PA's in MD Classes?

[RangerD]

Does anyone have PA students in your Med school courses???

I got a strange call from a distant relative last night who is a PA. She said she just heard I was going to medical school. She was offended I did not consult her first because "SHE WENT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL TOO"! She said she went to Baylor medical school.

She went on to claim that back then, the PA students and MD students went to the same classes, therefore she knows everything that an MD knows. She said she was happy I was going to follow in her footsteps...

So, I just wanted to see if anyone has PA students in their classes nowadays. If so, do they have the attitude that they will be equal to the MD as a result?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[thackl]

The only nurses in my class are ones who applied and were accepted to med school and are now going to be dr's. The PA's are in a completely different program. Why does it matter though? As an MD, you won't get anything done without nurses, PA's, therapists, etc..... I wouldn't have an complex about it if they did take classes with us. People have reasons for choosing different careers..... it's not like you have to be a genious to get get into med school (just hard working and consistent).

 

[babyruth]

We had some PAs in certain classes, mostly clinical diagnosis and some basic systems that they needed; we had our whole first year with the DPMs, then they split off and got more specialized with the foot and lower extremity stuff... if your question is do they learn the same thing as us, the answer is not really (the DPMs pretty much do in the basic science areas though).

 

[shellfish]

we had pa students on our ob/gyn rotation. it was kind of weird. they carried around blueprints and told us they read the same books as medical students. they had it better than us. they didn't have to take call, residents weren't paging them for admissions, and they didn't take the shelf or oral exams. but they definitely let us know that they read the same books as we did, not that anyone cared.

 

[fantasty]

Our school has a pretty well respected PA program. They take pharm, infectious diseases, and clinical skills courses with us during our 2nd year. They have their own path, anatomy, etc.