Foreign Practice

[elyoukaayee]

I'm a current freshman in college (technically a sophmore) and my final goal in life is to be a missionary doctor to foreign countries in areas that have little to no medical access. I've been told that being a PA in America is just as good as being a doctor for this situation because it is the only medical help they can get. I originally wanted to just go all the way and become a doctor rather than stop at PA but I'm not willing to wait until I'm almost 30 to start my life. So as of now I can come up with these two options, become a PA and begin practicing in these areas much sooner, or goto medical school, get my MD and go practice in these areas with no residency, then return to the US sometime in the future to complete my residency and become an official doctor.
If anyone has any type of advice I would greatly appreciate it.

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[da8s0859q]

I'm a current freshman in college (technically a sophmore) and my final goal in life is to be a missionary doctor to foreign countries in areas that have little to no medical access. I've been told that being a PA in America is just as good as being a doctor for this situation because it is the only medical help they can get. I originally wanted to just go all the way and become a doctor rather than stop at PA but I'm not willing to wait until I'm almost 30 to start my life. So as of now I can come up with these two options, become a PA and begin practicing in these areas much sooner, or goto medical school, get my MD and go practice in these areas with no residency, then return to the US sometime in the future to complete my residency and become an official doctor.
If anyone has any type of advice I would greatly appreciate it.

Being a PA is never "just as good as being a doctor." If you mean that it would be a quicker avenue for you to do what you're saying you want to do, sure, that's probably true.

The "then return to the US sometime in the future" part kind of suggests that you only want to do the missionary doctor thing for awhile. In that case, figure out what kind of role you want to have -- midlevel practitioner or physician -- and go from there.

Also keep in mind that you might get the exposure you're after while in medical school, as many of them end up having trips to various countries to operate as clinics through the first couple of years. I can't speak for the PAs.

 

[elyoukaayee]

"Just as good as a doctor" in that sense that in that environment, I will all have responsibilities and powers that a doctor has, but still with the title of PA.
But would it be advisable to put residency off for a few years? I have no idea how long I will be on the field so I'm not sure how long that will be.
Originally I was hoping there was some program that would allow me to complete my residency overseas somehow, but it seems after some research that is impossible.
Also, this summer I plan on volunteering/job shadowing at a hospital, so hopefully I'll be able to experience the differences between a doctor and a PA.
One more thing I thought I might add, currently I can complete a BS in Biochemistry and minor in psych and finish college in 3 years (which would give me all prerequisites for the med school affiliated with my college), or I can finish the PA program offered here, but I would need to take extra classes and still need to take another semester of classes.

 

[docB]

There are some serious flaws in your plans. I would not advise getting a medical degree and then going to work as a missionary doctor and putting off residency. Having just a medical degree does little to teach you how to actually treat patients. That knowledge and experience comes from residency.

To a large degree it's the same for PAs. PAs really need to be trained after school in whatever area they are working in to get to the point where they are competent. I don't think becoming a PA with the plan of leaving the country to practice independently without first getting a lot of experience is viable.

The fact is that becoming a doctor or a PA who is trained and experienced enough to be of any value in an underserved area takes a long time.