Informational InterviewBy: Melissa McCool

Interview information: Name: Ann-Marie Rader

Title: PA-CPlace of Employment: North Berkeley Family

CareDate of Interview: 20 May 2016

How did you get started in this field?

In high school I went on a mission trip to Togo, West Africa for 2 months. While there I was praying about the direction of my life and what I should major in at college. I ended up getting sick for 2 weeks on the trip and had nothing to read but a medical textbook. God sparked an interest in my heart for medicine and whispered into my soul the career of a PA so I could lead medical mission teams. I did not even know what a PA was at the time. I came home, researched it, then on my first day of college classes at Clemson (which was only 7 days after I returned from Africa), I changed my major to pre-professional health studies and began preparing to apply for PA school at MUSC. 

What training or education is required for this type of

work? 4 year undergraduate degree then on

average a 27 month masters program at an accredited PA school

How did you get this position? What are common

career paths? I have been in my current job for 10 years ( my

first and only job since graduating PA school). The doctor I did my very first clinical rotation of PA school with called me before I graduated and said she was starting her own practice and asked me to join her. I said yes- 10 years ago. 

I was also able to get repayment of my student loans from the federal government because my office is located on a medically underserved area 

What are typical hiring procedures?

Interview Shadowing  Calling references 

What areas of knowledge are most important for

advancement in this field? Degrees? Certifications?

Clinical skills  Interpersonal and social skills  Teamwork  Ability to lead Degrees: Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies Certification: Must pass licensing and certifying exam

given by the National Commission on Certification of PAs (NCCPA)

What part of the job do you find most challenging or

satisfying? Most challenging is dealing with

electronic, medical record systems and insurance companies 

Most satisfying is saving people's lives and helping them to understand their own health care 

If you were staring out again, would you do anything differently?

Sometimes I think I would become an MD because of the respect that title earns; however, the majority of days I am so glad I am a PA as I have been doing what I love for years and I avoided a lot of the debt and time in school that I didn't need to do my job 

What do you do on a typical day in this

position? I work in family practice so I see around

15-22 patients a day mainly managing diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, other chronic conditions and sick visits. I see babies for well visits, I evaluate people for clearance prior to surgery, I see emergency work in visits for chest pain, abscesses, coughs, colds, etc. I do physicals. 

What are the problems you see working in this field?

Insurance companies dictate what treatments you can offer patients 

Electronic medical record systems do not interface with each other well, they are difficult to use and generate pages and pages of data but not a useful summary of a visit. 

Patients can't afford their medical care -especially after the UN-affordable care act was passed-making healthcare costs sky rocket for everyone. 

Doctors and PAs in primary care get paid very little, so we are forced to see more patients, making it hard to have enough time to do a good job 

Medicare makes us document a ridiculous amount of useless information making it take more time to document a visit than to actually treat the patient. 

What, if anything, do you wish you had known before you entered this

occupation? And what special advice would you give a person entering in

this field? A large majority of my job is social work

and motivational speaking.  If you are not prepared to do these 2 tasks in every patient encounter you should not go into the medical profession. 

What are the professional journals in this field that I

should read? Journal of the American Academy of

Physician Assistants (JAAPA) 

What is the “corporation culture” here, i.e. is it formal, informal, do people work autonomously, does everyone come early, stay late?

It depends where you work. My job is informal, but many medical jobs are formal. Almost all medical jobs require coming in early, staying late and working through "lunch". There is no lunch on medicine except a working lunch. 

People work both autonomously and as a team. All PAs are part of an MD-PA team. Some PAs have lots of autonomy, done PAs almost exclusively work with their doctor. 

How would you evaluate the future of this career field? How do you see jobs

in this field changing in the future? What areas do you feel promise the most opportunity? The most growth?

Very bright future, the demand and need for PAs is outpacing the ability of the educational system to train them. 

If single payer, governmental healthcare happens the government will employ a lot of PAs and NPs as we are very cost effective 

What qualities would you suggest for a person to have to be successful in this field? 

Great social skills  Team player  Humble  Detail oriented  Passion for learning  Effective communicator

Can you suggest anyone else whom I could contact for

additional information? When I call him/her may I use your name?

Jennifer Block Kirkley, PA-C