#pa-c

2025 was.... a year. I, like many people, found myself a tad overwhelmed with the events around the world and here in the US.

2026 seems to be shaping up similarly with its bullshit.

I am still in the ICU, though I am doing more HBOT these days. I have an administrative gig as well which added some new responsibilities. One of those tasks was formalizing our fellowship curriculum as our program seeks accreditation. That teaching degree is coming in handy!

I am fast approaching 7 years as a PA-C. I registered for the PANRE-LA and that was just...mind boggling. It my head it was further off. I suppose it isn't.

I'm in a relatively comfortable place in my career. I know what I don't know and I know what I know. I have great professional relationships and my work is fulfilling.

Me: Alrighty, in Room 1, we have Mr. Smith. He is a 63y/o male with a history of Afib and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy who presented with flash pulmonary edema and DVT. Cardiology is following. Following extensive diuresis and an increase in his home metoprolol, he is no longer in RVR and now satting mid-90s on room air. Once we get the prior auth on his Lovenox, he can go home.

Attending: Perfect.

Me: He also has an adorable bulldog at home.

Attending: Ah.

Me: Okay, next up in Room 2, we have Ms. Jones. She is a 74y/o female who received allogeneic stem cell transplant about 2 months ago and presented with rash and diarrhea suspicious for diarrhea. Heme/Onc is following. She is on Methylprednisolone with significant improvement in stool volume, now putting less than 500ml out. Her rash originally was ~50% BSA and is now about 20%. She will be discharged on Prednisone taper, pending Heme/Onc recs.

Attending: Good.

Me: And she has a little goldendoodle at home.

Attending: Nice.

Me: All right. Then in Room 3 is Ms. Williams. She is a 67y/o female who presented with urosepsis secondary to new kidney stone. She's had a wild hospital course and was extubated just 2 days ago. It appears that she also is now deaf. We've consulted ENT, and they suspect vestibular neuritis. I reached out to them to ask about starting steroids. She likely will not be returning home for at least another 48hrs while we sort this out.

Attending: I see.

Me: She has a giant derpy mutt at home.

Attending: I take it that you like dogs.

Currently at 9K. A long way to go, but we can get there. We aren't fighting for independence, we are fighting to eliminate red tape and improve the availability of quality healthcare across America and our ability to pivot during a crisis!! We love our MDs/DOs and the collaboration we have with them. Their time is valuable and their patients need them as well! Their time shouldn't be needlessly spent reviewing charts/signing orders/signing paperwork if our docs/hospital admin don't think it is necessary (meaning we aren't under review or other need for supervision). This is to optimize team practice and allow PAs to practice at their full scope not eliminate current collaborative relationships!

White House FPA (full practice authority) Petition

The time is now. There are highly qualified PAs who are being forced to sit on the sidelines because they're current SP doesn't work in Emergency Medicine. This is ridiculous.

Let's do what we can to set our profession up for success (we all know this is needed). But more importantly, to remove barriers that prevent us from treating patients in a time when healthcare providers are needed more than ever. PAs have always been collaborative, and a legislative requirement will never change that. Let us take responsibility for our license and practice to our scope of practice.

Here is the petition. It currently has 6,000. Needs 100,000 to get a response. It might not be much, but it's something.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/grant-pas-full-practice-authority-function-licensed-independent-practitioners-federal-jurisdictions

Here is a NYT video recently put out that does a great job describing the regulatory burden that is placed on PAs and forces willing and qualified PAs to sit on the sideline.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/opinion/physician-assistants-hospitals-coronavirus.html

Please sign!

@emedpa

@populationpensive

@mrspediatricpa

@cranquis

@digiti-minimi

@brooklynpa-c

@hangrypa

@livingthepadream

@mynotes4usmle

@pa-c

@physicianassistantstudents

I am now officially a PA-C!!

When applying to PA school, I was not confident in my grades or GPA. Although I had a 3.5 cumulative GPA, I definitely had a lot of C’s and W’s on my transcript (one for every year of college, actually). However, I learned that grades were not the only thing that defined me as an applicant. I was naive and didn’t really think too much about what I needed to do to be a competitive applicant, so I didn’t start doing anything pre-PA or pre-health related until the end of my junior year.

I remembered looking at other people’s stats on the PA forums and feeling discouraged. Whenever a school asked about any weak aspects of my application, I always talked about my grades. However, each school always told me that my grades were not actually bad at all. What I found it really came down to was my personal statement. In addition, the C’s and W’s were not indicative of how I would perform in PA school as I have just finished my first semester with a 4.0 GPA.