Question about PA to DO

[ricexeater]

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What kind of things do i need to know if i I want to become a DO coming from a PA background?

Will my first year of PA school transfer over to DO or will i have to start all over?

Will working additional years as a PA increase my competitiveness in the application process?

 

[thethinman]

I'm just a premed starting a DO program this August, so weight this response accordingly...The coursework you completed in your PA program would count as prereqs to get you into a DO program, but I can't imagine you'll place out of coursework that you'll have to complete in medical school. I'm sure adcoms will see the wealth of clinical experiences you've had as a plus, since you have a better idea of what you're getting yourself into than most of us premeds. However, I'm guessing that after a certain point, adcoms would expect that you either know you want to be a doc or you don't. I would expect to be asked why you changed your mind and decided that you want to be a doc now. also, have you taken the MCAT? Even if you took it for PA school several years back (>3years) you'll have to take it again. good luck!

 

[TXDO]

What kind of things do i need to know if i I want to become a DO coming from a PA background?

Will my first year of PA school transfer over to DO or will i have to start all over?

Will working additional years as a PA increase my competitiveness in the application process?

Hi there,

I inspired your decision to pursue the higher education. Well, within my limited knowledge, I can answer you this: PA and MD/DO are different in term of level and admission criteria (I am sure you are probably familar with). Therefore, like thousands of medical school applicants, you still need to finish all preq. courses, graduate with bachelor, take MCAT, do ECs... I am sure with your PA background, the ADCOM will give some consideration besides solid GPA and stellar MCAT score.

Lastly, I absolutely doubt that PA will be transferable. To be realistic, PA is master level and DO is doctoral level, therefore, you will start from the ground like everyone else.

I wish you good luck in pursuit of medical school. 🙂

 

[nlax30]

What kind of things do i need to know if i I want to become a DO coming from a PA background?

Nothing specifically beyond making sure you have the usual medical school pre-req coursework completed and have a recent MCAT score. Chances are the undergrad coursework will be similiar or same as what was required for PA school. Other than that you'll still need to be relatively competitive in terms of GPA and MCAT compared to any other traditional applicant.

Will my first year of PA school transfer over to DO or will i have to start all over?

There was another thread going recently about this very topic but to my knowledge no such program currently exists where any of your PA schooling counts toward med school.

Will working additional years as a PA increase my competitiveness in the application process?

It definitely won't/shouldn't hurt you. Personally I think it would be most likely viewed as a positive, but I can't give any sort of guess as to how much more competitive it would make you. You will still probably need a fairly competitive GPA and MCAT score, and of course the PA background will show that you have a lot of clinical experience.

 

[group_theory]

What kind of things do i need to know if i I want to become a DO coming from a PA background?

Know the difference between a DO and MD. Know exactly why you want to make that jump from PA to MD/DO. What is your overall goal? What sacrifices will you make? Know the financial sacrifice that you will ultimately make should you pursue medical school + residency. But also know that there have been plenty of PAs that have gone before you and excelled in medical school.

You will still need to meet the pre-requisite for medical schools (biology, chemistry, physics, orgo, english). Some schools require biochemistry, genetics, calculus, etc. You will still need to take the MCAT.

Will my first year of PA school transfer over to DO or will i have to start all over?

No. You go through all 4 years of medical schools with everyone else.

Will working additional years as a PA increase my competitiveness in the application process?

Your healthcare experiences will be seen as a plus and during clinical rotations, your experience as a PA will help you (since you've got real-life clinical experience PLUS you have already gone through a year of clinical rotation during PA school)

 

[FourMoreYears]

I'm a PA accepted to and entering medical school this year.

First...Do a wide search on all of the forums. There is plenty of information on this topic.

Two...To get into the door of medical school, you still need to get through the MCAT/GPA bouncer. Your experience will help, but not if your scoring 5's across the board or if your GPA is below the minimum requirement.

C...The positive side about applying to DO vs MD is that your PA grades are calculated in your science GPA for DO. MD applications only use PA courses in overall GPA (not applied to undergrad GPA).

IV....You will get no advanced credit for being a PA. You still have to take micro, histo, anatomy, physiology, some sort of physical diagnosis class, etc. A nice pat on the back and a lollipop is all you will receive.

Lastly...Having additional years as a PA makes you look like a stronger applicant, but it won't make or break your chances of being accepted. My advice is if you are really motivated and want to be a doctor then just do it now. Finish any outstanding prerequisites and apply early.

 

[BabyKangaroo]

Rice,
Where did you attend PA school? Some DO programs have PA programs, and I know that DOs and PAs take a few classes together in those schools (where I am going at least). Maybe if you attended one of these programs, they would cut you some slack on some classes (i.e. waive them) being that you already took them. Or maybe a diff. DO school that has these programs would honor those credits? My suggestion: Call every school's admissions committee and ask as many diff. questions and present all kinds of scenarios before you absolutely know that you cannot get credit for any of your PA classes. I am making an educated guess and going to say it is a LONG shot, but worth trying. One less course is one less to worry about! (however, you may have forgotten what you need to know for boards, so taking some courses over again would only increase your chance of being successful. I think it's only beneficial that you get courses waived if:
a. you don't have to pay as much
b. it is at least 3 or 4 four courses (1 or 2 doesn't seem too big a deal)
c. if you remember what you already learned!)

Good luck

 

[WestcoastMedicine]

I agree with the above post that you should call the schools and find out. At PCOM the only thing anyone ever got out of was histology first year. If you had histology in college and passed the exam you were able to place out, but no one, not the DPTs, PAs or Nurse Practitioners in our class got out of anything else.

Also, at PCOM the DO students have Zero classes with the PAs so I would suggest you call the schools you are interested in as it will probably be reviewed on a case by case basis.

 

[deleted6669]

I know several pa's who went on to become DO's.
they did very well in their DO programs and were able to work a decent amt as pa's while in school as there was a lot of review. they didn't get any adv. credit but they were ranked very highly in the admissions/interview process despite fairly avg to low mcat scores.
they all graduated near the top of their classes( 1 graduated #2 despite working 24 hrs/week) and did very well on both comlex and usmle and got their first pick of residencies.
DO programs appreciate the life experience and medical background of working as a pa while md programs couldn't care less about this experience as they are all about gpa and mcat scores...which is why DO's are a much more well rounded group of physicians and in my 22 yrs experience in medicine they are on the whole nicer folks to be around as well with a lot less attitude and gunner like behavior.........

 

[primadonna22274]

Agree with all the previous posters thus far. Listen to FourMoreYears: he's in the loop on this one.

I got as far as an interview at DMU last year, for some insane reason (new job) turned down an interview at LECOM and withdraw my applications to ATSU and KCUMB. I still kinda hope to hear that I've been pulled off the waitlist for DMU although it's fairly unlikely at this late date (May 12th).

DMU really liked my clinical experience as a PA. They weren't so keen on my underwhelming undergrad science grades and borderline MCAT. They liked my outstanding PA grades (I kicked it into gear and plus I loved what I was doing). If I didn't make it in this round they suggested I retake my low grades and take an MCAT prep course & retake. I may still do that, or I may become a happy PA. For now I'm enjoying teaching PAs and learning that way.

You might ask, didn't all these thoughtful folks on SDN warn me of all this before I spent thousands of dollars on apps & interviews? well, they did, but I generally have to learn everything for myself, the hard way. If you are not opposed to learning from someone else's experiences, though, I would advise that you 1) retake any science prereq that was lower than a B ad 2) retake MCAT for a score no lower than 25-26, and take a prep course if you need to.

Good luck!