Hi all! I was wondering if anyone here could give me more info about the type of hours AAs have? I realize hours differ with jobs, but I'm just wondering on average? Also, are there opportunities for AAs to work in pediatric settings? And for those of you who were pre-med, what made you choose the AA route over medical school?
Re: AA Lifestyle
Posted by Psteaz on October 13, 2015, 11:42 pm, in reply to "AA Lifestyle"
AAs have widely variable hours. At the hospital next to me they can work 8, 10, or 12 hour shifts (meaning 5, 4, or 3ish) days a week. Since AAs follow surgery schedules it's pretty typical to work close to 40 hours a week.
Yes, AAs can work in pediatrics, or any specialty setting for that matter.
I was pre-med and ended up picking AA. I have a good enough MCAT for medical school but my GPA is a tad risky. Rather than try and raise my post-graduate GPA and fight tooth and nail to get in somewhere, I opted to pursue a secondary provider profession.
I've thought a lot about it. Some of my biggest reasons are less time in school (28 months and done vs. 4 years / residency / specializing etc), significantly less debt, and ultimately less junk to deal with. I've been a medical scribe for nearly a year now, and I can tell you from experience that physicians are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the profession. Insurance companies make them jump through all kinds of hoops, so at the end of the day they feel like their job is completing charts and paperwork rather than helping out patients. Lastly, whether or not they admit it, a lot of people choose medical school for the pay. They fail to factor in that physicians on average work ~55 hours each week. AA's are essentially capped at 40 hours a week.