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PA Contracts and Negotiation: An Interview with Leanne
Episode 751st March 2019 • The Pre-PA Club • Savanna Perry
00:00:00 00:30:33

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Leanne works as an independent contractor, which is a version of the PA career most students have never even heard of.

She moves between specialties and settings instead of sitting in one clinic, and that flexibility is one of the things I love most about this profession. You are not locked into whatever you match with first.

The bigger reason I wanted her on: contracts. New grads get handed an offer letter, feel grateful, and sign it without reading past the salary line. Leanne walks through what's actually in a contract, what's negotiable, and why knowing your own value matters before you're sitting across the table.

This is a few years down the road for most of you listening, but it's worth having in your head early.

What we talk about:

  • Working as an independent contractor PA
  • Moving between specialties and settings
  • What's actually in a PA contract
  • Which pieces are negotiable and which aren't
  • Common mistakes new grads make when signing
  • Knowing your worth before the conversation starts

Resources:

Free resume download: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-resume-download

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

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

Pre-PA counseling: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

Transcripts

Speaker A:

Hey, guys, thanks for joining.

Speaker A:

Today we're talking to Leanne.

Speaker A:

Leanne is a physician assistant who has a very unique job.

Speaker A:

She works for herself and she works in a lot of different areas and is very, very unique.

Speaker A:

So I'm really excited to talk to her and share our interview with you.

Speaker A:

We also go over contracts and negotiations which she helps people review with her lawyer husband.

Speaker A:

You can find them at Advanced Practice Provider Solutions.

Speaker A:

Welcome to the Prepa Club podcast.

Speaker A:

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

Speaker A:

I'm your host, Savannah Perry.

Speaker A:

Let's get to it.

Speaker A:

I'm Savannah.

Speaker A:

If we've never met before, thanks for watching.

Speaker A:

I run the PA Platform and the Pre PA Club, and if you like what you see, go ahead and subscribe and give us a thumbs up.

Speaker B:

Subscribe.

Speaker A:

Before we get started, I just wanted to quickly mention a sponsor of the podcast, MyPA Resource.

Speaker A:

If you've never heard of MyPA Resource, it's a website, www.myparesource.com.

Speaker A:

And while I offer services like mock interviews, I work with mypa Resource as a personal statement editor.

Speaker A:

So mypa Resource has been around for a while now, and I would say just based on everything that's out there, they are the most trusted and most thorough pre PA personal statement editing service.

Speaker A:

So with MyPA resource, like I said, I'm an editor, so I help them edit proofread personal statements for PA school applicants.

Speaker A:

We'll talk more about personal statements in the future, but I cannot stress the importance of having your essay proofread by a PA. And, and that's what makes my PA resource different, is that they only use PAs to do their editing.

Speaker A:

And so you want a PA who's familiar with the interview process and the application process before you submit to caspa.

Speaker A:

So all of the editors, we've been trained, we do a lot of essays, and we know what to look for, and we know what the admissions committees are looking for.

Speaker A:

And so I know when I edit, it's very thorough.

Speaker A:

I mean, you're gonna get a lot of read back, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Speaker A:

So.

Speaker A:

So you can use actually a discount code that they have provided to the Prepa Club podcast listeners exclusively.

Speaker A:

And you can get $15 off any service when you use the code Prepa Club, all in lowercase.

Speaker A:

So I'll put that in the description as well.

Speaker A:

And if you have any questions about that, please feel free to reach out to me.

Speaker A:

You can send them an email too.

Speaker A:

But yeah, a great resource that I want you guys to know about.

Speaker A:

So, yeah, go ahead and just do a little introduction and little background on yourself.

Speaker B:

My name is Lian Han.

Speaker B:

I'm a physician assistant.

Speaker B:

n a physician assistant since:

Speaker B:

I graduated from at Still University in Mesa, Arizona.

Speaker B:

Prior to that, I went to Arizona State University, but I'm originally from Florida, and I'm now living and practicing in South Florida.

Speaker A:

Okay, cool.

Speaker A:

I graduated in:

Speaker A:

4 And a half years out.

Speaker A:

Feels like it.

Speaker A:

I don't know.

Speaker A:

Does it feel like it's flown by for you?

Speaker A:

I feel like I can't believe I graduated that long ago.

Speaker B:

When you do your rotations, everybody tells you that that's like your precept or whoever that are other PAs, and they're like, oh, it flies by.

Speaker B:

And it just feels like when you're in school that there's no way that this is ever gonna fly by.

Speaker B:

And then once you're out there practicing, time just goes by so fast and.

Speaker B:

And you look back and you say, how is this possible?

Speaker A:

It's crazy.

Speaker A:

So how did you decide to become a pa?

Speaker A:

Was that something always on your radar or not exactly.

Speaker B:

It actually wasn't.

Speaker B:

So I was originally planning to go to school.

Speaker B:

To do MD or do I actually, you go way back.

Speaker B:

When I graduated high school, I thought that I was gonna work as a pharmacist, and I, amazingly, was motivated by that.

Speaker B:

Cause I worked at Walgreens, so I was kind of surrounded by pharmacists.

Speaker B:

And I thought that that's what I wanted to do.

Speaker B:

And then eventually, once I started school, I thought to myself, okay, well, I think I actually want to be a doctor.

Speaker B:

And I also wanted to be an attorney.

Speaker B:

So I was going to do an md JD program.

Speaker B:

And I was dual majoring in biology and business at that time.

Speaker B:

And I transferred from a school in Florida out to Arizona State.

Speaker B:

And I lost a lot of credits when I did that.

Speaker B:

So I ended up dropping the idea of being an attorney.

Speaker B:

I thought, okay, I still have my credits to be on track for my bio degree, and so I'm going to keep doing that.

Speaker B:

And I took all the classes and did everything you needed to do to get into medical school.

Speaker B:

And it was literally the last few months of my senior year where I was kind of struggling in studying for the MCAT and finding the time that I needed to dedicate to studying to the mcat, because I was working full time and I was going to school more than full time.

Speaker B:

I think I was taking like easily 20 credit hour semesters.

Speaker B:

And it became very difficult juggling those two things.

Speaker B:

And then in addition to that, trying to go to Kaplan at night and studying for the mcat where a lot of my friends had good family support and they were able to take some time off to dedicate studying to the mcat.

Speaker B:

And so at that time I had a roommate also who was originally doing the same path I was and she switched to pa and at the time I wasn't familiar with what that was.

Speaker B:

I had never heard of it.

Speaker B:

And she kind of caught me up to speak speed with it and really gave me the impression that I was basically still able to practice medicine.

Speaker B:

This was the same idea, a faster route where I'd still come out and I would make good money.

Speaker B:

And at the end of the day, if all I wanted to do was practice medicine, that this may be a good option.

Speaker B:

That was what encouraged me to switch at that point was her decision and me thinking to myself, well, how am I ever going to find the time to study for my mcat?

Speaker B:

Unfortunately, here's the cards that I was dealt with.

Speaker B:

I'm going to try this PA thing because if I have what I needed to get into med school, I definitely can get into PA school.

Speaker B:

So what's interesting about that is I applied immediately and I did not get in the first year, so I did get in the second year.

Speaker A:

Okay, so it's kind of a last minute decision, it sounds like.

Speaker A:

Yeah, huh?

Speaker B:

It was.

Speaker A:

So when you decide to apply and kind of looking back now, so you're what, four or five years in, are you?

Speaker A:

Do you feel like you made the right decision?

Speaker B:

Actually, if I could do it over again, I think I should have just figured out a way to study for the mcat.

Speaker B:

I found that my shadowing experiences maybe didn't really show me the difference between what a doctor does and what a PA does and that I really didn't learn the differences until I became a pa. And although I've had a very awesome career as a pa, I love what I do for me and my personality type.

Speaker B:

I think that I would have been better off being on the other end of the collaborating relationship and sense of respect.

Speaker B:

That comes differently being a doctor than sometimes being a PA and always trying to fight for that with your patients and just in the work setting in general.

Speaker A:

Yeah, I think I'm really happy with my decision to become a pa and I've talked about that a lot on social media.

Speaker A:

But one thing, I mean, now being almost five years out, I do Feel like I still have to prove myself to patients, and I have to walk in and really kind of earn their trust and get them to respect me.

Speaker A:

I have to earn that.

Speaker A:

And it's not quite just given the way I feel like sometimes it is with a doctor.

Speaker A:

And I do sometimes wish I had the education that comes with a residency.

Speaker A:

And so watching my husband go through residency and medical school, I've kind of seen the differences there.

Speaker A:

Not to say that I feel like PAs don't get a great education, but I don't know that it's as thorough, if that makes sense.

Speaker B:

Yeah, I mean, I would tell anyone.

Speaker B:

I thought PA school was, like, the hardest thing I've ever done.

Speaker B:

It was tough.

Speaker B:

The amount of material that we're learning in such a short period of time really, really is taxing.

Speaker B:

And I spent most of my time just going to school, coming home, studying, and even on the weekends.

Speaker B:

That's all I did.

Speaker B:

I was in a cave.

Speaker B:

That's what I did and graduated.

Speaker B:

And I was glad that it was over.

Speaker B:

But I do realize now from working that, you know, we really don't know as much as the doctors do.

Speaker B:

And I think that, you know, a lot of people come out with this cockiness or this idea, and a lot of times you'll see people say, oh, well, as PAs, we learn the same thing in two years that doctors do in four.

Speaker B:

It's just screw pushed down.

Speaker B:

No, it's not.

Speaker B:

I know plenty of PAs who went back to medical school, and I'm sure there's other people that could speak to the fact that they actually learn a lot more than we do and a lot more in depth than we do.

Speaker B:

So I think it would not be fair to say that we learn the same thing.

Speaker B:

We do take the same courses, but we don't learn it as in depth as they do.

Speaker B:

And I really love medicine.

Speaker B:

And so I think for people who really like to know everything and you really have that curiosity for learning to.

Speaker B:

It becomes bothersome at some point.

Speaker B:

As a PA where I recognize my educational limits and I have to collaborate with my physician or patient safety.

Speaker B:

And in all reality, I'm like, wow, I wish I knew this.

Speaker B:

I wish I knew these things and where they are able to teach me and educate me and train me.

Speaker B:

As a pa, I miss the fact that I didn't get that residency experience and that I didn't get that same education that they did, because for me, I want to know those things.

Speaker B:

Some people, I think, might be okay with not knowing those things and having their physician to collaborate with.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

And I think there is some as a PA compared, not compared, but there is an expectation of that lifelong learner type thing.

Speaker A:

Like if I want to know something, I just have to go learn it and study it and ask my supervising physician to teach me about it, you know, because in my.

Speaker A:

In school, Durham, so I'm In Durham, it's 4%.

Speaker A:

I mean it's.

Speaker A:

We got two weeks.

Speaker A:

There's, there's not, there's no way that I could learn in two weeks what they learn in a three year residency.

Speaker A:

So I mean we, I feel like we touched on the basics which in PA school you're trained in more general things.

Speaker A:

You're not trained as a specialist.

Speaker A:

So that is where it's really important to get good training.

Speaker A:

I feel like I had great training and I have a great supervising physician who is always there if I have questions, no matter what, and definitely teaches me well.

Speaker A:

So yeah, it's, it's a little tough, but yeah.

Speaker A:

That's interesting to hear your perspective on.

Speaker A:

Kind of.

Speaker B:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

I love looking back.

Speaker B:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

Being a lifelong learner.

Speaker B:

But what's been difficult is that after a long day of working as a pa, depending on what your schedule likes, the last thing you want to do when you get home is hit the books.

Speaker B:

And so I remember thinking to myself after I graduated on several occasions, like, wow, I can't wait to reopen.

Speaker B:

This sounds crazy.

Speaker B:

My pants books and like go back through this material because I feel like now it's going to stick better because I've been clinically practicing and now I can really connect those with stories of patients that I've had and I really haven't had the time that I would love to dedicate doing that, to learn that new material or catch up on things that I feel like I'm not an expert at or learn more about because you have other priorities when you get home.

Speaker A:

Yeah, I'm, I'm right there with you.

Speaker A:

And thinking about recertifying in four to five years.

Speaker A:

I mean it terrifies me.

Speaker A:

And that's me.

Speaker A:

I'm always like, maybe I should study some general stuff instead of just derm.

Speaker A:

And the one time that I actually did it was when I happened to have a student with me for a month and she was studying for boards and I was like, this is awesome.

Speaker A:

Let's do pants questions together.

Speaker A:

Do I still know anything?

Speaker A:

And so that was kind of fun.

Speaker B:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

What I try to do and I actually encourage other people to do is actually for cme, if you can Pull it off.

Speaker B:

Do a pants review every single year.

Speaker B:

Because there are interviews where you get CME and then you're always studying everything or at least going through the motions at least once a year just by doing that.

Speaker A:

Yeah, that's what I need to start.

Speaker A:

I'm going to AAPA this year, so I'm branching out from my SDPA conferences to try to get some general stuff.

Speaker A:

I've never been, so I'm really excited.

Speaker A:

Okay, so this might be a hard question for you to answer, but I think it'll tell us more about your job.

Speaker A:

What is a day like in your current position?

Speaker B:

So this is going to take me a few minutes to explain.

Speaker B:

I actually don't currently work for anyone.

Speaker B:

I work for myself.

Speaker B:

I own my own company and I work as an independent contractor, basically staffing myself out to different specialties, different doctors.

Speaker B:

Any particular day.

Speaker B:

So as an example, today, this morning, I did went to a med spa.

Speaker B:

I did some cosmetic injections.

Speaker B:

We also do hormone replacement therapy there, as well as IV vitamin bags.

Speaker B:

And then after I left there, I went to a long term acute facility and I did infectious disease.

Speaker B:

And then after I left there, I actually went down to a chiropractor's office and I did some.

Speaker B:

It's called emc.

Speaker B:

It stands for emergency medical condition.

Speaker B:

And so this schedule can change from day to day depending on who asks me to work them, where is the need?

Speaker B:

On any particular day, like Wednesday, I'll be in an urgent care.

Speaker B:

So it really just depends.

Speaker B:

And for the most part, actually I do a lot of night call for different doctors for different hospitalist groups.

Speaker B:

And so a lot of my work is actually done overnight and I get choppy sleep, but it works.

Speaker B:

So some days I have work, some days I have nothing.

Speaker B:

It really just varies from day to day.

Speaker B:

But you can imagine I get very busy on weekends, holidays and nights because if you're always doing what other people don't want to do, you're going to have work.

Speaker A:

Interesting.

Speaker A:

Okay, so you are taking lateral mobility to like the next level.

Speaker A:

A little bit of everything.

Speaker B:

I've done pain management, I've done concierge medicine, I've done internal medicine, inpatient, outpatient, all different types of specialties, nephrology.

Speaker B:

Basically anybody that contacts me, I'm not going to turn it down.

Speaker B:

But many of these things, I've actually been working with a lot of, I'll call them my clients, which are the doctors.

Speaker B:

For years now, I have consistent work from these people because they know my work ethic.

Speaker B:

I do a Good job.

Speaker B:

And so I've actually been able to have my hands in a lot of different pots in different specialties, learning many different things at the same time.

Speaker A:

That's so cool.

Speaker A:

So you basically make your own schedule.

Speaker B:

Yes, I do.

Speaker B:

So problematic.

Speaker B:

People think that that's, wow, that's great.

Speaker B:

You can make your own schedule.

Speaker B:

The problem is if you start saying no, somebody else is going to start saying yes.

Speaker B:

So if I say no, a lot of times I'm going to lose business and that doctor is going to start looking for other people.

Speaker B:

And so I think it's really important to be the yes person.

Speaker B:

So I say yes more times than I say no.

Speaker B:

And oftentimes probably when I shouldn't be, because I will literally be taking call on vacation.

Speaker B:

I'll take call when I'm at dinner with my husband.

Speaker B:

Like, I'm working holidays, things like that.

Speaker B:

So I do make a lot of sacrifices to be successful, but I think that that shows my work ethic.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

So why do you think more PAs don't do that?

Speaker B:

I think they don't know that they can do it.

Speaker B:

That's probably number one.

Speaker B:

If they do know that there's people that are doing it, they're not sure how they do it, that a lot of people don't necessarily have the networking skills to be able to do it.

Speaker B:

So I've been able to know all the people that I know through word of mouth, but that's because I originally started working in a hospital setting.

Speaker B:

And through working in the hospital setting, I met many, many, many people.

Speaker A:

Cool.

Speaker A:

Okay.

Speaker A:

So you also help people kind of get started with this, right?

Speaker B:

Yes.

Speaker B:

So I'm a huge believer in being independent contractors.

Speaker B:

I really think that it's the best way for a PA to work, just because the best person you can work for, hands down, is yourself.

Speaker B:

And really the way that you can maximize your income potential as an independent contractor, having that flexibility to move in between specialties and to work different jobs at the same time, not being restricted and then having the tax benefits of an LLC or an S corp that you don't get as an employee.

Speaker B:

And oftentimes as an independent contractor, you do.

Speaker B:

And you should get paid more than somebody who's an employee.

Speaker A:

Okay.

Speaker A:

Is this something you feel like a new grad could do or maybe need some experience?

Speaker B:

I think that if you're looking to do it to the extent that I'm doing it, you probably need experience.

Speaker B:

Otherwise, I don't know how many people are going to want to use you.

Speaker B:

And you would probably Be scared to go out and do all these different specialties because no one's ever trained you.

Speaker B:

So I think it depends.

Speaker B:

hey're offered contracts as a:

Speaker B:

And that's the only place that they work.

Speaker B:

And I do still encourage that.

Speaker B:

are wanting to get set up as:

Speaker B:

The website's called Advanced Practice providers with an S.com.

Speaker B:

To being:

Speaker B:

I do career coaching for people that want to have one on one sessions with me talking about getting set up like that.

Speaker B:

We can even help you set up your LLC or your S corp. We do resumes, cover letters, contracts, negotiation.

Speaker B:

What I think is really important that sets us apart from other people, aside from the fact that I'm a PA running this website, is that my husband's an attorney.

Speaker B:

And together, I think with our knowledge, we're able to provide really good feedback for PAs that have questions that otherwise wouldn't get answered by their peers with their contracts.

Speaker B:

And especially with my work experience, I think that I'm able to provide pretty good feedback as far as, hey, here's where I think you should negotiate.

Speaker B:

And we're able to point out language to people that might be red flaggy or concerning and create suggestions of how maybe we could change that language in their contract.

Speaker A:

Hmm.

Speaker A:

We'll jump into contracts in a second.

Speaker A:

Do you have.

Speaker A:

So out of all of your experience, because yours is a lot more varied than mine.

Speaker A:

Do you have a favorite?

Speaker B:

I've always wanted to do dermatology and graduating.

Speaker B:

I interviewed at a lot of dermatology offices and unfortunately where I am in South Florida, it's competitive and it's competitive in a sense to where people are taking lower salaries to get a job.

Speaker B:

And for me, I wasn't going to take a lower salary to get the job job.

Speaker B:

And so unfortunately I didn't go into derm straight out of school.

Speaker B:

I went into surgery actually, and then I went into doing hospitalist work.

Speaker B:

And so now I've had the opportunity to work and be trained in a med spot doing injections.

Speaker B:

And that's something that I'm passionate about doing and I really enjoy doing.

Speaker B:

Everything else has been cool, everything has its perks, but that's for me, my favorite.

Speaker A:

Yeah, I like, I like the cosmetic stuff too.

Speaker A:

And we don't do a ton in my office.

Speaker A:

I mean, maybe 20%, but I really, I enjoy it.

Speaker A:

It's fun.

Speaker A:

Okay, so let's talk about contracts for a second.

Speaker A:

Is there a.

Speaker A:

Okay, I have two questions.

Speaker A:

Is there a biggest mistake you feel people make going into kind of looking at their contract or just is.

Speaker A:

Is it not having a contract is.

Speaker B:

Their biggest mistake going into a contract or not having one?

Speaker A:

Probably not having one would be my thought.

Speaker B:

But, yeah, I think not having a contract can get a little risky, at least.

Speaker B:

When I was in a PA program, they used to talk to us about our notes as being if you didn't write it down, it didn't happen.

Speaker B:

Right.

Speaker B:

So you have to take that same concept and put it into your job.

Speaker B:

If it's not written down, it may not happen.

Speaker B:

And I think people become surprised when they go out in the work field and they don't know that the doctors actually aren't really up to speed with PA legislation.

Speaker B:

Not all of them know what you can and can't do in your particular state.

Speaker B:

And it's really important for PAs to take a look at that legislation and look at what can I do?

Speaker B:

What can I not do?

Speaker B:

Because honestly, the doctor.

Speaker B:

That's not their responsibility, and that's for you to know.

Speaker B:

And so you may not know things that are written in your contract or things that you're being asked to do that you actually cannot do them.

Speaker B:

And the other thing is, if somebody says they're going to give you this much PTO and you don't have a contract, at the end of the day, if they don't give it to you, you hold no water saying anything.

Speaker B:

So it's super important to have everything in writing.

Speaker B:

No matter how nice you think somebody is or how trustworthy you think they are, it's got to be written on paper in some way, shape or form just to cover yourself in case something happens.

Speaker B:

And I do meet a lot of PAs that end up having issues with their contracts after the fact.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

And then I think you don't necessarily, especially as a new grad, know what all should be in a contract.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

Is there anything that you feel like people just need to make sure it's in their contract?

Speaker B:

I think there's basic things that we all need to have in our contract.

Speaker B:

You should have how much you're getting paid, maybe how often you're getting paid.

Speaker B:

What is the expectation for work?

Speaker B:

You know, if you're full time, what does that mean?

Speaker B:

Are you working Monday through Friday?

Speaker B:

No.

Speaker B:

Weekends?

Speaker B:

Are you.

Speaker B:

Do you have call really defining those Hours and that time frame.

Speaker B:

And then if you do something outside of that, are you compensated?

Speaker B:

Outlining the benefits, obviously.

Speaker B:

Do you have pto?

Speaker B:

And I think something that a lot of people don't realize that I see a lot is they'll say, oh, I have two weeks pto.

Speaker B:

Well, what I want to know is, do you have 14 days PTO, two weeks, or do you have 10 days PTO?

Speaker B:

It's important that we spell out how many days they are and not how many weeks they are because oftentimes a week is actually defined as five days and not seven.

Speaker B:

And that can be very deceiving to people.

Speaker B:

So lots of little details like that that we pick up on in my company that other people as new graduates especially may not realize, just finding little things like that and obviously addressing malpractice.

Speaker B:

What kind of malpractice do you have?

Speaker B:

And so many new graduates don't realize that, you know, you probably want to have an occurrence, not a claims made policy.

Speaker B:

And really understanding the difference between, between those two things.

Speaker A:

Interesting.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

I did not use anyone to review my contract.

Speaker A:

And looking back, I maybe should have, especially when it came to negotiations later on.

Speaker A:

But you know, do you feel like PA schools do a good job of educating people pas on what to expect coming out of school?

Speaker B:

You know, my understanding is that most PA programs, I don't know about yours, they have somebody come in and at the end when you're about to graduate, they talk to you about contracts, negotiations, things like that.

Speaker B:

We definitely had somebody come in at my program and I speak locally as a keynote speaker here at some of the programs about it.

Speaker B:

But it's kind of like, I feel like sometimes it comes at a time where it may not be appropriate, although you would think people that are about to graduate, that's a good time.

Speaker B:

I feel like I was about to graduate.

Speaker B:

My priority was the pants.

Speaker B:

So although I found that it was really important, it was almost kind of overwhelming because you're having a lot of information thrown at you and all you want to do is pass the pants and then start working and it just becomes a struggle.

Speaker B:

But I don't know that there is enough of a focus on that because we're having so many people graduate and taking really bad offers or really bad contracts.

Speaker B:

And it doesn't just hurt them, it hurts the entire community.

Speaker B:

And I think that people don't realize that when they take bad offers and they take contracts that are really restrictive, that that's something that's going to affect everyone.

Speaker A:

I'm going to Ask you a controversial derm contract question.

Speaker A:

So a lot of derm positions that I've heard about will want to pay the PA to work as a medical assistant for six months or a year before giving them patience on their own or a PA salary.

Speaker A:

What are your thoughts on that?

Speaker A:

I probably know, but.

Speaker B:

So as a pa, I would say there's no way I would do that because for me, coming out of school, finances were a priority and I needed to be able to pay my bills and that was all I wanted to do.

Speaker B:

So I needed to make money coming out of the gates.

Speaker B:

When I originally graduated, all I wanted to do was Durham.

Speaker B:

So I interviewed at many Durham places and I did see, see offers like that.

Speaker B:

I actually saw many offers where they didn't want to pay me at all for like six months.

Speaker B:

And they wanted that to be like a residency period.

Speaker B:

And then at their discretion, they would decide when I was ready to start making the salary.

Speaker B:

And then I did see people who wanted to pay like half the salary a PA would make while they're training you.

Speaker B:

I've seen all different kinds of offers.

Speaker B:

I've seen commission only offers.

Speaker B:

So it's kind of all over the place with derm.

Speaker B:

I think, unfortunately, a lot of people accept stuff, stuff like that just to get their foot in the door.

Speaker B:

But I can tell you that I actually know a PA who decided to go to medical school and she's now a dermatologist.

Speaker B:

And her words to me when I asked her about, you know, looking back, would you hire a pa?

Speaker B:

And what she said to me and I thought was very interesting, she said she didn't feel that PAs were ready to start working in dermatology straight out of school.

Speaker B:

We really don't get enough education in that field coming out to be practicing autonomously.

Speaker B:

And that she felt that it was really important for a PA to work closely with their dermatologist for at least one year of training before she'd feel comfortable letting them start to see patients on their own.

Speaker A:

See, I think I had good training, so I did two rotations that were both a month long with my doctor, where I was just with her the entire time.

Speaker A:

And then I, once I graduated, I took training two weeks off to stay for board, studied, took my test, and then it takes about a month for kind of the scores to come back and to get licensed.

Speaker A:

And all that took one, like four to six weeks.

Speaker A:

So then I was with her again, just kind of shadowing learning procedures, learning from her.

Speaker A:

And it was about, at four months in, I kind of Started doing little things.

Speaker A:

So I'd been trained to do chemical peels from the type that we do.

Speaker A:

And so I started doing some of those, and then I started doing like the next month, like warts.

Speaker A:

And so it was just kind of simple things that we ease me into and.

Speaker A:

But I mean, for a whole year, if I wasn't super busy, I would.

Speaker A:

I would be with her and I would be seeing patients with her, being surgery, with her, learning surgery techniques.

Speaker A:

And so.

Speaker A:

But I mean, I was seeing patients on my own.

Speaker A:

After about six months, they just weren't anything too, too crazy.

Speaker A:

We kind of slowly opened the gates and then once we, like, fully let them open, it was a floodgate.

Speaker B:

But, yeah, I can see it from two different perspectives now that, like, I've spoken to this person.

Speaker B:

And so I think I really can respect the opinion of somebody who used to be a PA that is now in the complete opposite position of the collaborating relationship and can look back and say something like that.

Speaker B:

So it gave me a little bit more appreciation for why dermatologists are offering contracts like that.

Speaker B:

Although I understand the struggles as a PA and that being going into that.

Speaker A:

Well, I think it depends on the person too, because.

Speaker A:

And they, they told me upfront, they're like, you know, we don't know exactly when you're going to start seeing patients and blah, blah, blah.

Speaker A:

But I think depending on how much work you put in and all that, like, they can kind of see, you know, this person's really motivated, she's working really hard, she really gets it.

Speaker A:

And it's a comfort level between the PA and the supervising physician to kind of say, you know, we're ready to do this.

Speaker B:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

What are your thoughts on commission only offers?

Speaker B:

That can be tough.

Speaker B:

And the reason why I don't think commission only offers are very good unless you have a very large patient following from a previous job, is because you cannot control the volume of patients coming through the door.

Speaker B:

I'm not doing the marketing.

Speaker B:

It's not my company.

Speaker B:

So how patients come through the door and see me is out of my control.

Speaker B:

And that's where commission becomes a problem, because you cannot control that.

Speaker B:

And it's difficult to build your books and find a following of people who are constantly requesting you.

Speaker B:

So I think you end up putting yourself in a bind being commission only because that's something that's out of your control.

Speaker A:

Yeah, I agree.

Speaker A:

That's not my favorite, I guess, contract structure.

Speaker A:

What advice would you give to someone who is on the fence about becoming a PA at this Point in time.

Speaker B:

I think what's really important to realize is when you're early in the stage and you're thinking about becoming a pa.

Speaker B:

I think there's a really different mindset between people who, you know, come into school and they know that they want to be a PA and they really haven't considered any other options because that's what they're going to do.

Speaker B:

And then there's people who maybe were originally going pre med track and then they had some reason, and I hear a lot of different reasons or excuses, to be quite frank, of why they are now opting not to go to the med school route.

Speaker B:

And they are some people settling on becoming a pa And I think that those people may end up after working, becoming disability, disappointed and feeling that they the same position that I'm in where you really wish that you had that extra education.

Speaker B:

And maybe the title does mean something to you.

Speaker B:

So I think everybody's a little different.

Speaker B:

And I think that your reasoning why you want to become a PA will really reveal for you what the best route is.

Speaker B:

Because there's so many different excuses or misconceptions from people that say, oh, well, I want to be a PA because I can get out of school faster and start paying off my debt faster.

Speaker B:

And what I say to that is, okay, well, if you apply to PA school and then you don't get in the first year, by the time you actually start your PA program, if you got in on your second go around, you could have finished medical school by the time that you've graduated as a pa, assuming that you got into med school the first year.

Speaker B:

So I think that that's something to consider when people are afraid of time is often an excuse that I hear, and I don't think that time is really the right answer to why you should be a pa. You should be a PA because you want to be a PA because you understand what the role is and you that's what you want to do.

Speaker B:

I really think it's important to understand the difference in the roles and where we're at in the food chain and what you can and can't do and how that relationship works.

Speaker B:

So that's kind of my stance on that.

Speaker A:

Yeah, no, I think that's great advice.

Speaker A:

Where can everyone kind of find you?

Speaker A:

I'll definitely link to all of your websites and things like that, but tell us where we can find you.

Speaker B:

resumes, all of those things:

Speaker B:

Sorry, Advanced practice providersolutions dot com and then my other website that's about me.

Speaker B:

You want to learn more about me?

Speaker B:

Maybe you to want, want to have me come into your PA program, talk to pre PAs, talk to graduating as a keynote speaker.

Speaker B:

That would be leannehan.com.

Speaker B:

My name's spelled very strange, so it's L I A N N E and my last name's han h a h n.com and my other website where I do EMCs, if you're curious about what that is and what I do there, it's EMC providers dot com.

Speaker B:

Not all states allow PAs to do EMCs, so.

Speaker B:

So it may not be something that happens in every single state.

Speaker A:

Gotcha.

Speaker A:

Are you on social media?

Speaker B:

I am on social media.

Speaker B:

My account is just Leanne Hahn.

Speaker B:

And then if people want to follow me as far as what I'm doing at the Med Spa that I work at, I have a separate account for that where I do add people that I don't know where.

Speaker B:

Like my social media as far as Facebook is kind of my private one, but I do have an Provider solutions Facebook page.

Speaker B:

So if you type that in on there, you can add me but my social media one for what I'm doing as far as in the Med spot, nne underscore the number four ever young.

Speaker B:

And if you go on there, you'll see some of the different procedures and things that I do on a day to day basis there.

Speaker B:

And then Advanced Practice Provider Solutions also has their own Instagram that's Appsolutions and you can follow us on there, but we're really mostly active on Facebook.

Speaker A:

Okay, cool.

Speaker A:

Well, I'll link to all of that so everyone can find you.

Speaker A:

Sounds very helpful.

Speaker A:

I hope you guys enjoyed that.

Speaker A:

And I loved this interview so much that in a few weeks we have a series coming up where Leanne graciously offered to go through resumes, contracts.

Speaker A:

No resumes, interviewing contracts and negotiations.

Speaker A:

So we sat down and talked for an entire two hours.

Speaker A:

I'm not gonna let y' all or make y'.

Speaker B:

All.

Speaker A:

I guess I could let you.

Speaker A:

I'm not gonna make you listen to a full two hour episode.

Speaker A:

So I split it up into three parts and I am really excited about it.

Speaker A:

So stay tuned for that.

Speaker A:

Make sure you're following Leigh Ann and you go check out her Website, Advanced Practice Providersolutions.com if you're looking for help with resumes or contract contracts or negotiations.

Speaker A:

And I will see you guys next week.

Speaker A:

Thanks for tuning in.

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