Cold Feet

[rammerjammer]

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So I am about 1 week away from submitting my application on ptcas... and suddenly I find myself wondering if I should be applying to Med School instead. Is it normal to still be questioning things?

 

[WarriorPT]

Yes.... I'm kidding. I was pre-med at one time too. If you still have lingering questions about med school it's because you haven't fully investigated becoming an MD/DO. You should have your answers in advance of applying. PT school isn't a fallback for med school. It's still competitive to get in, and a lot of work.

Is there something I can answer from a PT's perspective?

________________________
Licensed Physical Therapist

 

[rammerjammer]

Thanks for your reply. I spent some time last summer shadowing an MD in the Emergency Department, a DO in family medicine, and a DO in the neonatal intensive care unit. However, none of these experiences really excited me the way that physical therapy does. I think this is because I really enjoy anatomy. My situation is also a little different because I come from a family of physicians, including my older sister who just graduated from med school 2 months ago.

My question for you would be why did you end up switching from pre-med to PT? Are there ever any times when you wish you had gone the other route?

Thanks so much.

 

[rammerjammer]

Am I really the only one who feels this last minute apprehension? :/

 

[NewTestament]

No you're not. I was nervous when I submitted too. If would go through application process, and even go through one term of PT school before you pulled out. If nothing else interests you and you like what PT's do, then you will be fine.

Kevin

 

[somedical]

Luckily, after you submit your applications you will have a year to reflect.

 

[somehowmadeit]

While I took my prereqs, I absolutely had the thought, "Should I be aiming higher?"

What I came to realize was that I didn't want to be a doctor, and that being a doctor wasn't, in fact, higher in any way. Being an MD or DO is just different.

I actually had this discussion with one of my mentors in my program today. I wanted to know my anatomy inside and out. I wanted to have a deeper, more specific, and more complete knowledge of the musculoskeletal system than doctors receive. And making money in life was never my aim. If it was, I probably should have gone the DO route.

Consider that in my program, the PT students do 20 lab dissections on a cadaver. It's literally soup to nuts the entire body. The MDs at my school, one of the top in the nation for their field? They do 9 labs, on pre-dissected cadavers that the 2nd year PT students prepare for them!

I know what I'd choose 🙂

 

[justbelieve1230]

Am I really the only one who feels this last minute apprehension? :/

not at all!!! i am definitely in a very similar boat; except i was pre-vet. scratch "was"... insert "am also." my solution was applying to both veterinary and pt programs. it helps greatly that they're pretty much on the same application cycle timeline =]

 

[DesertPT]

While I took my prereqs, I absolutely had the thought, "Should I be aiming higher?"

What I came to realize was that I didn't want to be a doctor, and that being a doctor wasn't, in fact, higher in any way. Being an MD or DO is just different.

I actually had this discussion with one of my mentors in my program today. I wanted to know my anatomy inside and out. I wanted to have a deeper, more specific, and more complete knowledge of the musculoskeletal system than doctors receive. And making money in life was never my aim. If it was, I probably should have gone the DO route.

Consider that in my program, the PT students do 20 lab dissections on a cadaver. It's literally soup to nuts the entire body. The MDs at my school, one of the top in the nation for their field? They do 9 labs, on pre-dissected cadavers that the 2nd year PT students prepare for them!

I know what I'd choose 🙂

Thanks for your excellent post.

I think there is a perception in society that being a physician requires a lot more intelligence than being any other medical professional does. I don't think people realize that physical therapy has developed such extensive credentialing requirements, to the point of becoming a ~36-month doctorate degree. Many people probably don't realize the scope and intensity of PT education, so being a physician seems a lot more prestigious.

 

[NewTestament]

Many people probably don't realize the scope and intensity of PT education, so being a physician seems a lot more prestigious.

Sadly the US healthcare system is still biased towards physicians, who still insist that they be gatekeepers. Conservative management is still not recognized as superior to surgery or medical intervention in most cases.

Kevin

 

[DesertPT]

People took a long time to warm up to the ideas of PAs being the ones who deal with routine X-rays and Vicodin prescriptions for sprained, basic physicals and antibiotics for kids with ear infections, etc., but it seems that a lot of people are starting to recognize that you don't need to see an MD for these things. People who have experienced a good PA are also realizing that even in most specialty office visits the doc isn't going to do or say anything different than the PA would. It has taken a long time for PAs to get to this point though and they still have a long way to go. Now I am not saying that the expertise of a physician is not critical in myriad medical cases, but you get the point...

I wonder if PT is similar at all...I wonder if it just takes personal experience with a good PT and knowledge of PT credentials to recognize the full value and expertise they have.

 

[Emmee]

While I took my prereqs, I absolutely had the thought, "Should I be aiming higher?"

What I came to realize was that I didn't want to be a doctor, and that being a doctor wasn't, in fact, higher in any way. Being an MD or DO is just different.

I actually had this discussion with one of my mentors in my program today. I wanted to know my anatomy inside and out. I wanted to have a deeper, more specific, and more complete knowledge of the musculoskeletal system than doctors receive. And making money in life was never my aim. If it was, I probably should have gone the DO route.

Consider that in my program, the PT students do 20 lab dissections on a cadaver. It's literally soup to nuts the entire body. The MDs at my school, one of the top in the nation for their field? They do 9 labs, on pre-dissected cadavers that the 2nd year PT students prepare for them!

I know what I'd choose 🙂

I was pre-med too, and was actually planning to go the DO route...but I realized that was really only because I was super intrigued by OMT and the "holistic" aspect of medicine. As I learned more, I discovered that PT would allow me to learn all those things, becoming a specialist on the human body, etc. 😛 So yea, I for one, am very satisfied with my decision.