Backup Plans? RN? PA?

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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PA has more autonomy than RN, but also takes longer I believe. NP and PA seems to be on about equal levels (at least from my experience working in a hospital)
 
I hate to say it, but I don't think I could sign up for a career where my degree would consign me to being someone's assistant for the rest of my life. I need that illusion that if I work hard enough I'll end up Chief of Medicine/CEO/whatever. If Medical school doesn't work out I'm getting a job, maybe in Pharm.
 
Perrotfish said:
I hate to say it, but I don't think I could sign up for a career where my degree would consign me to being someone's assistant for the rest of my life. I need that illusion that if I work hard enough I'll end up Chief of Medicine/CEO/whatever. If Medical school doesn't work out I'm getting a job, maybe in Pharm.
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Ditto. I'd shoot myself if I had to do nursing or PAing for the rest of my life...
 
I'd probably go back to the adult entertainment industry. After all, I did make a lot of money...

But seriously, since I have a bachelors degree, I could get my RN in one year, put in a couple of years of experience and go with another two years of school for APRN or another three to get CRNA, or go on to PA for another two years of school without needing to get another degree or years of experience. I think CRNA would definitely be the most lucrative financially, but PA for an underserved inner-city would be cool for me and a shorter route than CRNA or APRN.
 
What are the requirements to get into either PA or RN schooling if you already have a bachelors? Do they look at GPA?
 
im surprised no one is going "DO" or "Caribbean" as backup.
 
Definitely not Podiatry. I just got an email from Rosalind Franklin about applying to their DPM program. Thats the 3rd piece of mail from the 3rd school telling me I'm a "good candidate" for podiatry. ITS DEPRESSING.
 
Stripper for sure if I dont get in. :hardy:
Just kidding....:barf:

It all depends what you want to do. Maybe shadow one of each to help you decide...a PA will make more money then a normal RN in most cases. NP should be about equal.
 
haha it's funny how we talk about who makes more given that in the health professions we should really be focusing on helping othes instead of making money. How un-Paul Farmer of us :ashamed:
 
vicinihil said:
haha it's funny how we talk about who makes more given that in the health professions we should really be focusing on helping othes instead of making money. How un-Paul Farmer of us :ashamed:
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I was just being realistic :0 I find that most health professionals are far from being poor its just a matter of how far.
 
haha it's funny how we talk about who makes more given that in the health professions we should really be focusing on helping othes instead of making money. How un-Paul Farmer of us :ashamed
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Only premeds do this. The rest of allied health are just fine talking about their salaries.
 
If not MD, then...

1. DO - possibly, but not this cycle
2. PhD - and face the many dangers of outsourcing? Never.
3. RN - but I want prescription rights!! So, no.
4. PA - I rather reapply for an MD

Chances are if everything fails, I'll retake the MCAT, try to shoot for a 35+, do more extracurriculars (or just get involved in more stuff; dunno yet since I'm out of school), medical mission trips/Peace Corp (overrated and too long, leaning towards former) abroad.
 
I will reapply next year for MD and DO.

PA is not bad if I don't get in.

Once you become PA , you can earn MBA or MPH degree online and get job with authority.

Also, law with PA can be good. You can fight for doctors.
 
I'm considering a few options if I don't get into medical school. All will have me working in the reproductive medicine field in some way.

Genetic Counselor - Possibly eventually getting a PhD in genetics, developmental biology or reproductive biology.
Embryologist then fertility lab director - See above.
RN - Only to become a CNM (certified nurse midwife).

I'm not sure which one I'll end up doing.
 
My backup plan: re-apply until accepted.
 
1-Go to Pakistan and do MBBS, do a residency here as a FMG student >
2-Pharm-D >
3-PhD in marine biology >
4-Nurse Anesthetist >
IF none of these work out then I can always just go down a deep dark hole of depression with nothing but alcohol to make my life.
 
My backup plan: DO then PA MS program.
 
MD > DO > DDS > DMD > PhD > PharmD > McDonalds
 
Geekchick921 said:
I'm considering a few options if I don't get into medical school. All will have me working in the reproductive medicine field in some way.

Genetic Counselor - Possibly eventually getting a PhD in genetics, developmental biology or reproductive biology.
Embryologist then fertility lab director - See above.
RN - Only to become a CNM (certified nurse midwife).

I'm not sure which one I'll end up doing.
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Good luck with trying to get into a genetic counseling program. They are very hard to get into. A lot of genetic counselors that are now genetic counselors don't get in the first try. All of the graduating class for the school that is the closet to me had 4 graduating GC's where none of them got in the first try. THe class before them, only 1 of them got in the first try.

I strongly advise you to look into embryology. Maybe you could do some work with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis work. Don't go in the developmental biology. Developmental biology is a little different career path then an embryologist.

I know Northwestern has a masters degree in embryology. I think there is another online program in embryology...but I don't know the school name. The admissions to the embryology program sounds easier than the masters in genetic counseling.

The starting salary for an embryologist is about the same as a genetic counselor. But with an MBA degree, or PhD degree, you can become director of a fertility clinic..I think.
 
Mine was to become an NP/advanced practice nurse in neonatology through Columbia because they have a program for people with non-nursing bachelor's degrees to get an NP. But med school pulled through for me so I don't have to go this route. I actually applied to this program while being a re-applicant this cycle.
 
I'm not quite sure because I don't know how I'll explain to my parents that I am taking a year off while applying. They'll really hate the idea when pressure comes for me to start paying back loans. I was thinking an extra year of classes but then I believe I'll be considered a grad student and won't get my merit aid or private scholarship which causes me to have to spill out an additional $12,000 🙁. So, to better my options I'm applying to both MD and DO and hopefully not reapplying again :-\. Heed the advice, apply smartly and don't kick yourself in the butt.
 
MD/DO > PhD

With a little work, its not difficult to get into a PhD program. But realistically speaking, I don't have a backup. If I don't get in my first cycle, then its more post-bac. Then its the Caribbean. If I flunk out, I will kill myself.
 
wisconsindoctor said:
Good luck with trying to get into a genetic counseling program. They are very hard to get into. A lot of genetic counselors that are now genetic counselors don't get in the first try. All of the graduating class for the school that is the closet to me had 4 graduating GC's where none of them got in the first try. THe class before them, only 1 of them got in the first try.

I strongly advise you to look into embryology. Maybe you could do some work with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis work. Don't go in the developmental biology. Developmental biology is a little different career path then an embryologist.

I know Northwestern has a masters degree in embryology. I think there is another online program in embryology...but I don't know the school name. The admissions to the embryology program sounds easier than the masters in genetic counseling.

The starting salary for an embryologist is about the same as a genetic counselor. But with an MBA degree, or PhD degree, you can become director of a fertility clinic..I think.
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I think that's about right, only I think the PhD is the more common route. In fact, it might be practically required for most lab director positions. I was actually considering genetic counseling or embryology before I decided on medical school. I think GC is less hands-on than I'd like, where embryology doesn't have me interacting with patients enough. Plus, part of me kept wanting to go all the way and apply to medical school. I think it's the best option for me, partially because it's both hands-on and there's patient interaction. That said, they're still my 2 most likely fallbacks.

Thankfully, if I don't get into medical school and want to go the GC route, I have ties to the only school in the Philadelphia area with a program, as it's my alma mater. My favorite professor from there knows the head of the genetic counseling program or something along those lines and would put in a good word for me, too. It's also a bigger program; they take 12 students a year.

As for embryology, I'm not sure what I'd do. I'd like to stay in the Philadelphia area for now. Jeff has a masters in cell and developmental biology I thought might be a good idea. However, a lot of starting-level embryology jobs I found online were looking for med techs.

For now, I think I'm just going to focus on doing my damndest to get into medical school.
 
My thoughts on this.....I've worked in the healthcare field as a physical therapist since 1995.

RN
The negative side to this degree is that you have a 2 yr associate degree from a community college. The positive side to this career is that you can work in so many areas of healthcare, there is a huge demand everywhere, you can work 2 jobs if you want anytime anywhere (not that everyone wants this, but if you need the money, you can) and the best part about this job is that you can go into management at varying areas of healthcare; you can become a DON (director of nursing), administrator for say a nursing home or home health care department for a large HMO etc...... Because nurses are considered very central to many of healthcare delivery systems, they are the ones who are almost the leaders aside from the physicians. I have a huge problem with this since, c'mon, physical therapists, most social workers, occupational/speech therapists and most others in healthcare have masters degree or higher. Nurses act like they are the top dog until they are on the phone with the physician....

PA
I believe they get a masters degree. I'd prefer to be a PA over a RN for this reason. I haven't seen one PA in any other capacity than as a PA as I mentioned about RNs being in various managerial positions.

All in all, if you want an easier career advancement after your clinical practicing years, become a RN. You can always get a BSN then a MS later.

As a future physician, I must say the following. Many other fields want to "eat" into our profession. For an example, nurses (MS degree who specifically went to a school for this) can perform anesthesiology as a nurse anesthesiology, a nurse practitioner representing HMOs write physician orders without being a physician etc etc etc...... I think this is a huge issue which stems from the need to save money by various factions of healthcare companies. Think about how these efforts to save money has impacted physician salary in the past 15 years.....they've cut physician salaries. The physicians go through more training than ANY other healthcare professionals out there. We deserve more not less.
 
mech eng, and then build robots to replace doctors

already applied to B.Eng Mechetronic Engineering, I got in that school before my science undergrad, how unfortunate that I chose science over engineering.


Piyush.
 
Good Lord, there is nothing about the medical profession that is even slightly appealing to me except that I am a physician. If I hadn't been accepted to medical school it would never have occurred to me to be a PA, an RN, or anybody else in what they used to call "allied health." These things were not even options and I would never even consider them from the point of view that they were some sort of consolation prize for failing to get into medical school.

If you want to be a nurse, be a nurse. Likewise with being a PA. Perfectly decent careers but come on now. If you do them because you couldn't be a doctor you will spend your life with a huge chip on your shoulder.
 
Panda Bear said:
Good Lord, there is nothing about the medical profession that is even slightly appealing to me except that I am a physician. If I hadn't been accepted to medical school it would never have occurred to me to be a PA, an RN, or anybody else in what they used to call "allied health." These things were not even options and I would never even consider them from the point of view that they were some sort of consolation prize for failing to get into medical school.

If you want to be a nurse, be a nurse. Likewise with being a PA. Perfectly decent careers but come on now. If you do them because you couldn't be a doctor you will spend your life with a huge chip on your shoulder.
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I completely agree with the second half of your post. 👍

I also think that people need to keep their options open

there are many,many different paths you can take in the quest of becoming a doctor, but there are also alternate positions available if you truly want to help people on a day to day basis yet can not become an m.d/d.o

I have really, really strange luck (yes, some happenings in my life can't be attributed to normal factors) so If I can't get into med school (even el caribo-to which I have a legacy option "available") then I wont have a problem going in as a P.A because for me, it's about helping people and I'm pretty sure the chip on my shoulder will be one of pride and not a facade with misdirected animosity.
 
Geekchick921 said:
I'm considering a few options if I don't get into medical school. All will have me working in the reproductive medicine field in some way.

Genetic Counselor - Possibly eventually getting a PhD in genetics, developmental biology or reproductive biology.
Embryologist then fertility lab director - See above.
RN - Only to become a CNM (certified nurse midwife).

I'm not sure which one I'll end up doing.
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Anyone else currently thinking about gen counseling? My situation is, I have a pretty solid in at one program, so it's a backup plan, i guess. I shadowed one, and to me, she just seemed like a glorified social worker who deal with people with genetic/fertility issues, and really, a doctor or PhD in genetics would be far more qualified. So even if I got in, there's almost no chance I would go.

For a backup plan, I really would like to work directly with people, so is embryology a good route to do this (for working at a fertility clinic)?

Anyone thought about getting a PhD in nursing, and becoming a professor at a nursing school? I think, since there's going to be a shortage, the job opportunities would be pretty good, no?
 
Perrotfish said:
I hate to say it, but I don't think I could sign up for a career where my degree would consign me to being someone's assistant for the rest of my life. I need that illusion that if I work hard enough I'll end up Chief of Medicine/CEO/whatever. If Medical school doesn't work out I'm getting a job, maybe in Pharm.
Click to expand...

I never understand nursing as a back-up plan for people that want to be physicians. The nurisng and physician professions vary by their very nature, and shouldn't even attract the same kinds of people. The job of a nurse isn't that of a "dumbed down" physician's - especially in an inpatient setting. It is to actually take care of the patient and make him or her as comfortable as possible (qualities = nurturing, patient, etc.), whereas a physician's job is to determine what is making said patient sick, and prescribe a plan of action for the patient to get better (of which, the nurse implements) (qualities = inquisitive, decisive, etc.). These two very different roles work together for the overall care of the patient, as complementary roles, and nurses should not be considered as underlings to physicians, IMO. They have their own leadership paths right up to the CNO, who is probably one of the most powerful people at a hospital.

So, I guess that my answer would be that if you are initially drawn to being a physician, and that doesn't work out, going PA makes a lot more sense, as that is a role with duties much more akin to that of a physician. In an ambulatory setting PAs also enjoy a great deal of autonomy. It does have the inherent down-side of making you, by definition, an assistant to another person without the ability to advance out of that model.
 
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