A Question for Physician Assistants Why Are You In It

Are you looking to makemoney as a physician assistant or are you seeking to make the world a better place with what you do? Its an honest question, and the two options are very different. The latter involves being interested in giving value to someone other than yourself. The former involves doing anything and everything toadd zeros to your bank account. Neither option is inherently wrong. The problem is that most PAs begin with a desire to help people and, over time, once fully indoctrinatedinto the "system" they (we) become fundamentally changed. If youre only looking to make money, the strategy basically comes down to generating as much revenue as you can, while avoiding an unfavorable outcome. Or, as we in the medical field have so humblynamed"covering your ass." Sometimes its as simple as showing your boss that you can see 5 or 6 patients in an hour. Sometimes its not speaking up in the face of gross healthcare inequalities. Sometimes its taking the higher paying job in order to please others or prove your self-worth. The organization you work for, and therefore you, do whatever it takes tomaximize profitability. Success is much easier to measure tooyou simply look at how many patients you have churned out and count how much money you make. Did it cover costs? Does it cover your livelihood and expenses? Were you able to maximize your retirement accounts? Is your boss happy? Awesome - you win, and youre a success. If youre looking to make the world better with what you do, its a little more difficult. Just because you want to make things better doesnt mean the universe will align andshow you the way. Making the world a better place through the work you put out into it starts with you and how you answer the tough questions. Do you actually like the work youre doing?Does it align with a greater purpose in your life?Is the messagebehindwhat you do bigger thanwhatyou do?Are you truly stoked to do it? People are attracted to excitement, so if youre genuinely excited about something, others will take notice. Real excitement is contagious, like the flu (but with less sniffling). Though doing something that makes the world better doesnt stop with you. It also includes being super valuable and in service of others. What about your work helps your patients? What about your work makestheirlife better? What about your work makes them truly stoked? Because when theyre excited, others will take notice of that too. Measuring "Success" Measuring the success of doing workthat makes the world better is also a little muddy. There are several key performance indicators (KPIs) involved, each of them based on your unique purpose and passion. Sure, patient wait times, satisfaction surveys and money or revenue maybe a part of it, but theyre not the only indicators. How much did you enjoy the process, regardless of the bottom line? How much did your patient benefit from your work, irrespective of the volume (as in, maybe you only saw tenpatients today, yet all of them left healthier, having an experience that positively changed their lives)? In measuring success this way, its relatively easy to succeed as well - you get to dowork you love thats lined up with your purpose and valuable to the patientsits for. So, did you like doingit and did another person like receiving your care? Awesome - you win, and youre a success. We get caught up and stuck in our thoughts when we change gears in our focus, or when we try to measure success for both types of work for the same outcome. If youre in it to make the world better and you only look at money, youre doing your work and process a horrible disservice. Similarly, if youre in it to make money and you feel unexcited or uninspired, youre also doing that work and yourself a horrible disservice too. If you're in it to make the world better and you look at the patient sitting in front of you, youre doing yourself, and your patient a great, and honorable service. Magically, you're likely to find, the success that drove you to this profession in the first place will follow. PS: If youre stuck before youve even started, check out my resourcespagefor some help and inspiration. Photo Credits: From our medical mission trip in and around Port Au Prince Haiti.Photos by: Courtney Reese You may also like -How Much do PAs Make? Physician Assistant Salary and Compensation2019 PA Salary and Compensation How much money does a physician assistant make? In 2019, the median annual salary for PAs working full-time in the United States, independent of years of experience is $104,000 - $110,567 per []MD Versus PA Showdown Round 1 Show Me The Money! Before you read this post I want you to take a quick survey. What do you think? 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