PA vs. NP vs. MD/DO

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MedGrl@2022

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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 master's 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 ASAP. 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 PAs. 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 :)

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Last edited:
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 master’s 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 ASAP. 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 PAs. 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 :)

Hey Veronica
Based on your post I would say go to medical school. I am a PA now med student and I can tell you the sciences are night and day if that is what you like

Questions for you:
1.)are you urm?
2.) would you be willing to move wherever(nhsc will defray medical school cost if so)
3.)did you apply to md/do or just md?
4.)did you apply to newer schools with your stats?(your mcat is not great but you can get in somewhere)

Pm me with focused questions and I can answer them would type more but on gen surgery rotation
 
Hey Veronica
Based on your post I would say go to medical school. I am a PA now med student and I can tell you the sciences are night and day if that is what you like

Questions for you:
1.)are you urm?
2.) would you be willing to move wherever(nhsc will defray medical school cost if so)
3.)did you apply to md/do or just md?
4.)did you apply to newer schools with your stats?(your mcat is not great but you can get in somewhere)

Pm me with focused questions and I can answer them would type more but on gen surgery rotation

1) I consider myself to be Puerto Rican. I grew up in Connecticut and English was my first language. I am proficient but not fluent in Spanish. I understand a lot but my speaking is not perfect. My parents were both born and raised in PR and moved to Connecticut after they got married. They were learning English as I was growing up and only wanted me to learn English so that I would not be confused in school. My entire extended family still lives in PR and I used to visit them and stay there every other summer.

My mother is an executive director for a non-profit to improve the lives of minorities in CT through job skills. Through her I became involved in similar organizations and have experience working with minorities in CT and therefore I want to continue my work with the underserved. I also have done some work with refugees, etc.

2) If I get married and/or engaged I would like to live near my spouse but otherwise I would love to be a NHSC. I heard that scholarship is super competitive. Are you on it? How does it work? How can I improve my chances? I basically want to work with under-served communities anyways so it would be a perfect fit.

3) Both MD and DO. I actually was very interested in DO. I like learning about alternative/integrative/holistic medicines. I personally find them fascinating and very practical. As a future clinician working with under-served communities, I would like to incorporate these less expensive treatments to improve their health rather than the expensive surgeries and medications. I heard DOs do not do research though so I am not sure if they would be interested in someone who is interested in an academic medical track. Do you know anything about this?

4) I probably did not. I applied 5 years ago. My pre-med committee was very negative about writing me a letter of recommendation because my MCAT scores were so low which delayed my application. This was another factor that probably prevented my acceptance into Medical Schools.

Thank you for all your help by the way. I sincerely appreciate it. I am going to crack open my MCAT books and start studying. I hope I can get at least a 36+ this time around.

What year are you in medical school? How long were you a PA before you decided to go to medical school? Why did you decide to go to medical school? Can I ask how old you are? Are you a male or female? I am also concerned about having a good work life balance. I want to have a loving family someday in the near future in addition to my large career aspirations and ambitions. I am curious about how other physicians, physician scientists/researchers and health care workers balance this.

Thank you once again for all your help.

Best,

Verónica
 
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Are NPs more globally recognized PAs? Someone told me. I also noticed that Doctor's without Borders and Global Health Service Corps will take NPs but not PAs. What is up with that? What is the reason for this?

Thank you once again for all your help.
 
It's true, Doctors without Borders takes NPs but not PAs. It's strange. You might want to check out allnurses if you're interested in hearing more about the NP career path. Both NP and PA (and MD/DO for that matter) have their pluses and minuses.
 
DWO is French and doesn't know about PAs or understand how to implement them.. Hundreds of other organizations do and often put you to work with no chart review or the other BS that bogs you down in the states.
 
If one of your main interests is research then go MD/DO. A DO will have far more opportunities in research than a midlevel will. I think being a midlevel is a fantastic career choice for those who just want to be clinicans with a good salary and work/life balance but if you want to be an academic just go for medical school now.

For me the MD/DO vs PA decision is difficult because I'm not interested in research or prestige, just clinical medicine which makes the PA argument much more persuasive. I cannot decide so I'm making sure I have the prereqs/ECs for both come graduation (which isn't easy but such is life)
 
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