Interview with a PA fro Interventional Radiology

Here's an interview with a PA working in IR.

1) Why did you choose to be a PA? 

After college I worked as a health education researcher and teacher for several years and I really loved what I did. But it became frustrating when my students would come to me for health concerns and I didn’t have any means to provide immediate medical help. Many didn’t have access to regular check-ups and/or they did not trust their health care provider. I felt that being a PA would allow me to provide comprehensive medical care AND the education to help make good healthcare choices in the future. 

2) How did you pick UTSW? What was your interview process like? 

I honestly applied to all the Texas schools because I knew how competitive the process was. What I really liked about UTSW was naturally how highly ranked it is, that it had a 100% PANCE rate, the option to do a study abroad rotation (though I unfortunately wasn’t able to do so while in school) and because it seemed like a school that was genuinely invested in helping me to succeed. 

3) What was your biggest surprise once you started working as a PA-C? 

I think one big reality check for me was realizing working in the American Healthcare system isn’t necessarily just diagnosing and treating diseases. A large amount of time is spent navigating insurance systems, making sure that the patient has support outside of the hospital to help with follow-up care, and assessing transportation status is huge! Plus every single field of medicine deals with mental health issues so you have to be able to evaluate your patient holistically. 

4) What area of practice are you in now? What does a week look like for you? 

I currently work in an interventional radiology private practice that is contracted out to several major hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I work Monday-Friday 8-5pm. We have the option to do weekend call but for the first two years, I chose not to. We are split between working interventional radiology (performing surgical procedures with imaging such as ultrasound, CT or x-ray), diagnostic radiology (putting contrast in any hole and barium studies), and outpatient clinic. We get a lot of variety within a day because you can switch between doing OB-GYN, orthopedic, oncology, GI, and endocrine procedures with each appointment. I rarely feel bored and most procedures last 20-30 minutes. I feel like IR is a lot like general surgery; you learn a lot about every specialty. 

5) Can you tell us about your involvement with TAPA as a student and now a practicing PA? 

I actually didn’t know about TAPA prior to PA school but after a presentation during one of my classes, I saw the importance of joining. TAPA is the only organization that fights and works solely for Texas PAs and honestly, any ability for us to practice is medicine is only because of them! I then became the student rep for UTSW and served in that role for two years. As a student I attended all the conferences, which was a great opportunity to network. Even if you’re not an officer, you can meet other students, professors and even practicing PAs who could be your link to a job when you graduate. I also liked the workshops and lectures which helped with upcoming exams. As a practicing PA, I served as the TAPA membership chair for two years. I really wanted to make sure that we got as many PAs as possible to become TAPA members. I have also been very involved in legislative issues that had the potential to greatly limit our scope of practice. It’s hard to believe, but there is always “someone” out there that wants a piece of your “pie” or scope so we have to constantly be vigilant. Recently there were two TMB rules that could have had broad implications to how we practice medicine so I personally went out to the meetings in Austin and testified. It was intimidating but I think by showing that we are competent providers who work in collaboration with our physician and that should be able to do what our prescriptive authority deems as possible really made a difference. Making arbitrary restrictions actually harms patients in the long run. As a result, the troublesome rule was dismissed and we got reinstated protection to continue to work in radiology. I’m really proud of that!

6) Any advice for aspiring PAs?

If you’re a pre-PA I would say to take as many opportunities as you can to see different PA roles. Being a PA is an awesome job but it is very difficult at times to both your mental and physical health. You have to have an inner drive to motivate you otherwise you can get burned out. For PA students, I’d say to hang in there! The semesters will soon end and the light at the end of the tunnel is much closer than you think. You were selected because you are the best! So keep that in the front of your mind when you have challenges. Doing poorly in a test does not translate to being a poor provider. There are many people counting on you to finish! And finally keep an open mind. I really thought I would be an OB-GYN PA when I was in PA school and never once imagined I’d do IR. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else! Try to shadow during your holidays while you’re a student. Those opportunities are easier to come by than when you are out of school and in that weird limbo. I look forward to working with you in the future!