I'm looking for a PA-C job... any ideas?

Hi All,

I probably shouldn't post this here but... forgive me.

In addition to writing survival books and articles and running a wilderness adventure/survival school.... I also work as a Physician Assistant at a small rural clinic (8 years of Family Practice, Emergency Room, and Surgical First Asst duties). I have decided to leave my practice here (personal issues totally unrelated to my work as a PA) and am looking for a new place to relocate to (the area needs to have employment as a PA available/Idaho is out due to how restrictive it is on our profession).

I want a job that is exciting.... and would prefer it not be Family Practice. I lean more toward trauma (ER and/or First asst for a trauma surgeon)

Any suggestions on where I should look...
smile.gif


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Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
Colorado and Montana are both beautiful. Montana, however, would probably not provide the job exitement you're looking for. I can tell you Illinois is not worth your trouble
smile.gif
. I would also seriously look into the Seattle area. Would probably provide the kind of job it sounds like you want, and still a beatiful area with lots of things to do outdoors (can you say "Mt. Ranier"?)
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You could also go the Las Vegas route. Comparatively low cost of living, best job market in the US, no state income tax, plenty of excitement, and located just miles from gorgeous Lake Mead and Red Rock (great for hiking, camping, and ultra classic rock climbing. Bring your trad rack and brush up on your crack climbing.)Also gives you the chance to brush up on desert survival. Daydreaming about all of your options could be a lot of fun. Enjoy it!!
JHall
 
Why not post this here, its ECONOMIC SURVIVAL
smile.gif
. Besides you are amoung friends.

Michigan is a beautiful state, especially the Upper Penisula, not many can boast the woods and wilds you can find there. A job in your profession should be fairly easy to find especially around the Marquette area which is a large college town (but very unique to the area as in minutes you can be away from everything).I can explore the possiblity more for you if you like, I am currently looking for work myself and am familiar with the places to look for Michigan. Granted other than a few places up there, the job base is not the greatest, but in the medical profession it is a different ballgame (have looked into different areas for my wife who is a nurse).

Honestly, having been to many states the only one I would go to willingly would be Alaska. lol, now that is sure to get some remarks, but I admit I am biased, and I prefer cold to hot.

Good luck.

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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
D

Doc Ron

Joined
May 16, 1999
Messages
422
Hi Greg,

As has been said, you are among friends.

What happened with Idaho? I never knew Idaho to be restrictive to anything..

Good luck friend

Ron

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Learn Life Extension at:

http://www.survival.com ]
 
I live in NW Colo, and there seems to be a thriving PA community here. One question, though: is it possible to do much meaningful ER/trauma work outside of large metropolitan areas?

When I decided to get some hospital experience to fill out my EMT knowlege in the mid 70s, I had to move back to DC for a year to get involved in an 'intense' learning situation (a shock/trauma Burn Unit). IMHO, city experience is much more compressed and intense than rural.

db
 
I have been looking at CO heavily.... also: Seattle, San Francisco
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, Spokane, Montana, and a few other places...

I have until June 6, 00 to make the change (I gave 3 months notice
smile.gif
)

Like the thoughts and ideas. Looking for all the help this great forum can provide... lots of knowledge out there.

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Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
The only thing that I would add Greg is that CO and Seattle both have EXTREMELY high costs of living. Housing is getting to be unbelievable! That's one of the things that would push me towards Montana - where you can still buy a huge chunk of the earth for a reasonable price.
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Be sure to thoroughly check into the housing situation before you dive in! You should definitely be having fun with a decision like this. Enjoy.
JHall
 
The info below is just one of several from this hospital. Being medical field challenged I have no clue what a PA does. This came from WWW.Monster.com a job search engine. Check it out is has all states and is broken down in to areas.


US-MI-Northern-Echocardiographer Technician


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Under the general supervision of the Cardiopulmonary Supervisor, is responsible for echocardiography and patient care during echo procedures. The person will work closely with the cardiologist and medical staff. Other responsibilities will include teaching procedures and working closely with other health care professionals to provide patient care to all ages.

Canidate must have successfully completed an Echocardiographer program or attended an Owen-Brown, or compatible course in echocardiography & has continued to work in the profession within the last year.


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Additional Information
Position Type: Full Time

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Contact Information
Julie Coneset
jconeset@wmhos.org
War Memorial Hospital
500 Osborn Blvd.
Sault Ste. Marie MI 49783
Ph: (906)635-4424
Fax: (906) 635-4423

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Click here to see all "War Memorial Hospital" opportunities


EMAIL THIS JOB TO A FRIEND


APPLY ONLINE


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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
MichLee mentioned Michigan. Look into Traverse City. It isn't the U.P. but it's close. The bay there (part of Lake Michigan) is absolutely beautiful. They have a clinic there - my daughter went there when she broke her thumb playing tether ball at Interlochen Arts Camp. (Tether ball was subsequently removed!) United and American Airlines fly to Traverse City from Chicago. Good luck.

Bill
http://www.caliberdt.com/~bill/survival.htm

 
Greg,
how are ya? i'm usually on the other forums (defense and knife stuff). i'm in respiratory and am finishing up my nsg. degree- hoping to go for ER or OR or such. the fact i'm a guy helps sometimes in the nsg. field; had looked at PA school locally but the rotations for clinical were too far away for my family and commitments to them. I'm in northeast PA. we have quite a bit of wilderness here; when i worked at a hospital in Hazleton nearby we had quite a bit of trauma; usually had to prep them for Hershey-LifeLion helicopter transport to Scranton. if you were in Scranton (Scranton CMC; Scranton Mercy) you'd get quite a bit of trauma (all the violence of a larger city without all of the traffic headaches!)- and you could commute easily from the Poconos area. you'd definitely find enough people around here interested in your skills as shown on this forum as well- lots of hunters, bowhunters, outdoorsmen. i'm currently working at a V.A. here- the PAs are lumped in to the same protocols as NPs; also you don't get much trauma unless one of the psych floor vets misses a med round and gets ahold of something sharp. or on Veterans Day. or Fourth of July.....(notice the pattern here??)....we get more ETOH vets on those days and the troubles that go along with them! also, what about upstate NY?? i'm not sure of the PA outlook up there, but nice scenery anyway.
 
My take would be that the upper west coast could provide some great opportunities, but as mentioned, the cost of living can be high.

The same might be found in Colorado, as I have a brother and sister in law that live there and they've mentioned how expensive things such as housing are getting. The politics of the state are kind of weird as well, as they've both expressed their fatigue of living in the People's Republik of Kolorado. They're both "right of center", for a benchmark, but I know that I, for one, could only really feel comfortable living in an area where my personal beliefs and politics mesh fairly well.

Ideas about Las Vegas and how about Phoenix would be very intriguing, close to metropolitan areas that would provide great medical practice opportunites, but also very close to both the desert and mountainous areas. I don't know about Nevada's laws, but Arizona is an open-carry state, if your personal beliefs lean you that way.

I live in Michigan, and would agree that either the Traverse City area (more "tourist-y, fancier restaurants, and higher cost of living) or perhaps the Alpena area (more blue collar, more Burger Kings, less expensive to live there) would offer more "exciting" medical opportunities, and both are aproximately an hour from the Mackinac Bridge and the Upper Peninsula.

I'll toss out a new suggestion. What about the Twin Cities area? Cost of living should be reasonable, still close to the Great Lakes, the medical trauma opportunities of a "big city", and very close to the Boundary Waters region and some of the finest woodlands the midwest has to offer. A reputation for nasty winters might be the only drawback if you're one more accustomed to moderate climes.

Good luck with such a tough decision, but this is also an exciting time to "start over", and as mentioned, you are among friends, and we're glad to offer assistance if we can.

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Don LeHue

Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings...they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
 
GREG: ND is always crying for more medical people. PA's are useful in the rural areas and I've seen where many have been doing so much hand's on work that they know more than some of the current doctors.

I'm not sure of the regulations here, but I can tell you the cost of living is low. (I had the opportunity to BUY a 3 Bdrm, 2.5 bath house w/ 2 stall garage, two outbuildings and 2.5 acres for $38,000 two years ago, and it is still there!) Crime is really LOW. Weather is fickle. The people are friendly and I'm moving BACK!
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I'll do some research and get back to you early next week.

Good luck Greg!



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Plainsman :)
primitiveguy@hotmail.com

You use what you have on you, then you improvise! :)
 
north dakota.... hmmmmm

isn't it flat and cold there....

aren't there 2,000 guys for every gal....

or have i been hearing myths my whole life...

plainsma,,,,, set me straight.

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Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
I would tell you to move to Alaska, except there really _are_ 2000 guys for every gal, worse if you narrow them down to eligible gals or gals on this side of unattractive. It's also colder than heck, by a few hundred degrees if the stories I hear of heck are true, and the wildlife is hungry and thinks you are the main course.

On the other hand, there are as many moose to people as guys to gals, and more fish than you and I could count together, or catch in three lifetimes with all our college drinking buddies. And, there are more square miles up here than people, and half those live down in the subcontinent of Anchorage. Stay away from there, and it's rather nicely populated.

I heard of something going on in the (somewhat) nearby town of Kotzebue, and pulled out my maps to see how I would get there. After noticing that none of the roads on the map lead to, or away from, Kotzebue, I decided that was futile, but was still curious. Later, I asked a friend how I would get to Kotzebue if I wanted to show up. He smiled, and said, "Fly". I grinned back, and said, "Oh".


On some other hand, rumor has it that you'll get paid better here than anywhere else, regardless of your job. The downside is that your house will cost more, your food will cost more, and you will dump money down the oil tank keeping your house somewhere on this side of freezing in the winter.

That said, if you end up moving here, you'll never be willing to leave. I now know how a fish manages to swallow a bait and never see the hook...


Stryver
 
Hey GREG, going " on the lamb huh?".. I can't think of a single county in the state of Florida that is not starving for every kind of health care professional available. I do not know many physicians down here that do not have PA's..Tons of ER's and family practices so work is easy to come by usually .On the down side now,,workload here is heavy, very large( and often ornery) elderly population, and Florida is flat and hot! Maybe keep in mind as an interim site of last resort? North Florida is probably the best part for good country living but still close to bigger cities. I have a connection or 2 to find out what MD'S/facilities may be looking for a PA..Tallahassee is the place to call for liscensing requirements and reciprocation possiblities. Would be my peasure to help with any logistic problems in obtaining info, names or adresses..Good luck man, Rob....also, hi to forum members, haven't been here in quite a while due to work schedule. Hope everyone is well. Looks like the topics are flowing strong as ever..Take care all..
 
Hey Greg....

I may as well speak up as well....

I'll also vote for the Great state of MI...
If I'm correct, ,there is a shortage in MI in the heath profession...

As soon as the nurses graduate here in Ontario,,they head straight for the MI hospitals. All are hired immediately!

Good luck....

ttyle Eric...

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Eric E. Noeldechen
On/Scene Tactical
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel
Custom made, High Quality
Concealex Sheaths and Tool Holsters
Canada's Only Custom Concealex Shop!

 
Hey Greg
There are lots of oppurtunities in Alaska. I know some of the smaller towns only have a PA in the hospitals/clinic's. The Federal run Native health system uses lots of PA's also. It is expensive to live up here but the pay for a PA can be quite good. I have heard it runs in the 50-70k range of course depending on who you are working for etc. I know that the local clinic ER uses PA's here and I believe the hosp does too. There are also some industrial type jobs that pay very well. The North Slope oil area uses PA's and pays very well and you usually work 2wks on and 2wks off. They pay to fly you back and forth and feed you there. They also have a flight rescue service thats some pretty hairy stuff.I work as a Paramedic up here and if you have anymore questions drop me a note. akraven@alaska.net
 
I like the idea of working an industrial job... or with the oil companies. two weeks on and two off or something like that is really good.

still looking....

Originally posted by akraven:
Hey Greg
There are lots of oppurtunities in Alaska. There are also some industrial type jobs that pay very well. The North Slope oil area uses PA's and pays very well and you usually work 2wks on and 2wks off. They pay to fly you back and forth and feed you there. They also have a flight rescue service thats some pretty hairy stuff.
Click to expand...



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Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
You could always try Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami's ER! That's always jumping!
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Good luck in your search!

Vince

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Stay sharp and be Safe!
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That which does not kill us only makes us stronger.
F.W. Nietzche
 
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