Time Between School

[primusrocks]

Alright, I have looked on here a bunch and i hope that im not repeating an old thread. Any how, im finishing up my undergraduate this fall and I'm having second thoughts about medical school and what i should do. I have looked at PA school and this seems like a good option, but i have just decided to take some time off and give myself some room to make the CORRECT decision since it is a big one. I believe my grades (GPA - 3.85) (MCAT 34) would be good enough to get me into some schools too down the road.
One of my questions is that with my degree (Human Physiology), what jobs could i get? A lot of people on here talk about EMT or CNA, but then i would just be going back to school yet again and paying rather than making money, not quite what i was looking to do when i had my undergrad degree done. But if i have to by all rights i will. If you got something else out there, maybe a research assistant spot, how did you get it, just poking around?
Any help would be of great help. Please weigh in on your thoughts about the MD/PA thing too if you have a GOOD point that hasnt been rammed home a million times before.
Thanks as always.

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[AdmiralChz]

Getting your EMT (just Basic) does not involve that much schooling (and thus aren't that expensive). Most areas even offer 3 week accelerated courses for certification. Just a thought there.

If your college has a career services or a jobs listing, definitely check to see what your degree can get you. I imagine that you could work in some sort of sports clinic or with an athletic trainer given your knowledge.

Don't worry about repeat posting - too many threads on here to keep track of anyway !!

 

[TexasPhysician]

The old saying: What do you do with a science undergrad degree? Answer: School Teacher

To make a good living in the sciences (maybe some rare exceptions), you need an advanced degree.

Schooling for a PA is relatively short, and many schools are pretty cheap. If you want to get into the workplace soon and still make $100,000+ some day, PA is a good route.

 

[beachblonde]

usajobs.gov

While the job market officially blows right now, there are some spots out there if you look. Places like NIH always need research assistants. You might spend your days running PCRs and nothing else, but it'll pay the bills until you figure out what track is best for you.

I know for PA school you need a ton more hours of clinical experience than you do for med school-just something to think about when looking into jobs. If you're leaning PA and don't have the hours, look for something in a hospital as an assistant of some sort.

 

[Mobius1985]

Please weigh in on your thoughts about the MD/PA thing too if you have a GOOD point that hasnt been rammed home a million times before.

You're a viable candidate for either path. In my area, PA candidates are required to have one year or so of full-time, paid, patient-related care experience. Also some of the prerequisites are different. I think pre-PAs need to take Medical Terminology, and Anatomy/Physiology, at least. Would you need to take additional coursework to qualify for PA programs you prefer?

Another program, I've heard requires one to shadow a PA, but I don't believe this is generally true. It might be a good idea anyway to help you decide which path to take.

 

[primusrocks]

For PA school i would have to get a lot more hours of clinical work for sure. This is actually something that i dont mind. I'm only 22 years old right now, and have plenty of time to make this decision (though a lot of my classmates seem to believe that it is life or death to be accepted immediately after undergraduate). For the patient contact hours i would most likely have to do something that requires a bit more training (EMT, CNA, Phlembotomist, etc). Of those or more what has the best reward for the time spent doing the training?
The way im thinking about this is that if i work in a hospital setting or a research setting it can only improve my odds of acceptance at MD/DO/PA down the line, so this is a win/win situation, at least that i can see o)

 

[primusrocks]

Bump