Medical Should I pursue medical school after PA program?

[tantacles]

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okay so I am currently in a physician assistant program at RIT right? I transferred out of carleton college as a prehealth major for family medical reasons and it didn’t seem like med school was something I was going to be able to do based on my family circumstances so I entered the 5 yr PA programs at Rit. it is a 5 year program and its really really hard and my GPA has declined significantly because of it. I was thinking of finishing it and then going to medical school right after, but I have been thinking about it and it seems like it might hurt me to have just finished a PA program and then apply to medical school because it may make look like I am undecided or indecisive.
I have the option of finishing a degree this fall in biomedical sciences and likely will graduate with a 3.7, and then take the mcat and then go to medical school, but I am really worried about that because 1. I am not prepared at ALL for the mcat ( i took physics my junior year of high school for example) and so I am super stressed about it, and also my GPA is somewhat low bc of the program so I am in a negative decline because of joining the program (like a 3.7 is seriously low for lots of medical schools) 3. They will see that I took PA courses and didn’t finish the program so it might look like I am hesitant or a quitter especially since I already transferred schools. I don’t even have a premed advisor at RIT so there isn’t anyone I can really talk to about this. I have emailed Pam but haven’t heard from her yet. i am wondering if you have any advice for me or what you think! In desperate need of advice.
Thank you

I have known many PA's who have gone to medical school after they finished their degree. If you have a 3.7 and do well on the MCAT, you will be in a good place for medical school regardless of whether or not you finish your PA degree. If you do work as a PA, it will give you great clinical experience to talk about in your medical school applications. That being said, try your best to get A's in as many courses as you can to increase your GPA. If you truly want to go to medical school, the primary determinants of success are GPA and MCAT. It doesn't matter what you study as long as you finish the pre-requisites and do well.

 

[tantacles]

Can I ask you if you know any PAs who have finished the program and then applied to med school without practice in between? And also, do you know of any who have made that transition who can possibly speak to me about their experience? Thank you so much!

I don't know of anyone who fits that description. The people that i've met in the past have done PA and then worked as a PA, then applied to medical school.

 

[Goro]

Can I ask you if you know any PAs who have finished the program and then applied to med school without practice in between? And also, do you know of any who have made that transition who can possibly speak to me about their experience? Thank you so much!

Someone who does this may raise the worry of a degree collector, or one who still doesn't know what they want to do in life.

 

[MusicDOc124]

If you want to go to medical school, don't take a seat away from a deserving would-be PA student who truly wants to be a PA. Pick one and go for it. 3.7 isn't low. It's about average for MD. It's on the higher end for DO. People get into MD all the time with even 3.3-3.6, and there are DOs are had 4.0s just the same. Your GPA is fine.

Also, the pre-reqs for med school are generally only half-covered with PA school pre-reqs. No PA school (masters portion) would count for pre-reqs or anything else for that matter. Not even GPA for MD.

It sounds like you know you want to be a doctor, so go for that. Staying in the PA lane not only take a seat from someone else as mentioned above, but it adds both time delay and debt for no reason if you were to plan for med school immediately after.

Most PAs I know who've gone on to MD or DO afterward had 3, 4, 5+ years experience before switching because they didn't realize they wanted more at the time. Going into it already know is just literally a waste of time and money.