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I need guidance from experienced health care workers and students to make a decision regarding my medical education. I know this post may be long but I wanted to give you as much background as possible. Thank you for all your help!!!
I am going to be 27 in a couple months. I have always wanted to go into health care. Currently, I am a clinical/protocol research coordinator at the National Institutes of Health/ National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. I graduated in 2007 with a degree in Biochemistry and a minor in Psychology. My GPA was 3.
78 and I am sure that my Science GPA is higher or about the same.
Medicine, health and research have always been where it is at for me. I am really interested in public health, community-based work/research, health outreach/education programs, working with the underserved, pharmacology, genetics, mental health, etc.
My original plan was to go to medical school and also get a masters in public health. In 2007, I did not do very well on the MCATs. I scored a 22M and I did put a lot of time into studying for it (although I will be honest and say life distracted me from it). I took the Kaplan course twice. I planned to restudy for it using the Exam Krackers books but life, second guessing, self-doubt and other interests got in the way. Now it is 5 years later and I want to go back to school graduate and/or medical. I realize that there is not much I can do with just a Bachelor in Science and I want to be able to work as a clinician.
Now my question is: Do I still pursue medical school to be a DO/MD or do I pursue becoming a NP or a PA? I would have to retake the MCATs so if I do well on the MCATs I would enter in the fall of 2014 and graduate in 2018. I will be 32 by that time and then I will have to do residency and potentially an extra year because I am really interested in public health and I really want to have that background (so possibly 33). I would do this but I am uncertain about scoring well on the MCATs since it has been 5 years since I have graduated and the length of the program. I would like to get married and have some children in the near future (before I am 35). I am currently in a promising relationship.
I have been looking into applying to PA programs because they are only 2 years. I do not have the clinical experience that they require. It is hard to attain while working a full-time job. I would love to get a job where I can get the clinical hours but I lack the training or experience. Some schools said that they would accept my clinical experience from the clinical research that I do but that was not the case for many schools. Plus, I would like to do the PA/MPH but there are not many of them. I studied and took the GREs and I got in the 70%. Not stellar but it seemed to be in range with a lot of the programs that I was applying to. I am not sure if I would score better if I tried again but if necessary I can and will retake them.
I was considering PA over NP because they are trained with the physician model and from what I have heard they learn more about the science. I really enjoy learning about science and research and knowing everything. In addition, NPs have to specialize and I like that PAs have more flexibility/lateral movement. Thus, I think being a PA would be a good fit for me in that respect. However, I keep on hearing that NPs are more autonomous.
Eventually, I want to be able to work as a primary care clinician and work with the underserved. I also want to teach, do research, and potentially work with/lead organizations to improve underserved communities health. Can I do all of this as an NP or PA?
I keep on hearing about how NPs and PAs are the solution to the primary care clinician workforce especially working with underserved populations. (However, this does not completely make sense to me as PAs are supposed to have the supervision of a Physician and lack of Physicians in primary care should equal lack of PA. Am I correct?) In addition, there was an article posted about how (for females) investing in medical school was not cost effective because they would make as much by being a PA http://faculty.som.yale.edu/keithchen/papers/GenderNPV_WorkingPaper.pdf
I really would like to start school as soon as possible. I have missed many deadlines for PA school applications (although I may still try for some others). I intend to make this year all about preparing for applications and making myself a competitive applicant if I do not get into a desired program. But I would really like to hear advice from experienced individuals in health care. What would be the best career/degree for me? What would be the best preparation for me to become a clinician and public health researcher, educator, and leader (taking into account my situation)? In addition, how can I best make myself a competitive applicant this year, etc.?
Thank you so much for all your help and support!!!
Best,
Verónica
I am going to be 27 in a couple months. I have always wanted to go into health care. Currently, I am a clinical/protocol research coordinator at the National Institutes of Health/ National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. I graduated in 2007 with a degree in Biochemistry and a minor in Psychology. My GPA was 3.
78 and I am sure that my Science GPA is higher or about the same. Medicine, health and research have always been where it is at for me. I am really interested in public health, community-based work/research, health outreach/education programs, working with the underserved, pharmacology, genetics, mental health, etc.
My original plan was to go to medical school and also get a masters in public health. In 2007, I did not do very well on the MCATs. I scored a 22M and I did put a lot of time into studying for it (although I will be honest and say life distracted me from it). I took the Kaplan course twice. I planned to restudy for it using the Exam Krackers books but life, second guessing, self-doubt and other interests got in the way. Now it is 5 years later and I want to go back to school graduate and/or medical. I realize that there is not much I can do with just a Bachelor in Science and I want to be able to work as a clinician.
Now my question is: Do I still pursue medical school to be a DO/MD or do I pursue becoming a NP or a PA? I would have to retake the MCATs so if I do well on the MCATs I would enter in the fall of 2014 and graduate in 2018. I will be 32 by that time and then I will have to do residency and potentially an extra year because I am really interested in public health and I really want to have that background (so possibly 33). I would do this but I am uncertain about scoring well on the MCATs since it has been 5 years since I have graduated and the length of the program. I would like to get married and have some children in the near future (before I am 35). I am currently in a promising relationship.
I have been looking into applying to PA programs because they are only 2 years. I do not have the clinical experience that they require. It is hard to attain while working a full-time job. I would love to get a job where I can get the clinical hours but I lack the training or experience. Some schools said that they would accept my clinical experience from the clinical research that I do but that was not the case for many schools. Plus, I would like to do the PA/MPH but there are not many of them. I studied and took the GREs and I got in the 70%. Not stellar but it seemed to be in range with a lot of the programs that I was applying to. I am not sure if I would score better if I tried again but if necessary I can and will retake them.
I was considering PA over NP because they are trained with the physician model and from what I have heard they learn more about the science. I really enjoy learning about science and research and knowing everything. In addition, NPs have to specialize and I like that PAs have more flexibility/lateral movement. Thus, I think being a PA would be a good fit for me in that respect. However, I keep on hearing that NPs are more autonomous.
Eventually, I want to be able to work as a primary care clinician and work with the underserved. I also want to teach, do research, and potentially work with/lead organizations to improve underserved communities health. Can I do all of this as an NP or PA?
I keep on hearing about how NPs and PAs are the solution to the primary care clinician workforce especially working with underserved populations. (However, this does not completely make sense to me as PAs are supposed to have the supervision of a Physician and lack of Physicians in primary care should equal lack of PA. Am I correct?) In addition, there was an article posted about how (for females) investing in medical school was not cost effective because they would make as much by being a PA http://faculty.som.yale.edu/keithchen/papers/GenderNPV_WorkingPaper.pdf
I really would like to start school as soon as possible. I have missed many deadlines for PA school applications (although I may still try for some others). I intend to make this year all about preparing for applications and making myself a competitive applicant if I do not get into a desired program. But I would really like to hear advice from experienced individuals in health care. What would be the best career/degree for me? What would be the best preparation for me to become a clinician and public health researcher, educator, and leader (taking into account my situation)? In addition, how can I best make myself a competitive applicant this year, etc.?
Thank you so much for all your help and support!!!
Best,
Verónica
