Masters in Child Development

[redwings54]

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Hello. I am currently waiting to hear back about medical school, but am fearing that I wont get in. I have always wanted to work in peds my entire life. I currently work at a school for kids with autism, neurological, behavioral and emotional difficulties and absolutely love it. I am looking at alternatives to help increase my application for the next year. I am interested in a masters in child development. Would this be beneficial for a career in peds? Are there any other options I should look at? Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Bernardo_11]

Hello. I am currently waiting to hear back about medical school, but am fearing that I wont get in. I have always wanted to work in peds my entire life. I currently work at a school for kids with autism, neurological, behavioral and emotional difficulties and absolutely love it. I am looking at alternatives to help increase my application for the next year. I am interested in a masters in child development. Would this be beneficial for a career in peds? Are there any other options I should look at? Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks.

That masters degree in child development may do you some good if you enter pediatrics. And if you choose to enter our specialty of Behavioral Developmental pediatrics this will help you even more so. Will it spice up your med school applications? I'm pretty sure it will, any sort of post-graduate work is helpful. Good luck and I hope all goes well for you.

 

[mshheaddoc]

bump

 

[kidsdoc]

You will have a great career in general peds or developmental/behavioral peds. There is lack of primary care pediatrician that are trained to take care of children with disability.

In addition, if you want to do a fellowship in developmental peds, your background will be a great advantage.

Good luck

 

[ProZackMI]

Hello. I am currently waiting to hear back about medical school, but am fearing that I wont get in. I have always wanted to work in peds my entire life. I currently work at a school for kids with autism, neurological, behavioral and emotional difficulties and absolutely love it. I am looking at alternatives to help increase my application for the next year. I am interested in a masters in child development. Would this be beneficial for a career in peds? Are there any other options I should look at? Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks.

Not one bit. That a nickel will buy you a piping hot cup of JACK SQUAT. An MPH, PA-C, or MSN/NP might look better toward your med school application, but an MA in child development? Hell no. Child development degrees usually fall under the college of education programs (usually geared for non-teachers) or family ecology programs. A master's degree in child development is not a science-oriented degree; it's an education/social science degree that has little bearing on pediatrics, which is a medical primary care specialty.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but if your goal is to become a physician, and you're looking for a back up plan, here's my advice:

1) Apply to MD and DO schools; many osteo med programs have less rigid admissions standards, but will provide you with an excellent medical education. Check out Lake Erie College of Osteo Med, New England College of Osteo Med, Des Moines University, etc. If you go to the American Osteopathic Medical Association Website (not sure of the URL) and look under education, you will find a link to all the US DO schools. Check them out. Don't apply to MD schools only.

2) If you are rejected from MD and DO schools, consider going the Nurse Practitioner (NP) or Physician Assistant (PA) route. This will entail about 2 years of graduate work + licensure and clinicals. If you go that route and practice a year or so, you could get into a DO program without a problem. Or...just practice as an NP or PA and work in peds.

3) You might also consider pharmacy school (PharmD), dental school (pediatric dentistry), or optometry school. You can still work with kids and be a "doctor". Also, you could get a PhD or PsyD in clinical child psychology and work with a pediatric/adolescent population as a psychologist.

Lots of options. Look into them.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

Not one bit. That a nickel will buy you a piping hot cup of JACK SQUAT. An MPH, PA-C, or MSN/NP might look better toward your med school application, but an MA in child development? Hell no. Child development degrees usually fall under the college of education programs (usually geared for non-teachers) or family ecology programs. A master's degree in child development is not a science-oriented degree; it's an education/social science degree that has little bearing on pediatrics, which is a medical primary care specialty.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but if your goal is to become a physician, and you're looking for a back up plan, here's my advice:

1) Apply to MD and DO schools; many osteo med programs have less rigid admissions standards, but will provide you with an excellent medical education. Check out Lake Erie College of Osteo Med, New England College of Osteo Med, Des Moines University, etc. If you go to the American Osteopathic Medical Association Website (not sure of the URL) and look under education, you will find a link to all the US DO schools. Check them out. Don't apply to MD schools only.

2) If you are rejected from MD and DO schools, consider going the Nurse Practitioner (NP) or Physician Assistant (PA) route. This will entail about 2 years of graduate work + licensure and clinicals. If you go that route and practice a year or so, you could get into a DO program without a problem. Or...just practice as an NP or PA and work in peds.

3) You might also consider pharmacy school (PharmD), dental school (pediatric dentistry), or optometry school. You can still work with kids and be a "doctor". Also, you could get a PhD or PsyD in clinical child psychology and work with a pediatric/adolescent population as a psychologist.

Lots of options. Look into them.

Based on his MD Applicant profile, the OP was accepted to medical school shortly after his initial post. Although there are many routes to a career providing medical care involving children, only medical school (MD or DO) is a route to a career as a pediatrician and I personally would not direct a medical school applicant to an alternate career unless they both wanted that specific career and were certain that they could not have, or no longer wanted a career as a pediatrician. Whereas a masters in child development may or may not be useful for a medical school application (I disagree with your assessment, but am uninteresed in arguing that point), I am in agreement with others who have posted that it would be useful for practicing as a pediatrician. Training in education and social sciences are not irrelevant skills for any pediatrician, even subspecialists.

Regards

OBP

 

[ProZackMI]

Based on his MD Applicant profile, the OP was accepted to medical school shortly after his initial post. Although there are many routes to a career providing medical care involving children, only medical school (MD or DO) is a route to a career as a pediatrician and I personally would not direct a medical school applicant to an alternate career unless they both wanted that specific career and were certain that they could not have, or no longer wanted a career as a pediatrician. Whereas a masters in child development may or may not be useful for a medical school application (I disagree with your assessment, but am uninteresed in arguing that point), I am in agreement with others who have posted that it would be useful for practicing as a pediatrician. Training in education and social sciences are not irrelevant skills for any pediatrician, even subspecialists.

Regards

OBP

I did not read his MD Applicant profile. I read his post, which stated he was waiting a reply. Since the post requested a response without referencing his MD Applicant profile, what's the point in bringing it up? If he's been accepted, then the whole point of this post is moot, isn't it?

However, my response to him addressed his question. Would an MA in child development help him get into med school? The answer is no. Would an MA in child development enhance his practice as a pediatrician? I would think that it would. If you read his post, you would have seen that he was fearful of not getting accepted into med school. I did not discourage him. I provided him with reasonable alternatives to achieve his goal.

If you can't get into MD school directly, then try the DO route. If that doesn't work, maybe an NP or PA wouldn't be a bad career path for someone interested in health care. How is that bad advice? Many people get their heart set on one career path without having explored other options. I tried to give him realistic options in the event he was rejected from medical school.

An MA in child development, however, would not be helpful to getting accepted into medical school. I've known folks with nursing degrees, optometry degrees, and master's degrees in biology or public health who have been rejected from allopathic schools. Why would an MA in child development be helpful to getting accepted into medical school?

An MA in child development would be a nice degree to have for a practicing pediatrician. I agree with that. I would also think a master's degree in social work, counseling, or educational psychology might also be a good degree for a pediatrician to have. That doesn't mean those degrees would be useful in applying to medical school.

 

[redwings54]

Hey guys. Thanks for commenting on my post. Way back when I originally posted it, I was waiting to see if I had been accepted and then in April I was. Now I am on whats called a space available list. Pretty much meaning that since I was accepted late in the cycle, the class is full, but I could get a spot if others give theirs up. If not, then I jsut start next fall. Since I posted, I have been promoted in my job to an associate teacher and I also have received my EMT. I really believe that my job is helping me to become a better physician and a better person overall. Thanks for your suggestions and hopefully they will be helpful to someone in the future.

 

[PublicHealth]

There's a reason why some people do not accepted to medical school, and it's not because they do not have an MA in child development. Bulk up on hard sciences, get your hands dirty doing clinical work, and/or do what ProZack suggested. There are no shortcuts.