DO or NP/PA??! I need help

[cbrons]

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Literally heard about HLH for the first time a few months ago. I was never big on heme/onc, but wondered how I got through 3 years of med school not hearing about this thing that apparently everyone around me has heard of already.

I got a Step I AND Step II CK question on this disease. Not sure if they were 1 of those experimental questions though.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I got a Step I AND Step II CK question on this disease. Not sure if they were 1 of those experimental questions though.

I too had a question about it on my step1. It was easy though since the name gives it all.

 

[niko327]

There are many PAs/NPs in speciality fields that I respect and interact with daily. Many of them started off in primary care and then transitioned to their current field. While the majority are good and knowledgeable, ultimately the decision rests with the physician.

Many of our sub-specialists have mid-levels to help with the volume though ultimately the physician is the one making the final call in regards to management.

Listen to this gentleman here, he's making a good and subtle point. I am a PA for the last 11 years, now a 3rd year medical student. You can become very well differentiated and knowledgeable as a PA in your particular field. As your expertise grows, your attendings will come to trust your judgment and abilities to provide care at a very high level (often indistinguishable to what they can offer procedurally). This has been my experience certainly. But as the gentleman above already mentioned, the ultimate call rests with the attending you work with, as it should. So I wouldn't worry about not having enough scientific knowledge to care for people, that's a complete non-starter. You will learn what you need to know to help people well after PA school is over. Make no mistake, PA school is rigorous and demanding, but medical school is a whole other level of pain. I decided to go on because I love the practice of Medicine. There is nothing I like doing better and I wanted to do it at the highest possible level. I can honestly say, being a PA has been an invaluable experience towards this goal.

 

[nlax30]

Listen to this gentleman here, he's making a good and subtle point. I am a PA for the last 11 years, now a 3rd year medical student. You can become very well differentiated and knowledgeable as a PA in your particular field. As your expertise grows, your attendings will come to trust your judgment and abilities to provide care at a very high level (often indistinguishable to what they can offer procedurally). This has been my experience certainly. But as the gentleman above already mentioned, the ultimate call rests with the attending you work with, as it should. So I wouldn't worry about not having enough scientific knowledge to care for people, that's a complete non-starter. You will learn what you need to know to help people well after PA school is over. Make no mistake, PA school is rigorous and demanding, but medical school is a whole other level of pain. I decided to go on because I love the practice of Medicine. There is nothing I like doing better and I wanted to do it at the highest possible level. I can honestly say, being a PA has been an invaluable experience towards this goal.

Yea I agree and obviously you know (or will know) what's it like from both sides of these discussion.

I work with some terrific PAs/NPs in other subspecialities and to be honest, in my opinion at least, they actually don't mind not being the ultimate "captain of the ship" and I'm sure that's part of the appeal.

So if that's something you just wouldn't be able to live with then that's fine.