Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
Go on the PA Reddit this is talked a lot about. Long story short it seems like PA/NP are going to be saturated very soon. People are already having trouble finding jobs, and wages are decreasing.
Residency is another 3-7 yrs... Job market in city and nice suburbia is not great for docs right now. Very frustrating!
I am aware of the typical MD/DO path of 11 years(minimum) with undergrad, medschool, and residency. I was just saying that in my case the difference was one year after Paramedic school, 2 BS degrees, A masters, 3 post masters certificates, and a doctorate.
How many of these 3 year programs are out there now? I think the last I heard of was in Texas. I've seen a few articles over the years questioning the necessity and validity of premed courses, and I think that and the gap year that post-bacc people have is largely one of the least attractive things about medicine and ultimately why I picked nursing-NP as a career changer. I couldn't stop working and worked full-time from start to finish for five years while training up for NP. I realize in med or PA school you can't effectively do that, but for me (and I assume many) the career (occupation v. vocation?) isn't worth putting life on pause.
I was looking at the PA curriculum at the same school I did NP at. There is really no overlap between NP clinically relevant coursework and PA courses so I can't imagine how a NP could make a transition to medical school without starting from scratch.
Depends on the field. Be careful in your specialty choice and it can be fine. You'll also run into this problem as a NP, since they're tracked, if you pick the wrong field.
You can work during a gap year. Medical school isn't putting your life on hold, nor is residency. Most people I know met their partners and got married in med school or early residency, and many started families. Most of us have met close, lifelong friends. Life will keep moving forward, and people just need to ask themselves: whatever ageyou will finish, be it 30, 32, 35, etc, do you want to be that and a physician or do you want to be that and a nurse or PA. Medical training isn't lost time but it is far more stressful overall. There's also a lot of debt, which some people are averse to. However, the rewards (intellectually, professionally, and financially) are immense and multiplied out over a 30 year career really add up. It isn't for everyone, honestly, but I'm glad I was talked into it when I was thinking of going the PA route
I realize nontrads go to med school, but it's a young person's game. It's a journey that would be much easier to accomplish without a family and other stressors of adulthood. If I were a welder or something it could be a life change for me, but I'm already older than the ages you listed, married, kids, etc. I got lucky and have done well enough financially it would take decades to catch up if I took out loans for med school, plus their role isn't one I want. I'm more interested in climbing out of the healthcare hole rather than going back in, lol. I'm looking to work in this capacity for 12 more years before I eject fully. I've worked via telemed platforms for at least six years, but I've learned I have absolutely zero desire to ever go back into a clinic or hospital and am working on some business deals to transition to a permanent remote work setting.
Yeah if you're in your 40s it's not really worth it unless you have some intrinsic factor to consider and are independently wealthy
I’m wondering that too.
A lot of people want the money without all the hardwork, and the pile of student loans, without doing exams every week, without doing board exams, residency, and many more years of school.....
Everyone appreciates that, but the advice is pretty prescient. I worked full time, and went to school full time, and became a nurse practitioner. I spent my time the way that I wanted to, and in a way that motivated me. I had the grades to go to med school, or at the very least head to the Caribbean and start there, but I’m satisfied with the outcome, and actually feel like I came out ahead. It was sacrifice in a different way, and led to different limitations on my income and career. No problem on my end. But some folks need to think that through. If it takes someone 11 years to become a PA, they may be better served looking at the big picture to see if the sacrifice to become an MD would be a better use of their time. Incidentally, EMedPA is counting education he took on after he got his PA certification, so he was physician assisting it before a lot of that extra education. Retrospective advice is a healthy thing.
