Palliative Medicine as a First Job
Hello everyone- I am a PA-S that has been offered an outpatient, palliative care position following graduation in December. I am trying to decide if beginning with palliative will work out for me, or if I should instead accept a Family Medicine offer instead. Does anyone have any experience in Palliative medicine? I am hoping to find an APPs experience in this field.
Some of my preceptors have warned me against starting in a specialty as my first job: it is my hope that I would still be exposed to a large variety of conditions and disciplines through this position, which should benefit me if I want to change jobs in the future.
Just for some context: This Palliative(and Hospice) program is currently run by one very overworked physician. I would be added to the Palliative Medicine, outpatient clinic team. My role would be M-F, 8am to 5PM and would eventually consist of 14 patients each day. The provider would still do the typical 1 hour new patient intakes, while I would only do 30 min follow ups every 3 months. From my interview, the provider seems to have a passion for teaching and has verbalized that he is hoping that I would reach the 14 patient mark 6 months into my position. He has emphasized that he is primarily looking for someone with a passion for palliative care who is willing to learn, which I believe I fit.