One our classmates did not want to split costs, so we drew lots and I lost. I will probably pass on the case I was thinking of presenting to one of my classmates if they are interested since it is a unique case that is being written up in a national journal.
Which means I am leaving it up to my husband if he thinks it is worth the cost of me going since he would be bankrolling it. How much does networking matter in a high demand field? I should talk to the current crop of second years and see if they think the experience is worth the expense. :)
Anyone have an opinion? I've never been to one of their conferences, so if you have I'd be interested to know if you found it worthwhile. I would miss out on a week of surgical rotations if I go.... which is something else to think about.
I think your going depends on where you want to focus your professional efforts after you graduate. If a research setting is where you want to be, then I'd go. If you're looking more to working with a community path group, then it's probably less important that you attend.
ReplyDeleteApop is right. From the sound and looks of it, I think these AAPA conferences seem to be more on the research-oriented side of things. Sure, it's nice to know about the advances in anatomic pathology, but that seems to be more fitting for Ph.D. graduate students or actual pathologists...not PAs. Just the fact that the AAPA is asking for a poster presentation as a consequence of the travel scholarship makes their conferences seem research-oriented rather than being geared towards practical grossing.
DeleteWhen I go to my first conference, I'll mostly attend for the networking aspect of it. It's a good way to get your name out there in a different part of the country if you think you'll be moving out of state for work. As far as the lectures and presentations go, the content should be geared mostly towards grossing specimens, since that's the bulk of our work. I'd also like to see a few presentations on interviewing skills and other job-related/lab management lectures.
Other than that, I wouldn't attend an AAPA conference solely to find a job. You have plenty of other resources available at your disposal (including word of mouth). In fact, it is by word of mouth alone that I was able to land all of my PA jobs after my undergraduate degree.