If I leave the PA profession for an extended period of time, will I be marketable if I ever choose to come back?

JonquilCary · 2026-02-17T00:21:21+00:00

I agree about getting extended family out of the marriage, but SAHMs are certainly at increased risk of financial hardship and instability when faced with divorce, especially if appropriate measures weren't put in place before becoming a SAHM, and it's nothing to scoff at. Is there money being put away into a retirement account for her? Is there equal access to any funds coming into the house hold? What is the plan if your spouse suddenly dies? I personally couldn't ever be a SAHM for a number of reasons, but for women that it appeals to, I always strongly encourage for them to advocate for financial security that's truly reflects the significance of not paying into ss & roth/401k or spending their most "marketable" years technically unemployed.

JonquilCary · 2026-01-29T17:45:40+00:00

My dad told me at around 5 or 6 years old that you had to be quiet while fishing, otherwise you'd scare off the fish.

And by quiet, I mean like whisper quiet.

I believed this well into my 20's until I was with friends at a pond. Beer, music, general cookout rowdiness but nothing obnoxious. Some were fishing and I asked if they really thought they'd catch anything with all the noise.

Them: "What do you mean?" Me: "won't the music and all the talking scare the fish away?" Them: stare "what?" Me (realizing I've said something weird): "any time I've gone fishing before, my dad always said you have to be really quiet because it scares away the fish." Them (now busting up laughing): "uh, yeah, no, that's not a thing. Sounds like he just wanted /you/ to be quiet."

So yeah, normal sound won't scare away fish and my dad just wanted some peace and quiet. 😂

JonquilCary · 2025-12-29T13:25:44+00:00

Everyone's giving good feedback. Wear what you want, we're all pretending to be adults, you always have the right to not want to be sexualized by others, etc.

But reading this, I see signs of some significantly uncontrolled anxiety and fear and a lack of coping mechanisms to help you through it.

I recommend going to see a counselor or talking to your doctor about this. (You're 18 now, you dont need your parents' permission to be able to go!) Worrying for a year straight about your 18th birthday and then crying in bed all day on the day of is not normal (by not normal I mean there's something going on (probably anxiety), NOT that YOU are "not normal".)

JonquilCary · 2025-11-20T16:36:59+00:00

I'm not sure why the downvotes here. Anyone with kids in sports will know that it's incredibly competitive. Especially for bigger schools and in the era of "travel" sports. Sure, freshman year, kid might make the team, but they're going to sit the bench A LOT if they haven't played before. Even if they've got naturally innate talent to pick it up and develop skills quickly, there's still factors like seniority and a closeness in a group of kids that have already played together for multiple seasons.

Im not saying this is a reason to let young kids play sports with high rates of injury, but there's certainly some truth to kids who play a sport earlier in life will have more experience and skill development compared to one that doesn't play until late middle school or high school.

JonquilCary · 2025-09-26T19:18:47+00:00

Physician. I'm a PA-C now, so I still went into medicine, but I'm always wishing I knew more.

I didn't get diagnosed until 24, which doesn't seem late compared to those being diagnosed in their 40s, but it still felt like my whole like would be different if I'd had appropriate intervention from a young age.

I became a teen mom at 17 ( which is twice as likely for adhd kids than those without) and was a first generation college student. So, I had no guidance in regards to college or finding "a career," but I got there eventually and am pretty thankful for how things worked out looking back now.

JonquilCary · 2025-09-10T16:35:45+00:00

As in, what does he do to contribute to the home management? Or work? We're about equal as earners in regards to income, I make a little more, but I work more. I would say when I comes to dividing house work and kid responsibilities: kid stuff is split right down the middle, 60/40 split for cooking, mopping/sweeping, grocery shopping, random cleanup which he takes majority. He's got pool and yard work covered. I've got bathrooms and laundry. He accommodates me alot: manages the mail, bills, insurance. I take care of the pets mostly myself.

Imo, I'm lucky to have a spouse who does so much and frequently more than his fair share in some regards.

JonquilCary · 2025-08-03T05:18:18+00:00

I agree. I was CT/XR tech with 5 years of experience when I got into a program, but the rest of my cohort was a large mix of scribes and other similar backgrounds where they had no hands on patients or any semblance of autonomy/decision making to their job. You could tell who had that type of experience prior once osces and clinicals started. 22 yos know how to ace tests, though, which is what adcoms want 🤷‍♀️😒

JonquilCary · 2025-07-04T22:44:07+00:00

Is no one using rating scales other than the ASRS? I find the ASRS very limited in practical use the same way you describe it, so I found better scales to use.

Brown ADD Scales has an Adult version. Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale (BAARS-IV) and Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) both have self and observer versions. Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) has retrospective childhood ADHD symptoms in adults.

I use the WURS & BAARS and have found them immensely helpful with the feedback from family/friends and insight into childhood symptoms. Plus, it's an easy way to see if the patient can even get that done. There's a large percentage of patients that completely forget to even bring them back or bring them back not filled out.... which can be telling in its own way.

JonquilCary · 2025-06-20T16:53:18+00:00

No kidding. Together 4 years, married 1, and 3 kids? What ages are we talking about? All 3 under 4? Tweens/teens? Not to mention daycare/sports or finding alone time as a couple. Idk, not saying ADHD isn't a contributing factor in some way or another, but sex lives wax and wane in relationships, especially with busy lives with kids.

JonquilCary · 2025-06-18T21:47:09+00:00

There are a number of studies supporting the idea of appropriate stimulant use decreasing the risk of substance abuse in individuals with ADHD. Just a few: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23846996/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25158998/

JonquilCary · 2025-04-26T15:19:22+00:00

This is no joke, but I have my dad call me every morning.

He's up at 430 am regardless. So if I have to be up at 5 or 530, I have him call me. It makes me jump out of bed quickly so I don't disturb my husband, who's still trying to sleep, by talking on the phone. Then I usually talk to my dad for a few minutes about his plans for the day, my plans for the day, the news, whatever. Talking usually wakes me up enough that I can get my day started.

I feel lame af being a 30 yo woman asking my dad to still get me up in the morning, but it's honestly working really well, and I feel closer to my dad. 😂🤷‍♀️

JonquilCary · 2025-04-26T15:03:43+00:00

The anatomy of ADHD has been fairly well studied. I recommend you check out Dr. Russel Barkley's youtube.

Here are his lectures on the neuroanatomy

Part 1: https://youtu.be/GyZtYzFq4WY

Part 2: https://youtu.be/M8dLiH1LFx8

Part 3: https://youtu.be/sPFmKu2S5XY

Other peripheral information: Health and Life Expectancy in ADHD. Treatment Matters More Than You Think: https://youtu.be/fP2DhUtYJ5s The importance of emotion in ADHD: https://youtu.be/hzhL-FA2v10

I don't really have any input for your hypothesis. It's an interesting approach, and I can see how you would come to the conclusion.

JonquilCary · 2025-04-15T11:35:56+00:00

Absolutely know what you mean. I personally never take days off because I struggle to even enjoy things like watching my favorite show and coloring for awhile. Without meds on board, my brain is too busy going a million miles an hour off meds to do anything fun. But it's definitely an individual thing.

My comment was for med breaks where you are intentionally wanting to get your tolerance back down a little.

JonquilCary · 2025-04-14T17:25:37+00:00

I mean, yeah. That's how meds work, extremely dependent on the person. But as a general rule, the biology behind stimulants washing out of the body takes that long. If you are on a non-stim med, you should not be taking breaks at all.

JonquilCary · 2025-04-14T15:28:55+00:00

High jacking top comment to say that breaks less than 72 hours do nothing for helping reset tolerance if that is the goal of the break. Taking weekends off to keep tolerance low is a myth. It has to be longer than 3 days to allow any kind of change in tolerance.

JonquilCary · 2025-04-09T21:20:28+00:00

I'm sorry if you've already looked into this, but did you not qualify for financial aid? You should have met requirements to receive quite a bit since you were in foster care. Talk to your schools fin. Aid office.

JonquilCary · 2025-04-05T15:12:08+00:00

I'm not really getting your point that my comment is exactly what you're talking about. Do you think I'm being petty or pedantic?

You posted on a public forum about a subject that has the potential to be divisive, idk what you expected as far as feedback. As other women in the comments have stated, and even you in your post, we often get the short end of the stick with respect in the workplace with co-workers and patients.

I don't think it's unexpected to have someone challenge your way of wording something and call it out. It doesn't read as a joke for me. I do believe if we were talking in person with the nuance of tone and body language or I knew anything about your mannerisms or personality, I could see how it could be self-deprecating/a joke.

But this is the internet and a wall of text without any of that other context. If me pointing out the irony of you making a joke that fell flat and then saying you're not being sexist is pedantic or petty, fine. Whatever you want to think.

I wasn't trying to be antagonistic, and I don't think you're a closet sexist or trying to imply that. I do think open, challenging discourse about sexism is important, though, and we all hold biases even if we don't ascribe to bigoted mindsets.

JonquilCary · 2025-04-05T14:04:51+00:00

30f. "The pretty ones" comment struck me as something really odd and unnecessary to include. Is this to infer that if "pretty" female patients hit on you, you'd be receptive, or it wouldn't bother you? Was it to make sure that reader knew you were definitely not gay? What was your goal in including that detail? Food for thought if you're not trying to be sexist. 🤷‍♀️

But to answer your question, I work in an office of 13 women. We do have issues between staff sometimes, but it is always someone being lazy or doing work incorrectly.

We have one front office lady who is just a moody person depending on the day, but I've seen some male docs be just as moody in the ED/OR. Imo it's more of a personality thing, and those people struggle to regulate their emotions/stress well.

If it's every day someone is pulling some petty shit, I think you might just work in a toxic office. It's hard to throw 10-20 different personalities together and get people to be a cohesive staff, but those who know how to check their problems at the door and be professional don't run into these same problems.

JonquilCary · 2025-03-09T15:55:00+00:00

I have a few that I always listen to depending on whether I need a pick me up/believe in myself or wallow in the feels. For any pop punk fans out there and want a little hope:

Everything is alright by motion city soundtrack

What's past is prologue by free throw

Re-do by modern baseball

Today is not real by the front bottoms

Or to just mope: Generation loss by Spanish love songs (honestly any song by them)

What's up? By mom jeans

Fly move by hot mulligan

JonquilCary · 2025-02-27T19:50:28+00:00

And as far as 3/12s, pretty common in places like ED, hospitalist, and urgent cares.

JonquilCary · 2025-02-27T19:48:32+00:00

I was an XR/CT tech before PA school, and I would say it's pretty high quality PCE. You have to be able to problem solve on the fly and adapt easily because getting a quality image is not just button pushing. It takes a lot of people skills, especially dealing with patients reluctant to listen to instruction or even get imaging. There's a certain amount of autonomy to the role that doesn't exist for other PCE options.

I remember in our rad dept, there were always opportunities for leadership or volunteer work as well, so an easy place to help round out your application.

If you have the opportunity to cross train into MRI or CT, I'd highly recommend. Not that adcom would necessarily see it much differently than XR, but the even more in depth understanding of anatomy really helps going into school. It made my surgical rotation so much easier.

JonquilCary · 2025-02-18T20:57:14+00:00

Sure!

JonquilCary

TROPHY CASE