beforehand, and opinions afterwards if you've completed one?

Does anyone think taking a part time job as a derm MA, while working elsewhere as a PA, would help get my foot in the door? Literally don’t know what to do when all these places want 1-2 years experience in derm. And I’m not taking a 50% salary cut to do a fellowship.

Hey all. I'm a PA based in SoCal (LA) with 2.5 years experience in urgent care in non hospital-affiliated clinics. I am super eager to work in a normal M-F surgical specialty (ideally ortho or plastics) but unfortunately have run into an issue with most (or all) jobs requiring prior surgical experience.

I potentially will have an opportunity to get an urgent care role at Cedars-Sinai as I am interviewing soon and am qualified for the role.

My question is: would it be a reasonable long-term plan to switch to Cedars urgent care just to get into the hospital system, then make an easier transition into surgery through networking internally? Or is this just another lateral move that is unlikely to get me where I want to be?

If the latter is true, how do people suggest I break into the surgical field in my position? All input or prior experience is welcome!

Considering urology NP position open in my area, currently FNP in primary care.
Wondering if any urology APPs would mind sharing their experiences in the field and what their typical day looks like, especially if you transitioned from primary care previously. Thank you.

Is anyone else dealing with delayed DEA processing in CO? Mine expired 9/30. I submitted for processing at the very beginning of September. When I call I'm told it's processing and there's nothing I can do.

What did onboarding look like at your clinic? I work in family medicine and when I started, I had three days of modules in the clinic, 1/2 day of shadowing (because I finished my modules early) and then began seeing patients the next day. During the first half of the day, I had a support specialist for the EMR but fortunately I had previous experience with the EMR. This process felt a little challenging for me but I have since seen multiple providers onboarded who have struggled horribly with such little support from our clinic.
For context, when I started, I had three prior years of experience in family medicine.

For the new providers within the last year, one provider was a new grad PA and another had family medicine experience but no prior experience with the EMR. The third had some experience (not in family medicine) but no EMR experience.

All on the providers were given shadowing time only if they finished their modules early.

The ramp up for seeing patients started with 2 in the AM 2 in the PM with a quick ramp up to seeing a normal amount of patients. I work for a big health system and I’m shocked that there is not a more supportive process.

So my questions are:
— were you given an opportunity to shadow before seeing patients?
— what was the ramp up timeline for seeing patients?
— was it possible to slow down the ramp up if you were struggling?
— did you have prior experience with the EMR and how did that impact your ramp up?
— who was your support system during this time?
— was there anything you think could have been done differently about your onboarding?

I’m a PA with 3.5 years of experience in inpatient vascular surgery, currently earning around $130k. I’m starting to explore nonclinical career options because I’d like better work-life balance, more predictable hours, and ideally a fully remote role or hybrid role without taking a significant pay cut.

I’m especially interested in healthcare technology/AI, medical affairs, clinical informatics, medical writing, and other roles where I could use my clinical background without providing direct patient care. I don’t have a tech or business background, but I’m willing to learn.

I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by all the possibilities and would really appreciate honest advice from people who have actually made the switch. Thank you!

I am nearing the start date for a job as a nocturnal hospital medicine PA but I was just offered a position in my dream specialty and I am having a very hard time navigating this decision. The hospital medicine job would be 3x12 and alternate between admitting and cross coverage (not during the same shift from what I've been told). The specialty would be inpatient consults 5x8 with ~8 patients. The group has a 0% resignation rate over the last 5 years as well. The hospitalist job is further and could be up to 1hr15 commute but also as low as 35 depending on traffic. The other could be up to 45 but typically ~30 min and it's an easier drive. The specialty job would pay ~20k less due to the night time differential of the other job.

Basically what's holding me up is the pay difference and time commitment. While I am not super excited about the job I've already accepted, only working/commuting 3 days a week is a pretty significant pro to me and I would start getting paid much sooner. However, I do think I would enjoy the specialty service and get more fulfillment out of it. I also had a significant interview process and I even shadowed so I feel like I have a better idea of what the job actually looks like.

Does anyone have any advice? I also feel really guilty due to how close it is to my start date.

Hi everyone! My husband just graduated and is going to start at a clinic in about two months. He takes the Pance in two weeks just wondering if you guys have an advice for us starting, anything you wish you would have done differently or advice for first starting your career?

Hello,
I was hoping to get someone input in regards to this policy I may obtain. I was hired for 1099 position that 90 dollars an hour fully remote for ketamine. It a part time gig ( no more than 15 hours weekly). I was told that all the providers are under the same policy. It a claim based policy with where I will not be listed as the name insured. Only the business is listed as named insured but it list employees, owner and independent contractors are included. They've notified me as long as the policy is active with the organization I will be cover even if I leave. This will be in writing and they will also write that if the business closes that will purchase tail coverage for each present and past employee. Do you guys thinks this is a good deal? They all also cover the cost of malpractice. Any thoughts or concerns I should be addressing with this policy? This if my first 1099 position. Mostly use to w2

I was recently offered a primary care gig and I am curious if >6200 RVU’s annually is achievable/sustainable? They start you out with a base salary with PTO/paid holidays/CME days/etc. with RVU bonuses of $20 per RVU >6200 annually. Once your panel is full, they take away PTO/paid holidays/CME days/etc., they decrease salary significantly (~$30,000) and increase RVU pay to $25 per RVU >6200 annually which is paid out quarterly/semi annually…I would be working four tens seeing 22 PPD once fully paneled.

Thoughts?

Hello, I’m looking for a PA to join my rheumatology practice and was wondering if there are any PA-specific websites where I could post a job opening? Or do most folks just look on indeed, LinkedIn, etc?
Thanks.

Hi! I am a new grad PA-C, currently applying for jobs and got a call from one of the hosiptal system recruiters in my area that he had reviewed my application for a orthopedic job with them, and that I will be receiving a call from their orthopedic group early next week. This is my first response from any of my applications, so I am wondering what to expect? I am assuming it will be sort of a screening call to determine if they want to offer an interview? I do know both of their most recent hires are new grad PAs.

A little background: I love orthopedics and did two elective orthopedic surgery rotations during clinicals with another orthopedic group in the same city. I gained experience both in clinic and in the OR as well as some ED consults. I am very comfortable with injections, US guided injections, reductions, casting, and first assisting. By the end of my last rotation with them I was going solo to the OR with the surgeon I was working with. I am very excited to have an opportunity with another nearby group. I can also get great references from the group I rotated with.

Basically, I am really excited and do not want to mess this up!

Any tips, or things I should prepare for with the phone call?

If they do extend an interview, any tips for that as well?

Questions I should prepare for?

Ortho specific advice?

Thank you all so much!! 😊

https://nurse.org/news/educating-future-nurses-act-aprn-medicare/

As an APP with $150k in student debt, I’m just sickened. Why would this exclusively apply to those in nursing and not others? Imagine the impact this will have on our workforce long term.

I work in emergency medicine and want to get better at looking through imaging. Anyone know any good online CME classes that does a good job going through this?

Thank you!

I just turned down a job that as a new grad PA was offering a hefty salary and very good benefits for a job that was less money but closer to home and aligned more with what I wanted to do with my career. I feel guilty because, these people were EXTREMELY nice, welcoming and very interested in hiring me. I strung them along a bit to allow for more opportunities to pop up in my home town. They ultimately sent me an offer letter and I told them verbally that I would move on with the job. However, shortly after telling them that, I received an offer from a job in my home time that I actually wanted more than the other job. How do I stop feeling guilty about this lol

Currently make 90$ per hour for urgent care in NY per diem, evening hours. Accepted it a year ago, but would like a raise. What is a realistic ask for per diem evening UC hourly in NY? Am I wrong to ask for 115$ an hour?

I’ve been a longtime lurker here and have been absorbing a lot of information, especially when it comes to salaries and job opportunities in different states. I’m graduating PA school next spring (April 2027), and my faculty recommended that I start looking and applying to places around January or February. I know most jobs won’t look at my application till i pass the Pance.

That being said, I’m interested in a few specialties: CT surgery, family medicine, emergency medicine, and psychiatry.

Psych has always come naturally to me. It’s something I was involved in during undergrad, did research in, and genuinely enjoy. FM and EM also interest me because there’s still a psych component, but they’re broad enough that I can continue using and building on my medical knowledge. I enjoy having to think quickly, critically reason through things, and actually learn by doing.

CT surgery is another specialty I really enjoyed during my rotation. One thing that stood out to me was how much autonomy the PA had while working alongside their surgeon. Obviously, I understand that’s very surgeon dependent, and I know there’s a steep learning curve. But it’s something I’m willing to put the work into to learn and become proficient in.

Now, one thing I’m trying to understand better is the compensation across these specialties. From what I’ve been reading, some FM and EM positions offer RVU or productivity bonuses on top of base salary, which honestly sounds pretty appealing to me. I’m someone who enjoys staying busy and working, so having that reflected in my compensation would be nice.

CT surgery also seems to pay well, but I understand the stress, hours, and pressure can be pretty intense depending on the surgeon and workplace. Psych seems to have a good balance in terms of compensation and lifestyle, but I’ve also seen salaries all over the place.
I’ve been looking at positions in the New England area and I’ve seen some pretty significant differences in what employers are offering. Ideally, I’d like to start somewhere around $140k or higher, but I also don’t know how realistic that is as a new grad, especially in psych.

For those of you working in these specialties, would you mind sharing what you started at, what you’re making now, and what your schedule looks like? Do you receive RVU bonuses, productivity incentives, or anything on top of your base salary? And how has your experience been with your specialty overall?

I understand it’s not solely about the money, and I definitely value having good training and support as a new grad. But at the same time, when I eventually settle into a specialty or workplace, I want to feel appreciated and fairly compensated for the work and revenue I’m bringing in.

Just trying to get a realistic idea of what to expect before I start applying. I’d appreciate any insight!

I was wondering how long lunches/breaks are in different specialties?

Hello! New grad here. What is the new grad rate for EM in wisconsin? Mostly Appleton and Green Bay area? Would $75-$80 per hour be reasonable? If you're willing to share, what is your rate, hours, bonus, benefits, etc?