This is part two of a special three-part podcast series by Joe Gilboy PA-C on becoming a better PA.

Part one was all about building better relationships with our nurses and ancillary staff.

In part two we cover essential strategies on how to stay off the medical staff radar and get the medical staff, administrators, and supervisors on your side.

Let’s jump right into this special episode of The Audio PANCE and PANRE Podcast.

You can listen to the podcast below and read the summarized (and edited version) of the transcript or listen in your podcast player of choice.

The Audio PANE/PANRE Podcast Episode 86: How to be a Better PA (Part 2 of 3)

You can also click here to listen to or download this episode.

Episode Transcript and Summary

This episode was recorded by Joe Gilboy PA-C and edited for clarity and readability by Stephen Pasquini PA-C.

Welcome, everybody. This is Joe Gilboy, and this is a podcast to have a series of three podcasts on how to become a better PA.

Today, we’re going to talk about medical staff, our administrators, and our supervisors, whether a nursing supervisor, PA supervisor, or possibly physician supervisor.

What I will be teaching you here in this podcast is how to interact with them and how to deal with them. And most importantly, how to have you make a better reputation for yourself and how to make you a better PA.

• First, we’re going to talk about the medical staff, which is a big group of people.
• Second, we need to learn how to deal with administrators. These can also be the office managers at the clinics where you work.
• And then your supervisors, these are the people above you, whether a nurse, a PA, or a doc.
• Lastly, we will covering how to deal with (or leave) a toxic job

So, let’s talk about all these three people we’re going to have to interact with.

How to be a Better PA with Medical Staff

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Let me explain who medical staff really are, not whom you think there are, but I’m going to show you who they really are.

I’ve been a physician assistant in the emergency room for 35 years. You would think that after 35 years, I’ve developed some tough skin. But there’s one group of people that I fear the most, and you will begin to fear them as well. Who are they? The medical staff!

Everybody has a boss. For example, you have a boss, and your boss has a boss, they have a boss, everybody has a boss. But there’s one person who’s at the very top of this pyramid. That’s medical staff.

So, when medical staff asked for something, when do you get it done? Now? Yes, right now, like yesterday was too late.

So, the medical staff has asked for your ACLs card, PALS card, NCCPA card, or DEA number. They want a TB test, a flu shot, or they want your antibody titer for chickenpox.

When are we getting it done?

Now! No, literally right now. Because you see, the last people you want to be on the radar is medical staff.

Let me share with you who medical staff really is.

What’s their job?

Are you ready for this? I hope you’re sitting down?

Their job is to fire you.

Yeah, you heard me. They want to find a problem. That’s their job.

So, when they start asking for things, they’re looking for a problem. So, let’s just say a young physician assistant is working in urgent care that we will call Betty.

So, here’s Betty, the new PA working at the urgent care. Medical staff wants something, and she’s like, well, you know, I’ll get to it tomorrow. I have a birthday party to go to this weekend. And you know, and then it’s my parents, wedding anniversary, I’m going to have that. And then my boyfriend’s taking me to this. And you know, I’ll get back to it when I get back in town. And as this time has gone by, Tick-tock, tick-tock. She’s getting these new emails in her inbox from the medical staff. They’ve sent one, they’ve sent two, they sent three. Now they send one to her, and they’re saying, hey, if you don’t get this done in 10 days, you’re on suspension!

Guess who gets the seat in that email? Your boss.

Let me explain to you how this plays itself out. You see, at the end of the year, when you’re up there for that yearly evaluation, they’re going to say, “Hey, so how’s our new physician assistant? How’s she doing?”

Well, they’re going to talk to a group of people. They’re going to talk to the nurses. They’re going to talk to the physicians. And guess who else they are going to talk to, folks? That’s right, the medical staff.

“Are there any dings with this person? Have they no gotten things done on time?”

Now think about what I’m saying hard.

So, imagine you’re the boss. And there’s these two PAs that show up. One PA gets everything done on time, and the medical staff doesn’t even know they exist.

They’re like, yeah, this person gets his TB test and flu shot and antibody titers done on time.

There’s this other PA. Well, we had him on suspension for a week because he wouldn’t get a TB test. And you’re the boss, and it’s time for her yearly evaluation. Whom do you want to give the raise to?

Yeah, let that bounce around in your head for a second.

Whom do you want to give the raise to? The person that medical staff has no idea that even exists in the department because they’re getting everything done on time or a PA that they had to put on suspension for ten days?

Now, do you get it, guys?

You see, I hate to say this, but getting along with the medical staff is not only the way to preserve your job. But it’s also the way to make more money.

Because when it’s time for that yearly evaluation, your boss is going to look at you like, “Hey, you show up to work on time, you get along with the nurses, and you get along with the medical staff.” They want to keep you.

That’s when you can turn the screw and say, okay, well, to keep me, I would like $10 more an hour, or more vacation time or whatever it is that you’re trying to angle at. That’s how this works, folks.

I get these new grads who get out of school. They tell their supervising physician that they want to make $80 an hour, right? And let’s just say the going rate is $65. And the doc will say, well, wait a sec, you know, I start new PAs off at $65. They’re going to go well; I’m a recent grad, and I deserve this. I deserve that. Or I went to some fancy, dancy school.

Now, can you understand that at the end of the day, your boss does not care where you went to school? It means absolutely nothing. That’s just a piece of paper. What’s going to mean everything to your boss?

Can you see 20 patients, not kill anybody, get along with the nurses, get along with the staff? And most importantly, doesn’t get on the medical staff’s radar.

This is about your reputation.

You want to be the PA that medical staff doesn’t even know exist.

You’re like, so when does this girl get her TB or guy get a TB test, always on time, gets his flu shot on time gets his antibodies done on time. I don’t even know his DEA numbers expire because he turns it in on time. That’s who you want to be.

So never, ever, ever get on medical staff’s radar.

I am going to give you a little inside story. I got an email. This was about nine o’clock in the morning. I got an email from medical staff, and they wanted antibody titers. They’re like, “you know, hey, Joe, we need your antibody titer, Hep B titer, measles titer, and chickenpox titer.”

So that was nine o’clock in the morning. I was in the walk-in clinic at noon, getting my antibodies, titer tests. And then the lady looked at goes I said, Yeah, there’s something about a DPT shot, and she goes, you know, our records down, we can’t pick them up. I said, just give them to give it to me. And lo and behold, they did my antibody titer. And they gave me a DPT shot. And believe it or not, guess who got two DPT shots last year? Yeah, that’s me.

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