Hey all, I know PA vs MD is a common question but I couldn't find any threads on disaster medicine specifically.
I'm a third year undergrad currently; I want to go into a healthcare career specifically doing domestic and international disaster response. I am interested both in patient care and in the logistics/incident command side of disaster medicine. In terms of the day-to-day work I want to do, I envision myself doing hands-on patient care, managing field hospitals/treatment centers, and helping manage logistics and coordination between different teams.
Autonomy as a healthcare provider is important to me -- I want to be able to diagnose and prescribe, which afaik PAs and MDs can both do -- but I'm not sure I would mind working "under" a physician. I have seen people on here advise against PA school because PAs tend to be "like junior residents" who don't get to care for the sickest patients, but it seems like this dynamic might not necessarily hold under austere conditions like a disaster site.
The advantages I see of PA school are less debt, greater flexibility if I want to change specialties, and a faster path to doing what I want to do (if I became a physician, from what I know, I'd have to complete my entire EM residency before getting to do disaster work). The advantages I see of MD school are greater autonomy (which I'm not sure is as true in the environment I want to work in) and a deeper education and understanding of the science behind medicine.
Can anyone speak to the different roles an MD and PA might play in medical disaster response specifically? Thanks very much in advance!
** edited to add I have worked as an EMT-B and have volunteered doing disaster response with Team Rubicon - these experiences are what motivate my interest in both emergency/disaster healthcare and general disaster response incl. logistics and incident command.
I'm a third year undergrad currently; I want to go into a healthcare career specifically doing domestic and international disaster response. I am interested both in patient care and in the logistics/incident command side of disaster medicine. In terms of the day-to-day work I want to do, I envision myself doing hands-on patient care, managing field hospitals/treatment centers, and helping manage logistics and coordination between different teams.
Autonomy as a healthcare provider is important to me -- I want to be able to diagnose and prescribe, which afaik PAs and MDs can both do -- but I'm not sure I would mind working "under" a physician. I have seen people on here advise against PA school because PAs tend to be "like junior residents" who don't get to care for the sickest patients, but it seems like this dynamic might not necessarily hold under austere conditions like a disaster site.
The advantages I see of PA school are less debt, greater flexibility if I want to change specialties, and a faster path to doing what I want to do (if I became a physician, from what I know, I'd have to complete my entire EM residency before getting to do disaster work). The advantages I see of MD school are greater autonomy (which I'm not sure is as true in the environment I want to work in) and a deeper education and understanding of the science behind medicine.
Can anyone speak to the different roles an MD and PA might play in medical disaster response specifically? Thanks very much in advance!
** edited to add I have worked as an EMT-B and have volunteered doing disaster response with Team Rubicon - these experiences are what motivate my interest in both emergency/disaster healthcare and general disaster response incl. logistics and incident command.