So confused...please help me: PA vs. MD!!

mystic river 00 said:

I'm a sophomore at undergrad school in NC. I've never been so indecisive before in my life! AH! I'm kind of freaking out here. But Anyhow,

these are my thoughts...

PA (physician assistant) or MD

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I debated these two professions for about a year, so I understand what you're going through right now (except I have already graduated).

mystic river 00 said:

can everyone tell me the pros and cons of each...ie: years of schooling, required tests ( and difficulty), level of difficulty of schooling, residencies, opportunities, time consumption, on call, competitiveness of PA vs. med school....the whole works. providing comparisons and contrasts would be gso very helpful! I need all the info. I can get! THANKS!!

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PA school = 2 years, Med school = 4 years
PA school = GRE (though most PA schools don't really care what your scores are on it)
Med school = MCAT (must get good scores)
You would take similar courses in PA school and med school, though PA school is accelerated learning and you don't learn as much as you do in med school. Its kind of like you learn the 'most important' stuff that you take from med school in PA school, its just not quite as thorough.
Opportunities: You are more limited with what you can do once you get out of PA school, but it is also easier to switch specialties. However, you will never be completely autonomous. You can subscribe meds to people though!

mystic river 00 said:

Is it true that one usually has *atleast one year experience as a CNA or RNA (some certified job like that) prior to applying to a PA program? Because, I just want to go straight to grad or med school from undergrad school! And, I really don't feel like becoming a CNA or some certified job like that. I want to volunteer at the hospital though.
desicions, decisions!..

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You do not have to have a year experience as a CNA or RNA, but most schools do require at least a year of clinical work (full-time). You most likely would not be able to go straight to PA school from undergrad, whereas you could do that with med school.

There are tons of good websites on this. Here's a great starting point: http://www.aapa.org/

You can do lots of research on your own. Just use a search engine. That's how I figured out most of the differences and similarities between a PA and MD.

EDIT: I'm not discussing age or grade at which the decision is made. I'm discussing the TIME TAKEN to make a decision (her being a sophomore puts her at a disadvantage relative to norms of application). Time for the OP is running out if she wants to do things the "normal" route. I think it's a little too late for her to take this route. It is my opinion that more time is needed to make an educated and considered decision.

ORIGINAL POST: Just a thought, but if one doesn't know what is involved in becoming an M.D. by their sophomore year of undergrad [with the intent of applying their junior year], perhaps one ought not consider this career [at this point]. Don't take this personally; I'm just being realistic I think. I mean, if the word MCAT hasn't crossed your mind by now, I'm not sure whether you really have a calling to become a doc [at this point]. It's no joke to take this career route on a whim; it's definately not something I would want to see somebody blindly enter on the spur of the moment (after making a last minute comparison on an online forum, for example).

Please, if someone can prove otherwise, do tell.

monopolova said:

Just a thought, but if one doesn't know what is involved in becoming an M.D. by their sophomore year of undergrad, perhaps one ought not consider this career. Don't take this personally; I'm just being realistic I think. I mean, if the word MCAT hasn't crossed your mind by now, I'm not sure whether you really have a calling to become a doc. It's no joke to take this career route on a whim; it's definately not something I would want to see somebody blindly enter on the spur of the moment (after making a last minute comparison on an online forum, for example).

Please, if someone can prove otherwise, do tell.

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I don't have anything really relevant with the PA or MD debate. However, I didn't decide to work towards med school till the summer between my sophomore and junior years. Thus, didn't have much info regarding what all it took. However, I've worked hard over the past year and a half, am certain I made the right decision, and have been accepted to 3 schools. It's never too late to decide.
To the OP, good luck with your decision! I think it's great you're trying to find out as much info. as possible before determining your career path.

I debated these two paths as well for a bit (really during a short "I don't want to study for the MCAT any more" phase...) Basically, PA programs require less schooling, and slightly less in depth knowledge of basically the same information. Also, no MCAT for PA programs. But yes, most PA programs (even the less competitive ones) require at least one year of serious clinical work. (As in, basically full time, not just volunteer or shadowing experiences.) Also, while PA job security is very very good, and salaries are quite competitive, a lot of PA's responsibilities depend on the licensing boards in their own states. In some states, you'd act as a primary care physician, in others, as literally an assistant to the physician (not able to prescribe drugs, etc). Also, no matter where you end up practicing, you'd end up working under a physician's license. This means that you wouldn't have to worry about paying malpractice insurance, but you also wouldn't have that much autonomy when it came to possibly opening your own practice, etc. So, you basically have to weigh what's important to you, and what draws you to medicine. If you enjoy being a leader, if you want to be the person who makes the final decisions, and final calls, then an MD is probably right for you. If you just want to work with people, and enjoy the diagnosing/treatment part of the field, and don't mind having to answer to someone else, than a PA would probably be fine. Obviously there's a whole lot more that goes into the final decision, but that's at least a place to start.

monopolova said:

Just a thought, but if one doesn't know what is involved in becoming an M.D. by their sophomore year of undergrad, perhaps one ought not consider this career. Don't take this personally; I'm just being realistic I think. I mean, if the word MCAT hasn't crossed your mind by now, I'm not sure whether you really have a calling to become a doc. It's no joke to take this career route on a whim; it's definately not something I would want to see somebody blindly enter on the spur of the moment (after making a last minute comparison on an online forum, for example).

Please, if someone can prove otherwise, do tell.

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I don't agree with this at all. There are lots of people who decide to become a physician in their 20's, 30's, 40's, etc. You definitely don't have to KNOW by your sophmore year of undergrad!

It also doesn't sound like the OP is doing this on a whim, rather they are trying to fully consider their options before making a final decision. Hopefully they will do more research beyond this forum, but this is a good starting point for them.

monopolova said:

Just a thought, but if one doesn't know what is involved in becoming an M.D. by their sophomore year of undergrad, perhaps one ought not consider this career. Don't take this personally; I'm just being realistic I think. I mean, if the word MCAT hasn't crossed your mind by now, I'm not sure whether you really have a calling to become a doc. It's no joke to take this career route on a whim; it's definately not something I would want to see somebody blindly enter on the spur of the moment (after making a last minute comparison on an online forum, for example).

Please, if someone can prove otherwise, do tell.

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i was 24 when the thought of being a doc crossed my mind. took another year before i was clear on what the mcat entailed. now i'm applying.

Ditto eva.

In my sophomore year, I would've thought the MCAT pees in the MLitterBox. Now at 26, I've been accepted to 7 schools.

Take your time and decide,OP. You may wanna post a similar question (or do a search) in the PA forum that SDN has. And either way, 1 year of clinical work will be of tremendous benefit to you, IMO.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

dc

evajaclynn said:

I don't agree with this at all. There are lots of people who decide to become a physician in their 20's, 30's, 40's, etc. You definitely don't have to KNOW by your sophmore year of undergrad!

It also doesn't sound like the OP is doing this on a whim, rather they are trying to fully consider their options before making a final decision. Hopefully they will do more research beyond this forum, but this is a good starting point for them.

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Don't confuse DECIDING to become a doctor with UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT TAKES to become a doctor. If one doesn't have any understanding about what it takes, I think that it's an indication of a lack of continued interest and exposure to medicine at which point I wouldn't recommend this person apply or change his or her life until he or she KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT'S AT STAKE. I mean, time is of the essence in the OP's case. He or she made this clear. ("I've never been so indecisive before in my life! AH! I'm kind of freaking out here.") And, whether the OP knows it or not, that idea is very true as the MCAT is coming up, volunteerism should've already started, letters of rec should be in the process, etc.

Now don't get me wrong. If one were to all of the sudden meet a doctor or have some life changing medical experience wherein one said, "wow, medicine is so awesome, I'm going to investigate this further", I think that's great! But to go from this to "I'm going to apply" takes time and experience to gain important knowledge about not only the process, but also the profession (which, incidentally, both go hand in hand in most cases). But to have absolutely zero idea of what's involved and be on the brink of making a time sensitive decision is inane. I (and many adcoms) believe that one's interest in medicine should be somewhat long term. Age doesn't matter. Grade doesn't matter. Knowledge of what you're getting into matters!

So, to the OP, I don't mean to steer you from medicine. I just implore that you consider taking the time to get to know what you want to do. Again, you've indicated to me a lack of experience by not knowing anything about the two topics at this point in the game. Now it's your job to take the time and effort to get to know your field of interest. It's a serious decision; take it seriously.

As a PA you won't have to worry about lawsuits as much. You will practice medicine much like an MD, minus the autonomy, salary, and legal hassles. I seriously considered doing PA if I didn't get into MS. I was really attracted by the fact that I could switch specialties quite often, something almost impossible to do as an MD (well, it's doable but who wants to do 3-5 more years of residency)

monopolova said:

Just a thought, but if one doesn't know what is involved in becoming an M.D. by their sophomore year of undergrad, perhaps one ought not consider this career. Don't take this personally; I'm just being realistic I think. I mean, if the word MCAT hasn't crossed your mind by now, I'm not sure whether you really have a calling to become a doc. It's no joke to take this career route on a whim; it's definately not something I would want to see somebody blindly enter on the spur of the moment (after making a last minute comparison on an online forum, for example).

Please, if someone can prove otherwise, do tell.

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Just throwing another log on the fire, but I did not decide medicine until my senior year of undergrad. Whenever it is you decide, you are obviously going to have to jump through the same time consuming hoops as someone who knew this was their goal heading into undergrad.

bigdan said:

Ditto eva.

In my sophomore year, I would've thought the MCAT pees in the MLitterBox. Now at 26, I've been accepted to 7 schools.

Take your time and decide,OP. You may wanna post a similar question (or do a search) in the PA forum that SDN has. And either way, 1 year of clinical work will be of tremendous benefit to you, IMO.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

dc

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Again, I'm not discussing age or grade at which the decision is made. I'm discussing the TIME TAKEN to make a decision (her being a sophomore puts her at a disadvantage relative to norms of application). Time for the OP is running out if she wants to do things the "normal" route. I think it's a little too late for her to take this route. It is my opinion that more time is needed to make an educated and considered decision.

YzIa said:

Just throwing another log on the fire, but I did not decide medicine until my senior year of undergrad. Whenever it is you decide, you are obviously going to have to jump through the same time consuming hoops as someone who knew this was their goal heading into undergrad.

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Again, I'm not commenting on the age of decision, just the time taken for that decision. Thanks. (See posts above.)

monopolova said:

Again, I'm not discussing age or grade at which the decision is made. I'm discussing the TIME TAKEN to make a decision (her being a sophomore puts her at a disadvantage relative to norms of application). Time for the OP is running out if she wants to do things the "normal" route. I think it's a little too late for her to take this route. It is my opinion that more time is needed to make an educated and considered decision.

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point well taken, although you did change your original post after the fact to make it more clear. probably wouldn't have gotten quite so many comments with the way it is written now. I think that most people would agree with your advice.

You're right - there is no residency for PA school.

Full-time clinical work does not have to mean getting any sort of certification, although it could help as far as becoming more comfortable in the medical field and for life experience.

I qualified after working at a clinic at the NIH for a full year. Different schools may have different rules, but I know that I was okay to apply at GWU, Duke, etc.

mystic river 00 said:

thanks for everyone's responses! I actually did have some prior knowledge about both fields before I asked you all so I'm not completely out there ...I just was looking for any extra info that I may have not already known. I also did some shadowing of a PA in family medicine and a MD in pediatrics..so I have some experience with that.

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Great!! Yeah, those are some great experiences! I did not know you had that! You deserve more credit than I gave you. Sorry!

mystic river 00 said:

You'll have to excuse me but what's NIH? ..and what sort of tasks did you handle at the clinic?

you applied to Duke?! how'd that go?

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Well, I didn't end up applying to Duke b/c I decided to go the MD route instead.

The NIH = National Institutes of Health. Better get to know that one if you're going into the medical field.

I worked in the Rheumatology department in one of the institutes. My time there was divided up working with patients who had autoimmune diseases, isolating DNA, shadowing doctors and PA's, attending grand rounds and presentations, traveling to area clinics, and database entry (the most mundane part). It was a great experience!

mystic river 00 said:

sounds great!! so how'd did you get that job? was it like a job opening in which you applied for?..or did they just allow you to do those tasks granted that you were a prospective med student?

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It was a clinical research training program offered at the by NIAMS, which is one of the institutes at the NIH. There were 3 of us in the program, and they hired 2 more this year. I applied through this website: http://www.training.nih.gov/student/Pre-IRTA/previewpostbac.asp?AppType=Postbac

Tons of recent college graduates get clinical or lab positions through this program. However, most of the available positions are in the lab, not the clinic!

I thought this thread was about Pennsylvania and Maryland. I'm just going to let myself quietly out the backdoor now. Move along, nothing to see hear.