MD or PA

Started by sdelucia
BU Medical Sciences
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sdelucia

Full Member
7+ Year Member
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For the longest time (I'm talking my whole life) I've wanted to become a surgeon. Recently, through shadowing and research, I have narrowed it down to plastics. However, this semester was one of the toughest I ever had. I had to over come a lot of obstacles and ultimately I came up short. I've started to question what I'm doing it all for. I'm starting to try to decide if the MD life is really what I want. I know I would love being a plastic surgeon but do I really want to do another four years of this and put my relationships and life at risk? I've never ever questioned this and never ever thought I'd be okay being a PA (i always felt like i'd struggle with the fact that there was someone above me who had more schooling and knowledge) but I'm starting to wonder if that route is more suited for me. I was looking for some pros and cons to both. I'm also not sure if this is just me doubting myself because of a lousy semester. Either way I'd like to know more about the life of a PA compared to an MD. Money, time, family life, all of it. I would really appreciate any help, I really need it. Thank you!
 
sdelucia said:
For the longest time (I'm talking my whole life) I've wanted to become a surgeon. Recently, through shadowing and research, I have narrowed it down to plastics. However, this semester was one of the toughest I ever had. I had to over come a lot of obstacles and ultimately I came up short. I've started to question what I'm doing it all for. I'm starting to try to decide if the MD life is really what I want. I know I would love being a plastic surgeon but do I really want to do another four years of this and put my relationships and life at risk? I've never ever questioned this and never ever thought I'd be okay being a PA (i always felt like i'd struggle with the fact that there was someone above me who had more schooling and knowledge) but I'm starting to wonder if that route is more suited for me. I was looking for some pros and cons to both. I'm also not sure if this is just me doubting myself because of a lousy semester. Either way I'd like to know more about the life of a PA compared to an MD. Money, time, family life, all of it. I would really appreciate any help, I really need it. Thank you!
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MD.


But honestly, that's what everyone here is going to tell you. It's SDN, not SPAN.
 
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sdelucia said:
For the longest time (I'm talking my whole life) I've wanted to become a surgeon. Recently, through shadowing and research, I have narrowed it down to plastics. However, this semester was one of the toughest I ever had. I had to over come a lot of obstacles and ultimately I came up short. I've started to question what I'm doing it all for. I'm starting to try to decide if the MD life is really what I want. I know I would love being a plastic surgeon but do I really want to do another four years of this and put my relationships and life at risk? I've never ever questioned this and never ever thought I'd be okay being a PA (i always felt like i'd struggle with the fact that there was someone above me who had more schooling and knowledge) but I'm starting to wonder if that route is more suited for me. I was looking for some pros and cons to both. I'm also not sure if this is just me doubting myself because of a lousy semester. Either way I'd like to know more about the life of a PA compared to an MD. Money, time, family life, all of it. I would really appreciate any help, I really need it. Thank you!
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You're getting ahead of yourself. You haven't even gotten into medical school.

I would suggest you go the PA pathway. Honestly, the life of surgery is not compatible with what you want in terms of life outside medicine. We're talking 4 years medicine + 5 years general surgery + 3 years plastics (unless you're lucky to do a 6 years integrated plastics). PA on the other hand you do 2 years and then you can start working in plastics and see if it interests you. If not, you can always move on.
 
Shadow both then decide. Experienced PA who have carved out a niche can teach medical students, residents, and even attendings. PAs can have a surprisingly large scope of practice (more-so for non-surgical sub-specialities) without the insanely long training associated with MD/DO. My suggestion would be to think hard about what a MD/DO degree offers you personally beyond a PA degree and whether this would be worth the sacrifices to your relationships and hobbies. For a lot of people, the PA path actually makes a lot more sense.

My other suggestion (to echo other people above) is to keep an open mind about medicine. Many people change their mind about their choice of subspecialty during medical school. Good luck!
 
One mediocre semester and you're contemplating forfeiting the idea of becoming a physician? Do you know how many times you'll get asked to "explain a time you've had to overcome adversity in life" on your secondaries and in your interviews for medical school?

C'mon now OP. -_-

That being said, if you are reluctant to face adversity (e.g. four years of medical school), maybe the PA route may be better for you. :whistle:
 
I would go for MD OP, you can be like Dr.Rey
Dr-Robert-Rey.jpg
 
failure is a huge learning experience along this journey, regardless of whether you choose MD/DO or PA.

doubts are also normal. but you also might be overthinking it. focus on doing well from here on out, gain more clinical exposure, and keep your options open. don't make decisions out of fear of failure; the courage to try is more important than success.
 
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