Hey all, I just graduated from undergrad in the spring and after some soul searching, I've found that I'm drawn much more to the patient care side of science, as opposed to the research side. Right now, I'm in a dilemma because I can't seem to choose between med school or PT school. At first, I was gung-ho on med school, but all of the unhappiness I've been hearing about within the primary care ranks has been scaring me a bit (that's what I think I'd go into, I know we can't know for sure yet but I'd really like to be a generalist and to be able to spend more time with patients...not to mention building a relationship with families). I also would prefer a lower-stress career, which turns me off completely from emergency medicine.
In addition, PT seems like a great alternative in many respects. Less debt, lots of hands-on time with patients (which is what I really want), and there's much more of a chance to build relationships with your patients, rather than seeing them for a session and not seeing them again for a long time, if ever. I like that PTs are (and have to be) more flexible with schedules, and don't seem quite as consumed with their work as many physicians are. That said, I don't want to feel like I'm 'settling' by not going for the DO (I'd rather be a DO than MD because of their approach to medicine). I also really don't want to go through med school, only to come out of it and realize that I put myself through it all and I would've been happier as a PT the whole time.
Sorry if this is a jumbled mess in places, I'm just trying to explain as much of my rationale as possible. It's a really tough choice for me. Have any of you ever considered MD? What drew you more to PT? I've just begun shadowing. I've done a PT shadow so far and I really liked that. I'm hoping that clears things up a little more for me.
In addition, PT seems like a great alternative in many respects. Less debt, lots of hands-on time with patients (which is what I really want), and there's much more of a chance to build relationships with your patients, rather than seeing them for a session and not seeing them again for a long time, if ever. I like that PTs are (and have to be) more flexible with schedules, and don't seem quite as consumed with their work as many physicians are. That said, I don't want to feel like I'm 'settling' by not going for the DO (I'd rather be a DO than MD because of their approach to medicine). I also really don't want to go through med school, only to come out of it and realize that I put myself through it all and I would've been happier as a PT the whole time.
Sorry if this is a jumbled mess in places, I'm just trying to explain as much of my rationale as possible. It's a really tough choice for me. Have any of you ever considered MD? What drew you more to PT? I've just begun shadowing. I've done a PT shadow so far and I really liked that. I'm hoping that clears things up a little more for me.