Workin' Gal

4 months and 2 days after graduation...the day I finally started my job as a hospitalist physician assistant!  Mark that on the calendar as the day I finally have accomplished my dream of becoming a PA in a hospital setting! :)

Yesterday was my first day of work which consisted of new hire orientation.  Quite a boring day as you sit through lectures on quality control, hospital policies and services offered for patients.  Even though it is not the most exciting day, I was just happy to be there and get going finally after sitting around for awhile waiting on licenses and such since graduation and passing the PANCE.  First thing was first, I received my ID badge that says "Hospitalist Physician Assistant" on it as well as a large "PA" so that I can be easily identified in case of emergency.  It's so crazy to see my picture on that ID badge :) 

Today included going to a lot of meetings with department heads so they could meet me face-to-face and know what I, as a new practitioner at the hospital, will need of them and their services.  It is great to have such a warm welcome when I am a new graduate. I feel as though I am so important to these department heads and its just a surreal feeling knowing that I do hold an important role in the healthcare services at this hospital.  SO happy to know that all this schooling and dedication was worth it.  

Tomorrow starts my first day on the floor and getting used to the computer system (Meditech) I will use to document and order.  Luckily I have a mentor PA who has been assigned to me whose name is Eric.  He will be my go-to person while I am settling into my new position with the hospitalist team.  I will be shadowing/working with him the first few weeks of my training and then I will be given a small patient case load.  Once I am feeling confident (in probably a couple months) I will start getting a full patient case load as a PA on the service would have.  

I'll let you know how it goes over this first week!