Can an MD from other countries let you be a PA in the US?

[theswordfish]

Hi there! I'm currently looking for a career change/new life. I was thinking of PA school since it takes less than becoming a doctor, but at the same time, I've been thinking of leaving the US.

So....this morning a thought came into my head.

What if I got an MD from another country and then moved to the US and then only looked for PA jobs. I know a lot of times it's EXTREMELY difficult for MDs from other countries to get residencies in the US, but what if I just wanted to become a PA in the US? Can I just move back to the US and take whatever test that PAs need to take before applying?

I'm looking at med schools in Australia. The barely have any course prereqs besides A&P...

am I crazy for wanting to do this?

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[Paseo Del Norte]

So, you want to go to the other side of the world, become a physician in another country, then try to come back to the United States and work as a physician assistant? That sounds ridiculous IMHO.

If you want to be a PA, obtain your undergrad and ensure you have taken the typical courses PA schools look at (Liberal amounts of chemistry, biology, and the usual suspects), then get into a PA program?

The only thing I can assume is you are looking for a way to get into the field without taking liberal amounts of hard science courses? While I do not know much about Australian medical school or medical school in general, I have worked with Australian physicians and they appeared to be competent providers. Therefore, I can only assume they had to take extensive amounts of hard science courses at some point in their education.

You may want to reconsider.

 

[deleted6669]

To sit for pance(the pa natl exam) you must be a graduate of an american p.a. program.
no exceptions.

 

[njbmd]

Hi there! I'm currently looking for a career change/new life. I was thinking of PA school since it takes less than becoming a doctor, but at the same time, I've been thinking of leaving the US.

So....this morning a thought came into my head.

What if I got an MD from another country and then moved to the US and then only looked for PA jobs. I know a lot of times it's EXTREMELY difficult for MDs from other countries to get residencies in the US, but what if I just wanted to become a PA in the US? Can I just move back to the US and take whatever test that PAs need to take before applying?

I'm looking at med schools in Australia. The barely have any course prereqs besides A&P...

am I crazy for wanting to do this?

There are a fair number of FMGs in the PA program at my university. They are there because they couldn't pass the board exams to get into residency here in the United States. The PA program at my university is 27 months and masters level but make no mistake, if they pass PA certification, they will be PAs and not physicians.

If you want to become a PA in the United States, apply to PA programs and become a PA. To go overseas for a medical degree with the idea that you are going to become a PA in this country is not going to work. The rules for PA practice state that you much enter and complete a PA program in the US in order to sit for the certification exam.

If you want to practice medicine in Australia, then head off to medical school there but be advised that the rules for coming back to this country to practice madicine are going to change and you may not be able to enter residency here.

 

[Febrifuge]

To sit for pance(the pa natl exam) you must be a graduate of an american p.a. program.
no exceptions.

I can't find it on the Web page, but I could have sworn that for the PA program where I studied, those with an MD already or those who graduated from a medical school outside the US were encouraged NOT to apply. Maybe it wasn't a formal rule, more a sense of "we're trying to protect the integrity of the profession."

I do know that on interview day, we had checked to see if applicants had MCAT scores on file from any recent year. If they hadn't brought it up already in their personal statements, it was a big, big red flag...

 

[jwk]

To sit for pance(the pa natl exam) you must be a graduate of an american p.a. program.
no exceptions.

Wasn't this an issue in Florida 20+ years ago? Seems as though I recall FMG's trying to do this exact thing.

 

[deleted6669]

Wasn't this an issue in Florida 20+ years ago? Seems as though I recall FMG's trying to do this exact thing.

yup, they were allowed interim licenses until they took/ passed pance. only a very few passed and became pa's. the fail rate was something like 93% so they closed out that option.

 

[core0]

yup, they were allowed interim licenses until they took/ passed pance. only a very few passed and became pa's. the fail rate was something like 93% so they closed out that option.

They weren't allowed to take the PANCE. That's only open to graduates of ARC-PA accredited schools. Florida designed their own certification exam. As long as you do not fail it more than x times (I believe X is three) then those FMGs that took the test can practice in the state of Florida on an interim license. There are around 80 that are practicing this way. The failure rate in Florida was 100%. Interestingly since Florida is no longer giving the test those with interim licenses will continue to practice until they retire or the licenses are revoked. Also interestingly these interim PAs account for almost 40% of disciplinary action despite being less than 5% of the PA population.

David Carpenter, PA-C

 

[deleted6669]

thanks for the clarification David. I knew they were allowed a test but wasn't aware it wasn't pance.