This is by far the best thing to see after 9 anxiety-filled days of waiting!!
So I took the PANCE at 8am on January 14. I was happy that 3 of my close classmates were taking the exam the same day and place as myself. We arrived at the testing center for 7:30. We signed in, read the instructions for the testing center, presented our forms of ID and got our finger print scanned and then were escorted 1 by 1 into the testing area to begin.
There are 5 sections of 60 questions that last 1 hour each (total test time of up to 5 hours). You also get 45 minutes of break time that you may use in between sections if you choose to. I completed 2 blocks, took a 10-12 minute break to go to the bathroom and breath a little bit. Then came back and complete the final 3 blocks. I think by halfway through the 4th block, I was definitely ready to be done. The 5th block was just torture because I was exhausted. It took me 3 1/2 hours to complete the 5 blocks. Then myself and my 3 friends went to get margaritas and Mexican food! It felt great to be done but so much wondering since I was not walking out of the exam saying "Oh yea, no problem, definitely passed that". Each and every one of my friends thought the same thing I did, "wow, that was kind of harder than I expected. I hope I did enough to pass".
So, after 9 crazy stressful days of constantly checking and rechecking my e-mail and the NCCPA website, it is official. I am a PA-C. So thrilled to finally have that last (and biggest hurdle) out of the way and I can now start to enjoy the last of my month off. Oh yea, that's because I start my job in a little over a month!!
After interviewing at at least half a dozen places and sending out my resume to many facilities, I have found my perfect job to start my career. I will be working as a hospitalist PA! I interviewed and did a day of shadowing, at the end of which I was verbally told that the "job was mine if I want it" and subsequently received the official offer letter a week later. I am so glad to have this great opportunity. I will be working within a group of 6 already established PAs. Out of those 6, 4 had been new graduates as well, and to see their level of competency within the hospital now shows me that this is a great position especially for me as a new graduate. I will be working M-F 8:30-4:30 with no holidays, no weekends, and no call. It can't get much better than those hours. Even allows me room to apply for some part time work if I would like.
My days will look like this:
8:30-9:00: Morning huddle
9-9:30/10ish: Rounds on my floor
10-12:30: patient encounters, progress notes/charting
lunch
1-3: continue with daily needs of my patients and charting
3-4:30: admissions from the ER
Every 2 months we rotate which floor we are covering as to not get bored with the patient population. The 4 rotations: medical, med/surg, cardiology, ER admissions.
I am so excited for the opportunity and can not wait to begin my career come March 3!!
Until then - TiVo.
Let me know if you have questions regarding the PANCE or job interviews/prospects! Looking forward to your comments!
Hey! So I have been following your blog since right before I started PA school. I can't believe you have already graduated and are now certified (congrats by the way) It really does go by so quickly.
ReplyDeleteI have 6 more months to go until I graduate. I do have a question regarding your job prospects and when you started sending out your CV and looking for job opportunities as a student... not sure If I am thinking way ahead, or if now is a good time to start searching around?
Thanks,
DJ
Hi DJ! Thank you for following my journey for so long and congratulations on almost completing your MPAS degree! That's amazing how close you are. Pretty soon you will be wondering when you will be done so you can start practicing I am sure :)
DeleteI started sending out my CV approximately 3 months prior to graduation and most places told me to contact them when I graduate or when I am scheduled to take my PANCE. So for right now, I would definitely keep looking just so you can see what opportunities are available in your area. I started seriously applying about 1-2 months prior to graduation and a lot more employers were interested then because I could be hired in the time frame they were looking for. I had many interviews the entire month of December (and I graduated on December 14). So if I were you I would start applying 2 months prior to graduation and always let them know when you are scheduled to take the PANCE.
Great idea getting the ball rolling on looking and seeing what is out there! Please let me know how the hunt goes! Are you looking for a specific specialty? Good luck!
Thank you so much for your input. Yeah your blog helped to inspire me to record my experiences for my journey through PA school. A lot of students who have interviewed for my program have been able to read about my experiences and found it loaded with answers to their questions about what my program is like.
DeleteI have made a few connections and actually found a job that would hire me upon graduation, however I am not sure if it is exactly what I want yet... I am currently in my surgery rotation and have found it to be incredibly rewarding and really fun. I enjoy making connections with patients in office and watching them get healed right in the OR and watching them recover. Its so much fun to help patients when they are scared and at times at their lowest point. So I could see myself working in a surgery specialty, but I would really like to have a good mixture of clinic and OR time. Its fun to see that continuity of care from pre-op to intra-op to post-op. I have ER next rotation... so maybe that will be an area I really find a passion for?... I honestly have liked every rotation I have had so far (urgent care, and family practice). So I could honestly work anywhere... but I really like hands on procedures (biopsies and suturing, ect) and would like to incorporate that in my future job.
What was your study approach for the PANCE? did you use any specific system or program/book?
So glad to hear I helped in you to start your blog (which I have also really enjoyed reading!! Keep it up!).
DeleteGreat job starting to network already! Even though you already have an standing verbal offer, be sure to keep your options open, especially since you have not completed a majority of your rotations. I love hands on experience too which is why I really enjoyed the surgical subspecialties. The main reason I chose to do hospital medicine is to get a good foundation of knowledge in many different specialities of medicine. I did not want to focus on 1 topic and then be worried about managing my patients appropriately for other comorbidities they may have or not be able to pass my recertification boards in 10 years (yes, I'm thinking way ahead lol).
To study for the PANCE, I mostly reviewed the AAPA review book (the black and green book) and the online NCCPA practice PANCE exams (which cost $35 to take). I also used old packrat exams and the online Q-Bank from Kaplan. With these I was successful so hopefully they help you too!
Thank you very much for your input. Yeah I know I still have 4 rotations left, and still so much to learn. I don't plan on making any commitment to a job until I am done with school and get a chance to visit and even shadow for a bit. However, I will consider any offer that comes my way and weight the good and bad. I like how you decided to work as a hospitalist to get a good foundation of knowledge before specializing (if you ever plan to). I am not opposed to heading right into a specialty right out of school, but I have so much interest in every area of medicine I think it will really benefit me to work in a broad area for a while after graduation. Either way you will be able to hear about it all on my blog. Thanks again for your input and help, and cant wait to hear about your first time on the job!
ReplyDeleteSounds great DJ! Keeping your options open is definitely the way to go. I never thought I would be doing hospitalist medicine when I started my rotations but now feel like this is where I was meant to begin my career.
DeleteThanks again for reading and I am anxious to read more about your journey as you complete PA school! Let me know if there is anything see you think I should write about in my blog.
I'm happy you're back blogging again! I am a current PA student where you went. I was wondering if you considered doing a residency or if anyone you graduated with did one. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and following through my journey (even when I was quiet for months at a time) Nicole!! :)
DeleteCongrats on beginning your schooling, you are in for a great ride! I never considered doing a residency..mostly due to location factors (none around my area) and that I was not sure exactly which area of medicine I would want to do a residency in. I enjoyed most of my rotations and didn't want to limit myself to one area of medicine for a majority of my career just yet.
I do know of 1 person in my class who just began a residency in critical care medicine. Other than that, the rest of my class has gone on to find their first job (as far as I know).
Hello! I have been reading through your blog and love it! Thank you for all your input on your journey throughout PA school and after. I had a few questions if you could possibly help. I will be interviewing at MCPHS- Worcester your former school next week, what questions do you best advice for mock interviews to feel somewhat prepared? What are some highlights from studying at MCPHS? Thank you for your time.
ReplyDeleteHi I am a pa student that have graduated from pa school , can you please let me know what have you used for studying to pass pance.. Books , course and q banks . Thanks
ReplyDelete