General DPT to MD/DO

[Goro]

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Good morning,

I am currently practicing as a home health DPT and I have noticed the parts of my job I like are the more medical components such as H and P during OASIS SOC, med management, wound care etc..... as opposed to the Rx exercise part - now I use to love this part, but sometimes I also feel like a walking service and want to do more for my patients. That being said there have been days I've caught strokes early, found cauda-equina syndrome a PCP missed etc.... but I just don't know if I see myself doing this for a long time. Now I went to a prestigious PT school and took out loans not realizing that PTs kind of get screwed and dont even qualify for loan forgiveness programs that PAs, MSWs do etc.... and that was ignorance on my part.

Right now i'm making 100-120k a year in home care so after tax 75-85. But I also have 200k+ in loans - and with pending medicare changes maybe even less. I feel like my profession was lied to about the DPT and though we were taught imaging etc. Outside of the military model it's just not everything it was played out to be.

I have all the pre reqs as my undergrad was biology/biochem, I even took an older MCAT back in 2012 and scored an 8,8,8 (24) - but my grades weren't the best and by the time I brought them up with post bac work, earned an MPH as well - I think so many people told me no to being a physician - that I switched careers entirely.

Also the reason my grades were bad was I supported myself all through school after both my parents died.

So I would still need to retake the MCAT and be applying with a BA, MPH, DPT which is absurd.

I just see myself having much higher earning potential and actually more career longevity as a MD/DO. Hell even a PA, but again maybe I'm having grass is greener syndrome.

Thoughts?

Stick with what you're doing, and pay off those loans as soon as possible

 

[Catalystik]

Besides MCAT score, MD schools tend to screen an application by undergrad cGPA & BCPM GPAs. DO schools incorporate undergrad and grad school grades into an overall composite score (and their sGPA doesn't include math, but does include PT courses). Have you figured out where you stand for these parameters?

This might help:

DO GPA calculation spreadsheet:
Newer modified version: I've improved the AMCAS/AACOMAS GPA Calculator Spreadsheet

AACOMAS sGPA includes Bio, Chem, Physics, Other Science AACOMAS Course Subjects

 

[MusicDOc124]

Good morning,

I am currently practicing as a home health DPT and I have noticed the parts of my job I like are the more medical components such as H and P during OASIS SOC, med management, wound care etc..... as opposed to the Rx exercise part - now I use to love this part, but sometimes I also feel like a walking service and want to do more for my patients. That being said there have been days I've caught strokes early, found cauda-equina syndrome a PCP missed etc.... but I just don't know if I see myself doing this for a long time. Now I went to a prestigious PT school and took out loans not realizing that PTs kind of get screwed and dont even qualify for loan forgiveness programs that PAs, MSWs do etc.... and that was ignorance on my part.

Right now i'm making 100-120k a year in home care so after tax 75-85. But I also have 200k+ in loans - and with pending medicare changes maybe even less. I feel like my profession was lied to about the DPT and though we were taught imaging etc. Outside of the military model it's just not everything it was played out to be.

I have all the pre reqs as my undergrad was biology/biochem, I even took an older MCAT back in 2012 and scored an 8,8,8 (24) - but my grades weren't the best and by the time I brought them up with post bac work, earned an MPH as well - I think so many people told me no to being a physician - that I switched careers entirely.

Also the reason my grades were bad was I supported myself all through school after both my parents died.

So I would still need to retake the MCAT and be applying with a BA, MPH, DPT which is absurd.

I just see myself having much higher earning potential and actually more career longevity as a MD/DO. Hell even a PA, but again maybe I'm having grass is greener syndrome.

Thoughts?

Why do you say this?

Also even if I took up to 500k in loans to be an MD/DO I would be able to pay that back much faster than I am now - not that I would but just wanted to know the reasoning - because if I'm going to be paying this for a long time anyway due to interest etc - why not pay towards something that will generate me more $

Also note: I most likely would pursue a primary care track

You make (rounding down and forget tax for a moment for simplicity) $100k per year. Medical school is 4 years. You'd realistically take out about 200-300k in loans give or take, which would amount to between 350-500 over the course of a number of years with interest accruing.

During that 4 years, you'd be at a net loss of 750-900k (4 years lost income + 350-500k new debt), and then add to that you're already existing school loans and the interest on those.

Then you become a resident for lets say 4 years (kind of in the middle and with PM&R being a related field which is 4 years). That's 4 years of now working again, making little more than half of what you were making as a PT for 4 years (1 year less for a few fields, more years for others).

You're looking at huge net loss/opportunity cost at this point.

As for PA, it's only 2-2.5 years, but you'd be taking on more debt to make the same amount of money, maybe a little more.

 

[MusicDOc124]

Also note: I would most likely pursue a primary care track.

While this will be 1 year less than the example above, you'd also be make in the ball park of low 200's with a 7 year delay before making that money, which include 4 years opportunity loss + debt, and another 3 years making half of what you even make, now while paying old+new loans.

 

[Goro]

Why do you say this?

Also even if I took up to 500k in loans to be an MD/DO I would be able to pay that back much faster than I am now - not that I would but just wanted to know the reasoning - because if I'm going to be paying this for a long time anyway due to interest etc - why not pay towards something that will generate me more $

Also note: I most likely would pursue a primary care track

It's going to take you to at least sever years to get to that point, starting with med school matriculation.

You have a nice salary now and life now, and med school + residency is a furnace.