I always try to approach things from a multi directional approach. I feel that while too many choices can be an obstacle, multiple options can be a boon. My goal as a doctor would be preventative medicine and primary care, possibly stemming from cardiology or endocrinology, as some of you know, my main issue being helping obese patients. Lately though, I’ve also considered becoming a PA.
The work appears patient centered with a bent toward preventative medicine, there seems to be a good amount of autonomy, all in all it includes most of the work (at least as far as I can see) that excites me about medicine. And the pay (at least the median pay in Chicago) is none too shabby. And two years of school is nice too. Considering that at my mere age of 32, given the pre-reqs I need to study, med school, residency and fellowship if I want to specialize, as a board certified specialist I would have about 6-8 years to practice before qualifying for my AARP card. 
Not that this should be a deterrent, but it is a fact I need to consider along with the rest of my life factors. None of these considerations directly affect my immediate decisions. I still need to get the same pre-reqs more or less (I have a theatre degree, so not a whole lot of science bona-fides in my repertoire at the moment). But now I have decided that I will look into shadowing a PA as well as an MD.
All in all, MD/DO excites me, but PA does as well and with the same intensity. I was wondering if anyone else has considered or has been or IS a PA, and if they have any anecdotal experience they could share. Or as a Doctor or Nurse if you have worked with PAs and what you have observed.
- jkdamighty Said:
The work appears patient centered with a bent toward preventative medicine, there seems to be a good amount of autonomy, all in all it includes most of the work (at least as far as I can see) that excites me about medicine. And the pay (at least the median pay in Chicago) is none too shabby. And two years of school is nice too. Considering that at my mere age of 32, given the pre-reqs I need to study, med school, residency and fellowship if I want to specialize, as a board certified specialist I would have about 6-8 years to practice before qualifying for my AARP card.
Not that this should be a deterrent, but it is a fact I need to consider along with the rest of my life factors. None of these considerations directly affect my immediate decisions. I still need to get the same pre-reqs more or less (I have a theatre degree, so not a whole lot of science bona-fides in my repertoire at the moment). But now I have decided that I will look into shadowing a PA as well as an MD.
All in all, MD/DO excites me, but PA does as well and with the same intensity. I was wondering if anyone else has considered or has been or IS a PA, and if they have any anecdotal experience they could share. Or as a Doctor or Nurse if you have worked with PAs and what you have observed.
There is a recent thread on this started by a state trooper not too many years from his 20 years of service.
Link to Thread on PA
May I suggest you add this to that discussion
Read this on sdn. Normally don’t like that board as much because I feel its often rife with negativity, but I liked this a lot because it reflects a lot of my thoughts on med-school vs p-school.
Yet even more on the PA vs. MD question Here’s a question that seemingly will not die. I’ve been through the phase where I’m paranoid it’s just me, and got over that when I saw like 8 threads on the same theme in the Allied folder, the Allo folder, the pre-med folders… but I think maybe this is a job for the Non-Trads. Because we have a little life experience, and because more than a few of us have thought the question through, or are doing so right now --maybe we can come up with a framework for considering the question. It’s a case of “do I do med school, then residency, and be a doc starting at age 40-something?” versus “would I be satisfied to reap the rewards of being a mid-level?” But that’s a question that needs context.
We’re pre-meds. What we know is not enough to get us directly to a conclusion. I know I could use a way to know whether I’m obsessing about stupid details, or actually considering the important factors that will affect my life.
So far, I’ve figured out that you can’t approach it as anything other than “which choice is the best fit for what I want to do.” You can’t go into it wondering “would x be good enough?” or “would y be too much?”
You can’t think about what’s easier (neither is, really), or which is more cost-effective (that depends on how long you look at it). Even time is no good test, because eventually we’ll all be 70 years old, and the only thing we don’t have time for is something that doesn’t make us happy That’s why we’re non trads in the first place.
So I’m thinking it’s a question that goes something like this:
Would I rather be a well-respected chef getting great reviews in a popular restaurant, or would I feel like I need to own the place, and make decisions about the menu, the decor, the hiring and firing?
Would I rather be the bass player in a touring rock band, or would I feel like I need to be out front writing the songs, singing lead, and dealing with the press and the record company?
Would I rather be a master carpenter and practice my trade, or would I feel like I’d be happier running the contracting company, or designing the house?
Would I rather be Tom Sizemore in Saving Private Ryan, or Tom Hanks?
For those of you who’ve made the decision about which road to take as an “older” student… how did you approach the question, and come up with the answer that was right? How do ya get this question to settle down and become one that can be answered?