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[onstar]

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how many people go to nursing school or PA school before med school? is that a possiblity

 

[Dr JPH]

If you are talking about using one of these as a "stepping stone" its really not a good idea. You will be learning and training to fulfill one role in the healthcare team.

 

[ilovestewie]

plenty of people do it but i can speak from experience and say... you wont be happy if you want to be a doctor and spend (waste) your time doing something else. PA school would be a better option because you are at least learning to practice medicine. Also, i dont know why you group these two together? PA school is generally as difficult to get into as med school, generally requires a bachelor degree, requires at least 1,000 hours of prior healthcare experience, and is totally different than nursing. Nursing is generally an associates or bachelors, is not quite as competetive and they dont learn much, if anything, about practicing medicine. I have plenty of friends who are nurses or RN students and they are all surprised at how little medical knowledge they get from school.

besides the point, go to medical school.

PA-Student

 

[Raven Feather]

plenty of people do it but i can speak from experience and say... you wont be happy if you want to be a doctor and spend (waste) your time doing something else. PA school would be a better option because you are at least learning to practice medicine. Also, i dont know why you group these two together? PA school is generally as difficult to get into as med school, generally requires a bachelor degree, requires at least 1,000 hours of prior healthcare experience, and is totally different than nursing. Nursing is generally an associates or bachelors, is not quite as competetive and they dont learn much, if anything, about practicing medicine. I have plenty of friends who are nurses or RN students and they are all surprised at how little medical knowledge they get from school.
besides the point, go to medical school.

PA-Student

Not sure that I quite agree. They DO learn the pathophysiology of disease (thus signs and symptoms of disease and impending complications), pharmacology, etc. As far as clinical experience, you get to see things happening first hand, participate in codes--even run it if you are ACLS. Now, I'm sure this does not compare to the in-depth knowledge of a medical education (DO/MD)--can't comment about PAs as I have zero knowledge of their education. Most of the nurses I talk with are not suprised of their medical knowledge as they know they weren't trained to be physicians. Just wanted to give a perspective as a RN soon to start med school.

To the OP:

I would choose getting an associate's degree in nursing over PA school. It is waaaay less expensive, and although you are not practicing medicine, you will make good money, and see medicine being practiced and will be involved in the delivery of medical care. You could test the water with an associates and work for more money if you choose continuing into a bachelor's program.

 

[onstar]

plenty of people do it but i can speak from experience and say... you wont be happy if you want to be a doctor and spend (waste) your time doing something else. PA school would be a better option because you are at least learning to practice medicine. Also, i dont know why you group these two together? PA school is generally as difficult to get into as med school, generally requires a bachelor degree, requires at least 1,000 hours of prior healthcare experience, and is totally different than nursing. Nursing is generally an associates or bachelors, is not quite as competetive and they dont learn much, if anything, about practicing medicine. I have plenty of friends who are nurses or RN students and they are all surprised at how little medical knowledge they get from school.

besides the point, go to medical school.

PA-Student

I wasnt trying to use PA as a stepping stone. I know an RN andthats going to med school and her reasoning was that she couldnt get into med school in her first try. Becoming an RN gave her a job, paid bills and retake her pre-med classes.

but my situation is bit complex. I started out a computer-science major. I took some pre-med classes like Fiziks and Chemistry freshamn year but without the labs (i need to take these classes becasue it was part of the comp-sci track). Some where in between my college year i lost interest in computer sci and majored in history. I thought i would end up being a politican or lawyer.....go figure. After graduation i became disillusioned again and decided to give med school a try.

Im 24 y/o but debt free. I still live at home, i have no job and my parents nagging. Im not sure if i want to be a doctor anymore. I heard PAs make good money and have great hours. If i become a PA, i just hope its not the wrong carrer chioce 10 years down the road. But if i invest all that time and money there is no garuntees.



and this board should have a spell check option

 

[onstar]

and btw, im a guy. think about it. im an assistant. one stpe up from a nurse

 

[HunterGatherer]

and btw, im a guy. think about it. im an assistant. one stpe up from a nurse

Shadow some PAs and some doctors to hlep make your decision. Not sure what the above comment means. and yes, spell check would be nice. 🙂

 

[cee]

Im 24 y/o but debt free. I still live at home, i have no job and my parents nagging.

ha, welcome to my world.. just got done with prereqs and am applying this summer... looks like none of us are getting laid any time soon

anyways, if you DID want to do PA school or do nursing "in the mean time", you could be spending those years improving your stats.. as much as experience is vital, i think its just a numbers game more than anything..

as pathetic as it sounds, i've accepted the fact that i am willing to live at home [not get laid] and "make a career" out of being a premed trying to get into med school.. i.e.- make a career out of retaking classes/retaking the mcat. especially after working in the real world after college, i've come to realize that your career is something you'll be doing THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.. your career is too long to pick something that you're only 99% content with.. good luck in whatever you do

 

[OSUdoc08]

how many people go to nursing school or PA school before med school? is that a possiblity

We have people in my school or who have attended my school that are DC's, PA's, PT's, EMT's, Paramedics, RN's, LPN's, CNA's, and more....

 

[OSUdoc08]

I wasnt trying to use PA as a stepping stone. I know an RN andthats going to med school and her reasoning was that she couldnt get into med school in her first try. Becoming an RN gave her a job, paid bills and retake her pre-med classes.

but my situation is bit complex. I started out a computer-science major. I took some pre-med classes like Fiziks and Chemistry freshamn year but without the labs (i need to take these classes becasue it was part of the comp-sci track). Some where in between my college year i lost interest in computer sci and majored in history. I thought i would end up being a politican or lawyer.....go figure. After graduation i became disillusioned again and decided to give med school a try.

Im 24 y/o but debt free. I still live at home, i have no job and my parents nagging. Im not sure if i want to be a doctor anymore. I heard PAs make good money and have great hours. If i become a PA, i just hope its not the wrong carrer chioce 10 years down the road. But if i invest all that time and money there is no garuntees.



and this board should have a spell check option

Getting a PA would not be a good idea as a stepping stone. It would be an utter waste of time. If you want to get some medical experience, become a paramedic. You can work through college and medical school.

Start out by becoming certified as an EMT. You can get your through paramedic school paid for by the company you work for. You can even go through paramedic school in night school while you are in undergrad (I did this.)

You may also become a nurse, which is very doable to continue onto medical school, as you would be earning a bachelor's degree anyway.

Getting a PA is a master's degree, and that would be an unneccessary extra step and cost.

 

[MoxieDO]

and this board should have a spell check option

agreed.

 

[natureboy503]

why would you?

 

[Dr Trek 1]

I just wanted to say that I know of a school that has a bachelor-level PA program, so I guess it is possible.

Also, someone said before that PA school and med school were equally as difficult to gain admission to. This has been argued on other PA threads, and it is generally not the case.