PA v MD

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What were your mcat scores? Do u know why u didn't do well? How did you study? Where is your GPA at?

PA and MD are different careers. If you feel you would be more satisfied as a PA then go for it and don't even worry about the MD. Take DO into consideration. If you feel that PA>DO for you then PA>MD for you as well.
 
Starting med school at 24 is no big deal these days. If anything, it's becoming the norm.

I agree that closing off the DO pathway entirely isn't the most wise if your goal is to become a physician. Without starting a flame war it would certainly be preferable to go the MD route, but if that's not feasible (for whatever reason) then DO is your next best bet. You will still be a physician at the end of the day and will still have the option to specialize in a variety of different things. If you decide to retake the MCAT and don't do well again, I'd seriously consider the DO route if you want to be a physician.

PAs and physicians really aren't comparable. They do somewhat similar things in that they study medicine, but as a PA you will never be a truly independent practitioner. If that's your goal, then you will likely be dissatisfied with the PA route. If that isn't important to you and you simply want to be involved in medicine, then save yourself the time and start building the clinical experience necessary to go the PA route. I don't see the point in taking the MCAT a third time.

Based on your post, it sounds like your preference is to be a physician and being a PA is simply a "backup" plan. If that's the case, I would again encourage you to think about the DO route unless you have a really good reason for not going that way.
 
You'd be a physician at the end of the day, regardless of the letters after your name. If the letters after your name are a big enough deal that you'd rather consider a completely different career path then why do you want to be a physician?
 
It's not the letters...yes ok can you comment on the process of being a do v md? As in, do I have to do the same tests?
 
Oh boy. The DO MD thing has been beaten to death. I'm calling the police for dead horse abuse.

I'd say it's absolutely okay for you to do PA if MD is too difficult for you to get. However, don't get snappy with me when I boss you around. However, if you're hot, that may occur way less. But that's all hypothetical, mhm.
 
caffeinemia said:
Oh boy. The DO MD thing has been beaten to death. I'm calling the police for dead horse abuse.

I'd say it's absolutely okay for you to do PA if MD is too difficult for you to get. However, don't get snappy with me when I boss you around. However, if you're hot, that may occur way less. But that's all hypothetical, mhm.
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Or when a DO bosses him around.

Bahahaha.
 
Staying out of the whole DO debate... But just applying to PA school isn't really the easiest thing on earth. Many schools have requirements of over 1000 hours of direct patient contact. Do you have that? Are you prepared or able to get that if you don't already?
 
cafeverona said:
It's not the letters...yes ok can you comment on the process of being a do v md? As in, do I have to do the same tests?
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This topic has been beaten to death as mentioned. Peek around the forum and read the threads that have discussed this topic ad nauseum. The long-short of it is that MDs and DOs are essentially equivalent when in practice but there are some small differences in training - mainly, DOs learn OMM while MDs don't. The actual scientific knowledge is the same, though. DOs can specialize but for a variety of reasons this is generally more difficult compared to the MD route. DOs take different licensing exams (COMLEX vs. the Step exams that MDs take), but DOs interested in going to MD residencies will also take the Step exams in addition to the COMLEX exams. I will leave the rest for you to read up on.
 
cafeverona said:
It's not the letters...yes ok can you comment on the process of being a do v md? As in, do I have to do the same tests?
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It's a couple extra exams USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 2 CS, if you want to match to an ACGME residency. Or you can take the COMLEX exams and go to an AOA residency. Also, AOA and ACGME are merging with a projected timeline of being merged by 2020, so perhaps by the time you match, it won't matter. Not sure what that means for the licensing exams, as last I heard the COMLEX wasn't going anywhere.
 
Ismet said:
It's a couple extra exams USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 2 CS, if you want to match to an ACGME residency. Or you can take the COMLEX exams and go to an AOA residency. Also, AOA and ACGME are merging with a projected timeline of being merged by 2020, so perhaps by the time you match, it won't matter. Not sure what that means for the licensing exams, as last I heard the COMLEX wasn't going anywhere.
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Same ACGME resendencies take comlex.
 
cafeverona said:
Thanks all. Yeah if I go the PA route, I would take a couple years to get those extra requirements. I am just going to keep all my options open and apply to both DO and MD, and if both don't pan out, I'll try the PA route.
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@DopaDO a DO matched into a competitive ACGME surgical sub specialty. DOs arent boxed into primary care. 30 years ago they were. It isn't true anymore.
 
Don't feed this troll. Not even a good attempt.
 
cafeverona said:
I don't have anything against DOs but I feel like if I take the same exams as MDs do, then I would rather just go the MD route. DOs take their own form of boards but they also take the allopathic boards if they're looking to go to MD residencies. I'm wary about going down a career path that requires the same amount of testing as another career path, but carries less prestige. PA is a completely different path, and that's why I'm comparing them.
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When you're asking the guy in the office next to you to sign a prescription you can't fill yourself who drives an Audi R8, you might have a small amount of regret choosing PA over DO with the mentality I see in this post.

Your logic isn't ignorant like a lot of people who discount DO and does have a valid point, but I still think you'd be happier going DO over PA.
 
cafeverona said:
I don't have anything against DOs but I feel like if I take the same exams as MDs do, then I would rather just go the MD route. DOs take their own form of boards but they also take the allopathic boards if they're looking to go to MD residencies. I'm wary about going down a career path that requires the same amount of testing as another career path, but carries less prestige. PA is a completely different path, and that's why I'm comparing them.
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cafeverona said:
Oh I also want to add that PAs are ore often found with specialties, and I'm not very interested in becoming a primary care doc. I know that a lot of DOs are encouraged to go that route
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I don't know where to even with all of this. Please, just go PA, you'd have a huge chip on your shoulder your whole life if you went DO anyway.
 
not being open to DO shows you're not serious about becoming a physician. you do realize that not only are DOs doctors, but that they make more money and command vastly more respect than PAs?

it's hard to give you good advice since you haven't shared your GPA or MCAT scores, but it's possible you're going to need to do significantly better on the next MCAT if you're still holding onto hope for MD, since many schools average multiple MCATs. best of luck
 
cafeverona said:
Sorry for my lack of knowledge in this area, but can you expand on the acronyms? I know USMLE and COMLEX, but what are the rest?
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ACGME = Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
AOA = American Osteopathic Association (DO only)

Accrediting bodies for residency programs.

Both DOs and MDs can apply to ACGME residency programs. Only DOs can apply to AOA programs. However with the merger by 2020, this will no longer be divided.
 
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Vain Brother said:
not being open to DO shows you're not serious about becoming a physician. you do realize that not only are DOs doctors, but that they make more money and command vastly more respect than PAs?
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Really? Here I am thinking that going into healthcare is about helping others but apparently its about commanding more respect than other healthcare providers. Newsflash: DOs do NOT "command" more respect than any other provider. Be nice, knowledgable, courteous, and professional and you will garner respect from others. Also, healthcare is about providing the best care to the patients, this is a collaborative team effort that involves a magnitude of people from nurses, PAs, NPs, CNAs, RT, etc, not just physicians.
 
What kind of work do you think you'll be doing as a PA in a specialists office?
 
Please go shadow and work more with MDs, DOs, and PAs. See first hand what the day (and night) in the life is like. Figure out if it is something you want to do. I would go eat a piece of humble pie at some point no matter what you decide to do. Prestige has very little to do with your day to day professional life.
 
I'm a 32 year old DO student finishing up my third year in pursuit of surgery. My wife is a PA working for a DO. And this thread is absolutely ridiculous.
 
hobbes23 said:
Please go shadow and work more with MDs, DOs, and PAs. See first hand what the day (and night) in the life is like. Figure out if it is something you want to do. I would go eat a piece of humble pie at some point no matter what you decide to do. Prestige has very little to do with your day to day professional life.
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I have shadowed multiple MDs, but yes, I do need to shadow DOs and PAs.
 
I'll give OP the benefit of the doubt and assume he's genuinely uninformed and not trolling. That said, here's a simple suggestion: look into what being a DO actually implies and research what the state of affairs will be like post 2020. Times are changing and the DO stigma is largely becoming a thing of the past as more and more prestigious ACGME programs take DOs each year. The polarization between the two professions is definitely a thing of the past. Only a few militant members remain on either side and they'll be replaced with new grads who couldn't give a crap within a span of 2o years. Don't let your ignorance stand in the way of your dream of becoming a doctor.

On the other hand, PAs don't have it all that bad if that's what you actually want to do.
 
zero0 said:
I'll give OP the benefit of the doubt and assume he's genuinely uninformed and not trolling. That said, here's a simple suggestion: look into what being a DO actually implies and research what the state of affairs will be like post 2020. Times are changing and the DO stigma is largely becoming a thing of the past as more and more prestigious ACGME programs take DOs each year. The polarization between the two professions is definitely a thing of the past. Only a few militant members remain on either side and they'll be replaced with new grads who couldn't give a crap within a span of 2o years. Don't let your ignorance stand in the way of your dream of becoming a doctor.

On the other hand, PAs don't have it all that bad if that's what you actually want to do.
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Thank you for this information! Yes, I'm very uninformed about the DO path, so I do apologize if any of my questions sounded troll-ish. This information is really helping me out, so thank you all.
 
IAhawkeye said:
Really? Here I am thinking that going into healthcare is about helping others but apparently its about commanding more respect than other healthcare providers. Newsflash: DOs do NOT "command" more respect than any other provider. Be nice, knowledgable, courteous, and professional and you will garner respect from others. Also, healthcare is about providing the best care to the patients, this is a collaborative team effort that involves a magnitude of people from nurses, PAs, NPs, CNAs, RT, etc, not just physicians.
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no believe me i get that, i was just trying to counter the anti-DO attitude which tends to come from people worried about status. nothing against PAs here

as someone who is already a health care professional i really appreciated being educated on workplace dynamics by an undergrad though, keep up the great work kiddo
 
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