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| Non Traditional Roles and How to find them: A Physician Assistant Discusses the Increase in Job Sites |
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by Bob Blumm, MA, PA-C, DFAAPA - August 16, 2010
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AdvancedPracticeJobs.com has demonstrated to the NP and the PA community that they are among the better sites to visit when looking for a new position. As job sites are considered, I guess you could say that we are now developing what would have been considered nontraditional avenues of getting out the information that clinicians need. Gone are the days of just going to your professional organization’s national website or reading their journals; gone are the exclusive days of just discovering jobs in your state or specialty newsletter. As the last decade has progressed, we have seen an increase in sites that offer far more jobs to a far greater number of clinicians. We are now becoming familiar with AdvancedPracticeJobs.com, Bill’s PA and NP World and a couple of others who are more than corporate entities making a salary or commission , they have taken on human faces as we discover that they truly care to help the clinician in their personal search for “that perfect job.”
Decades ago, a traditional role was being employed as a clinician in an area or specialty of medicine or surgery. This was all we hoped for and the jobs began to appear as we became more proficient in our skills and through our personalities. As time marched slowly forward, we began to think out of the box and discovered that one could be a clinician in a hospital or a corporation or a private practice. New skills were developed and many of the people who came into our professions in a mid-life career cycle brought with them other skills that they offered to the corporate sector and were greeted with enthusiasm. What were some of these nontraditional jobs?
Management- leaders were recognized, and their organizational skills were put to good use in management positions.
Sales- Certain PAs and NPs became experts in their fields or in the evolving technology and were recognized by the pharmaceutical companies, instrument companies, and suture corporations and were quickly integrated into these fields.
Education- academically prepared NPs and PAs became members of the education staff at NP schools, nursing schools, vocational schools, surgical technology programs, PA schools, universities and also in the private corporate sector as experienced trainers.
Government- Many PAs and NPs decided that they would take their skills and serve in the armed forces of the United States. They joined all five branches of the military and the US Public Health Service. They joined the FBI and the CIA, the White House Staff, the Indian reservations, FEMA, Para Military organizations, Police departments, Fire Departments, and Emergency Services departments and discovered the pride and accomplishment of utilizing their skills and making a living while serving their country.
Advertising- who better to work in this field than an accomplished PA or NP?
Publishing- One of my closest friends and a contributor to both professions, Dave Mittman, was one of the first PA publishers and, among his many accomplishments, was the publisher of Clinician Reviews. He followed with Clinician News and became the principal of a new internet site that has more than 10,000 associates, Clinician1.
Forensics- CSI Miami, CSI New York, CSI Las Vegas, the forensic units that represent all of our metropolitan cities are made up of PAs and NPs who sought nontraditional employment.
Sports Teams- I personally know PAs that serve as team Physician Assistants with a Team Physician for multiple major league teams and sports organizations. I am sure that the same exists in the NP world.
You and I continue to add to these roles as we think out of the box. My list is not conclusive but with your help it can be expanded. When the last word is written and the final period has been placed, someone new will think out of the box and add to this list. Can I enlist your help now in creating a new harvest field for your colleagues by adding more ideas and sending them as a response to this article? Thanks. More to follow in the future –Network.
Robert M. Blumm has received national recognition as a distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). He is the past president of the Association of Plastic Surgery Physician Assistants, and was past-president of the American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants, past president of the American College of Clinicians and NYSSPA, as well as Chairman of the Surgical Congress of the AAPA. In addition, Bob received the John Kirklin MD Award for Professional Excellence from the American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants. Along with his associate, Dr. Acker, Bob was the first recipient of the AAPA PAragon Physician-PA Partnership Award. He has been a contributing author of three textbooks, written 150 plus articles and is a sought out conference speaker throughout the United States.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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