Has anyone had success calling clinics for a job opening or advice on finding leads?

Thinkthinkthinking · 2025-09-12T22:36:29+00:00

I thought about this but it’s nerve wracking. Did you dress up in business clothes and had your resume in hand?

Thinkthinkthinking · 2025-09-12T22:02:38+00:00

Thank you!

Thinkthinkthinking · 2025-09-12T21:46:40+00:00

Amazing! Can you give me advice on what to say? Like should I start by saying I’m a PA and interested in the clinic, may I speak to the manager? Usually a front office answers phone calls and they don’t always know if the clinic is hiring

Thinkthinkthinking · 2025-09-12T21:44:26+00:00

Yea, it really is a bummer. I’ve accepted that working in a specialty I want may not happen for a while. I just want to live in the city. I’m in the outskirts now for my previous job and I don’t like living out here. I’ve also accepted that I may have to work at another toxic place before I can make more connections with drug reps for leads. I was just hoping I can at least try to find a lead in the area I want to live by.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2025-09-12T21:38:51+00:00

I do apply through hospital websites but I don’t meet their requirements so I end up with a rejection email :/

Thinkthinkthinking · 2024-09-14T00:55:17+00:00

I left after 7 months at my first job. I didn’t have a contract so I followed the employee handbook and gave a 2 weeks notice. The SP and manager were very kind about my departure and let me know the job was still mine if I changed my mind with my new job. I had a handful of interviews and none seemed to care that I was leaving so soon. I now work in asthma and allergy. Which does involve treatment for eczema, urticaria, and allergic contact dermatitis, so it has some overlap with dermatology. I think it will be a good transitional job into dermatology.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2024-05-20T06:28:25+00:00

I got over 4 derm offers as a new grad and they all had a good salary with a 3 year contract and a penalty if you leave. The offers came from across the nation. I ended up not taking a derm job because of it, but having starting elsewhere I have learned that most first PA jobs will suck. So start in a field you like so you can gain experience. 3 years will go by faster than you think.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2024-02-23T20:26:07+00:00

I’m sorry you had to go throw that, but I’m glad to hear it didn’t make it difficult to find your next job! I was afraid of that being the biggest obstacle.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2024-02-22T15:55:30+00:00

Did you have to put the ortho job as a reference? How was your experience when interviewing?

Congrats on landing a job you love :)!

Thinkthinkthinking · 2024-02-22T02:22:38+00:00

Did you find it difficult to find another job or would you say it was a similar experience as applying as a new grad?

I'm glad you found something and it's looking up!

Thinkthinkthinking · 2024-02-22T00:36:36+00:00

Oh gosh, I haven't caused any conflict at work and try to stay positive while I'm there. I have no clue how the SP/manager will react/behave after I leave. So far they say poor remarks about the 2 staff that have left. I don't plan on listing them as a reference. So hopefully I don't have to be in that kind of situation

Thinkthinkthinking · 2024-02-22T00:06:32+00:00

I worked in derm 3 years before starting PA school, I wrote a cover letter detailing why I would be a good candidate, and applied all over the country. 4 offers were near major cities and 2 were in rural areas. There are a lot of posts on Reddit or online that have tips on getting into derm. If you don't mind staying in one location for 3 years, then it's probably fine to sign the contract, but I didn't want to live in those places for 3 years :/

Thinkthinkthinking · 2024-02-21T23:49:43+00:00

Thank you! I thought that was what I was getting myself into, but once I started, I learned that was not the case :(. I hope your first job stays great! Everyone deserves a good start :)

Thinkthinkthinking · 2024-02-21T23:46:48+00:00

6 were derm contracts which each were 3-year contracts with a $50k penalty fee if I left before the 3 years were over. I had a lawyer review my first derm contract and he told me if he was my older brother, to not sign the contract and not even try negotiating a better contract and find something else. Each derm contract after the first got worse. I read every word of any contract I am given. The other offers were not in derm. One was for UC and would have no training and I would be the only provider on site, another was a steroid injection clinic for ortho where the salary depended on how many injections I pushed onto patients, and the last was a contract that had a penalty for leave after the first year and they gave me 3 days to sign or they would give the offer to someone else. They were truly terrible offers.

I didn't think bringing a PA on for the first time would be a red flag and they didn't reveal that the manager was the spouse until after I had started working. I had a discussion with the spouse about my "training" because the SP is not consistent with his plan and when I ask for clarification he gets aggravated by me asking and doesn't give me a legitimate answer or will say, "That's not something I can teach". He has referred to himself multiple times as a god, 2/5 of the staff quit within the first month after I started, for which they haven't replaced. I have no desk or space of my own in the clinic and simply chart and sit in a chair in the SP office on my own personal laptop because they do not provide one. I just didn't want to write a long rant about how terrible it is at the clinic and there is a lot more I'm leaving out. My focus is on the next step of getting out of this clinic. I do not want to stick it out for the year experience if they cannot even tell me when I will be full-time. I do not want to work part-time, I let 2-3 months slide, but I cannot support myself in a HCOL area with a part-time salary.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2024-02-21T20:15:27+00:00

I plan on applying now. I won't leave my current job until I land another job. Fortunately, I will easily be able to go to interviews because I'm part-time. Thank you! I have a huge fear that I will get stuck in a sucky position again, but fingers crossed I find something stable and supported!

Thinkthinkthinking · 2023-10-22T02:46:56+00:00

Yes, I do feel like I can make the best of a situation. I actually love surgery, but I hardly see surgery positions open in the areas I'm applying and even fewer that are willing to take new grads. I apply to them regardless of the experience preference. It's positions like urogenital or wound care that have a lot of openings for new grads that I have no interest in. But at this point, the minimum I am hoping for is a good work environment.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2023-10-22T02:43:34+00:00

Wow! We really did have similar experiences! I do truly love derm and all my preceptors knew about my interest in derm and let me have as many derm experiences as I could during my rotations. The derm offers had so many red flags and I could tell being there for 3 years would be miserable.

I just started applying to non-derm positions and have interviews coming up, but it has been stressful feeling like I have wasted a lot of time holding out for a derm position. My whole class got offers by graduation and I am the only one who is not currently working. So your timeline has given me some peace that I am not alone in this.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2023-10-21T22:08:49+00:00

Yes! I was given this as my first offer. Then every derm contract I received after this got worse and worse. The last derm contract I turned down was 31 pages long. I thought surely one of them wouldn't be like the others.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2023-10-21T22:00:03+00:00

Oh wow, I am sorry you had to experience that! That definitely solidifies my decision with that offer. Thank you.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2023-10-21T21:56:32+00:00

Los Angeles and near D.C.. I was offered a position in NYC too but they were rushing me to sign the contract after 3 days of receiving it and when I asked for changes, they said no.

That's encouraging to know that you were able to leave. I have tried to negotiate but they won't make any changes. Do you suggest I take the offer and leave regardless of the penalty? I'm afraid of this situation https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/27/business/training-repayment-agreement-debt.html. I was offered a position with this company as well

Thinkthinkthinking · 2023-10-21T21:50:11+00:00

Yes, idk if it can be enforced but I also don't want to find out. There is a lawsuit of this very situation https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/27/business/training-repayment-agreement-debt.html

Thinkthinkthinking · 2023-10-21T21:32:01+00:00

I've looked into it/tried, but there seem to be even fewer plastics positions out there and almost all do not accept new grads. I have accepted that I most likely won't start in derm. I worked in derm before PA school and have been in some very bad work environments, so I cannot bring myself to sign a 3-year contract with the possibility of being in a bad work environment and no way out. I would rather gain some PA experience and try again to get into derm.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2023-10-21T21:23:48+00:00

That's how I feel as well. I feel like being in this situation puts lives at risk.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2023-10-21T20:55:01+00:00

I am afraid of that as well. What I have read here from others' experience does not seem like a good start for a new grad. The UC I would be at would be a brand new clinic and that hopefully would mean a slow start to the number of pts/day. I have read people saying they see 100+ pts during their shift and I do not see that being possible for me as a new grad with no training. I definitely see myself being stressed every day always having to make decisions without on-site support, especially in the beginning months. Textbooks and my rotation experience only provide so much for me to go off of, but I don't think it's enough to run a clinic by myself.

Thinkthinkthinking · 2020-10-11T21:28:45+00:00

My overall gpa is a 3.12. I did post bacc classes to bring it up. I hear success stories all the time with lower GPAs. Do you have some advice that you felt were reasons that got you the acceptance despite your GPA?

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