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Enlighten me.
To PAs/NPs: Knowing what you know now, do you wish you became a Doctor?
- Thread starter BOSS Man
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deleted6669
yup.
more respect. better training opportunities. fewer limits to autonomy and scope of practice.
if I could rewind 20 yrs I would have applied to med school (DO program as they are more accepting of older students with experience-I was a medic with a bs degree then).
more respect. better training opportunities. fewer limits to autonomy and scope of practice.
if I could rewind 20 yrs I would have applied to med school (DO program as they are more accepting of older students with experience-I was a medic with a bs degree then).
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deleted432032
The above mentioned does not make it harder to get at all. However, there might be some personal or family related issues that can be more of a decision maker above others. Having a family, for example, can make attending medical school and/or loosing/lessening an income can have an effect on ones family that a person does not want to have.
hope that makes sense
hope that makes sense
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deleted6669
DO schools tend to appreciate older students with varied life experiences and don't focus strictly on mcat and gpa like MD programs tend to.
for example a 35 yr old paramedic with a 24 mcat and 3.6 gpa is pretty much guaranteed a spot in a DO program if they apply to several. the same applicant might not even get invites for md interviews because they might interview only >28 mcat and 3.75 gpa.
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deleted6669
as an adult 10+ yrs out of college it is hard to ace the mcat or get a 4.0 gpa while working full time. DO schools recognize this. many md programs do not. some will use this to say DO schools have lower standards. others will understand that they value things other than #s, qualities which have been shown to make a more well rounded clinician. (some of the worst docs I know are gunners from the 4.0/40 mcat club. some of the best docs are from the 3.4/22 mcat group.)
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If you dont mind me asking, what is your age EMEDPA?
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deleted6669
mid 40's.
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When I was investigating MD and DO schools before deciding to go to PA school, I had a faculty member at the local medical school (MD) who was a friend tell me candidly that I was unlikely to be accepted into medical school there and definitely wouldn't be considered for residency there. He said they were looking for the younger students, especially those that could be plugged into research projects and help them get grants. The DO school I visited was very inviting, and encouraged me to apply.
My age (early 50's) lead me to choose PA school instead.
My age (early 50's) lead me to choose PA school instead.
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Just out of curiosity, do you routinely ask physicians you work with about their undergraduate GPA and MCAT scores? Or is this just you speculating what their MCAT score might have been 15 or 20 years ago?
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deleted6669
people with 4.0/40 aren't shy about letting everyone know it and those great docs with lower scores think it's funny to discuss years later. these are folks I know well not strangers. I have worked at several residency programs and residents frequently discuss their stats.
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deleted6669
very unlikely at this point. I am in the midst of another doctorate program and the only thing I would consider after this would be a bridge program like the Lecom PA to DO 3 yr bridge.
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Interesting. I don't think I've ever seen a medical student, resident, or attending bring up their undergraduate GPA or MCAT score (outside of the SDN forums, that is).
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What type of doctorate program (if you dont mind me asking)? Are you thinking about journeying away from being a PA?
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Medical school after PA school.....I hate I made the choice. I personally wish I would have remained a PA but that is just me....(plus I am burnt out and still need to study for boards.)
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deleted6669
it's a DHSc (doctorate in health sciences & global health).it opens up options for teaching, overseas work, government positions, etc
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Are you saying you regret that decision right at this moment but expect that decision to eventually pay off, or are you thinking you'll regret it for the long haul?
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Oh Makati I am sorry to hear that. I had about 2 days of feeling that way toward the end of last semester but I am refreshed (for now). The constant exam stress is what gets me. I remind myself "this too will pass".
Good luck on boards and in rotations....
Lisa
Good luck on boards and in rotations....
Lisa
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Hit the nail on the Head facetguy. I dont foresee an end for another 5-7years if i do as planned.....
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Thanks Lisa. I think its moreso the location of where I am than the material. hope your well.
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Ever thing about medical consulting? I'm pretty sure if doctors and nurses can do it, you can too. Just an option I thought I'd throw in there.
P.S.: I heard you don't even need to get a JD, just a certificate that takes less than a month to receive.
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Do I wish I had gone to med school instead? No, because I would not have had the life I have had. I stayed home with my kids all week (opting to work prn and weekends) until the youngest (of 6) was in Jr High, at which point I returned to NP school. I never missed a school or athletic event, recital or play, and never once had to say "I'm sorry honey, I can't (fill in the blank) because I have to work." Had I gone to med school I don't think I could have had 6 kids first of all, nor enjoyed the family life that we have. I respect the sacrifices that medical students make for their education, but that my priorities prevent(ed) me from considering that route. I love what I'm doing now, and feel like I truly have the best of both worlds. No, I have no regrets.
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I have a question, I don't mind working the 8/12/24(when I want to) shifts, but I'm not your overnight worker type of guy. How do you see this acted on in nursing? How long do new nurses have to work overnight? How long does it usually take to work, for you to be able to get a little hand on how your schedule will be?
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I can't answer that. It just depends on where you end up working. I never accepted a job that would have conflicted with my primary commitment, which was always to my family. That simply wouldn't have been fair to the employer or my colleagues. I was always very lucky I guess b/c I practiced at the bedside (mostly various critical care units, but a little ED as well) for 18 years and I always had pretty terrific work environments with supportive coworkers. No one ever tried to eat me when I was young, 
and no one abused me (well the patients occasionally did, but my supervisors and coworkers did not). I never had any trouble working out an optimal schedule. I never worked nights until near the very end of my bedside career, when it simply suited my schedule better. I did my share of holidays over the years, and wasn't always excited about it, but that is the nature of the field. The 12 hour shifts were one of the inspirations, along with increasing average BMI of the patients and my fear of a back injury, lol, for returning to school for my APN education. Days or nights, I simply don't like them and didn't want to do them anymore.
Nursing was the ideal career for me as a young and then middle aged wife and mother with a busy family and many other commitments and interests that would have suffered if I had chosen the medical school path. I learned a lot, got to see some fascinating things, and meet some fascinating people, both in the very best sense and in the train wreck sense. My children are older now, and don't need me to read to them every night, volunteer in their classrooms a few times a week or be the cub scout den mother. How many medical students or working physicians do you know that could have done that for 6 kids? There are probably a few out there, but my guess is I couldn't have managed it, and my family would have been different, and ultimately our lives not better off for it. No, this was the path for me. I love my family, I love my job. I have it all and we are blessed. 
Good luck finding your path. I'm sure you will do well, whatever you decide.
and no one abused me (well the patients occasionally did, but my supervisors and coworkers did not). I never had any trouble working out an optimal schedule. I never worked nights until near the very end of my bedside career, when it simply suited my schedule better. I did my share of holidays over the years, and wasn't always excited about it, but that is the nature of the field. The 12 hour shifts were one of the inspirations, along with increasing average BMI of the patients and my fear of a back injury, lol, for returning to school for my APN education. Days or nights, I simply don't like them and didn't want to do them anymore.Nursing was the ideal career for me as a young and then middle aged wife and mother with a busy family and many other commitments and interests that would have suffered if I had chosen the medical school path. I learned a lot, got to see some fascinating things, and meet some fascinating people, both in the very best sense and in the train wreck sense.
My children are older now, and don't need me to read to them every night, volunteer in their classrooms a few times a week or be the cub scout den mother. How many medical students or working physicians do you know that could have done that for 6 kids? There are probably a few out there, but my guess is I couldn't have managed it, and my family would have been different, and ultimately our lives not better off for it. No, this was the path for me. I love my family, I love my job. I have it all and we are blessed. Good luck finding your path. I'm sure you will do well, whatever you decide.
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Absolutely not. I am in my mid 40s. My husband is 50. We have planned and saved for 25 years for his partial retirement when he turns 55, and his full retirement when our youngest graduates from college. About that time I'll cut my hours way back to either .25 or .33 FTE and we will start traveling. Our home is paid for, our cars are paid for, our kids' college funds are secure, and the only debt we have is my student loans from NP school which are on track to be paid in full in 8 years. Under no circumstances are we taking on more debt now.
At this point in my life I would never spend the time either in medical school, residency, or in the rat race afterward. I've worked hard for years, I'm looking forward to taking it a bit easier, not working harder! If I were going to do it, the time was when I got my first undergrad in 1986, but we got married and had a family instead. -OR I suppose, when I went back to NP school, but by then I knew I didn't want that kind of life. It just demands too much. Much more than I want to give anyway. Sometimes that fact is used as some kind of dig against NPs, that we wouldn't make the sacrifices. Well I don't find that insulting, it's true. in my case anyway. I wouldn't. Not then, not now. I respect those who do, truly. I am glad physicians, astronauts, soldiers and miners and everyone else that makes sacrifices I am not willing to does what they do. I wouldn't take anything they earn away from them. And if you, OP, really want to work in medicine, I think you should go for it. Knowing what is involved and going into it with your eyes wide open says that your passion for it is greater than mine ever was, and that you will be successful and happy whereas I would not have been. You can't use other people's experiences to shape your destiny, lol. Go for what you want!
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Medical school - no, not an option in the future. Had I started on the path to PA years (10+) earlier, it would have lead to DO, but not now. My current plan is to work FT as a PA till mid 60's, with some teaching on the side, and a bit of medic/firefighter volunteer for my home town. Then, travel assignments if possible to neat places for 1-3 month working vacations until I just don't want to any more.
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Not sure what degree it is and my friend domes state you need the certificate. Google "legal nurse consultant.
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Chilly: good for you. My best friend, a 42 yr young ED RN with 6 kids, is just starting back this month for her MSN/ENP. It's practically her fault I'm a PA as we started down this path together 15 yr ago when her girls were little...PA wasn't even on my radar then. I knew almost nothing about it. But I went to PA school, she moved away and had 3 more babies, then was widowed, then met someone, fell in love, remarried and had one more. Her oldest is 19, youngest 3. She has put off her own educational desires for so long and in truth would love to join me in DO school but it's not worth the risk to her family. I respect that. I, on the other hand, have risked everything to go to medical school at my age...and am somehow lucking out since my husband whilst 700 miles away still loves me and is tolerating living on MUCH less $$$ than he's accustomed to, and I'm closing in on 40 and haven't had children yet...fully recognizing it may never happen for me. (although truth be told I lacked any maternal instinct until about a year ago....)
Do the best you can. Be the best you can at it. Your family is darn lucky that you are so unselfish.
Lisa
Do the best you can. Be the best you can at it. Your family is darn lucky that you are so unselfish.
Lisa
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I'll answer this, though from a different perspective. I am a new grad nurse pursuing a masters as an NP. My answer is "no," I would not do med school. I am non-trad and older, but even if that were not the case, I probably would not do med school.
I grew up poor and in a medically underserved area, and that is where I intend to work as an NP. If I were to do med school, I likely could not work in such an area. With a family to care for, I likely could not afford to work in such an area. Blame it on student loan debt, reimbursements, or whatever, it is what it is. It is nearly impossible to do med school, then go to a rural area, and make ends meet. Even if all I ever become is a "referral monkey" as an NP, at least I am pointing those that need medical care in the right direction.
I have lost family members, friends and acquaintances due to lack of access to good care and incompetent docs (please don't ask me for examples). Someone needs to be a resource in rural and underserved areas. The current medical training and reimbursement models don't pay for a medical school education.
Anyone that desires to serve must count the cost. Unfortunately, it doesn't compute for FP MD's in rural/underserved areas, especially if you are nontraditional. The next best is PA's and NP's. These communities can either go without, or have NP's and PA's to fill the gap, which, if nothing else, can be a resource to connect those in these communities with good medical resources. The bright, dedicated ones can do even more.
This is one of the reasons that I get irked when mid-levels get bashed on this forum. There is an MD in my home town that graduated from one of the best medical schools in the country and is a great doc. However, I live in a house (even as a new nursing grad) that is twice the size of his and in a prestigious subdivision (due to a previous lucrative career on my part) . In news articles, he (the MD) has been asked why he has made the sacrifices he has made, and his answer is simply to serve those in rural communities. How many med school grads are willing (or able) to step up and do that kind of thing?
Though he is highly competent, and willing to sacrifice to serve, he unfortunately works with those that are totally incompetent despite 4 years of med school and their vaunted 3 years of FP residency. Again, I can demonstrate their gross incompetency (but it is only anecdote). Even as a new grad nursing student, I can cite cases in my home community that even I would have handled differently than the MD/DO's. My point is not to bash MD/DO's and claim their education is insufficient - that is stupid. My point is to illustrate that rural/underserved communities are starved for health care and the only physicians in many cases (with some exceptions) that go to these communities are the worst med school grads. In my home community, there is a building that was leased 4+ years ago that still sits empty because they can't get a physician to come.
There is a place at this time and era for mid-levels. Good ones. There are idiot NP's and PA's that think they can take the place of physicians - I don't advocate for them. However, until physicians are willing (and/or able) to step up and make the sacrifice, don't bash the mid-levels, many of which go to these communities and serve them by providing basic health needs and marshaling resources for them when their needs are more complex.
I grew up poor and in a medically underserved area, and that is where I intend to work as an NP. If I were to do med school, I likely could not work in such an area. With a family to care for, I likely could not afford to work in such an area. Blame it on student loan debt, reimbursements, or whatever, it is what it is. It is nearly impossible to do med school, then go to a rural area, and make ends meet. Even if all I ever become is a "referral monkey" as an NP, at least I am pointing those that need medical care in the right direction.
I have lost family members, friends and acquaintances due to lack of access to good care and incompetent docs (please don't ask me for examples). Someone needs to be a resource in rural and underserved areas. The current medical training and reimbursement models don't pay for a medical school education.
Anyone that desires to serve must count the cost. Unfortunately, it doesn't compute for FP MD's in rural/underserved areas, especially if you are nontraditional. The next best is PA's and NP's. These communities can either go without, or have NP's and PA's to fill the gap, which, if nothing else, can be a resource to connect those in these communities with good medical resources. The bright, dedicated ones can do even more.
This is one of the reasons that I get irked when mid-levels get bashed on this forum. There is an MD in my home town that graduated from one of the best medical schools in the country and is a great doc. However, I live in a house (even as a new nursing grad) that is twice the size of his and in a prestigious subdivision (due to a previous lucrative career on my part) . In news articles, he (the MD) has been asked why he has made the sacrifices he has made, and his answer is simply to serve those in rural communities. How many med school grads are willing (or able) to step up and do that kind of thing?
Though he is highly competent, and willing to sacrifice to serve, he unfortunately works with those that are totally incompetent despite 4 years of med school and their vaunted 3 years of FP residency. Again, I can demonstrate their gross incompetency (but it is only anecdote). Even as a new grad nursing student, I can cite cases in my home community that even I would have handled differently than the MD/DO's. My point is not to bash MD/DO's and claim their education is insufficient - that is stupid. My point is to illustrate that rural/underserved communities are starved for health care and the only physicians in many cases (with some exceptions) that go to these communities are the worst med school grads. In my home community, there is a building that was leased 4+ years ago that still sits empty because they can't get a physician to come.
There is a place at this time and era for mid-levels. Good ones. There are idiot NP's and PA's that think they can take the place of physicians - I don't advocate for them. However, until physicians are willing (and/or able) to step up and make the sacrifice, don't bash the mid-levels, many of which go to these communities and serve them by providing basic health needs and marshaling resources for them when their needs are more complex.
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This post does not, in any way, match my experience as an FM resident.
Salaries in rural areas are, traditionally, MUCH higher than they are in suburban and urban areas. If I chose to go to a rural area, as a board certified Family Medicine physician, I could earn well over 50% more than I could in a suburban area. Suburban areas often quote salaries in the $130K to $150K range for new attendings; rural areas are frequently in the $200K and above range.
Furthermore, if you are a primary care physician who is willing to go to a rural area, and cannot get your loans paid for by someone else, you are just not trying at all. It is not a secret that the federal government is falling over themselves to attract physicians to medically underserved areas, and they will use $$ as bait. Just by agreeing, while still a med student, to work as a PCP in a medically underserved area for 2 years, the government fully paid for half of my medical school education. The NHSC loan repayment program, for residents who are about to become attendings, is extremely noncompetitive - they basically say on their website that if you ask for money, they'll give it to you. And many rural hospitals/health systems will offer you loan repayment assistance anyway.
So...while I applaud your dedication to the rural underserved, your post doesn't make any sense. Either people are feeding you lies and exaggerations, or else they themselves are not aware of the resources out there that offer financial incentives to physicians. But if you were to do med school, you almost certainly could work in such an area. You might have to do a little homework and research into exactly what scholarships and grants you could apply for, but the money is out there. Even in this rotton economy, the money is certainly out there.
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Not in truly underserved areas. Every community is different, but my home community that I referenced cannot support those salaries. Those with private insurance often drive 30-45 minutes to larger communities where healthcare resources are more plentiful. That leaves only patients that are uninsured (and too poor to private pay) and medicaid/medicare, where reimbursements are low. You can't make money with a practice that is, say, 50% uninsured and 50% medicaid.
I don't blame physicians for not going to these communities. After training for 7 years and racking up debt, they simply cannot afford to - the time/money ROI does not exist.
Correct me if I am wrong, but you must work in a designated area and/or a designated clinic to get these benefits. For whatever reason, my home community (again, as an example) is not in a designated area. You'd be amazed at how many rural communities are not in designated areas, despite being truly underserved.
In my home community, there is a tiny hospital and one clinic. Both filed for bankruptcy recently (see reasons above). Even if a physician can get his/her loans paid off, you still need a salary to live on that makes all of the time you trained for worth it, especially considering the lost wages that result from 7 years of training.
All of this is further compounded by the fact the FP is being chosen by fewer and fewer med students - what is it like 4% now?
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deleted87716
No, it's ~10% (still not good).
http://dailydose.ttuhsc.edu/news/sc...ouraging-student-interest-in-family-medicine/
This is also mirrored in the Match (~23,000 positions offered, of which ~2,700 are in family medicine).
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I'm aware how many communities are not in designated areas....not because they do not have an adequate HPSA score but usually because someone who runs the clinic is not willing to apply for NHSC assistance. I know that the application process is another hoop to jump through, but if you are truly hard up for good healthcare providers, then it IS an option.
If both the hospital and the clinic filed for bankruptcy, then how do YOU propose to go back to your home community and take care of patients? Yes, you may be willing to work for less, and you may be able to work for less, but a midlevel still needs to get paid. And while I applaud YOU for your altruism, it would be a gigantic leap of faith to assume that all NPs and PAs are just like you. I have met many PAs and NPs who took the cushy job in the lucrative ortho/radiology/derm practice, because it paid better than the free clinic across town.
And while you may be lucky enough to graduate from NP school with minimal loans, not all NPs are able to do that. I doubt that they'd be able to take a job in a medically underserved rural area either.
I understand the situation that you describe, but that raises two questions:
1) You're right, that you can't make money with a practice that is 50% uninsured and 50% Medicaid. But again, how do YOU intend to make a living taking care of these patients? You may not have as much of a debt burden, but you still need to make a livable salary!
2) So the people in that community that DO have decent insurance can drive farther away to get more and better healthcare resources. But earlier you said:
What direction are you going to point them in? In the direction of the bigger city with resources that they can't afford (otherwise they'd seek them out themselves)?
There are a lot of great reasons to choose to be an NP or a PA instead of a physician. But your arguments that NPs and PAs are somehow more likely, or more able, to take care of the medically underserved don't convince me. I met a lot of NPs who wouldn't be able to serve in an economically depressed area (their spouses wouldn't be able to find a job, they have a lot of kids to support, they have a lot of loans, etc.), and had to rely on the NHSC and PHS programs to get by.
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deleted87716
The Graham Center has shown that NPs do not flock to rural areas any more than physicians do, even in states where NPs have "independence."
http://www.tafp.org/advocacy/resources/PCCIssueBriefScopeGeo.pdf
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Thank you Lisa, and best of luck to you in DO school! I am sure it will be very rewarding.
I thought to come back to this thread b/c I went to a med education course the other evening and sat next to a FP physician that has six kids! She and I are just about the same age. She only works 3/4 of one day a week, but says she will increase that when her youngest is in highschool (he's just 18 months old now-OMG, I was so not having kids in my 40s either, lol). She can afford to do that b/c her husband is also a FP physician and he owns the practice they both work in, lol. So it does work out sometimes, and not everyone has to choose between career and family. I didn't have an option quite like that, so I made the choices that worked for me. I just thought it was interesting that she had 6 kids right after I was saying I didn't think I'd have been able to do both, yet she did. Now, I don't think she got to stay at home with the older ones, and that was super important to my husband and me, but she is in a very happy place right now and no doubt the early sacrifices were worth it to her family.
Choices. We all gots em. Just have to follow your gut and never look back!
I thought to come back to this thread b/c I went to a med education course the other evening and sat next to a FP physician that has six kids! She and I are just about the same age. She only works 3/4 of one day a week, but says she will increase that when her youngest is in highschool (he's just 18 months old now-OMG, I was so not having kids in my 40s either, lol). She can afford to do that b/c her husband is also a FP physician and he owns the practice they both work in, lol. So it does work out sometimes, and not everyone has to choose between career and family. I didn't have an option quite like that, so I made the choices that worked for me. I just thought it was interesting that she had 6 kids right after I was saying I didn't think I'd have been able to do both, yet she did. Now, I don't think she got to stay at home with the older ones, and that was super important to my husband and me, but she is in a very happy place right now and no doubt the early sacrifices were worth it to her family.
Choices. We all gots em. Just have to follow your gut and never look back!
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Of course. Were are talking both specifics (from my example of my home community), as well as generalities. While I personally may not be able to go back to my home community upon graduation, in general, it is not as difficult for a mid-level (again, in general) to work in such areas as ROI requirements are lower.
We can sit here and do math if necessary. In general, med school requires 4+ years of zero income and a lot of debt, followed by 3+ years of $40-50K in income. Mid-levels need, at worst, 2.5 years of no income, followed by $70-100K of income upon graduation and less debt. No doubt one could fathom a circumstance in which the two even out (med school vs. mid-level school), but in general, no.
Both in salary, and more importantly, opportunity cost vs. debt vs. time, 9/10 times the mid-level has an easier justification in rural/underserved areas.
I don't and I never have. The OP asked what we would do personally if we could do it over again. I answered. You are right, some will never have that option, even if they wanted it, and many do not.
I can't in such a situation, just as physicians can't either. My example was simply to show that, given the current environment, you can't get FP physicians into these areas. And, for that matter, mid-levels either. However, given the circumstances, it is easier to get mid-levels than physicians, in general. Mid-levels simply have a greater ROI, in general, than FP physicians, as it relates to time in training, debt, and lost income opportunity in underserved areas.
Not necessarily. For example, there are "free" clinics within 30-45 minutes driving distance that have a number of physician volunteers, many of which are specialists. Appointments are hard to come by, but preference is given to those who are referred. Some rural clinics that serve the underserved can negotiate charity and/or lower rates on tests/labs/diagnostics and specialty referrals with other clinics that the average patient cannot do. A PCP that is creative and aware such resources in the community such as these and others, is valuable.
See above. Furthermore, every clinic that specifically serves the poor/underserved in my region of the country that I am aware of is staffed by mid-levels. Why? This is what his conversation really comes down to.
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I don't doubt it. PA's tend to choose specialty, and NP's increasing are as well. But the OP asked what we would do personally, which I have answered, and I've added that for the mid-level that chooses to do rural/underserved, it is, in many cases, easier to do than for the physician in regard to real and opportunity cost.
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deleted87716
No doubt whatsoever. Try "doing the math" over the course of one's career. On average, primary care physicians earn roughly twice as much as PAs. Multiply that out over a 20+ year career, and I think you'll find that it more than makes up for the small difference in debt and up-front opportunity cost.
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deleted6669
this is true comparing specialty to specialty (fp md vs fp pa for example) however many specialty pa's make close to what primary care md's make. the avg pa in my em group this yr made 160k working 16-18 days/mo with our highest earner making 200k. this is similar to the range for fp/peds/im docs who do not subspecialize. (yes, I am aware that many primary care docs make > 200k, I was talking the "avg" primary care doc who makes 180k ish if I am not mistaken).
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deleted87716
The discussion is about primary care in rural/underserved areas.
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deleted6669
no, it's asking pa's if they wish they were docs and why. the rural discussion was a side issue.
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deleted87716
You're referring to the OP.
My point remains. An emergency physician, on average, earns roughly twice what the average EM PA does. Focusing solely on undergraduate debt and up-front opportunity cost is short-sighted.
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deleted6669
agreed. md in any specialty will almost always make more than a pa in the same specialty.
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A lot of doctors don't necessarily take financial advantage of their training.
You don't have to work in the ER to make good money.
For example, a family MD can:
1. Perform insurance medicine / IMEs.
2. Worker's comp assessments.
3. Concierge medicine.
4. Aviation medicine assessments.
5. Minor cosmetic procedures ( Botox, etc.)
The list goes on....
Typically, mid levels can't / or don't have the right connections for 1-4 (or 5). Lots of business opportunites out there. A lot of people are stuck in a rut, and don't think outside the box.
P.A.'s and Noctors are specialized in their one little medical area. This is one of the big differences between mid levels and MDs. We aren't as limited.
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P.A.s aren't, but NPs (or the evil Noctors as we are better known
) are. It's one of those weird differences that a lot of folk don't pick up on or really appreciate. NPs truly are stuck in our specific zone unless we want to go on a degree collecting spree. It's a bad thing if you want to do everything under the sun, but it's a great thing if you know what you want to do and are happy staying in your area. That I'm banned from peds and primary care is sort of like being banned from having my toenails torn out and fed to me. I mean sure it's possible it might interest me one day, but I just don't think it's going to be an issue.So to answer the original poster, no, zero regrets from this angle. I have friends who are MDs, friends who are PAs and we're all pretty happy with our jobs. I've yet to have a single moment in my career where I wished I was an MD, and many when I've been working alongside some poor run down resident and been very glad I'm a NP.
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P.A.s aren't, but NPs (or the evil Noctors as we are better known
So to answer the original poster, no, zero regrets from this angle. I have friends who are MDs, friends who are PAs and we're all pretty happy with our jobs. I've yet to have a single moment in my career where I wished I was an MD, and many when I've been working alongside some poor run down resident and been very glad I'm a NP.
Basically my answer. As a psych NP (adults only) I see no other future that interests me.
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