It sounds like you and I have very similar backgrounds. I have a masters in exercise and human performance prior to going into PT school. I am "attempting" to transition to medicine for a couple of key reasons, but still have plenty of trepidation because we are in a truly great profession. PT is going through a transition right now and I'm not sure where the identity crisis will land. I think medicine is established and in the best position to secure its stability over the next 30 years or so, whereas PT I am less certain.
By most med school standards, I am not a strong candidate. I am hanging on to my graduate achievements and clinical background, whereas most undergrads will have stronger MCATs etc...If my pursuit of medicine doesn't pan out, my mission will be to be the best damn PT out there. That includes pimping our professon AND doing major bodily damage to the chiropractic profession who I consider to be our biggest rival.
I think it's a good thing to move toward doctoral level credentials - hell, if I paid $100K for a DPT, I'd make my wife call me Dr.
. You should be proud of your credential no matter how much you paid for it. However, the credential doesn't mean jack unless we can go toe-to-toe with other providers who have direct access - we don't. This is why I think the DPT is meaningless
right now. Now it may be down the road, but we will have to overcome heavy resistance from the chiropractic and allopathic profession to achieve such status.
I would stick to your path and develop your clinical skills as a therapist. You may realize it really is the path meant for you. This truly is a great profession, but it can be better. It's just a matter of deciding if there are enough of us out there willing to make it better. Otherwise we have no choice but to look for stronger options. I'm not sure if that helps you or not, but I hope things work out well for you.