the PA profession

[PharmDr.]

I am currently a sophmore in college and was aiming for a career in dentistry after shadowing and all but recently since taking A&P 2, I love learning about medical info and want to treat the whole human body and not be limited to just the oral and face region. Anyways, I have considered becoming a PA as I know personally 2 from family and friends and they love it. I like that you can practice medicine without all of the negatives about being a medical doctor such as high malpractice ins., and more responsibilty. Prior healthcare experience is needed for admission and all I have is a couple yrs. of working as a certified pharm tech. What do you guys think is a good and not too dreadful of a healthcare career that I can do?Any inputs would be great.Thanks

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[Freeeedom!]

Personally I would encourage you to go into medicine, I wouldn't let "malpractice" insurance bother you because as an MD/DO you are at the top of the food chain...it really depends on your ability to first get into medical school and then residency. It is a huge challenge. If you feel this is too much, choosing the practice of a midlevel practitioner may be for you. In certain areas jobs are tight, but that is the same every health care field.

For a VERY cush job, dentistry may be calling your name. Wages are great and ...come on, its teeth!

 

[deleted6669]

...AND IF YOU ARE INTO TEETH THERE IS ALWAYS DENTAL HYGENIST. DECENT MONEY FOR MINIMAL SCHOOLING.
IF YOU ARE STILL THINKING ABOUT PA THEN EMT IS A GOOD BACKGROUND AND THE TRAINING ONLY TAKES A FEW MONTHS.
FOR GENERAL PA INFO CHECK OUT WWW.AAPA.ORG
GOOD LUCK

 

[Robz]

...AND IF YOU ARE INTO TEETH THERE IS ALWAYS DENTAL HYGENIST. DECENT MONEY FOR MINIMAL SCHOOLING.
IF YOU ARE STILL THINKING ABOUT PA THEN EMT IS A GOOD BACKGROUND AND THE TRAINING ONLY TAKES A FEW MONTHS.
FOR GENERAL PA INFO CHECK OUT WWW.AAPA.ORG
GOOD LUCK

ooooohhhh so loud....

 

[Robz]

in response to the original question....

PA is a decent profession and you get to be in the health care field after two or so years of school. They have a nitche in the field and is good money for the years of school put in.

For me I wanted autonomy and wanting to make my own decisions. I wanted to practice medicine and not have to worry about someone watching over my back or making me change my way of doing things.

Look into all fields...

ahh hell...dentists work in the medicial field and make bank with good hours!

 

[CTS-PA]

To the original poster: Good to hear you have some experience as a pharm tech...now you should do something in a hospital or in a private practice office such as nursing assistant or medical assistant, do this while you are in college...if you can't do that, then you should volunteer in a hospital and see what PAs and Doctors do first hand, that should help you make a decision. Try to shadow a PA for a month or two, you should ask one of the family members you mentioned in your previous post.

 

[PharmDr.]

I think I just need to shadow a PA and maybe if I can find the time, volunteer at a clinic or hospital or private practice. Dont get me wrong, I like dentistry, its just that I like oral surgery and periodontics more and there both specialties that are not guranteed for me unlike general. Ive even thought of being a nurse practitioner, but I dont think I can handle the yrs. of being an RN and being a "nurse".Not to disrespect guy nurses, its just that I do want to be recognized for my work after all the schooling. I do want to diagnose and treat an ailment, so PA,DDS/DMD,NP all do this. I do love all things medical and am not looking for just the "prestige" for the record.

 

[hospPA]

What I tell people who ask this type of question is that if you feel the need to be the "boss", don't become a PA. If you want to practice medicine with a reasonable degree of autonomy (varies from position to position) with a lesser amount of schooling, then look at the PA profession. I personally do not need to be the boss, and have a great deal of autonomy. I have the amount of MD supervision that i would have hoped for, and I sleep great at night. Personally I like the responsibility of being a PA, but I also enjoy sharing that with a physician. We make a great salary, depending on what you do, but you will never max out where you would max out as a physician. So, if being rich is in your sites, PA is also not the way to go. We make a nice living, some more than others, but most PA's are not rich.
The other thing I like about being a PA is that you can pick and choose professions that fit your lifestyle in terms of hours, etc. For instance, if you start out in the ER and begin to hate it, you are not "out" the 3-4 years you spent in the residency. You also do not have to do another residency. You could be in the OR learning how to harvest veins a week after being in the ER. That is another beauty of the profession. Good luck.
Shadowing is a great idea. I am an RN who chose to go the PA route vs. teh NP, but that's another story. Take care.
Pat