PA's in Global Health

[kpizzle]

Hello.

I am having some trouble with the whole MD or PA decision. I would like to practice medicine, this is a fact. But, I'd like to be a provider to populations overseas in rural communities etc. I want to travel. Does anyone know anything about PA's in Global Health? Or can only MD's practice abroad? I'm hesitant on MD bc of all the commitment and I'd like to travel. I don't want a family, I just want to practice medicine and travel the world, lol, I don't need a house/apt. Is PA good for global health? or MD my best route? I'll be applying for the MD/MPH or PA/MPH when the time comes. I just need help with which is best for the lifestyle I want to pursue. Also, do you know any programs for the PA/MPH that would be good for global health? I'm a senior in college so I'm slightly panicking about all this.

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[pamac]

If you want to travel to places that have dire need for providers, then there are groups that PAs can sign up for that to do those things, mostly on a volunteer or expenses paid basis... not typically as a career. For career positions, there are things like working for the US state department oversees, or a contract agency that works in high risk zones like Iraq or Afghanistan... hotspot type of places. Overall, there is a patchwork of places that one can practice in as a PA or even an NP, and a lot has to do with the relief agency and the medical/legal structure of where you will be located. So when you say travel, I think you should specify what kind of travel you mean. If you mean “travel to a compound in a hostile or devastated country and perform basic medicine”, that’s one thing. If you mean “travel to a place that I choose with nice beaches and be a rural healthcare provider just like the other providers in the country”, then that is a different thing. You could find an agency out there as a PA, and they can send you somewhere that just had an earthquake or other disaster, and lack basic medical care in a niche you can fill. But it will largely be entirely on their terms. It might not even be one of the places you see on the news.

I think what you have in mind is really more available to folks that are physicians. There is just more latitude, and they are pretty much accepted on a wider scale because a physician is a physician. Everywhere out there pretty much has a framework in place that knows what to do with physicians because they tend to approach a certain standard that most countries are familiar with. But not every place out there has an understanding of the “mid level” provider practice, or knows what to do with them. It’s that way for PAs more than NPs, but mostly because when NPs show up with one of those organizations, it’s in a capacity as a nurse. Nursing, like being a physician, is more of a universal concept to most health systems. Overall, I think the idea of being an international wandering PA to help the underserved full time will prove a bit more complicated than simply working in the states and taking trips to disaster zones with relief agencies on a volunteer basis. As a physician, you have more options in that regard.

 

[DizzyJon]

I agree with PAMAC. You will likely have more opportunities if you are a physician over a PA. There are many opportunities for PAs, but even more for physicians. You should check on the PA forum and speak with EMEDPA. He is an ER PA and has a doctorate with a focus in global health. He would be a great resource to you.

 

[pamac]

Yeah, type PA forums into a search engine and you'll find a place where you will have all sorts of folks in the PA profession be able to respond. You have to go where they are. Lots of folks over there have gone overseas for volunteer work, and can give you the details and tell you about the feasibility. It just really depends on what you see yourself wanting to do... full time, volunteer, etc. You also have to take into consideration when you would want to go overseas. After PA school, you will have debts to pay back, and probably will need some time in practice to get the experience you would need to go out and be effective. As a new grad, I would doubt that you will have opportunities like you would have if you had experience behind you. Almost all new grad PA's are very green. Many are going out into their first real jobs.