Onyi is an urgent care PA, a mom, and a lifestyle blogger. She makes it look easy. It isn't, and she's honest about that.

If you've been wondering whether you can have kids and still do this, or whether PA school is survivable with a family, listen to her.

What we talk about:

• What urgent care is actually like as a specialty
• Getting through PA school with family responsibilities
• The adjustments motherhood forced on her career
• How she manages her time when everything wants a piece of it
• Building a blog and a life outside the clinic
• Her advice for pre-PAs who want a family too

Resources:

Free application timeline: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-application-timeline

PA Program Map: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-platform-map

One-on-one pre-PA counseling: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

Welcome to the Pre Pa Club podcast, episode 36.

Get ready for an interview with mom, blogger and pa anyye.

Welcome to the Pre Pa Club podcast.

If you want to learn how to become a physician assistant, you're in the right place.

I'm your host, Savannah Perry.

Let's get to it.

Hey guys, Savannah here.

First of all, I just want to say thank you so much for listening.

If you've made it this far and you're here with us in episode gosh 36, this is crazy.

And so thank you so much for listening and for your feedback and ideas and yeah, just thank you.

And if you didn't know, Sunday is Mother's Day, which brings us to this episode.

One of the things I get asked about a lot is things to do with being a parent in PA school or if it's possible or how work life balance works, being a pa and I'm not a mom yet.

I've got about six weeks to go, but I was able to speak with Anji from Sincerelyanyi.com and we connected I think on Instagram.

But she, she is a PA and a blogger and a mom and a wife and just a little bit of everything and she's awesome.

It was really fun to actually get to connect with her and talk.

One thing that's cool about her story that you'll hear is she, unlike myself, has actually utilized the lateral mobility aspect of being a pa.

So it was really cool to hear about that and just hear about how she balances everything.

So we'll definitely jump into that and I'm excited for you guys to meet Anya as well.

In other news, not much going on.

CASPA is open, so that's something you should be aware of if you're applying this year.

It is May, so you got to start looking at those applications, getting them in.

And if you need help with your personal statement, Definitely check out myparesource.com I edit for them and they do sponsor this podcast.

And basically when you're working on your personal statement, it really, that is what's going to get you the interview.

I mean, your application may not be perfect, but your essay really needs to be.

So if you need help with that, if you need a professional PA to look at it, we only have board certified PAs editing statements and we've all been trained and a lot of us have been on admissions boards and helped with that.

So definitely check that out.

Myparesource.com Even if you don't want to use their editing services, there is a free video Workshop, which is awesome.

And I think it should be mandatory for anyone trying to write a PA school essay.

But you can use the code prepaclub for a discount there and just email me or message me on Instagram if you have any questions about that or any other Caspa PA application stuff.

I'll do my best to help.

But let's jump in to this interview with Ani and I think you are going to really, really enjoy it.

All right, so I'm Oni Ozzie.

I am a PA in urgent care currently and I've been working as a PA for about four and a half years so far.

I've been in a couple different specialties.

I first out of PA school worked in orthopedics, then I worked in urgent care moonlighting every once in a while.

After that I started working as a surgical hospitalist at a pediatric hospital, which is, it's kind of confusing for some people.

At first I worked in the department of surgery, but I worked in the ER and did any bedside procedure that came in that was a surgical consult.

Interesting.

And so, yeah, so that's pretty much my gist of what I've done as a page the past four and a half years.

But I'm also a mom and lifestyle blogger@sincerely oni.com and you can find me on IG@sincerelyoney.

But yeah, so PA is pretty much my bread and butter.

That's my full time.

My full time job.

Yeah.

So you went from.

So you're in urgent care now?

Yes.

Okay, that's interesting.

A lot of people I feel like, really like ortho or think they like ortho.

I don't like ortho, but that's fine.

But what made you kind of switch?

Why were you switching positions?

I mean, was it supervising physician stuff?

Was it just not liking what you're doing or better lifestyle, you know, what.

Is actually a whole bunch of things at one time.

So I came out of PA school and I wanted to either do ER or orthopedics.

I was like, okay, ER for at least the cities I was looking into, which is Tulsa, where I ended up practicing.

You needed to have experience.

So I ended up in ortho, which I thought was my dream at first.

But then after about two, two and a half years, I realized I'm not really the ortho girl.

I kind of want a little mix.

Something else.

I was missing the medicine aspect, truly.

And then ironically, that's the same time I got pregnant with my first son.

And I don't know, we might Talk about it later, but just how things kind of.

You may see people's true colors when someone gets pregnant and it kind of makes you adjust your goals and aspirations.

So I left orthopedics for several reasons, but then also my husband, job wise, we had to move because of him.

So.

Yeah.

Okay, that's just interesting because, you know, people love the PA profession because of the lateral mobility.

Yeah.

But I feel like not every PA utilizes that, but I think for something like moving, it is so useful.

So I've only worked in Durham.

I haven't switched specialties.

I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to it if I had to, but right now I like where I'm at.

But yeah, let's talk about kind of family stuff.

And so I'm pregnant.

You have two kids.

So you have.

Or I'm walking in your footsteps.

Yeah.

How did that.

You kind of touched on it, but how did that go when you first found out you were pregnant?

Was that well received or were maybe.

What.

What was your thoughts there as a working full time pa?

Yeah.

So just being honest and open, I could tell that there became an elephant in the room.

I was, you know, first assist for so many surgeries.

And of course, with orthopedics, you're exposed to radiation all the time.

And so that meant that I couldn't be in certain surgeries at a certain time.

I could be in it all the way up until they needed, you know, whatnot.

So for I worked with a handful of surgeons, and so for some surgeons, they didn't like that I had to step out.

They felt it might slow them down a bit, so I could kind of sense a shift where they didn't really like that.

And so it's not necessarily the reason I left because I ended up, you know, leaving before I had to make that decision.

But it kind of influenced my desire to leave and even leave orthopedics just because, you know, for me, ironically, I wasn't initially a girl.

All about family.

Oh, you know, become a mom.

That's.

That wasn't my thing.

But then after becoming a mom or at least becoming pregnant, my priorities changed and I wanted to be in an environment where I was embraced, you know, with this pregnancy.

So, yeah.

Has your.

Or was your experience different the second time around now?

The second time around, I was working in pediatrics when I got pregnant.

So of course they're just like, everything was definitely such a positive experience.

At the end of the day, it was definitely a different experience than the first one.

I love that I knew I would be taken care of whether or not I had short term disability.

Because that is what something that I wish that more people had seen spoke about.

Yes.

I want to talk about your experience with that and I can tell you a little bit about mine too.

Yeah.

Because I, like I said, I wasn't planning on being a mom anytime soon.

Kind of just spur the moment each time.

And each time I did not sign up for short term disability.

Like I was kind of left in a panic.

Like, what are we gonna do when I, you know, stop working?

We start getting, stop getting this income that we count on.

And so with my second pregnancy, I found out that the AAPA actually allows you to sign up for their short term disability at any point in your pregnancy.

Like before you deliver, like not the day before.

Because timing wise, but literally anytime during your pregnancy, you can sign up for the short term disability.

And it has been cheaper than any other short term disability.

Like any of my jobs so far,.

Provided that's what I've heard.

It's pretty affordable too.

Yeah.

I was so shocked and so thankful.

I was like, thank you, Apa.

You know, you have to be a member of the aapa.

That's definitely a plus for anyone out there that is thinking about it or considering it or you know, if you're, if you are possibly fertile.

Yeah.

At least think about it.

That's what.

So I'm, I signed up through my work because I didn't really, I didn't know about the AAPA option and I kind of wish I did.

I.

And their stipulation is you have to have been on the short term disability policy for 10 months before you give birth.

So in my situation, my baby is due June 19th and my 10 months is June 1st.

Oh, wow.

So she's gotta stay in there for a little bit longer if I want to get paid any of my short term disability.

And so it sounds like the AAPA option may would have been a little bit better and probably more affordable.

But I'll just know more for the future and hopefully this helps someone else too.

One question that I get asked a lot that I think is interesting is about, well, obviously we weren't in this situation, but being pregnant in PA school, if that's possible, if it's good idea how that would work and being pregnant myself now, to be honest, like, I think it would be really hard and I've had an easy pregnancy.

Yeah.

What are your thoughts on that?

I definitely agree.

Like I would hate to scare someone off from PA school because they either plan to get pregnant or already pregnant.

Like, no, you can still do it no matter what.

However, it is going to.

Going to be really hard because I did have two classmates that got pregnant at the beginning.

One of them didn't finish with us, although she did finish years later, but.

And the other one, she did miraculously.

And so it depends on everybody's situation.

It depends on the support that you have.

But it's possible.

It's just.

It is harder.

So just be aware.

Yeah, that's what my class didn't have anyone get pregnant, but the class above me did during rotations.

And I just remember her saying how difficult it was because they, they had the same expectations of her as far as like her surgery rotation.

When you're on your feet all day long and in the or.

And I mean it wasn't.

I don't think it was super easy for her.

And like I sure how the only thing I really had was being really tired my first trimester and I just can't imagine trying to study.

Yeah, that's the main thing.

I feel like rotations maybe, but that whole didactic, that's really the kicker.

If you really like, you can do it.

But man, it's.

It's gonna be tough because you really have to be fully present to get the MPA school.

So.

Yeah.

Yeah, it is.

Definitely.

Yeah.

I think that would be a big, A big decision.

I think it would be doable, but not necessarily something I would want to do.

Yeah.

If I could help it.

So.

Thinking about just kind of like your job, like what is a day or your.

What does your schedule kind of look like?

So my typical day at the urgent care.

Let's see, I probably come in, log in to my computer, check the PAQ where we get results for patients, tests that have been sent out, and then I'll task them to the nurse to call the patient with the results or whatnot.

And then I pretty much wait for my first patient, examine them, treat them.

Depending on what's going on, it could be a potential fracture that might need X ray or could be a laceration where I end up, you know, cleaning it and repairing it depending on how bad it is.

If it needs ER visit, you know, we.

Where we're quick to tell you to go to the ER if it's.

It's something that we are not meant to handle there.

You know, urgent care is for urgent matters which gets, you know, it gets a little fuzzy with people sometimes, but.

But yeah.

So I see for my clinic maybe 25 patients a day.

Okay.

And that's 12 hour shift.

And then I'm good to go.

Then I head home.

I don't bring any.

Anything home with me.

Never chart at home and never tried outside of work.

Me either.

Yeah.

Yeah, good.

Good motto there.

I don't know.

Yeah, I don't.

I don't bring anything home.

Yeah, I like to.

I like to finish my charts, like, almost as soon as I come out after I see the patient.

It may not be all the way signed, but I like to almost finish.

Yeah, me too.

What?

And how many shifts, I guess per week?

Like, what does that look like right now?

Only three.

Oh, it's not only.

That's a full time.

Yeah, 3:12 is full time.

But of course, I could probably do more like maybe four.

But I want to make sure that I have an adequate.

Or what I feel adequate enough time for my boys.

And then of course, my blogging on the side, but especially my boys, because mommy guilt is something so serious and crucial.

Like, you don't even realize until after you've had a kid that literally you're running on mommy guilt.

Like anything you do.

I feel guilty going to the restroom.

Like, everything I do, you feel guilty, like, at least for me.

And I see it a lot with other people, but it's just, you have to operate with the guilt.

So I'm like, that's my sacrifice.

I'm only gonna work three days a week, even though I kind of can or want to work more.

But this is for my kids.

This time is for my kids outside of.

Outside of work.

Yeah.

That's good.

I mean, how did you struggle with going back to work after maternity leave?

I think it depends on the type of person you are.

So with my first son, I was on maternity leave for about three months and I, you know, I was sad, like, oh my gosh, someone else is gonna to take care of my child.

Someone else is going to feed him.

And then, you know, I had my second child and I was off for about six months.

Okay.

I was like, get me back to work, please.

I was like, ready to go back to work.

I need to be out of the house.

For me, I mean, I just can admit that I'm not the stay at home mom type.

I like to.

I need to be doing something else.

And I realize I'm even a better mother, you know, going to work because I value my time with them more, you know?

Yeah.

So.

But, well, and that's.

I mean, obviously I haven't been there yet, but that's how I see myself too, is Like I, I need to work, I need that outlet, but I do, I want there to be a balance there too.

Did anyone.

One thing I've been surprised about being pregnant is everyone likes to share their opinions with you.

Even people I didn't expect, like, even family members.

And people will be like, oh, so you're gonna stop working?

And I was like, wait, I've worked really hard and I love my job.

So.

No, I mean, so it's, it's been interesting just to hear people's opinions and questions as far as that goes.

Did you get any of that?

Well, of course I did, but I probably don't even remember 90% of it.

I'm the type of person that I'm like, okay, and I still do my own thing, going to work.

Yeah.

I take into account for my judgment.

Like I want to make the best decision, but I won't let someone guilt me into something.

So I definitely got a lot of.

You're not gonna, you know, for me.

Okay.

So a lot of people are all about no epidural.

And I understand and support that because that's how I was for my first delivery.

I was like, no, I'm doing my self hypnosis and my oils and my ball and the bathtub.

I did all of that.

And I was like, I don't want, you know, any of that.

And so, yeah, after 24 hours of labor, I was like, nevermind, give me the epidural.

And so, so I was like, I'm gonna kick that guilt out of my head because I'm gonna do what's best for me at this time so people will give it to you.

Just, you know, be polite about it.

But Day, what's best for you and your child is what's best for you and your child.

So yeah, it's very interesting.

And that's what I mean.

I'm very open to however they need to get her out.

Get her out.

But some of my friends who've had C sections or inductions have said the same thing.

Like people have very strong opinions about that, which it's like you can't even really most of the time, I mean, at all.

So anyway, yeah, it's, it's definitely an interesting shift going from I guess, pa, which I'm still a PA and I'm still going to be a pa to PA and a mom.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it'll be interesting to see what that, that kind of looks like.

I don't know, you will look like a whole different person, I promise.

Because reminiscing of my days of right after PA school, and I'm making that, you know, PA money.

Have no other responsibility.

Yeah.

I was just living life.

Let me honest.

But now I'm like, whoa.

Everything is about my kids.

Like, and it's crazy because you want to, like, you want to.

And it's like, who's this new person I am?

It'll.

It'll amaze you who you are next year, I promise.

Yeah, I'm really, I'm interested to see.

But yeah.

And my work has been super supportive.

They.

I work in an all female practice and they've all had babies.

I've covered for them while they've been on maternity leave.

And so it was kind of like probably more like your pediatric experience where it was all excitement.

They were really excited for me.

Definitely still kind of like, okay, let's think about how we're gonna cover for you.

But they threw me a baby shower.

I mean, I posted pictures on Instagram.

Like, it was so sweet.

So, so, so, yeah, so they've been.

Been really good about it, but it'll be weird not going to work every day for a few months.

Yeah, I feel like I'm gonna have to keep studying to stay up to date and, like, brush up on stuff so I don't lose my knowledge.

Yeah, but, yeah, so that'll be.

Be interesting.

But yeah.

Have you had trouble kind of like finding that balance between PA and mom?

And what are your thoughts on people who.

This is something that.

This is like a personal pet peeve.

When I ask people, like, why they want to go to PA school or why they want to be a PA and not a doctor, a lot of people say because of the lifestyle, but I think in.

In my opinion, like, you choose your lifestyle.

Like, you choose how much time you devote to your children or your family and how much you devote to work, whether you're a doctor or a pa.

So to me, that's not like, the strongest reason that you should want to be a pa. What are your kind of thoughts on all that?

Well, I definitely understand because, you know, for some people, their drive is family is number one.

And so that's not who I was initially.

The reason I became a PA is not because of, oh, I wanted to spend all this time with my family.

It was because I really knew I did not want to be a doctor.

But then I had no clue what a PA was.

I knew of other areas in medicine, and upon research, I realized that PA was exactly what I wanted.

You know, it was the best of all worlds.

That I desired.

And especially the laterality is the.

My number one.

Because I literally have changed to different specialties and enjoyed my time there, learned so much there.

And that's what I, you know, that's what I wanted, that flexibility.

And so for someone that has that desire is up to them.

But.

But of course, a PA can literally work the same or more hours than a doctor, especially if you're like, I want to hustle, I want to grind.

I'm going to carry, you know, a couple different jobs at one time.

PAs do that.

So really all about what you want in life.

And I feel like at the end of the day, PA has so many possibilities.

The flexibility for me makes it the number one job option.

But, you know, I'm a little biased.

Yeah, that's helpful.

I mean, I think that's just something people need to think about going into it, because, I mean, there are definitely PAs who work more than their doctor counterparts.

Yeah, for sure.

So I guess that's kind of a misconception that as a pa, you're gonna automatically work less because that's not necessarily the case.

No, they could.

You could get hired somewhere and be worked like a dog.

Yes, exactly.

So what at this point, and I'm.

I'm about four.

I'm almost four years out, so I must have graduated, like, right after you.

What would be your advice for somebody who is maybe wanting to become a pa, but maybe somebody who especially is worried about, like, how they can be a parent and have a family?

Like, what would be your suggestion to them or your advice?

Well, for me, if you're okay, I'm a realist.

If you're not already, like, even if you're already in a committed relationship, it can work.

You can move out of state if you have to.

Because I know a lot of people, I mean, they're like, I'm only going to apply to these schools and, you know, my city or my state, whatever.

But people move their families, and it's worth it.

At the end of the day, if you want pa, you can achieve it.

So it doesn't matter where you're in at life.

If it's like, I'm single, but I'm thinking about a family, or I'm with my boo and we want to have a family, or I already have a family.

People do it.

People have done it, you know, so just adjust your life for that short time period because realize it's only temporary.

It's only a temporary discomfort, and it's going to be worth so much more at the end of the day, your children, when they look back, will appreciate that sacrifice, whether or not you, oh, I had to uproot them from school.

Or, you know, at the end of the day when they look back and they see that their mom achieved their goals, they went for it.

They're gonna say, I can do it too.

You know?

So I think no matter what, no matter where someone is, if they want a family, do it.

If they are not sure, still do it.

Like, there's no question for me.

There are some people in my Instagram DMs that I need to send that directly to, because it's true.

And, I mean, we have people.

You.

I don't know how many people you had in your class.

We had 44 people, and we definitely had people who had to move their families or change what was happening in their families for those two years, which is really fast.

It goes by so quickly.

It really does.

Yeah.

But they had to make those adjustments, whether it was living away from their family, only seeing them on the weekends, or moving them for a time period to.

To reach that goal.

And I think kind of, like, you touched on.

People kind of limit themselves by feeling like, oh, I can only apply to these two schools because they're within driving distance.

But ultimately, like, it might be better for everyone if you are willing to make it work far away or move or do whatever you have to do for those couple years.

Because at the end of it, I mean, like you said, like, they're gonna see how much work you put into it and why you did it, which is to benefit them ultimately.

And so, yeah, I think that's a really, really great perspective that can be hard to hear for people, but also reassuring that there are people who have done it.

I think in every single class, probably there's people who are doing that, you know.

Yeah.

And you just kind of learn to make it work for that period of time.

Yeah.

Is there anything that you wish you could go back before you went to PA school and do differently, just to, like, prepare yourself better or, like, anything you think would have been helpful.

It would have been helpful if I didn't do terrible one semester of undergrad.

That's, like, the one regret.

The one thing I had to make up for is my Casper.

Like, yeah, that's the one in me.

Like, I made sure that outside of that, I wouldn't have to, like, you know, question everything else in my application.

But if I could go back that one semester that I feel like there was no good reason that I made such A bad gpa.

Like, I'm like, the thing is, I'm tempted to even say what it was.

It was one semester GPA and it was like a one point something.

Yeah.

So, yeah, that was.

Hey, you still got in.

You still did it, so.

Exactly.

I made up for it as time went on, man.

Like it still haunts you.

So it's like I almost didn't get into PA school or I wouldn't.

You know, it's possibility.

I would have blamed it on that, but I made sure to make up for it in other areas of my castle.

So.

Yeah.

Yeah, you still did it.

Oh, yeah.

So what inspired you to start your blog?

Wow.

So you're a pa, you're a mom, you got all this stuff going on.

Why not start a blog, right?

You know, I just want to add more things to do because I don't have enough.

Yeah.

But what's.

Ironically, I actually started blogging when I got into PA school.

I had a blog that I hope that no one can find it.

It was like Nyjah, Pennsylvania or something like that.

But I was trying to blog about my experience in PA school.

And so I just got distracted.

I just, you know, let that fall to the wayside.

Then I came back again when I was planning my wedding, but then by the time I was, before I got to my wedding, I was sick and tired of planning a wedding, didn't want to blog about that anymore.

So, yeah, this time for my second son, I, you know, was on maternity leave for what felt like forever, and I was in inspired to get back into blogging.

And that's pretty much where it is, where it's stuck.

I'm like, okay, I'm not writing about stuff that I'm tired of.

Yeah, it's versatile.

I'm versatile.

And so that's.

That's literally why I became PA and then also why I'm blogging, because I'm able to vlog about everything right now.

So.

Yeah, you found your.

Your niche.

Well, it makes you feel better for like a hot second.

At the beginning, I had a fashion blog, but that is not my thing.

That.

That ended really quick, I think.

I had my husband take pictures of me, like, once, and I was like, we're not gonna do this.

This is not.

I love this.

This is not for me.

I don't remember what it was called or anything, but like, yeah, no.

Oh, that's funny.

But your pictures are super cute.

Oh, thank you.

I love.

I love looking at all your pictures, and your children are so cute.

I. Oh, my gosh, really cooperate when I try to take pictures.

It's like a million pictures to get that one image.

Like, it's.

Well, they.

They're precious, and the way you dress them is precious and.

Oh, my gosh.

So, yeah, they're great.

But, yeah.

Any.

Any final parting words?

I feel like we've covered a lot of good, helpful stuff.

Yeah.

Any other advice besides going and reading all your blogs like I told you I did?

Oh, my gosh.

Okay.

Well, I mean, if anybody, like, has any questions specific to just life as a female pa, life as a PA with low gpa, life as a PA of color, life as a PA mom, whatever, I open to answer those questions, slide into my DMs, but most importantly, turn in your Casper early.

Yes.

Have people.

Have several people read over your personal statement.

Get Savannah's book for the interview.

Oh, yeah.

Invite your feedback.

You've seen it floating around.

Yeah, it's out there now.

Well, those are awesome tips that I completely agree with.

So we are on the same page.

But, yeah, this was fun.

Yeah, it was.

So Oni is pretty awesome, right?

I loved getting to talk with her, and it's just so fun connecting.

So she is super approachable, great at answering messages.

So if you have any questions, definitely check her out on instagram @sincerely, ony o n y I.

And then she has a blog as well.

Like I said, I've read all of her blog posts now, and she's teaching me so much to get ready for this baby.

So definitely check that out and we'll be back next week with another episode.

In the meantime, if you need anything, feel free to reach out on Instagram, email.

Leave me a review of the podcast.

Let me know what you think.

If you have any questions, leave them there.

We may do another Q A session coming up pretty soon, or if there's something you'd want to hear about, just let me know.

All right, see you guys next week.