Med school vs. PA school...

[DermViser]

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I still don't get why physicians have to take the rap... If it is so, there is no way I would hire a NP if /when I become a physician assuming that I got my own practice. They are working under their license, so why physicians have to take the fall when they screw up?

Not all states have NPs as independent practitioners.

 

[DermViser]

Derailing the thread for one sec, had to share

Patient x - 250 lbs, 5'8,

x - "doc do you think its a good idea driving down to DC next weekend with the family?"

me - "what do you mean?"

x - "with the ebola out break down there and everything?"

.....

he's one candy bar away from being diabetic and he's worried about ebola haha, oh man i love patients.

And now you know why Primary Care docs are so frustrated. They can't counsel their morbidly obese patient to lose weight bc of "fat shaming" (as it's now called) even though that's the cause of all their medical problems. That's the problem with healthcare reform to decrease costs - there is no personal responsibility or punishment for not doing what your doctor tells you but you're penalized for it and insurance companies can't increase their premiums solely based on their health status as it's "discrimination". I guess now we know what teachers feel like.

 

[Mass Effect]

We are not living in a perfect world here. At the end of the day some people have to be honest with themselves; If you had to remediate multiple times in med school and you got 200 in step1, you gotta be somewhat realistic that primary care and psych might be the only specialties available to you...

Do you really think it's that easy to just match or scramble into psych and IM? As I said, ask the people looking for off-cycle spots right now, at least two of whom I know who tried to match into psych (US grads) and didn't get a spot. Board scores are still important, even in psych. Those with the lower scores have a lot of other things going for them and that's why they match. But don't expect to have nothing else to make up for a 198 USMLE and think you're going to sail into a primary care or psych field (when there's an IMG from the big four with a 240 and research in the field) just because you're a U.S. grad. The match is going to continue to get more and more competitive, even for U.S. grads because both US MD and US DO schools are expanding and DOs will soon not have the cushion of applying for their own residencies.

 

[Apoplexy__]

Lmao bro, it's not the same. They get it all watered down. I've been a mentor of sorts for a PA student throughout her education (good friend of mine), and I know for a fact that they're not taught anywhere near the detail that we're taught. And that's perfectly fine. She's going to be an excellent PA doing PA duties.

There were PA students on one rotation with me actually. An attending pimped me on NSAIDs effect on Cr, and I went through all the bs that everyone who takes step 1 knows about PGs and the afferent arteriole, and the PA students thought I was a god or something. One of them even wanted to make out with me because of that, and we did.

I rotated with some PA students this month. Their PA and them kept trying to pimp me on stuff that I knew cold.

I know it was just the difference in our education, and I told them that, but that didn't stop the students from thinking I was some kind of genius. I was a god to them.

A GOD, YOU HEAR

 

[W19]

Do you really think it's that easy to just match or scramble into psych and IM? As I said, ask the people looking for off-cycle spots right now, at least two of whom I know who tried to match into psych (US grads) and didn't get a spot. Board scores are still important, even in psych. Those with the lower scores have a lot of other things going for them and that's why they match. But don't expect to have nothing else to make up for a 198 USMLE and think you're going to sail into a primary care or psych field (when there's an IMG from the big four with a 240 and research in the field) just because you're a U.S. grad. The match is going to continue to get more and more competitive, even for U.S. grads because both US MD and US DO schools are expanding and DOs will soon not have the cushion of applying for their own residencies.

The odds are better in primary care or psych and that was all I was saying... Nothing against these specialties since I am interested in IM... Did you look the last charting the outcomes.. You should not be butt hurt about that... If you get 200 in step1, your chances are better to match into IM/FM/Psych than Ortho etc... This is not up for debate.

 

[Mass Effect]

The odds are better in primary care or psych and that was all I was saying... Nothing against these specialties since I am interested in IM... Did you look the last charting the outcomes.. You should not be butt hurt about that... If you get 200 in step1, your chances are better to match into IM/FM/Psych than Ortho etc... This is not up for debate.

No one is "butt hurt" (can't wait until that phrase stops being "trendy." So juvenile). I was stating a fact as well and that is that Step 1 matters for your future, plain and simple. It isn't as easy as just saying that once you're in med school, all your problems are over because you will likely graduate. The fact of the matter is, for many people, settling for a specialty that you have no interest in is worse than not becoming a doctor. And for some unlucky folks, even a US medical degree doesn't guarantee admission into residency, even in fields like IM/FM/Psych. That is also not up for debate and that was my point and it was in direct response to your claim that if you graduate from a U.S. school, you will find a residency.

 

[W19]

No one is "butt hurt" (can't wait until that phrase stops being "trendy." So juvenile). I was stating a fact as well and that is that Step 1 matters for your future, plain and simple. It isn't as easy as just saying that once you're in med school, all your problems are over because you will likely graduate. The fact of the matter is, for many people, settling for a specialty that you have no interest in is worse than not becoming a doctor. And for some unlucky folks, even a US medical degree doesn't guarantee admission into residency, even in fields like IM/FM/Psych. That is also not up for debate and that was my point and it was in direct response to your claim that if you graduate from a U.S. school, you will find a residency.

I was not saying that once one gets into med school that they shouldn't work hard to become the best physician they can be... I certainly am working hard to get 250+ in step1 even if I know I want to do IM... I think someone said getting into med school is the biggest hurdle in that whole process, which I and other posters happen to agree with... If the graduation rate is 95%+, I am not advising someone to sit on his [ ] and do nothing, but the odds are in their favor. Of course nothing is 100% guaranteed! I happen to agree with your assessment... so I guess we were coming from different angles.