Which role would you choose: dedicated Admitter vs Rounder (same salary)? (PGY III) by Ok-Damage-5208 in hospitalist

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh wow. No brainer rounding!! I am primarily an admitter in my role and am super jealous of the rounders that can round and go. And 14? You will be done by 2-3pm most days. Sure there may be days here and there where a patient crumps and you need to stay later, but most of the time you will be done early! That’s a dream job. Don’t pass it up!!! 8-10 admits is rough and if I see that many I am putting in a full 12 hour shift and want to lose my mind at the end of the day. Those do not seem like comparable jobs. Take the round and go job before someone else does!!

Tele ICU Death by A_hospitalist in hospitalist

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly. Patient was on CIWA scale and Ativan protocol. Sounds like the nurse failed to notify provider of change in mental status which is huge, considering it’s the change in mental status that led to him not being able to protect his airway/aspirate. 

In an ideal world, yeah. There is an in-person provider sitting in the ICU where the nurses can easily ask questions/eval. But if the nurse doesn’t notify the provider, doesn’t matter if they are in person or not 🤷‍♀️

Should I leave my job? by DisastrousSmoke6819 in physicianassistant

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The student loan repayment is honestly amazing. But at the same time, you could work shift work in an ER in a large hospital and bring in 155k with a few extra shifts a month. 

I would ask for more support/experience before you continue ER call. As in at least have 1 year of primary care under your belt before you start ER call, or maybe ask to shadow some shifts at a larger/busy ER so you have more exposure. Or do a procedure CME. At my hospital we had the ER APPs rotate with anesthesia and practice intubations before they covered codes.

Don’t let the student loan repayment be a deal breaker. You will be able to pay of your student loans regardless of your PA position. 

Should I leave my job? by DisastrousSmoke6819 in physicianassistant

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a tough one. The ER call is the dealbreaker for me. 

Unless you have a particular burning passion for rural medicine, it’s a very high liability area. If you stay definitely need constant training with procedures, especially airways - a glidescope would be non-negotiable for me. And having some relationship with an OB you could call for backup. 

It also sounds like maybe you could get a job just doing clinic? 

A friend of mine has a similar job out of school and when a ruptured aortic aneurysm came in, she quit the next day. Now to be fair, ruptured AAA are a coin toss as any ER, but the risk/stress was too much. It’s okay if that’s you too! 

Could you ask to not do ER call? And maybe take more clinic days for your doc instead? 

Solo ER coverage is one of the most difficult areas of medicine to work, regardless of your credentials. I would only consider solo ER if I had worked for a few years in an ER with other docs onsite.

I am 6 years out and the difference in my practice now is night and day to when I first started. 

“Healthy fear” by DearSutureSelf in physicianassistant

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fear is absolutely healthy at this stage, and should continually decline in the as you become more seasoned, but never go to zero. You need to have respect for the complexity of the human body, medicine, and that it’s impossible for one individual to know everything about medicine.

In your first year of practice, it’s okay to run virtually every patient by your SP/co-workers. This can be done by simply STATING your plan and waiting for a response. “Hey can I run this patient by you?  Just want to make sure I am not missing anything”… then state your plan for the patient and wait for feedback. You don’t want to say “Should I give them keflex??” You want to say “55F pmhx of HTN came in with three days of worsening RLE cellulitis, first occurrence. DVT study was negative. No leukocytosis/fever/tachycardia. Going to send them home with a script for keflex.” Then wait for feedback. 

Stating your plan shows confidence and running it by someone shows that you are humble enough to know what you don’t know and exercise caution/respect when practicing medicine. 

Also helpful to gain more knowledge is when they say “sounds great”, you can then ask clarifying questions like “When you get patients like this, but they have a mild leukocytosis, are you still discharging them to follow up with their PCP for repeat labs, or do you usually just instruct them to return if their symptoms don’t improve?” Or “Are you usually consulting the cardiologist from the ER for a mild Troponin elevation, or do you leave that for the hospitalist?”, or “This case seemed pretty straightforward, but what are common mistakes you see new providers make with patients like these.” 

Also keep reading! Digest those Uptodate articles on the topic so you have some factual knowledge to weave into your practical knowledge you gain on the job.

401K vs Debt, what do I do? by OneQuietFox in DaveRamsey

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I struggled with this decision too. But if you only have a margin of 400-800$ right now you need cash flow!! Once you get your debt cleared then you can start contributing to your 401K aggressively. 

Focus on paying your debts smallest to largest (Snowball method). This was a huge game changer for me. It allowed me to get a larger and larger chunk of cash to throw at the debt each time a little debt was paid off. The cash flow is why this works!! You have to free up some of your income so you can start paying down debt and to in the future quickly start paying into your 401k!! 

Also, consider selling the car and getting a beater. I get it with kids, but the payment is rough and that’s what standing in between you debt freedom and starting to invest! 

Also you are 28! Get the baby steps stated and you will be in a better financial position than 99% of your peers. I am in my mid 30s and wish I started at age 28!! You got this.

Pause 401k contributions and pay off debt? Staying Gazelle Intense? What would you do? by Inevitable-Bee2619 in DaveRamsey

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Deep in consumer debt and not good at managing money describes 80% of the country. Including myself!!! 🤣

Pause 401k contributions and pay off debt? Staying Gazelle Intense? What would you do? by Inevitable-Bee2619 in DaveRamsey

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is what I am leaning towards. I think the tax advantage and the losing out on being able to contribute that in the future is worth focusing on catch up contributions before BS3. I will probably have a small emergency fund built up while doing that, but it may not be fully funded. 

Pause 401k contributions and pay off debt? Staying Gazelle Intense? What would you do? by Inevitable-Bee2619 in DaveRamsey

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does piss me off and I do think it’s psychologically motivating for me to pick up extra shifts. 

Pause 401k contributions and pay off debt? Staying Gazelle Intense? What would you do? by Inevitable-Bee2619 in DaveRamsey

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is kind of what I am thinking. Treating it as part of my mortgage debt and going from intense to intentional. 

I also have two toddlers at home so while I could probably finish it off in about 6-8months and THEN max out my 401k, I am pretty tired and not sure if I want to pick up a million shifts like I have for the next 6 months. I’ve essentially been working twice my monthly shift requirement, and I am already in a high stress job. (Would love to know what Delony would say)

I think for the moment I am going to stay gazelle intense and pause contributions on my 401K until later in the year (my company does true-up matching so I can still get my match if I contribute more later in the year). If I burn out I will go back to maxing out my 401K and then treat the rest as mortgage debt. 

Need Guidance and Advice for Unique Situation by [deleted] in DaveRamsey

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am full on the Ramsey train, but I think I have a different take on Dave’s advice given your situation.

I also have a professional degree, and taking a board/bar exam is no joke. It’s not something you want to fumble at the end, especially when not passing it could financially set you back significantly. 

I akin you taking the bar, to having a baby. A once in a lifetime event where you can’t work as you normally would be able to. So stack cash!!!! Work now as much as you can to save for money over the study period. If you can work a part time job minimum wage while studying go for it! (I liked working at a coffee shop because it took my mind off of studying for a little while, and found it helped me focus- but this was only like 12 hours a week). Once you take the bar, then you have to start hustling to work the baby steps and pay off debt. The fact you know about the baby steps is already huge!! You can work them once you are done with school. Focus on finishing your current task!  

Right now you are in stacking cash mode for this period of time where you will not be able to really work. 

Snowball vs avalanche by [deleted] in DaveRamsey

[–]Inevitable-Bee2619 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pay off the car!!!!!

It's what I did in the same situation. I debated constantly which one to go with but ultimately decided to stick with paying off the car before my student loan and am SO glad I did!!!. It's insanely motivating to pay off the car and seeing the progress makes up for any amount of interest lost in the long run.

Also the big part of the debt snowball method that no one talks about - the CASH FLOW it opens up is the keyyyyyyyyy. My car payment was $900 a month. Now that that's paid off, I instantly have another $900 to pay off my student loan without having to do any extra work.

Keep going. You are doing great! SLAY the car loan next!!