It’s National PA Week (Oct. 6-12) again, and Weatherby Healthcare’s advanced practice team would like to thank the more than 100,000 certified physician assistants in the United States, including those who work locum tenens assignments and provide desperately needed care to patients throughout the country.
One of these PAs, Mary Jo Elam, has been taking jobs for more than three years and traveling with her husband, Doug.
Formerly a police officer, Mary Jo left her career for 10 years while raising her children and decided she needed a change once they were grown. She entered PA school at age 50 and never looked back.
“It’s an interesting career that allows me to learn new things every day, and it’s challenging and rewarding,” Mary Jo says. “I like the ability to diversify and work wherever I’m needed, whether it’s the emergency room, family practice or urgent care.”
Though her hometown is in Iowa, Mary Jo loves exploring areas far from the Midwest, some as far as Alaska and Hawaii.
“I like the diversity of locum tenens assignments, because they can put you anywhere,” she says. “I have eight state licenses, so usually Weatherby contacts me when they have jobs available in those states, because I’m up for anything.”
She says she has enjoyed working with Weatherby on those jobs and having details taken care of.
“Rene, my contact person, communicates well, and this is key for a good working relationship, particularly with the variability associated with locum tenens work,” Mary Jo expresses. “I’m never left guessing what’s going on with an assignment or travel arrangements, and that’s really important to me.”
Mary Jo says the hardest part of her job is leaving at the end of the day and wondering whether she’s done everything she could. She enjoys the autonomy of working independently in the ER in smaller areas but says the dependent practitioner relationship works well.
“I know my limitations as a PA, and I work side by side with doctors and do many of the same things they do,” she says. “I still feel very responsible for my patients, but I feel a lot less pressure as a PA than I would as a physician — and I don’t want to give that up.”
The freedom she enjoys as a PA is also one of the biggest reasons she enjoys locum tenens work and encourages her colleagues to give it a try.
“You have to do it. Even if your children are growing up, you can sometimes take them with you, and you work around the uncertainty,” Mary Jo says. “I recommend it for anyone who is free enough to do it. You get to see a different place every few months, you don’t get involved in politics, and you get to practice medicine and not worry about any other problems.”
Though her intended career path was quite different, Mary Jo is happy with the choice she made to become a physician assistant.
“Being a PA is more of a calling than just a job,” she says. “I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
Learn more about PA Week, and check out our open physician assistant jobs.
