DPT! but, MD..?

[EastSide]

Hello folks.
Yes, this has been talked about, and I have read much of those threads.
Most thread inquire DPT students contemplating on changing to MD during or upon graduation OR after practicing for several years.

Plot twist... I am neither rejected nor completing/completed my DPT.
I was recently admitted to a couple schools.
I am a 5th year undergrad graduating May'16. Accepted to DPT class of '19.
Now, I have an acceptance. Should I risk it all and go for medicine?
The risk is vast with medical school.

As a kinesiology, non-traditional pre med, I am thinking of going through Post Bac.
Hoping to get into a program by Fall '17, age 24 and complete it in one year at age 25.
If lucky enough to sign a linkage or skip the glide year, I'd finish medical school at age 29 (4 years). Then if I match residency, another 4 years and finish at age 33.
THIS IS ONLY IF EVERYTHING WORKS OUT PERFECTLY.

I consider Family a HIGH priority. Although becoming a DPT would nicely fulfill the priority, I think the profession will become dull and I'd like to be more challenged. (More downs of PT: huge limitation on scope of practice, tedious repetitive nature, slow patient progress, etc)
MD however, I'd have to put more loans out, time, and delay on furthering my commitment with my girlfriend.
With DPT i will be practicing at age 27, whereas, 33 with medicine.

Am I simply stupid for wanting to MD when I have a wonderful opportunity granted for me?
Is it worth all the sacrifice?

Whatever I do, I just don't want to end up regretting.
With PT: a possible "what if" for the rest of my life
With MD: push family back, miserable due to constant high stress, and poor work-home balance)

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[beestrng]

Hello folks.
I consider Family a HIGH priority. Although becoming a DPT would nicely fulfill the priority, I think the profession will become dull and I'd like to be more challenged. (More downs of PT: huge limitation on scope of practice, tedious repetitive nature, slow patient progress, etc)

I worked with in a Family practice for a couple of years. You do the same types of things everyday and a lot of times people do not get better. Agree with limited scope of practice but I both professions do different things.

You are a young guy, do what makes sense for you not others.

 

[popopopop]

What's your reasoning for going to MD besides the challenge? For most people, there are no alternative career they see doing. Go to DPT as it seems you'll be happier doing that.

 

[deleted763299]

So, you're finished with a kinesiology degree and have a DPT acceptance in hand. You are now at a fork in the road, and contemplating going to med school instead. Correct?

I'll offer my perspective on a few of the negatives for med school that you have in your post. Full disclosure: I have never been a physical therapist, so my insight into DPT training or their day-to-day work is limited.

1. Med school will take more time -- this is a given, especially if you are going to need to to a post-bacc. You are best equipped to determine how much of a negative this really is for you.
2. You believe you will have to "delay on furthering my commitment with my girlfriend" -- says who? Multiple people in my med school class have gotten married and had kids. I kept my relationship going strong through med school, and am currently engaged. There is no reason to delay just because of med school. If she's really in it for the long haul, she'll stick with you!
3. Poor work life balance -- Is it safe to assume you believe medicine is less family friendly than PT? This one is highly specialty dependent. As a physician, you can take a hospitalist job (as an example) and work 7 days on, 7 days off. Or emergency medicine working 15 shifts per month. That's not incompatible with having a family life. If you choose a specialty with lots of call, and long hours, then it absolutely won't be family friendly. This depends on your specialty choice, if you were to choose medicine.
4. Stress -- the amount of stress, and type of stress, will vary with specialty also. Stress is just a part of life, it's how you cope with it that matters.
5. Regrets -- There is no way to know ahead of time if you will regret whatever you choose, unfortunately. I am curious as to why you are contemplating medical school now. Or has it been in the back of your mind for some time? Are you really interested in medicine, or have you just lost interest in PT and now you need a new direction? Exploring that may give you the answers you need on this issue.

 

[etp123]

What's your reasoning for going to MD besides the challenge? For most people, there are no alternative career they see doing. Go to DPT as it seems you'll be happier doing that.

I agree^. Medicine isn't necessarily something you should pursue if you're merely interested, because it's a very costly commitment emotionally, monetarily, etc. You're going to have to spend like 8 years seeing the whole thing through, so I believe it should only be pursued if you know that's what you truly want and nothing else would make you remotely as happy.

Have you done any shadowing or gotten any clinical experience? I think once you've spent many hours on the floor of a hospital or clinic alongside stressed out doctors, nurses, etc, it'll give you more insight into life as a physician and you can decide if the experience makes you want it more or deters you.

Alternatively, this may not be favorable but it is an option: you could complete the DPT, work for some years, then decide to do medicine later once you're more stable with your family and finances. There's plenty of people on these forums who are older career changers too and it's worked out for them.

 

[EastSide]

So, you're finished with a kinesiology degree and have a DPT acceptance in hand. You are now at a fork in the road, and contemplating going to med school instead. Correct?

Thanks for your insights everyone, it really means a lot!

Healthcare is the only field I see myself in, and the only field I want to be in.
Medicine was always on my mind, but I downplayed my academic capability. It was only until recently that my professors and peers suggested Med School that I began to seriously ponder on this option.
As the thought of Med School became stronger, my desire to pursue PT weakened. I didn't enjoy working as a PT aid at an outpatient clinic (2 different location). Having one patient for one hour, with minimal (slow) contribution of what I can do through physical modalities, manual therapy, exercise, and stretches, really discouraged me. As I am aware there's repetition in every profession, I see an overemphasis of repetition in this field. Lots of PT I worked/shadowed with seem to fall into doing the same thing for those with Shoulder pain, LBP, and etc. At a point in my career, I feel that I'll fall into that same pattern, and become complacent on what I do by generalizing care with particular conditions.
I personally would rather have a decent amount of patient hours with the maximal contribution possible to help them feel better.
Bounded by my limited knowledge, therefore, Emergency Medicine seems to best fit my desire at the moment.

So... Clinical hours. (one thing I lack is my time in the hospital)
Currently, I'm an EMT, running with my affiliated school.
If I opt of DPT, I'd like to obtain an Emergency Room Technician job, or,
take a CNA course, then work at a hospital under a nurse. These options will greatly help me understand with what really happens behind the spotlight of medicine.
I can also hope to find a job with an ambulance company if the above options do not plan out.
Also, a research I am involved in, my P.I wants to make me their phlebotomist, which enhances my patient contact experience and hours.

It's so hard to decide.
Weighing the risk:
Big risk - big reward vs. comfort but w. possible regret. What's greater?

Changing DPT to MD after working a few years is something I definitely want to avoid NOW. Only unless I absolutely despise being a PT, I would maybe consider going back to school. Otherwise, I'd like to come up with a decision now when I still have my youth.

 

[deleted763299]

Having one patient for one hour, with minimal (slow) contribution of what I can do through physical modalities, manual therapy, exercise, and stretches, really discouraged me. As I am aware there's repetition in every profession, I see an overemphasis of repetition in this field. Lots of PT I worked/shadowed with seem to fall into doing the same thing for those with Shoulder pain, LBP, and etc. At a point in my career, I feel that I'll fall into that same pattern, and become complacent on what I do by generalizing care with particular conditions.
I personally would rather have a decent amount of patient hours with the maximal contribution possible to help them feel better.

Medicine is very repetitive as well, and certainly can be discouraging at times. I would speculate that PT is similar to medicine in that it is repetitious because certain types of problems are very common. Just to take emergency medicine for example, you're going to see at least 1 patient every shift with abdominal pain. Your diagnostic evaluation for the abdominal pain patient is going to be more or less the same every time. Also, there are plenty of times in medicine we don't make people feel better, either because we can't, or because the patient won't do their part to get better. I just wanted to temper your expectations a little.

Currently, I'm an EMT, running with my affiliated school.
If I opt of DPT, I'd like to obtain an Emergency Room Technician job, or,
take a CNA course, then work at a hospital under a nurse. These options will greatly help me understand with what really happens behind the spotlight of medicine.

If you're already an EMT, and have worked with physical therapists, you have sufficient patient contact. Forget becoming a CNA, that's a waste of your time. Shadow actual physicians!

 

[sandstone]

I originally thought I wanted to go to PT school. I always thought being a physician would be cool, but never thought I had it in me to perform well enough to get in to med school. Eventually during my undergrad in physiology I realized that I was doing at least as well as my pre-med classmates and that maybe I could perform well on the MCAT. Also, after shadowing some PTs, I realized I really didn't want to do that because of the same negatives you mentioned.

Now I'm about to graduate med school at 34 and enter a 5-year orthopedic surgery residency. I'm VERY happy I changed course and chose med school over PT.

You are still pretty young and have plenty of time to succeed in med school. It is very doable to be married and have kids in med school. EM was my second specialty choice after ortho and would be an awesome field to get into.

 

[sandstone]

Life in med school can actually be pretty nice with a family for the most part, although there are super hard and brutal times. Ortho residency may be pretty rough, but my program has a relatively decent lifestyle compared to some, so hopefully it works out okay. You can find residencies in family medicine, peds, rads, or PM&R that have a pretty decent life during residency.

As far as life after residency, it can be totally awesome and family friendly. Someone above mentioned hospitalist and EM, it's true that they can have great schedules. I've worked with a lot of family medicine docs who work 4 days/week and don't take call. Some ortho attendings I know make over a mil a year, never take call, are done operating by 5 pm 5 days/week, and take vacations to one of their many international homes once a month.

 

[trev5150]

Can you clarify why you think you need to do a Post-Bacc program?

 

[EastSide]

Thanks everyone for the continuos response!

Can you clarify why you think you need to do a Post-Bacc program?

Some have recommended me to take the cheaper route by taking the rest of pre-req as a non-matriculated student in a college. While that is a cheaper idea, I beveled I will be at a disadvantage since I will be competing with a pool of traditional pre-med students who have taken more advance courses, higher GPA, solid research background, and more.
Post Bacc route offers me the benefit of competing with other post-bac or other career changers.
Also, they provide linkage opportunities which can be extremely beneficial.

 

[freddydpt]

I'm both a physician and a physical therapist. Have you considered PA school?

 

[EastSide]

I'm both a physician and a physical therapist. Have you considered PA school?

Yes, I have put some thought into PA.
I didn't want to settle for PA right now. I was planning on if post bacc to MD does not work out, I then would consider PA with all the pre-reqs completed.
I think PA is extremely attractive for the first few years making +100k, but after a couple of years, I think constantly working under someone will eventually get to me.

With these thoughts in mind, I haven't yet strongly considered or looked into PA.
If there is anything that you would like to share, please do so, it would be much appreciated!

Also, can you share your upbringing as a Doctor? Why you initially went for DPT, and what triggered the switch to MD.
Do you ever regret your decision?
Thank you

 

[freddydpt]

It's a loooong story... I think I've posted about it before somewhere on the forums. But the bottom line is, if I had to do it over again, I'd do PA in a heart beat at a community college. Most PA's aren't working "under" as much as they are working alongside. I didn't appreciate that until I actually started practicing. Talk to some PAs. Do your research now. Trust me, it'll be worth it. It's less time in school, very financially and clinically rewarding. Talk to an ER PA, a PM&R PA, an ortho PA, a neurosurg PA (in private practice). Ask them what their day is like and then you tell me you want to go to medical school and spend 8 years learning to do what a PA does in 3.

 

[trev5150]

Thanks everyone for the continuos response!


Some have recommended me to take the cheaper route by taking the rest of pre-req as a non-matriculated student in a college. While that is a cheaper idea, I beveled I will be at a disadvantage since I will be competing with a pool of traditional pre-med students who have taken more advance courses, higher GPA, solid research background, and more.
Post Bacc route offers me the benefit of competing with other post-bac or other career changers.
Also, they provide linkage opportunities which can be extremely beneficial.

The reason I asked is I'm just not strong on the course requirements of your kinesiology degree. What are you missing from the standard pre-req block? If you get into a full-on post-bacc situation you might be face with cost and course redundancies that might be avoidable with a well-crafted DIY post-bacc. Would it be possible to delay graduation instead of graduating and becoming a non-degree seeking student? I have a friend doing a DIY post-bacc as a non-degree seeking student and she has zero priority for registering for classes. 3rd semester students rate higher than she does and has had to bow and scrape and beg to get into courses. If you can stay in school as a super senior and do the prereqs right where you're at, that would be better than trying to post-bacc elsewhere.

 

[trev5150]

To clarify further, the friend I mentioned is post-baccing (that's a word now I guess) for DPT and the pre-reqs are pretty much the same. Less calculus, maybe? But two semesters of gen chem with labs, two of bio with labs, two of physics with labs, two of organic with labs.

 

[EastSide]

Can you clarify why you think you need to do a Post-Bacc program?

The advantageous of a post bacc is the linkage program that specific post bacc offers.
If it were not for the linkage, it would make more sense to become a non-degree seeking student and complete the remaining pre-reqs.
I have 1 year of chem and physics completed
I need to take Bio and Orgo for one year.

 

[NEVERSURRENDERMD]

Hello folks.
Yes, this has been talked about, and I have read much of those threads.
Most thread inquire DPT students contemplating on changing to MD during or upon graduation OR after practicing for several years.

Plot twist... I am neither rejected nor completing/completed my DPT.
I was recently admitted to a couple schools.
I am a 5th year undergrad graduating May'16. Accepted to DPT class of '19.
Now, I have an acceptance. Should I risk it all and go for medicine?
The risk is vast with medical school.

As a kinesiology, non-traditional pre med, I am thinking of going through Post Bac.
Hoping to get into a program by Fall '17, age 24 and complete it in one year at age 25.
If lucky enough to sign a linkage or skip the glide year, I'd finish medical school at age 29 (4 years). Then if I match residency, another 4 years and finish at age 33.
THIS IS ONLY IF EVERYTHING WORKS OUT PERFECTLY.

I consider Family a HIGH priority. Although becoming a DPT would nicely fulfill the priority, I think the profession will become dull and I'd like to be more challenged. (More downs of PT: huge limitation on scope of practice, tedious repetitive nature, slow patient progress, etc)
MD however, I'd have to put more loans out, time, and delay on furthering my commitment with my girlfriend.
With DPT i will be practicing at age 27, whereas, 33 with medicine.

Am I simply stupid for wanting to MD when I have a wonderful opportunity granted for me?
Is it worth all the sacrifice?

Whatever I do, I just don't want to end up regretting.
With PT: a possible "what if" for the rest of my life
With MD: push family back, miserable due to constant high stress, and poor work-home balance)

 

[NEVERSURRENDERMD]

LOL ... I'm going to apologize ahead of time for my response, but if you include "being miserable all the time due to high stress" as part of your criteria for choosing a certain life path, I think you have your answer already. Unless you're just a masochist or someone who wants to be miserable all the time. *shrugs* Some people do.

 

[trev5150]

LOL ... I'm going to apologize ahead of time for my response, but if you include "being miserable all the time due to high stress" as part of your criteria for choosing a certain life path, I think you have your answer already. Unless you're just a masochist or someone who wants to be miserable all the time. *shrugs* Some people do.

Describes my old man.

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

Linkages at most postbacs are for people who are 3.8+ and 512+ and whom they subjectively like. Best case is it saves a year and typically costs...a lot.

 

[NEVERSURRENDERMD]

Thanks for your insights everyone, it really means a lot!

Healthcare is the only field I see myself in, and the only field I want to be in.
Medicine was always on my mind, but I downplayed my academic capability. It was only until recently that my professors and peers suggested Med School that I began to seriously ponder on this option.
As the thought of Med School became stronger, my desire to pursue PT weakened. I didn't enjoy working as a PT aid at an outpatient clinic (2 different location). Having one patient for one hour, with minimal (slow) contribution of what I can do through physical modalities, manual therapy, exercise, and stretches, really discouraged me. As I am aware there's repetition in every profession, I see an overemphasis of repetition in this field. Lots of PT I worked/shadowed with seem to fall into doing the same thing for those with Shoulder pain, LBP, and etc. At a point in my career, I feel that I'll fall into that same pattern, and become complacent on what I do by generalizing care with particular conditions.
I personally would rather have a decent amount of patient hours with the maximal contribution possible to help them feel better.
Bounded by my limited knowledge, therefore, Emergency Medicine seems to best fit my desire at the moment.

So... Clinical hours. (one thing I lack is my time in the hospital)
Currently, I'm an EMT, running with my affiliated school.
If I opt of DPT, I'd like to obtain an Emergency Room Technician job, or,
take a CNA course, then work at a hospital under a nurse. These options will greatly help me understand with what really happens behind the spotlight of medicine.
I can also hope to find a job with an ambulance company if the above options do not plan out.
Also, a research I am involved in, my P.I wants to make me their phlebotomist, which enhances my patient contact experience and hours.

It's so hard to decide.
Weighing the risk:
Big risk - big reward vs. comfort but w. possible regret. What's greater?

Changing DPT to MD after working a few years is something I definitely want to avoid NOW. Only unless I absolutely despise being a PT, I would maybe consider going back to school. Otherwise, I'd like to come up with a decision now when I still have my youth.

 

[NEVERSURRENDERMD]

One thing you might want to consider it that you'll be really lucky as a DPT to make six figures and your average salary will hover around $90k whereas most any decent MD specialty is going to eventually land you between $160-$300k. I mean, if I were you, I'd just get an associate degree in dental hygiene and come out of school making $70k and work my way up to $95k. Plaque can be interesting if you move the tool in circles and make miniature carvings.

 

[trev5150]

One thing you might want to consider it that you'll be really lucky as a DPT to make six figures and your average salary will hover around $90k whereas most any decent MD specialty is going to eventually land you between $160-$300k. I mean, if I were you, I'd just get an associate degree in dental hygiene and come out of school making $70k and work my way up to $95k. Plaque can be interesting if you move the tool in circles and make miniature carvings.

Ugh. Blocked.

 

[EastSide]

One thing you might want to consider it that you'll be really lucky as a DPT to make six figures and your average salary will hover around $90k whereas most any decent MD specialty is going to eventually land you between $160-$300k. I mean, if I were you, I'd just get an associate degree in dental hygiene and come out of school making $70k and work my way up to $95k. Plaque can be interesting if you move the tool in circles and make miniature carvings.

To some, settling in for complacency is worth living.
While I am aware of other fields to make close to 6 figures, I want to pursue something fulfilling, expanding my reach so that those who are in dire need can be helped. (little naive? Even so, this is the type of lifestyle I want to fulfill).

Linkages at most postbacs are for people who are 3.8+ and 512+ and whom they subjectively like. Best case is it saves a year and typically costs...a lot.

Are the numbers set in stone? My GPA hovers around 3.5 for both cumulative and science. I'm aware some schools demands a 3.6 as a minimum. However, how strict are they on those numbers? Can an essay, experience, others outweigh the slightly lower GPA?
Also, I was stupid my first 2 years, but my last 2 years I averaged a a 3.96 overall GPA.

 

[EastSide]

One thing you might want to consider it that you'll be really lucky as a DPT to make six figures and your average salary will hover around $90k whereas most any decent MD specialty is going to eventually land you between $160-$300k. I mean, if I were you, I'd just get an associate degree in dental hygiene and come out of school making $70k and work my way up to $95k. Plaque can be interesting if you move the tool in circles and make miniature carvings.

To some, settling in for complacency is worth living.
While I am aware of other fields to make close to 6 figures, I want to pursue something fulfilling, expanding my reach so that those who are in dire need can be helped. (little naive? Even so, this is the type of lifestyle I want to fulfill).

Linkages at most postbacs are for people who are 3.8+ and 512+ and whom they subjectively like. Best case is it saves a year and typically costs...a lot.

Are the numbers set in stone? My GPA hovers around 3.5 for both cumulative and science. I'm aware some schools demands a 3.6 as a minimum. However, how strict are they on those numbers? Can an essay, experience, others outweigh the slightly lower GPA?