PT vs MD

[Vikes33]

So for the past couple of years I have been going back and forth as to whether or not I should try to become a pt or a medical doctor. I have a lot of experience with being a pt patient which is part of the reason I was drawn to the profession in the first place. But in college I've been really interested in the sciences and some of the medicine that pt's don't necessarily use on a daily basis. I know I want to go into health sciences, I'm just not sure which route is the best fit for me. I know that I want to be able to build relationships with my patients and I also want to work with athletes, as I am a very active girl all on my own! Part of me thinks I would do better as a pt if that's all I want, but I also like the idea that I could use sciences in medicine that I wouldn't in physical therapy. What do you guys think?

Also, I am a behavioral neuroscience major right now. If I were to change to being pre-physical therapy should I change my major to kinesiology because it is better preparation for pt school? So many questions in my head! Thank you guys for any insights you bring to me!

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[beethousand]

So for the past couple of years I have been going back and forth as to whether or not I should try to become a pt or a medical doctor. I have a lot of experience with being a pt patient which is part of the reason I was drawn to the profession in the first place. But in college I've been really interested in the sciences and some of the medicine that pt's don't necessarily use on a daily basis. I know I want to go into health sciences, I'm just not sure which route is the best fit for me. I know that I want to be able to build relationships with my patients and I also want to work with athletes, as I am a very active girl all on my own! Part of me thinks I would do better as a pt if that's all I want, but I also like the idea that I could use sciences in medicine that I wouldn't in physical therapy. What do you guys think?

Also, I am a behavioral neuroscience major right now. If I were to change to being pre-physical therapy should I change my major to kinesiology because it is better preparation for pt school? So many questions in my head! Thank you guys for any insights you bring to me!

First things first, I'd recommend shadowing both a PT and an MD. Talk to them about the pros and cons of their careers. I've spoken with PT's who say they regret not getting their MD and I've spoken with MD's who wished they would have done something else. It all depends on what excites you. In terms of time spent with patients, you probably get to spend more time with your patients as a PT (as sessions are longer). In terms of using hard sciences, I would say that the MD is certainly going to draw upon a knowledge of science fairly heavily. That said, so does your job as a PT, albeit you are focusing on different modalities. One PT I worked with specialized in acute care specifically in the ICU. He had obtained a clinical certification as a geriatric clinical specialist and had a fairly extensive knowledge of pathology, pharmacology, etc... He had to know the effect of certain drugs on the patient in order to assess the extent into which they were making progress, or whether or not to push them further. Similarly, he was constantly analyzing the effect of mobility on the patients' respiratory and circulatory system. You also have the opportunity to work with athletes as an MD, but again your focus is different.

Hope that helps, good luck!

 

[Vikes33]

I decided to go back to being pre-PT. I think that having a relationship with my patients is the thing that I want the most out of my career. In my own experiences in being in physical therapy I would actually ask my physical therapist a question about an injury before going to see my doctor, because I trust him so much. That's how I want my patients to feel about me! Anyway, thank you for the reply!

 

[Stacker]

So for the past couple of years I have been going back and forth as to whether or not I should try to become a pt or a medical doctor. I have a lot of experience with being a pt patient which is part of the reason I was drawn to the profession in the first place. But in college I've been really interested in the sciences and some of the medicine that pt's don't necessarily use on a daily basis. I know I want to go into health sciences, I'm just not sure which route is the best fit for me. I know that I want to be able to build relationships with my patients and I also want to work with athletes, as I am a very active girl all on my own! Part of me thinks I would do better as a pt if that's all I want, but I also like the idea that I could use sciences in medicine that I wouldn't in physical therapy. What do you guys think?

Also, I am a behavioral neuroscience major right now. If I were to change to being pre-physical therapy should I change my major to kinesiology because it is better preparation for pt school? So many questions in my head! Thank you guys for any insights you bring to me!

There is really no comparison. Medicine demands much more critical thinking and is generally much less hands on. Much of that is left for the nurses unless you go into surgery, ENT, Opath., and possibly EM, all of which still requiring much more critical thinking than PT. Go talk to and shadow some physicians. If your only reason for wanting to do medicine is because you like "science" then you as might as well just do basic science research at a university. Because you're posting this in the PT forum and MD or Allopathic, you probably want to do PT more than medicine. Liking science by itself is not enough of a reason to pursue medicine.

 

[goyo1010]

There is really no comparison. Medicine demands much more critical thinking and is generally much less hands on. Much of that is left for the nurses unless you go into surgery, ENT, Opath., and possibly EM, all of which still requiring much more critical thinking than PT. Go talk to and shadow some physicians. If your only reason for wanting to do medicine is because you like "science" then you as might as well just do basic science research at a university. Because you're posting this in the PT forum and MD or Allopathic, you probably want to do PT more than medicine. Liking science by itself is not enough of a reason to pursue medicine.

Please read OP's post more carefully. Also, PTs do quite a bit of "critical thinking", thank you very much. Although our scope is not as broad as a physician's, within our scope of practice, especially when it comes to the N/MSK system, rivals that of orthos. Don't get me wrong--I'm not putting PTs on level with the length of MDs' education and their skills in medical management.

As for the OP's questions about major changing: you don't have to change your major. Kinesiology does prepare you, but honestly, it's almost a completely useless degree by itself. You will learn all you need to learn in PT school, but of course, that depends on the program you choose to attend.

 

[Stacker]

Please read OP's post more carefully. Also, PTs do quite a bit of "critical thinking", thank you very much. Although our scope is not as broad as a physician's, within our scope of practice, especially when it comes to the N/MSK system, rivals that of orthos. Don't get me wrong--I'm not putting PTs on level with the length of MDs' education and they're skills in medical management.

As for the OP's questions about major changing: you don't have to change your major. Kinesiology does prepare you, but honestly, it's almost a completely useless degree by itself. You will learn all you need to learn in PT school, but of course, that depends on the program you choose to attend.

If you read more closely, you would have noticed that I answered her first question. Maybe you're easily impressed with the level of critical thinking that is required of PT's.

 

[Fiveoboy11]

If you read more closely, you would have noticed that I answered her first question. Maybe you're easily impressed with the level of critical thinking in PT's.

Are you a medical student? or pre-med? And what do you know about physical therapy? Likely little to nothing, so keep your lame thoughts to youself, thanks.

 

[Azimuthal]

If you read more closely, you would have noticed that I answered her first question. Maybe you're easily impressed with the level of critical thinking that is required of PT's.

Stick with what you know. Your comment is ignorant and uninformed - obviously not well thought out. Maybe you should attain some critical thinking skills [as well as defining the term] before another mediocre attempt at belittling another healthcare specialty.

 

[Vikes33]

There is really no comparison. Medicine demands much more critical thinking and is generally much less hands on. Much of that is left for the nurses unless you go into surgery, ENT, Opath., and possibly EM, all of which still requiring much more critical thinking than PT. Go talk to and shadow some physicians. If your only reason for wanting to do medicine is because you like "science" then you as might as well just do basic science research at a university. Because you're posting this in the PT forum and MD or Allopathic, you probably want to do PT more than medicine. Liking science by itself is not enough of a reason to pursue medicine.

I agree with you that liking science is not enough. I wouldn't make it through medical school on science interest alone. But I also stated that I want relationships with patients, which is why I am interested in healthcare in the first place. So human interaction and human therapy and support are what draw me out of any kind of interest in being stuck in a lab for my whole life. And I agree with goyo1010, PTs have to use a lot of critical thinking skills and must evaluate patients to decide what courses of treatment are necessary. It's not as if MDs do all the work and tell PTs to do this and that - the PTs make their own assessments and go from there. And in my own experiences, I feel as though I've been better evaluated and helped by PTs than my sports MDs. Just saying that although the PTs may not have gone to medical school and gone through all those different clerkships and what not, that does not mean that they must also evaluate and use decision making skills to treat their patients. I just don't appreciate the fact that I asked for advice and you decided it was necessary to be negative towards another section of healthcare and be condescending. We're all fighting the same war to help human beings the best way that we can. No need to be negative.

 

[goyo1010]

If you read more closely, you would have noticed that I answered her first question. Maybe you're easily impressed with the level of critical thinking that is required of PT's.

The others have said it for me. YOU should shadow some physical therapists, if you have not already. If my professors and the CIs I've had (only a few so far) have so little "critical thinking skills" then all physicians must be geniuses and the cures to cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, etc. must just be in locked up in a vault, in a secret cavern, thousands of feet under the earth.

And if you had read Vikes33's post without your narrow-minded, pompous mindset, you would have been able to answer her questions better.

I apologize if I offended you, but I'm seriously getting irritated by all these pre-med and med students who think they're the ****, so that means all other professions are beneath them.

 

[Fiveoboy11]

I agree with you that liking science is not enough. I wouldn't make it through medical school on science interest alone. But I also stated that I want relationships with patients, which is why I am interested in healthcare in the first place. So human interaction and human therapy and support are what draw me out of any kind of interest in being stuck in a lab for my whole life. And I agree with goyo1010, PTs have to use a lot of critical thinking skills and must evaluate patients to decide what courses of treatment are necessary. It's not as if MDs do all the work and tell PTs to do this and that - the PTs make their own assessments and go from there. And in my own experiences, I feel as though I've been better evaluated and helped by PTs than my sports MDs. Just saying that although the PTs may not have gone to medical school and gone through all those different clerkships and what not, that does not mean that they must also evaluate and use decision making skills to treat their patients. I just don't appreciate the fact that I asked for advice and you decided it was necessary to be negative towards another section of healthcare and be condescending. We're all fighting the same war to help human beings the best way that we can. No need to be negative.

!!

 

[Fiveoboy11]

The others have said it for me. YOU should shadow some physical therapists, if you have not already. If my professors and the CIs I've had (only a few so far) have so little "critical thinking skills" then all physicians must be geniuses and the cures to cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, etc. must just be in locked up in a vault, in a secret cavern, thousands of feet under the earth.

And if you had read Vikes33's post without your narrow-minded, pompous mindset, you would have been able to answer her questions better.

I'm apologize if I offended you, but I'm seriously getting irritated by all these pre-med and med students who think they're the ****, so that means all other professions are beneath them.

!!

 

[Stacker]

True enough. I retract my comment with apology.

 

[djb051]

Stacker, I sure hope that you never have an issue that requires physical therapy as us current and future PTs will not be able to help you since apparently we lack critical thinking skills according to you. If you lack respect for this profession and have nothing nice to say about it then stay out of this forum as your comments are not welcome.

 

[goyo1010]

He has apologized. Let's leave it at that. Thanks.