Second Acts: Reconnecting with the call…a new day

 

        After roughly 7-years of the fast-track in being an Emergency PA @ a Level I Trauma Center had finally gotten to me. This period in my career was preceded by starting out as a CVT Surgical PA x 2 years followed by 6.5 years of General Surgery. It was as if I had run into a concrete wall at full speed & force. The fun of it all when out the door in a hurry. The work-related pressures and/or responsibilities along with the political games had transformed me into a “clinical zombie” of sorts.

        More importantly, I took my own health for granted. But in the flip side there was a silver lining, one that I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams. So I sought to remedy my burnt out feeling as fast as I could. Luckily, I was given the opportunity to become a presenter/lecturer to 2 local PA programs. Also and coincidentally I serendipitously became a medico-legal consultant an expert reviewer. This came about from the many depositions I was involved during my years as a practicing EMPA. Who would have thought this personally perceived career nuisance would lead a to a new “niche” and a new skill set. One to this day has served me well in saving my career and indirectly providing longevity as well.

      As I reconnected with medicine during that period giving me a new career outlook, these impromptu new career-related opportunities led me to recharge my personal and survive that low period. In other words, to basically reconnect and get a “second wind” sort-of-speak. Looking back on these career-related experiences, now I can see how much it help me to remain afloat but to remain grounded and loyal to my early calling. From that point on, I moved and forged ahead into my niche-- a consulting expert.

      Looking back, for a moment I almost became a career changer. After all is very natural to toy with the idea when things have stalled or not going as planned. My plan was to have worked for less than 3 employers through my career. You know, like some of our colleagues [PAs] that have been very fortunate in being employed with only 1 employer throughout their careers. As one of my classmates fortunately did.

        I discovered that life and/or career my not always be a bed of roses, but among these twists and turns that we find ourselves thrown into, there's always hope and growth. And yes, even in some extreme cases of career spoilers, you can still have fun and move beyond the burnout point, but only if you recognize such feelings as negative attitudes that will delay or stunt your career growth and hinder your unconscious resolve to improve your immediate circumstances. Remain receptive to “second acts”…they can spur you to better and bigger things—trust me; I know a thing or two about this.

Two Costly Self-Marketing Blunders some PAs don’t realize

 

As a former co-interviewer, for various employers, I’ve noticed how some qualified job-seekers don’t get it when it comes to presenting themselves professionally to the world during their job hunting process—they are either oblivious or uncaring about their cyberspace presence on any prospective employer’s perceptions. Some PAs even detrimentally downplay two simple but huge elements about their personal identifying information. Many industry experts would quickly point out these glanced overt omissions can have significant ramifications; mostly negatively that is. So herein, are these two offending background items easily seen when their professional credentials are been reviewed. They will be briefly highlighted & discussed. 

1. A listed Unprofessional E-mail Address:

Today’s people e-mail addresses run the whole spectrum, you name it, from normal appearing & sounding to the ridiculous and offensive to the politically  incorrect. It’s probably alright to be creative & unique in showing your personality, but only if you if you’re employed in the media industry. Therefore, you don’t want your e-mail to showcase you as immature, and certainly not unprofessional. Sadly, for many this is their “Achille’s heel”, as many HR folks would attest in a heartbeat. This should not be a laughing matter, especially when something so apparently trivial can cast you in a negative light by hindering your career climb.  

2. An unflattering Cyberspace Photograph:

“Creepy”, ”unprofessional”, and/or “too seductive/sexy”, are often times the deciding factor for the rejection as HR folks quickly point out. One can see these one word descriptors are not exactly confidence builders. This is one of those instances in which you need to tone down a bit the excessive energy that people like to capture in those irreverent spontaneous moments in their lives. Instead, you need a good conservative professional looking head-shot. The goal here is to be deliberatively professionally appearing, conservative and not too over-the-top. Suffice it to say, go for the “banker” or “librarian look” instead of the Madonna look 

Physician Assistants in Name Only: Questionable PAs? II

Through the years I have worked with many accomplished PAs’. But not because I was privy to their resumes or CVs, but more because of the plurality of their titles and/or professional designations listed in their business cards or heavily embroidered after their names in their lab coats. You know…those folks like John Doe, CCRN, PT, R.Ph.,MSW, RT and finally PA-C. Some of them were great, and even flawless clinicians operating at the top of their game or so they thought when dealing with other people. 

But @ a closer look ( to me ) they had an “Achille’s Heel”; one that robbed them of professional respect among the eyes of other medical professionals. Sadly, at a basic level they failed to set themselves apart, meaning to separate their professional identification and/or consciousness from the unfocused “noise” all those other professional titles &/or designations created on the mind of others, including patients too amd their families. 

In other words, by showcasing their “PA-C” after a long list of other tittles they created this wondering feeling in so many others minds (including mine ) such as, have they “transitioned” or better yet, become “acclimated” to their new profession? Do they still need to showcase their accomplishments so heavily? If so, please use the right medium then-- list them in the resume! At least in that way they don't come across as "narcissistic" clinicians.

I get it; many PAs were ( are career ) changers & after all is natural to feel emotionally attached to a prior career, and even remain connected to it to some extent. But, if you asked this author if you want to be respected and taken seriously in your new profession then you must avoid sub-branding yourself unconsciously to the rest of the world. Basically, the way I see it, professional branding is based on singularity of  professional identity. In other words, as to how you perceive yourself as well as how others perceive your role. Clearly professional ambiguity and/or “failure-to-align” with your peers ( the PA community ) should be the last message you convey to others in your professional career dealings with all others.

 

Case in point, Physicians as a group & individually seem to understand this concept better than any other healthcare professionals. Why? Because in all these years, I have yet to see a doctor engage in this practice. And if they have any secondary terminal degrees or other professional designation, it’s always listed after their “MD” and not more than two or three as opposed to the “alphabet soup” seen in many kindred healthcare professionals.

Much like the old Biblical passage says in 1 Corinthians 13:11: “when I was a child, I spoke, I acted  & I  thought like a child, however, when I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” Shouldn’t  you put those prior careers or professional designations behind you; be truthful & proud of your new professional designation? Stand tall...always!

A Growing Intolerant View of Advance Practice Providers --so why is that?

       All relationships change or evolve over time. And for better or worse, that is a fact of life. Case in point, a good example of that is our very own inter-professional association with our physician colleagues; one which has undergone and continues to undergo some changes even today. Naturally many factors play into this situation.

      Clearly, speaking of factors one can see Advanced Practice Providers SOP ( scope of practice ) has been evolving too in recent years. Therefore, as time has progressed, one can see our interdependent association has lessened during these times. In fact, professionally speaking we are more autonomous these days than we were in the early days as practicing delegated clinicians. Evidence of this advancement can be seen in recently passed legislative updates nationwide. Full Practice Authority with NPs and Optimum Team Practices are the prime examples that come to mind when one sees the evolvement of our scope of practice, for both, NPs and PAs respectively.. 

But, this recognition has come with a price along with an increasing slanderous backlash trend from multiple physician associations and the very own physician community. Particularly the AMA being one of the most vocal & unsupportive organizations of all of them.

  So why is this phenomenon more noticeable these days to the advanced practice providers community?

  Simple, our past paternalistic association with our former paternalistic colleagues mindset has been slowly dismantled and eroded to the point that nowadays patient care is no longer physician-centric as it used to be in the old days. Much to their chagrin, the updated model of team-based medicine has emerged in many respects as more Advanced Practice Providers-friendly if not downright nursing-centric. Obviously, this industry inclusive move has drawn a wedge between physician and non-physician providers. The displacement of their past industry power has shaken the longstanding traditional hierarchical view of the antiquated system. Thus, apparently this subtle status displacement has intensified and fueled their resentment and professional insecurities to the point of openly disparaging and criticizing our quality patient care outcomes very openly. Hence, the daily misledia continues to inaccurately and @ times deceitfully advance biased stories. These half-truths of their irresponsible reporting at times subtlety cloaked in the form or the guise of patient safety concerns are fundamentally wrong when hypocritically shown to the medical consumer.

Sadly, this disturbing painted picture of sub-par care provided by APPs is nothing more than a negative discrediting rhetoric & projected/transferred professional insecurities of their own. 

A MEMO to all Toxic Physicians

 

  TO: to all Toxic Physicians

  FROM: All Non-physician Providers

  SUBJECT: Your Condescending Attitudinal Behavior

  DATES: Continually for the past Five Decades 

       It has been far too long that we have avoided this important discussion. One that's paramount to our working relationship and vital to the survivability of our strained relationship, both in and out of the OR.

       So let's clear the air...shall we. Please, allow me/us the opportunity to bring to your attention the root of the problem as succinctly as I/we possibly can make in a calm and reasoned manner while being free of any patient or work-related stressors. 

        Now that we have your undivided attention in this matter, we would like to point out your difficulty to relate professionally when you are sarcastic, condescending or plain rude when directing patient care activities. This outdated non-trusting paternalistic attitude & transactional behavior not creates tension and fosters animosity between you and the team of healthcare professionals but hospital administrators as well. We do realize the burden of responsibilities that rest on your shoulders are significant. However, pause and reflect for a moment on the fact that your unrecognized incivility will not only turn away your colleagues, & all other ancillary medical staff, but your patient & family as well. 

        So please, consider amending your ways by becoming  a more tolerant and inclusive provider. By graciously dealing and addressing this personality shortcoming  as best as you can you will find yourself more at ease being the "captain of the ship", making it again  a more enjoyable role in your career.

        It's time to discard this antiquated practice model and reap the benefits of inter-professional inclusivity and understanding. Implementing this new paradigm will be less taxing in all your dealings.

Greatly appreciated now and in the future,

The Healthcare team.