PA program to MD?

I wouldn't do the P.A. route personally. I would just try to build my med school app. up as much as I can, improve G.P.A, do the best that I possibly could on the MCAT, extracurriculars, volunteering, leadership, etc.

I would do a masters program in something else, like biology, or chemistry, or something else that you are really interested in. If your GPA is already tight, I would do a graduate degree in something that you are just interested in not necessarily science.

I think that drawback to the P.A. degree is that you could a) get caught up in making good money and not fulfill your actual dreams b) it may look like to medical schools that you used the P.A. route as a springboard to medical school and c) you have to pay for it.

I know that you would have to pay for the other masters program too, but it would kind of be like you are paying to be a doctor jr. then you are going to be paying to be a doctor. Thats just my opinion. Good luck either way.

If you don't want to be a PA, IMHO do not go to school to be one. I have several married classmates. One in particular goes to school in the same state but several miles away from their spouse. That classmate goes home to his spouse on the weekends, so this way they both are achieving their goals without being completely separated. If you choose that option then you have more schools to which you can apply to within Florida.

Sounds like you have a tough situation.

Being married and especially having someone go to med school requires a lot of sacrifice on the part of the family.

Where there is a will there is a way. This will require huge sacrifices on his part and I think you should agree on this BEFORE you get married. He will have to support you during school and know you will spend long days in the library and at work.

Medicine (as a doctor) isn't a job, its a life ... something the whole family needs to agree on up front.

PRIMER said:

I wouldn't do the P.A. route personally. I would just try to build my med school app. up as much as I can, improve G.P.A, do the best that I possibly could on the MCAT, extracurriculars, volunteering, leadership, etc.

I would do a masters program in something else, like biology, or chemistry, or something else that you are really interested in. If your GPA is already tight, I would do a graduate degree in something that you are just interested in not necessarily science.

I think that drawback to the P.A. degree is that you could a) get caught up in making good money and not fulfill your actual dreams b) it may look like to medical schools that you used the P.A. route as a springboard to medical school and c) you have to pay for it.

I know that you would have to pay for the other masters program too, but it would kind of be like you are paying to be a doctor jr. then you are going to be paying to be a doctor. Thats just my opinion. Good luck either way.

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i'm curious why you think getting a master's degree in bio/chem wouldn't be looked down as a stepping stone as well. I have no opinion on the matter, but was curious as to why it's so black and white as far as go for PA or master's go. At least with a PA program you'll have another option for a career...

Many, many years ago when I was a struggling premed, someone suggested I go PA until I decided to pursue med school in earnest and it's a decision that I often wish I had followed up on. Life can throw many "delays" your way and it would have been nice to have earned a great salary and had exposure to medicine, all while waiting for the right time to go to med school.

I am 30 y/o. I am a second year medical student. I graduated from PA school at the age of 25, worked for 3 wonderful years and now I am in my second year of med school. If you cannot go to medical school now and PA program is available for you, my take on this is to do it!!!. First of all, the experience that you get as a PA is involuble. However, after becoming a PA do not confind youself to specialty work. You have to work in the Interman Medicine, preferable in a non-teaching hospital. This way you can "play a doctor" for some time before med shcool. Does this help with your applicaiton to med school. Tough quesiton. My pre-PA college GPA was 3.3 and that would not get me into med school. My PA GPA was 3.9. The catch here is that allopathic med schools did not want to count this GPA, only osteopathic ones did. I am an osteopathic student. Another thing is that if you want to stay as a PA and raise a family this will be an option for you. PA is a wonderful wonderful profession but personally I grew out of my short coat and needed more science and basics. Good luck.

Personally, I'd skip the PA school since you know you want to be an MD. I'd wait the 2-3 years for med school, in the mean time filling your days by working (do you have any skills?), taking some science classes that are of interest, and volunteering. If you're interested in research, try to find a job as a lab tech and you can do that until he's done with school.

It's not easy when you're older and have spouses and kids. Some sacrifices are in order, usually. You can move away from each other and make it work out, you can postpone your application until you're both ready, or you can do the PA route. The PA route just seems very strange to me since you only ahve 2 years before applying to med school. If PA school is 27 mos, then you'd essentially be applying to med school right when you graduate. Am I missing something?

Honestly I would NOT do PA unless you can do it VERY VERY CHEAPLY. I have no idea what the costs are of the Florida schools but the $80k my program cost me (in 98-00) on top of $20k in undergrad loans is the biggest reason I'm not back in med school now.
If you believe you can be a happy PA for PA's sake, then more power to you, but to do it as a stepping stone is a big waste of time and money IMHO (as a practicing PA in her seventh year).
good luck,
Lisa

There seems to be a lot of sdn heavyweights recommending the PA route. These are people with a lot of experience. There's just one problem....

Its their experience. Not yours.

If I had a nickel for every time somebody told me I should be a nurse or a PA I'd probably have my finances for med school squared away.

This is one of those things that is on you girl. PA programs are intensive terminal professional degrees complete with their own clinical rotations. they require full commitment. Your investment in opportunity costs which are the combination of lost wages and cost of tuition and living expenses will be tremendous.

You will have the investment sunken into an entirely different career. You think you have pressures now wait until you guys have a household to manage with possibly a child to look out for. The effort to go back to MD school will be tremendous.

My vote is for you to figure out which career you want and stick to it. I would not pursue a PA masters degree with the intention of going to medical school.

Good luck. These types of decisions are always tough.

Edit: This is just me--what I would do. I do understand the need to make money and achieve intermediate goals. It's just I think the masters pa program is too long hard and expensive to be an intermediate goal.

ALWAYS!! ALWAYS!! Follow your dreams. If your man understands the importance of your dreams, then he will be on your bandwagon cheering for you no matter if you are living in the same household or in a different state..... you WILL make it work....

First off, there's no guarantee that you'll get into UCF's med school.. or USF... UF... FSU... NOVA... etc. I think the PA program you refer to in Orlando is run by NOVA, right?? If you're interested in possibly attending NOVA and being a DO it might be a good idea. But remember that NOVA does not offer any sort of instate tuition like the other Florida medical schools. We're talking big-time debt, here.

I think you should at least shadow some PAs as well as docs in the specialties you think you might be interested in pursuing. That might give you an idea as to the reality of the careers with both.

The good thing about the PA degree is that if you don't get into med school, you're still working in a field you love. BUT, it could also be really frustrating as you'll take a majority of the same classes as the med students (at least in the PA programs I've seen)... yet won't finish all of your hard work with an MD or DO.