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Hello all! First post on here after reading the forums for a few months, and wanted to look for some advice.
I am 25 years old, and I am a Medical Technologist. I gained my Bachelors degree in Medical Laboratory Science a couple of years ago, and I have been working as a Medical Technologist at a fairly busy hospital since then. I've always wanted to do whatever I can to help people to the best of my abilities, and I've felt that I can always do even more to help, which is one reason why I went into MLS to begin with. Initially, I was interested in nursing, but I found that I was much more attracted to learning and treating diseases and injury, monitoring progression of health, and things of the like. I felt that MLS would be a great starting point to fulfill those desires, and I am very happy with the major I chose in undergrad. That being said, I have had a feeling that I can do more to help people, and thus, I've come to this dilemma.
My brother is an Interventional Radiologist, and absolutely loves his job. When I first started college, however, he stated that if he had to do it over again, he'd likely go into nursing, because it would have been much less of a financial burden, and he would have been able to start working much sooner. That has changed over the years, and, while he still hates the financial burden he gained during medical school, he absolutely loves doing what he does, and has given me inspiration to further my education within the medical field.
My grades in undergrad were good. Not great by any means, but they were good. While I did struggle a bit early on in college (Many life issues were going on at that time, and it was just a rough time), I did excel the further along I went, to the point of having at least a 3.3-4.0 my last few years of undergrad. At the same time, I would still have to take a few courses that were not required for MLS school, such as organic chemistry (It wasn't a pre-requisite for my program, surprisingly), physics, and biochemistry, so it could possibly elevate my GPA from where it is now (~3.30 overall, ~3.40 science GPA) slightly higher. I also know that I would have to take the MCAT/GRE as well, once I finish the remainder of my courses.
As far as shadowing experience goes, I did get a chance to shadow a few doctors, from my old primary care physician back home, to my brother, and even an emergency medicine doctor that I'd met during my clinical rotations. I found that I really enjoyed what the Emergency Medicine doctors did, and it's something I could honestly see myself doing. Once I started working, I gained my first true experience with a Physician's Assistant. I'd heard of the field before, but never did much research on the field until I started working. He is both a Physicians Assistant as well as a specialized Pathology Assistant, and has given me the opportunity to shadow him, since he and I have talked a bit in the 2 years I've been working within the lab, and have grown a good friendship between myself, him, and his fiance, who is his leading pathologist.
Now... I know that Physicians Assistants are generally 24-27 month programs, and PAs do a lot of the same work as the physicians that supervise them, just not nearly as... In depth, per say. My question, though, is, should I be putting more thought into going to medical school, or would that be dreaming too large, and Physicians Assistant should be the primary focus? I know it might be a bit biased asking this in the Pre-Med forum, but I figured it was worth a shot to hear all of your opinions on the matter. All feedback is welcomed, and any helpful advice would be amazing. Thank y'all so much! 🙂
I am 25 years old, and I am a Medical Technologist. I gained my Bachelors degree in Medical Laboratory Science a couple of years ago, and I have been working as a Medical Technologist at a fairly busy hospital since then. I've always wanted to do whatever I can to help people to the best of my abilities, and I've felt that I can always do even more to help, which is one reason why I went into MLS to begin with. Initially, I was interested in nursing, but I found that I was much more attracted to learning and treating diseases and injury, monitoring progression of health, and things of the like. I felt that MLS would be a great starting point to fulfill those desires, and I am very happy with the major I chose in undergrad. That being said, I have had a feeling that I can do more to help people, and thus, I've come to this dilemma.
My brother is an Interventional Radiologist, and absolutely loves his job. When I first started college, however, he stated that if he had to do it over again, he'd likely go into nursing, because it would have been much less of a financial burden, and he would have been able to start working much sooner. That has changed over the years, and, while he still hates the financial burden he gained during medical school, he absolutely loves doing what he does, and has given me inspiration to further my education within the medical field.
My grades in undergrad were good. Not great by any means, but they were good. While I did struggle a bit early on in college (Many life issues were going on at that time, and it was just a rough time), I did excel the further along I went, to the point of having at least a 3.3-4.0 my last few years of undergrad. At the same time, I would still have to take a few courses that were not required for MLS school, such as organic chemistry (It wasn't a pre-requisite for my program, surprisingly), physics, and biochemistry, so it could possibly elevate my GPA from where it is now (~3.30 overall, ~3.40 science GPA) slightly higher. I also know that I would have to take the MCAT/GRE as well, once I finish the remainder of my courses.
As far as shadowing experience goes, I did get a chance to shadow a few doctors, from my old primary care physician back home, to my brother, and even an emergency medicine doctor that I'd met during my clinical rotations. I found that I really enjoyed what the Emergency Medicine doctors did, and it's something I could honestly see myself doing. Once I started working, I gained my first true experience with a Physician's Assistant. I'd heard of the field before, but never did much research on the field until I started working. He is both a Physicians Assistant as well as a specialized Pathology Assistant, and has given me the opportunity to shadow him, since he and I have talked a bit in the 2 years I've been working within the lab, and have grown a good friendship between myself, him, and his fiance, who is his leading pathologist.
Now... I know that Physicians Assistants are generally 24-27 month programs, and PAs do a lot of the same work as the physicians that supervise them, just not nearly as... In depth, per say. My question, though, is, should I be putting more thought into going to medical school, or would that be dreaming too large, and Physicians Assistant should be the primary focus? I know it might be a bit biased asking this in the Pre-Med forum, but I figured it was worth a shot to hear all of your opinions on the matter. All feedback is welcomed, and any helpful advice would be amazing. Thank y'all so much! 🙂
