Over the coming weeks I’ll probably cut back on my hours as an ED Tech. And I have mixed feelings about that. The main reason being is I’m picking up some IT consulting work that pays a lot better and well, I’ll be honest, the money will help pay for me being in PA school.

Originally I had two goals when I tried to get a job as a tech in the local Emergency Department. The first was to gain the Patient Contact Experience that most PA schools require in order to apply. The second was to confirm whether I really wanted to be in Emergency Medicine. I was able to confirm the second goal fairly quickly.

As for the hours, every school had different requirements, from as few as 200 hours to as many as 1000 hours. Of course the minimum is different from the average and most schools only accepted students who were closer to the average number of patient contact experience hours.

I was able to quickly surpass the 1000 hour minimum within the first 6 months or so of me working in ED (this despite being in theory only a .6 FTE). Obviously that wasn’t enough for my first cycle (and most likely other factors). By the time I applied for the second cycle, I was at over 3,000 hours. I’m now at over 4,000, probably 4,500 hours and odds are I’ll be at close to 5,000 by the time I leave the job. (Edit: I looked through my old pay stubs, and turns out I’m actually over 5,000 hours now, so probably will be over 5,500 by the time I leave.)

In his book, Outliers, Malcom Gladwell cites a “10,000 hour” maxim which basically states to become an expert at something, one needs to spend approximately 10,000 hours of training for it. If it’s accurate, there’s a lot of question about the accuracy of this rule, then I suppose I’m half-way to being an expert. That said, I’m not really sure what being an expert tech means.

However, looking back, I definitely think my extra time in the ED as a tech was well worth it. I’m a far better tech (at least in my mind) than I was 1 year ago, let alone 2 years ago. (Though strictly speaking 2 years ago I was just off orientation). And that extra experience I think will go a long way to helping me in PA school.

Partly it’s a matter of confidence. Partly it’s a matter of skill. I appreciate that my place of employment is a teaching hospital and encourages a team approach. I’ve been in cardiac codes where the attending will run through what we’ve tried and ask, “anyone have any suggestions.” And they truly mean anyone, even a tech can speak up if they feel inclined. In other situations I’ve offered advice and had it accepted. I’ve actually had nurses and providers ask for my input or to help with some more advanced procedures.

I find I really enjoy doing the ED Tech work. And it’s made me both want more and not want more. I’ll be taking a two year gap (other than perhaps some per diem work) from working in an ED while I get my PA degree. Once I have that and pass the certifying exam, I’ll be a PA-C and be able to do a lot more in the ED than I do now. I’m excited about that!

But, I also look at the downside: being a tech, when my shift is over, I do about a 5 minute hand-off and I’m done. There’s no paperwork. There’s also no paperwork during the shift. It’s pretty much all hand’s on. Once I’m a PA-C, it won’t be that easy. When my shift officially ends, I’ll be responsible for paperwork and doing a more extensive hand-over. And, of course during the shift, I’ll be responsible for discharge paperwork and a lot of non-hands on work. I’m…. at best ambivalent about that. But, I suppose it comes with the terrority.

That said, I’m still excited about the next few years!