What are some reasonable/ community oriented PA programs or medical schools?

[Arice7]

I am an undergraduate student. I am looking for PA programs to look into. I want a school that is not anti-science, cares about social justice issues, is reasonable when it comes to its students. I don't want to be in a institution or program that stands for nothing. I want to either be in the pediatric or OBGYN field. It is also possible that I would enjoy Psychology or Dermatology. Schools that I am interested in looking into are University of South Florida, Morehouse School of Medicine, Duke University, University of South Carolina, etc.

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[OrthoTraumaMD]

Eh? You’d be hard pressed to find any pa or med school that is “anti-science” lol.... science is kind of the point

 

[Arice7]

Eh? You’d be hard pressed to find any pa or med school that is “anti-science” lol.... science is kind of the point

Not necessarily true. I have been seeing people in powerful positions being anti-science rhetoric.

 

[Apollo1]

Not necessarily true. I have been seeing people in powerful positions being anti-science rhetoric.

Individuals who are anti-science doesn’t equate to a program being anti-science.

Like OrthoTraumaMD said, PA schools are based on the medical model (i.e. science). Focus more on identifying schools that will leave you with the least amount of debt while best preparing you for licensure.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

Not necessarily true. I have been seeing people in powerful positions being anti-science rhetoric.

What does that mean exactly?

 

[Arice7]

What does that mean exactly?

The conflation between sex and gender.

 

[Arice7]

Individuals who are anti-science doesn’t equate to a program being anti-science.

Like OrthoTraumaMD said, PA schools are based on the medical model (i.e. science). Focus more on identifying schools that will leave you with the least amount of debt while best preparing you for licensure.

Individuals make-up the environment.

 

[Apollo1]

Individuals make-up the environment.

You have evidence that a PA program is "anti-science?" Citation(s) please.

 

[pamac]

Individuals make-up the environment.

Ugh.....

Instead of being lazy, and proceeding to volunteer your unique insight as an enlightened undergrad to people who have devoted their careers to the betterment of mankind (and by default, people who know a thing or two about using science to help others in meaningful ways), you could... visit school websites. Or..... call the programs. Or.... Google school names alongside key words describing what you are looking for as far as a school’s commitment to whatever buzzwords you want associated with the place you hope to go.


I know..... crazy to think about doing a bit of your own research by literally using your fingers. And you can do that without preaching to us after we reveal to you that wherever you go to PA school, you will probably find that ALL the programs out there have a strong humanitarian bent. Your fears of running into an anti science agenda are off base. I suspect that you are afraid of finding even a single person at a PA program that doesn’t agree with you. Perhaps that should suggest to you to go out of your way to find a program to attend that challenges you vs protecting your fragile sensibilities. Consider it. It might make you a more well rounded person, and a better clinician.

My guess is that you would actually have to look very hard to find a program that doesn’t try to be as forward thinking as they possibly can get away with.

The overall reality that we know, and that you don’t seem to get out of the above conversation, is that you shouldn’t have a hard time finding a people focused PA program. PA programs jealously guard their seats, and try to keep butts in them. They make an effort to create a welcome environment. They fill those seats with individuals who are vetted to a high level. That’s why they interview, and look over reams of material that they request of you.

With all of that in mind, the best advice really is to simply aim for the cheapest program you can find, and make life easier by liberating yourself from debt. I’m serious when I say that you would benefit more from going to a cheap program vs any of the imagined harm you might encounter by not being around folks who are perfectly aligned with you ideologically.

 

[Splenda88]

I am familiar with south FL and I know someone who is at Morehouse now, and they both are very community oriented. If you are from FL, U of South FL will hurt your pocket less.

I have not encountered anti science people in medicine, then again I have only been part of this thing for ~7 years.

 

[Arice7]

V

Ugh.....

Instead of being lazy, and proceeding to volunteer your unique insight as an enlightened undergrad to people who have devoted their careers to the betterment of mankind (and by default, people who know a thing or two about using science to help others in meaningful ways), you could... visit school websites. Or..... call the programs. Or.... Google school names alongside key words describing what you are looking for as far as a school’s commitment to whatever buzzwords you want associated with the place you hope to go.


I know..... crazy to think about doing a bit of your own research by literally using your fingers. And you can do that without preaching to us after we reveal to you that wherever you go to PA school, you will probably find that ALL the programs out there have a strong humanitarian bent. Your fears of running into an anti science agenda are off base. I suspect that you are afraid of finding even a single person at a PA program that doesn’t agree with you. Perhaps that should suggest to you to go out of your way to find a program to attend that challenges you vs protecting your fragile sensibilities. Consider it. It might make you a more well rounded person, and a better clinician.

My guess is that you would actually have to look very hard to find a program that doesn’t try to be as forward thinking as they possibly can get away with.

The overall reality that we know, and that you don’t seem to get out of the above conversation, is that you shouldn’t have a hard time finding a people focused PA program. PA programs jealously guard their seats, and try to keep butts in them. They make an effort to create a welcome environment. They fill those seats with individuals who are vetted to a high level. That’s why they interview, and look over reams of material that they request of you.

With all of that in mind, the best advice really is to simply aim for the cheapest program you can find, and make life easier by liberating yourself from debt. I’m serious when I say that you would benefit more from going to a cheap program vs any of the imagined harm you might encounter by not being around folks who are perfectly aligned with you ideologically.

Very pretentious of you.

 

[pamac]

Very pretentious of you.

It’s not at all surprising that you’d respond with projection and suggest that my criticism of your pretentiousness is instead pretentiousness on my part.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

vs any of the imagined harm you might encounter by not being around folks who are perfectly aligned with you ideologically.

This. Not everyone with a different view is a villain or “anti-science.” No one has ever benefited from working, or studying, in an echo-chamber.

 

[pamac]

This. Not everyone with a different view is a villain or “anti-science.” No one has ever benefited from working, or studying, in an echo-chamber.

Didn’t you read what the OP had to say? What do you know, you are just a physician and a faculty member. Anti-science much?

Pardon my sarcasm above....

But yeah, the OP put forth an odd question: “Where can I find the program with THE MOST aligned worldview to my own, among a sector of academia that is almost guaranteed to be dominated with a compatible worldview to my own?”

That leaves many of us scratching our heads and wondering how one could actually avoid being surrounded by individuals who subscribe to their worldview, even if one were to draw your program out of a hat at random. Dare I suggest that one couldn’t find any program willing to be know as one that isn’t committed to science and social justice? But maybe the standard being sought is to find the wokest among the woke, I guess. I think that’s what’s being implied. And that’s perfectly fine, it just seems silly.

So OP, you’d be better off asking the question “where would I find the most conservative (ie anti science, anti social justice... ie “doesn’t agree with your world view”) campus environment to avoid?”..... because most of us would have a hard time narrowing down a list of the programs that are the most social justice/science centered locales. The list would just be too long. And to be honest, I can’t think of any place off the top of my head where you wouldn’t be coddled and protected from being offended. Yay for you!

Oh, and don’t go into dermatology.... all you’ll find at the end of that rainbow is a lot of gold, and that might tarnish your street cred when it comes to social justice. You’d probably rather spend your day criticizing rich people rather than providing their Botox and fixing their kids’ acne. See? I’m looking out for you!