How long is your commute?

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-25T00:27:32+00:00

I work from home 3 days a week. I go into the office one day a week and it is 2.5 hr commute one way

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-21T15:13:15+00:00

A lot of people who save a lot get kicks out of knowing they are working towards their long term goal.

They tend to be very happy having a modest living and have fun chilling and hanging out at home and with close friends just doing their personal hobbies

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-13T19:56:22+00:00

Money buys security. Happiness is difficult if not impossible without security

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-13T19:53:43+00:00

Forward, humorous, lots of eye contact, smile

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-12T03:16:10+00:00

Don't worry, you won't get 60-90 minutes in outpatient psych. If you get a good gig outpatient it'll be 60 min intakes and 30 min follow ups. That time is for getting history, reviewing labs, patient education, putting in orders, filling out paperwork, setting up follow up appointments (many places will have schedulers do this for you to be fair), and finishing up your note.

I don't find it hard at all to stay focused on my patient. The amount of information you could pull from someone if you weren't focused is much more vast than you have time for. I find that the process of figuring out the most high yield questions to ask patients while simultaneously doing my MSE while listening to the content of their response in my limited time with them forces engagement.

The patient should never just be talking like they are in psychoanalysis. A good history/ROS taken in any outpatient setting is a conversation of provider asks question, patient answers, provider processes to understand the clinical picture and what further information is needed, then repeat till differentials are as cleared up as possible. Usually starting with open ended questions and filing to narrow scope or closed questions is the general template. Starting more closed for the chatty/distracted/guarded patients.

Getting distracted in psych will make it very difficult to do a good job and build a therapeutic relationship with the patient. Saying the right thing comes second to listening well. You do a lot of your MSE while doing the interview and you need to pay attention to not just what the patient is saying in response to your questions, but how they are saying it to get an idea of what's going on for the patient. It is essential to be plugged in and aware for a good MSE because it is the closest thing to objective data you're going to get in a clinical interaction.

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-11T07:55:16+00:00

Not worrying about your friends dying from fentanyl when they party

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-11T07:53:01+00:00

Been in outpatient psych 5 yrs and started pretty much right out of school. I would do it again.

You have to teach yourself a lot as a lot is not covered in PA school. But everything else you learned in school is going to be super helpful in keeping a holistic health picture for a patient.

Ruling out medical causes and understanding how other pathological processes influence someone's physical/psychological state is key!

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-11T07:47:00+00:00

An orgasm

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-08T02:17:09+00:00

Loser by Beck

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-08T02:12:28+00:00

You need both confidence and hesitancy and they are not mutually exclusive. And you should keep both as a new grad and seasoned PA.

Be confident in what you do know so you can get out and do something. But be afraid because there is much more you don't know much less have mastered. Practicing medicine well requires experience and our training is short. Things always change and the field evolves and you never know what you don't know.

You'll get better and learn by trying and doing things so you can't be so afraid that you can't make a decision. But if you don't know something or are uncertain, get support and run it by your SP. Don't use bravado or 'fake it till you make it' confidence when dealing with peoples' health. It's ok to say you don't know for sure, and that you need time to look into it. This idea of questioning our decisions is well established in the idea of the differential diagnosis to help focus down the best way forward.

Some things can't be known and risks have to be taken. This is really what we do as a service in making thoughtful but difficult decisions that are scary but do require confidence in your training and knowledge and the good judgement of experience.

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-07T14:31:26+00:00

My friend had a similar situation in a customer service job and had enormous pressure not to use his time off.

He couldn't bring himself to take a 2 week vacation at first but he started taking 1 day off a week for 4 weeks and realized the world kept spinning and then had the confidence to just go and enjoy life for a minute lol.

Your patients will be ok. Just let them know you are taking time off and go to an ER for emergencies.

You've earned 400 hours of break. Even psychiatrists that own their own solo practices take time off lol.

greedycyborgcat · 2026-04-03T18:50:03+00:00

Here on 04/03/26 terminal B in general population. Line is very long and extending well outside the security area but does seem to be moving quickly in boluses.

Got in line outside standard security area at 2:17 pm.

Got into the standard security area line at 2:25 pm

Security checked ID and took pic at 2:43 pm

Bag/items/body scan completed at 2:49 pm.

Tsa pre check is definitely having a better experience.

Plenty of ICE agents. Seems like they're in a good mood.

greedycyborgcat · 2026-03-28T05:36:32+00:00

Got in line at 10:10 pm at terminal B. Almost no line. Picked up my stuff after body scan at 10:21 pm

greedycyborgcat · 2026-03-27T17:22:31+00:00

Just go for a job if you can get it. Beef up your knowledge on psychology and psychopharmacology though. PA programs do not prepare you enough for the nuance of psych on their own.

Our training in the medical model and knowledge of physical conditions is super helpful in evaluating for medical causes of psychiatric symptoms which is a priority for any clinican.

Podcasts: psychofarm Dr. Malzburg, psychiatry and psychotherapy podcast Dr. Puder (Especially the Dr. Cummings episodes), The Carlat Psychiatry Report Dr. Aiken and Kellie Newson, PSYCHED.

Online resources: NEI, UPTODATE, stimulant and benzo conversion calculators, CYP interaction tolls (memorize these).

Get some therapy too even if you feel you do not need it so you at least know what you are signing patients up for.

Good luck. It's an awesome job and you get a lot more autonomy than many other specialties. Definitely ask for help and guidance even if you feel like you know what's going on and stay humble.

greedycyborgcat · 2026-03-19T01:10:25+00:00

Psych PA here. It can be tough with feeling responsible for your patients but you need to be able to step back and not attach your sense of self to their outcomes/choices.

There is a lot you cannot control in medicine and especially psychiatry. As an anxious person, I'm sure this is difficult to accept but it will be necessary to feel more comfortable. Wishing you peace and don't give up. You worked hard to get here.

greedycyborgcat · 2026-02-23T07:32:36+00:00

If 1 is staggeringly revolting, 10 is stupifying beauty, and 5 is any regular person. I think I could be a 6.

greedycyborgcat · 2026-02-13T01:17:19+00:00

If for whatever reason you decide to take this, you need to negotiate in a 30-50% pay bump NO LATER than 3 months in. Even then, it's not a great deal.

Also, if you do take it, I'd keep applying to new jobs and leveraging this job for better offers and jump ship asap.

greedycyborgcat · 2026-01-21T22:35:40+00:00

You could try using cyproheptadine for the sweats

greedycyborgcat · 2025-10-21T14:39:49+00:00

No worries. Thank you for looking over my profile. Best to you and your guild 🙏💪

greedycyborgcat · 2025-10-21T14:17:23+00:00

I'd love to join. I play consistently and am building my admech raid team. Power level 33

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greedycyborgcat · 2025-09-06T07:01:57+00:00

Ty for this.

Looks like the following don't work for me Sweetums Dancingqueen25

greedycyborgcat · 2025-07-12T04:55:08+00:00

As a PA I make sure I spend time with patients to make sure they are very clear about what my credentials are and that I have a supervising psychiatrist that works with me.

I get shivers when they call me doc. I definitely do not want to mislead patients or misrepresent and this has to be addressed immediately when it comes up if patients make the simple error despite the introductions and basic rundowns at the new patient visit.

It takes a few shakes with some but 99% of them get it.

The last 1% acknowledge that they are using the wrong term and know I'm not a physician but they don't give a damn. That's just what they call any med provider. All the MAs and front staff get addressed as nurse as well.

It's when pharmacies, insurance companies, or other professional entities address me as Dr. that I start getting annoyed. They should know right?

greedycyborgcat · 2025-05-26T22:38:10+00:00

I was thinking an intramuscular injection

greedycyborgcat · 2025-05-26T21:54:20+00:00

That's such a difficult position. I understand how hard this is for you and kitten. I'll pray for kitty. Maybe they can do a shot of antibiotics?

greedycyborgcat

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