AA or MD? How did you choose?

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LadyTriathlete

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Hi, I've been reading sdn for a while now and decided to bite the bullet and make my first post!

I've got a tough decision to make. I'm torn between getting my MD or becoming an Anesthesia assistant. For all of you who had similar choices to make, how did you choose? I've got acceptances into both programs, including one of the top 20 US med schools according to us news, and I can't decide what to do. With AA I see a meaningful career with a great lifestyle, giving me balance and the ability to be out and working/earning an income by age 24. But with that I worry that I might not be challenged enough, and I'm worried about possibly regretting not going to med school. With MD I see a really amazing academic challenge with lots of responsibility, but I'm terrified by all the horror stories I've heard about medicine, sleep-deprivation, drepression, and that even when I reach attending I'll be working crazy hours and regret the life outside of the hospital i gave up. So how did you all pick your careers? Do you have any insight to help me address my concerns for either profession?
 
My opinion, you are young enough to go back to med school if that is what you want in the long run.... I think going to AA school will give you an understanding of what it takes to get into anesthesia; And you can work for a year when you get out and see if you want to stay as an AA or go on.... you have soo much ahead of you... your young its still O.K to test the waters first.....
 
Sounds like you have hit the wall. I graduated from UF. Then became an infantry officer in the marines (OOOOHHHHHRRRAAAHHH). I was accepted to pod school two years ago but was called back to Iraq. AA school fits me perfectly because I am "older" than the average medical student and I have a family. I like to do marathons, so, a flexible schedule that allows me to maximize my training time and spend time with my family is what is best for me. Will I regret not going through four years of school then a three to four year residency? No. Will I regret not going to pod school? Yes.You must do what is best for you. Like KNC said. You are a young buck and you can gain great experience as an AA. You have to do what is best for you. Its all about your priorities. I work at Shands and know doctors from residency through attending. I also know AAs. After asking ten docs and ten AAs if their chosen path was worth it, or if they would do it again, 9 out of 10 doctors said "NO" and 10 out of 10 AAs said "YES!" Whatever you do, its got to be best for you and your priorities.
 
They are two distinctly different paths. Gas is a very hard area to match into (from what I've seen/read), so that may play a role in everything. Quality of life has a place too....though be careful not to let some short-term discomfort influence long-term happiness.

Have you taken time to read up in the Gas and Allo forums to get a better idea of the in's and out's of that route? How about in here....there are a number of good threads you can find via the "search" function.
 
Thank you all so much for the responses. And to the marine, thank you so so much for protecting our country. If we weren't in cyberspace I would shake your hand, and then probably hug you lol. My boyfriend's brother is a sniper in the Marines, and I know how unbelievably hard it is just to become a marine, let alone work as one! He goes to Iraq in 3 weeks, so I'm sure I'll soon learn how difficult that must be, too. Thank you for rising to the military challenge, this civilian really appreciates you!

I think I will give AA a try first, and like KNC said I can always go back. I've had the exact same experience as the above post, where 100% of the AAs I've spoken with and shadowed are over the moon about their career, whereas the docs are all hesitant to recommend the med school route. Thanks again for your encouraging replies 🙂
 
I got a 32 on my MCAT and had a good GPA, but I decided to go for AA because I didn't want to spend the next 7-9 years of my life in training (between med school and residency). I think AA has a much better ROI (return on investment) because for a 27 month investment I can be out at the age of 25 and working and making good money with a much better schedule. The only thing that would drive me from AA towards MD is pure ego and ambition, and I don't think its worth all of the sacrifices that you'd have to make. I want to enjoy my 20's.
 
whoa small world, i got a 32 on my mcat, too. Thanks for sharing your story, i feel like i can really relate to your reasons!
 
Endee said:
I got a 32 on my MCAT and had a good GPA, but I decided to go for AA because I didn't want to spend the next 7-9 years of my life in training (between med school and residency). I think AA has a much better ROI (return on investment) because for a 27 month investment I can be out at the age of 25 and working and making good money with a much better schedule. The only thing that would drive me from AA towards MD is pure ego and ambition, and I don't think its worth all of the sacrifices that you'd have to make. I want to enjoy my 20's.
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Some of our anesthesia residents are getting offers straight out of residency at $300,000+ in private practice with set hours and no call. I'm sure AA's get paid well, but assuming you work until 55-60 years of age, I can't see how an AA will be a better ROI.

You can still enjoy life in medical school. My first two years of med school I had classes 4 hours/day. I studied too, but there was plenty of time for fun. Third year is rotation dependent. Surgery had me swamped, but peds, family, and psych have been nice. Let's just say that I've been to Vegas twice in third year. 4th year is mostly elective.
 
TexasPhysician said:
Some of our anesthesia residents are getting offers straight out of residency at $300,000+ in private practice with set hours and no call. I'm sure AA's get paid well, but assuming you work until 55-60 years of age, I can't see how an AA will be a better ROI.

You can still enjoy life in medical school. My first two years of med school I had classes 4 hours/day. I studied too, but there was plenty of time for fun. Third year is rotation dependent. Surgery had me swamped, but peds, family, and psych have been nice. Let's just say that I've been to Vegas twice in third year. 4th year is mostly elective.
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Well, I suppose youre right, physicians will always make more in the long run, but when I factor in personal reasons, such as schedule and quality of life in the immediate future, as well as deferment of ultimate responsibility rather than burden of ultimate responsibility, for me that puts AA ahead. Its so much more than just money for me, personally.. But yeah the docs will always make alot more.
 
Average starting Salary at Shands for Gen Anesthesia - $265,000 or $188,150 after taxes and a small contribution to yearly insurance rate (7.5%). Straight from the horses mouth (n = 5)
Average starting salary at Shands for Gen AA - $148,000 or $115,440 after taxes and a small contribution to yearly insurance rate (2.5%). Straight from the horses mouth (n = 7)

The average debt of starting Anesthesiologists (n = 5) is $238,000
The average debt of starting AA (n = 7) is $112,000

Med School plus residency = 7 - 9 years
AA School = 2 years 3 months

If both (AA and Anesthesiologist) started school from day 1 in med school and AA school, it would take the doctor 16 - 19 years, from day 1, to overtake the cost to benefit ratio working at Shands. This includes the 40K per year you earn as a resident.

If you are 20 - 21...go for it...if you are hitting three zero or above, have a family and do not wish to work 60+ hours every week, I would think twice about it.

Just my opinion. I love the Anesthesiologists here. Extremely smart and dedicated. The CRNAs and AAs with tough cases can easily access any of the docs and get information when needed. It is just a different path to helping patients.
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
Gas is a very hard area to match into (from what I've seen/read),


Not true. My recommendation...go to MD school. You won't want to go back later, life gets in the way. Besides MD school is not as bad as they make it out to be. If you already got accepted I would try it out. Worse case scenario...you can always quit if it is not for you and reapply to AA school. At the end of the day...as an MD you have way more options/possibilities available to you. Don't sell yourself short. As a US, Allopathic student you will likely have no problems matching into anesthesiology.
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I'm on the same fence as you, although I dont have the luxury of multiple acceptances. If I dont make it in off the waitlist I will probably go the AA route.

Consider the following as well:

-AA's cannot practice in every state

-Depending on how much stimulation you need, there is a chance the AA thing will become too routine and you'll want to deal with more complex cases

-As an AA you wont be the 'captain of the ship'. Some people cant handle this. As an MD, depending on where you end up, the buck eventually stops with you. You also have the option of teaching and research as part of your job, where the AA does not.

-As an MD you have HUGE earning potential. Like 400k +. Go talk to JetPropPilot in the anesthesia forum. That figure quoted above is not reflective of what you can make in PP.

-It does depend on your age. Some say no, but come on. If you are on the near side of thirty, like me, then it makes the value of the AA route much more evident. But if you're just out of college, like 21-22...you have soooo much time. Once you hit thirty your priorities shift a bit. Not that you necessarily want to settle down and have kids, but the idea of being in school/training for the next 8 years seems a bit more grim. You just want to get on with life and start making that cheese!!!
 
Yeah. For me, AA not being captain of the ship is a benefit not a negative.

Also, most of the faculty at AA schools are all AA's themselves. And they still practice.

I'm 22 and starting AA school in June. I'll be 23 in July. I'm excited about the idea of making money by the time I'm 25. If I ever have the desire to, I can work for 3-5 years and then go back to med school. If my life is great, I'm happy, and I have more money than I know what to do with, then there's no need to. I'd rather be able to enjoy the money in my 20's than have to wait another 10 years. That's almost half my lifetime.

To each his own. It all depends on what is most important to you. Type A people will not be happy as a midlevel, I think. Or people who consider end-earning potential top priority.
 
I also had to decide between med school and AA. I am applying to AA schools this summer because I decided that I want time to enjoy my money and have other hobbies outside of medicine while I am still in my 20's.

I consider myself type A, but I realized that I can still get that successful type of feeling in other things.

For instance, I was a cross country runner in college, and I still run and train daily. I want to be able to train for triathalons and continue a "semi-career" in competative athletics. I feel that as an AA, I would have the time to do this and feel satisfied in my career and life.

Even though I had always thought I wanted med school, once I got a little older (24 now) I realized that I have things outside of work that are very important to me and I wouldn't be happy if I could not balance them with a career and family.
 
^^^

I can totally relate to those reasons. It seems the further away I get from 25 the more that my non-medical pursuits matter, because I cant do them forever!

You can do teaching and research as an AA. Why not?
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Of course you can, but I meant in the sense that you probably arent going to be a P.I. heading studies. Research is certainly not out of the question.
 
Also, I am finishing up my MPH...which was not cheap. To be honest, I am terrified of how much med school costs. LOL. With AA, I can at least cut that amount in half, if not much less depending on what school I go to. Even my state med school would cost more for me than any of the AA programs yearly tuition. So, financial worries are also playing a solid role in my decision.
 
Endee said:
Yeah. For me, AA not being captain of the ship is a benefit not a negative.

Also, most of the faculty at AA schools are all AA's themselves. And they still practice.

I'm 22 and starting AA school in June. I'll be 23 in July. I'm excited about the idea of making money by the time I'm 25. If I ever have the desire to, I can work for 3-5 years and then go back to med school. If my life is great, I'm happy, and I have more money than I know what to do with, then there's no need to. I'd rather be able to enjoy the money in my 20's than have to wait another 10 years. That's almost half my lifetime.

To each his own. It all depends on what is most important to you. Type A people will not be happy as a midlevel, I think. Or people who consider end-earning potential top priority.
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I don't know if this is a silly question but I am curious. Do you know if those AAs were full time AAs and teaching? Or were they part-time? If there is such thing as a part-time AA?

Also, some have said AAs can do research? What kind of research have some AAs been a part of if anyone knows? I would really like to know.
 
PerolaNegra said:
I don't know if this is a silly question but I am curious. Do you know if those AAs were full time AAs and teaching? Or were they part-time? If there is such thing as a part-time AA?

Also, some have said AAs can do research? What kind of research have some AAs been a part of if anyone knows? I would really like to know.
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I honestly am not sure how many hours a week was spent between teaching and practicing. Sorry =/. I just remember asking one of the faculty members during the interview if he was still in the OR working and he said yes.
 
to the OP, if you really want to be a doctor of medicine go for it. All the work, hours, sleepless night etc etc that you spent to become a doctor are worthwhile ONLY if you REALLY want to become a doctor because you love it. If you really wanted very bad there's nothing to stop you if you wanted and put the effort into it.
 
Hi all! Thanks for your opinions and advice. I thought I'd update you all - I've chosen AA school!!! I took a deep look at myself and realized AA is what I really want to do. It was hard to close the door on med school because I worked so hard for those acceptances, but the gains in other areas of my life (family, friends, work-out/training time, normal hours, etc) make it worth it to me. And after shadowing AAs I think I will be very satisfied with the clinical challenges and patient care in this career, even though it means I won't be the captain of the ship. And someday I'd like to teach at an AA school and be an advocate in the AAAA to help get the profession in all 50 states!

So, in short, any other Case Western MSA Class of 2011 students out there?? 🙂
 
LadyTriathlete said:
Hi all! Thanks for your opinions and advice. I thought I'd update you all - I've chosen AA school!!! I took a deep look at myself and realized AA is what I really want to do. It was hard to close the door on med school because I worked so hard for those acceptances, but the gains in other areas of my life (family, friends, work-out/training time, normal hours, etc) make it worth it to me. And after shadowing AAs I think I will be very satisfied with the clinical challenges and patient care in this career, even though it means I won't be the captain of the ship. And someday I'd like to teach at an AA school and be an advocate in the AAAA to help get the profession in all 50 states!

So, in short, any other Case Western MSA Class of 2011 students out there?? 🙂
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Wow. You are basically the first and only to speak for Case Western. Finally, its about time someone said they were going there. Congratulations. I look very forward to reading your feedback of Case Western when you have already started the program. Please remember to share with us.
 
I know! There's very little mentioned about Case's AA program on here, but I'll let you know all the details once I get rolling. I will say that the staff I worked with during the app. process were so friendly and helpful, and everyone you meet during interviews is wonderful! The faculty is very excited about the program, all the students I met (15 students per year so I met a large percent of them) are thrilled to be doing the MSA program. Plus the technology is really cool. They have a mock OR and a dummies that mimic a real person so well it is creepy! Not only does the thing vomit, bleed, breath, etc., but it does really subtle things, too, like its skin can get "clammy", the pulse rate can change, the dummy responds to the "drugs" you treat it with, etc. So cool!!!
 
I'm exploring healthcare professions, can someone elaborate a bit on AA?

What's required?

What's the difference between a Nurse Anesthesist and an AA?
 
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FireCloud9 said:
I'm exploring healthcare professions, can someone elaborate a bit on AA?

What's required?

What's the difference between a Nurse Anesthesist and an AA?
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Try doing a search, both here on SDN and google. Everything you need to know you should find out by doing a little research. Type in "anesthesiologist assistant" and go from there.
 
LadyTriathlete said:
Hi, I've been reading sdn for a while now and decided to bite the bullet and make my first post!

I've got a tough decision to make. I'm torn between getting my MD or becoming an Anesthesia assistant. For all of you who had similar choices to make, how did you choose? I've got acceptances into both programs, including one of the top 20 US med schools according to us news, and I can't decide what to do. With AA I see a meaningful career with a great lifestyle, giving me balance and the ability to be out and working/earning an income by age 24. But with that I worry that I might not be challenged enough, and I'm worried about possibly regretting not going to med school. With MD I see a really amazing academic challenge with lots of responsibility, but I'm terrified by all the horror stories I've heard about medicine, sleep-deprivation, drepression, and that even when I reach attending I'll be working crazy hours and regret the life outside of the hospital i gave up. So how did you all pick your careers? Do you have any insight to help me address my concerns for either profession?
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Not every graduate of a medical school (regardless of rank of school) is going to be competitive for anesthesia. You may find that though you WANT to go into anesthesia, it doesn't want you. Grades/Board scores may have loads to do with what you will be competitive for and many more folks who want to go into anesthesia, find that they just aren't competitive for it. You may also change your mind about anesthesia once you go through some of the required clerkships during third year as this is the experience with most folks who have a specific specialty in mind when they enter medical school.

Also, don't think that just because you are a AA, you won't be "sleep-deprived". You may find that your schedule is largely not in your hands and you are just as sleep deprived as the next person.

Figure out what scope of practice you want and make your decision based on this.
 
I know the OP already made their decision, but this is for future readers.

There are so many variables with this it is killing me. I go to one hospital and every physician HATES their job. I go to another and it is the happiest place on earth. I see one physician talk about the never ending work and another (with same speciality) work a very comfortable schedule and make strong money as well.

Just as in any field, you can't just use n=1. My dad went into partial retirement. He works about 2-3 months a year and pulls in around 250k with his speciality. Granted, during those 2 or 3 months he works like a dog from 6 a.m. till 8 at night every day, that still isn't bad. Even during his full time, there was maybe only 1 or 2 of my events he couldn't make it to. His passion was ham radio and he was able to follow that up. Heck, I even lifted with the busiest orthopedic surgeon of my town.

One of the biggest determining factors for me was simply the fact that I KNOW there is no way I can choose a speciality right now. I am essentially paying for my flexibility to choose the path I want at a later date, once I have gained much more knowledge about what I like.

The salary thing and ROI investment...well that just depends where you are. Obviously physicians at Shands, an academic medical center, are going to make less. If you go to the midwest where I'm from, there is about a 250k gap between AA and MD/DO anesthesiologists.
 
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