ftcnt Posted April 22, 2008 Report Posted April 22, 2008 I have read that U of M will be starting a PA program. http://www.cma.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/10042306/la_id/1.htm I was wondering if anyone had any more information about this or heard something. I just found some press releases about it. Thanks
kapers Posted April 22, 2008 Report Posted April 22, 2008 How big are PAs in Canada anyways? (Forgive my ignorance) I always thought they were alot more dominant in the states . ..
medisforme Posted April 22, 2008 Report Posted April 22, 2008 PA's are not big in canada at all at the moment, i am an RN and have yet to meet a PA working in a hospital setting. The reason 2000 hours of patient contact are required is because a PA is meant to be a second career (ie. transfer from paramedic, nurse, OT, PT etc...) rather than a job someone aims for as an undergrad. If you go to student doctor forum, there are a ton of PA's there, many of whom are former paramedics or other health care workers. They can answer any questions you have.
nine99_9 Posted April 22, 2008 Report Posted April 22, 2008 PA's are not big in canada at all at the moment, i am an RN and have yet to meet a PA working in a hospital setting. The reason 2000 hours of patient contact are required is because a PA is meant to be a second career (ie. transfer from paramedic, nurse, OT, PT etc...) rather than a job someone aims for as an undergrad. If you go to student doctor forum, there are a ton of PA's there, many of whom are former paramedics or other health care workers. They can answer any questions you have. Hey do you mind me asking how much you make? and what does your job entail? i have always heard about NP but never seen one.
medisforme Posted April 23, 2008 Report Posted April 23, 2008 i am not an NP (i never said i was one), i am "just" an RN which actually gives a lot more flexibility in work environments than an NP. Money wise, well, i should be making a lot more (since pay is purely by seniority, man I hate unions), but i haven't been working much the last two years since i got my medicine epiphany and have been taking pre-reqs starting from scratch (ie. zero bio, chem, physics, 3 english credits) ps. Job description of NP's vary but they tend to have a lot more autonomy than regular RN's. Ie. they can order diagnostic tests, medications, perform minor procedures etc... I live in BC, and from my experience they are centered around the urban vancouver hosptials (ie. st. pauls) and up north. But as of now, they have a lot less exposure here compared to eastern canada.
nutritional_lee Posted April 23, 2008 Report Posted April 23, 2008 There are quite a few NPs who practice in Ontario's new Family Health Teams -- in particular, two at the one where I currently work (which has 9 physicians). Regarding their responsibilities, I found this from npcanada.ca: Nurse Practitioners are able to diagnose and manage many disorders and chronic diseases, prescribe medications for you, order diagnostics, and refer you to specialists if needed. They are able to do complete physicals, and medicals required for most third party companies, and care for you during your pregnancy and after you deliver. They see many clients with chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, osteoarthritis, and mental health concerns. And this seems to concur with my experience at the FHT. For example, the NPs I work with see all pts with new DM diagnoses, who then come to see the pharmacist and myself (RD); but if anything, the NP is the one who sees the pt the most - especially when it comes to follow-ups and adjustments. Also, as far as I know, their involvement/duties really depends on the location, as each FHT will have a different mandate/responsibilities - depending on what other resources are available in the community. The same goes for most other AHPs, too -- for example, I'll see a number of pts in-house for gestational diabetes, where RDs at other FHTs won't see any such cases, as in their case they may be referred to the local Diabetes Education Centre (in other words, NPs/RDs/AHPs, depending on their position, may or may not be doing all the tasks which they are certified to do). Compensation depends on setting, too -- NPs in hospitals earn more than those in clinics; I searched npcanada.ca for "salary", and found this -- from an gov't of PEI press release: The average salary for NPs in other provinces ranges between 75 and 85 thousand dollars. Hope this helps.
kapers Posted April 23, 2008 Report Posted April 23, 2008 If you go to student doctor forum, there are a ton of PA's there, many of whom are former paramedics or other health care workers. They can answer any questions you have. Thanks for the info medisforme!!! But actually I'm not interested in PA. I'm a BScN student thinking about the nurse-doctor crossover. PA's will probably become more and more popular in Canada though, do you all think?
vip_138 Posted April 23, 2008 Report Posted April 23, 2008 If i remember correctly, only manitoba allows PA's to work in the province. The rest of canada doesn't at the moment. There is also no training in canada at the moment but i've heard UofM is trying to start a program. In the US its fairly prominent. Not sure if it'll become big in canada or not.
blinknoodle Posted April 23, 2008 Report Posted April 23, 2008 Before this Manitoba program, PAs were primarily found in the military. I met a few in training on my teams during clerkship.
nine99_9 Posted April 24, 2008 Report Posted April 24, 2008 it's always about the money, eh? LOLL...no matter what people say about what career they like...the underlying reason is the money.....i mean comeon if we were paid good to do nothing everyone would go after it ...loll
Sharry Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 Does anyone know how many students U of Manitoba takes in for their master's PAEP program? I've been looking into it lately, but can't seem to find how many seats they have. Also, has anyone heard of undergrad students getting in, and by this I mean someone who isn't necessarily looking at the PA position as a second career, but a first? I'm wanting to apply, but I'm afraid I won't get in since yea it makes sense the programs are centred around ppl looking to change careers. Ughh it's so frustrating. I think many of us undergrad students would make excellent PAs, but its this barrier that's stopping us. Why can't they just treat it like American schools...ppl get in there right after undergrad don't they? lol enough venting, any advice would be appreciated
AMmd Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 lets try this again... lol that looks a lot like a nurse practitioner. I dont see the point of a PA
Kathryn Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 I don't really see the point either. I can't figure out what makes a PA that much different then an NP except for the fact that you could enter it from other medical professions then nursing. *shrugs* My doctor has one, but it's out of necessity. Being the big-hearted darling she is, she took on another doctor's patient roster when they moved away and is so swamped now that she couldn't possibly handle it herself. So, PA's definitely have their place.
a41 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 LOLL...no matter what people say about what career they like...the underlying reason is the money.....i mean comeon if we were paid good to do nothing everyone would go after it ...loll Maybe you're exaggerating, but I definitely do not agree with this. When I was younger I might have agreed with you, but now I definitely see the value in finding a line of work that not only suits you, but that you love. People do things for reasons other than just money. I have much more respect for people who are doing PhD's to advance science or those who work tirelessly to preserve the environment than I do for people who become dermatologists because they can make a lot of money and not have to work all that much. If you're getting into meds (or any career really) solely for the money sooner or later you're going to find yourself very disappointed.
wannabdentist Posted December 2, 2008 Report Posted December 2, 2008 i am working as an RN for 2 yrs now and am ready for a career change and am seriously thinkning about PA. i actually am ready to apply next year at U of M. Does anyone know how many seats are available or is there anyone who is taking this PA course this year?? any thoughts????
leviathan Posted December 3, 2008 Report Posted December 3, 2008 I don't really see the point either. I can't figure out what makes a PA that much different then an NP except for the fact that you could enter it from other medical professions then nursing. *shrugs* My doctor has one, but it's out of necessity. Being the big-hearted darling she is, she took on another doctor's patient roster when they moved away and is so swamped now that she couldn't possibly handle it herself. So, PA's definitely have their place. An NP is an independent practitioner who is trained from a nursing philosophy. A PA is a professional who works under the supervision of a physician, and is trained from the viewpoint of allopathic medicine. Anyone else want to add more info to this basic view?
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