Update on ME

Hi my peeps! I apologize again, for the lack of my craptacular bloginess. As you have read, I have been busy training in my new job as a physician assistant in gastrointestinal surgical oncology (with focus on liver tumors).

My commute is about 2 hours a day added on to a 9-10 hour day. Hubby & I live in the boonies outside of H-town and both have long commutes ITL (inside "the loop"). He works in the Galleria area & I work in the medical center. (HENCE THE REASON WE WANT TO MOVE ASAP!)

I have officially been working for 3 weeks. I am being trained by another PA and every week I am able to do a little more. The first week was mostly observing and doing a lot of HR stuffs. The second week I was finally able to start seeing patients on my own. The third week I saw more patients & am now able to dictate notes on the patients. Everything is a LONG process and a lot of paper work to be allowed to do things. I still cannot write orders or sign prescriptions or bill, so any patient I see, the physician still has to dictate a note anyway. Once I am given full "patient/hospital privledges" then I can bill, write orders, prescriptions, etc & the physician won't have to dictate for me. I can still dictate clinic notes for practice, but it cannot be used for billing just yet. This probably makes no sense to those of you not familiar with medical practice & I apologize for boring you. Anywho, it will probably be 2-4 more weeks before I am completely transitioned in & the previous PA is transitioned out (she is going to be working for another surgeon in the same department, so she'll still be around to help me).

As I said everything is a process at my hospital & some things move slowly. I don't have my business cards yet, I don't have my own white coats (with name stitched on) yet, BUT I do get my crackberry this week....finally. I have a temporary dept pager in the mean time. Even getting my crackberry is a process, as I have to go to a training session! SHEESH! Although, that is probably a good thing since I have never used one before.

So what does my job intale you ask?

So, I am working for a hepatobillary oncology surgeon & my primary responsibilities are in his clinic. I will see new patients, patients getting ready for their surgery (pre-op), patients after their surgery (post-op), and follow-up patients. I perform history and physical exams, coach the patients on what to expect before, during, and after surgery, go over pathology, labs, & imaging (CTs, Xrays, MRIs, PET scans), etc with the surgeon and the patient. Again, all of this is done in clinic. I do not have in-patient responsibilities (but will go on rounds at times with my surgeon, the surgical fellow, and surgical residents to see the patients after their surgeries) and will rarely be working in the OR. Since it is a teaching hospital, the OR is filled with the faculty surgeon, a fellow (a surgeon specifically training in surgical oncology), and sometimes a surgical resident (a surgical resident is a doctor training to be a general surgeon. If they want to specialize in cancer, they have to do a surgical oncology fellowship after their 5 year surgery residency), so there is really no need in the GI surgery department for a PA in the OR. Although, I did have one day in the OR during the second week and may have one this week. Even though OR assistance is not my job, it is good for me to get in there when I can so I am familiar with what my patients are going through. (I'll try to do another post later on my OR experiences.)

So, I am in clinic on Wednesday & Fridays and the other weekdays are what are called my administrative days. On admin days, I get ready for the busy clinic days, dictate notes, talk to patients on the phone or email, help coordinate new patients coming in and those patients cleared for surgery, and just over-all help coordinate the interdisciplinary care for the patients. So, just because I only have clinic 2 days a week does not mean I won't be busy. I am CRAZY busy. My surgeon has a HUGE practice. Think of me as the producer, asst director, & coordinator of "the show." I have to keep things organized. AND once I am fully trained and comfortable with my position and basic responsibilites, more will come. I may eventually help out in other clinics when needed. I will also have to opportunity to take on PA students and medical students in the future. Since I work for a teaching hospital, that will be VERY likely. Plus, I want to do it. I like teaching. (I used to train all the new employees in my previous job).

Anywho, that is my update& job in a nutshell.

I'll update ya when I can.