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Hi all,
I (30M single, no kids) am currently a Respiratory Therapist seeking to further my medical education. I have a rough academic past where I have 21 units of F grades that I failed to know to withdraw 12 years ago before RT school. I finished my BS R T degree and have a 3.5 GPA. My premed prerequisites are a 3.8 GPA. However, when my 21 units of F are factored in, my cGPA and sGPA are merely 3.1 and 3.2, respectively.
My options are pretty limited - I am aware. I have not taken the MCAT, but I wouldn't wager that I could pull off something in the 90th percentile. Same with the GRE. I have listed my most favorable option as an A A due to my interests in work-life balance, income, and opportunity cost. However, I fear that I will eventually get to a point where I have gone and become a provider instead due to the limiting nature of the work and scope of practice itself. I also looked into becoming a DPM but on SDN I found a lot of negative feedback regarding the future of DPM and the opportunity cost to income ratio being horrible. I do realize I have the option of going to the Caribbean and have considered deploying survivorship bias and going through it and playing the SOAP game instead of the match to increase my chances.
I guess my question is because of my age (30) I realize that A A would be the fastest route (2.5 years), but I fear that I will not get what I want out of the limited scope of practice, dealing with CRNA politics, and decreasing anesthesia reimbursement rates (I realize it's decreasing in a lot of fields too). I believe it might become the next Pharmacy or Optometry with all the schools pumping out anesthesia providers which would make the salary get state at around what it is now.
I have the option to make 100k working 40 hours per week right now as an RT with little to no workload (about 2-4 hours of work during a 12-hour shift). Which makes the opportunity cost higher in pursuing anything. I realize that a CAA is a highly trained professional, but I see it as an "advanced RT" a technical role more so than a provider. I can already do A-lines, intubate, and sit ECMO as an RT and I am not fulfilled by that. I shadowed a nice and personable CRNA and they told me they wish they became a provider instead. Doing 80% of the same work for 40-50% of the pay. I also did not particularly find sitting in the OR titrating propofol for cardiac incisions that exciting. Maybe because I was spectating? These are the reasons I wonder what the right path is... maybe it's to do nothing? I could see myself enjoying being an endocrinologist doing mental masturbation over some hormonal pathways. But is that the way it is now? Or is it 25-30 patients a day where you don't have time get to do that?
I do not mind doing 10 years of school or doing nothing. I am open to anything since I don't have a family or anything yet. I wouldn't mind the nice income of the A A, but after doing the math, it will take me roughly 15 years to get an ROI on my opportunity cost. These 15 years could be used to do a lot of things other than pursuing higher education to make income. I have also considered the academic fresh start of Texas but that would mean doing another bachelors all over again.
Thank you. All feedback is heavily appreciated!
I (30M single, no kids) am currently a Respiratory Therapist seeking to further my medical education. I have a rough academic past where I have 21 units of F grades that I failed to know to withdraw 12 years ago before RT school. I finished my BS R T degree and have a 3.5 GPA. My premed prerequisites are a 3.8 GPA. However, when my 21 units of F are factored in, my cGPA and sGPA are merely 3.1 and 3.2, respectively.
My options are pretty limited - I am aware. I have not taken the MCAT, but I wouldn't wager that I could pull off something in the 90th percentile. Same with the GRE. I have listed my most favorable option as an A A due to my interests in work-life balance, income, and opportunity cost. However, I fear that I will eventually get to a point where I have gone and become a provider instead due to the limiting nature of the work and scope of practice itself. I also looked into becoming a DPM but on SDN I found a lot of negative feedback regarding the future of DPM and the opportunity cost to income ratio being horrible. I do realize I have the option of going to the Caribbean and have considered deploying survivorship bias and going through it and playing the SOAP game instead of the match to increase my chances.
I guess my question is because of my age (30) I realize that A A would be the fastest route (2.5 years), but I fear that I will not get what I want out of the limited scope of practice, dealing with CRNA politics, and decreasing anesthesia reimbursement rates (I realize it's decreasing in a lot of fields too). I believe it might become the next Pharmacy or Optometry with all the schools pumping out anesthesia providers which would make the salary get state at around what it is now.
I have the option to make 100k working 40 hours per week right now as an RT with little to no workload (about 2-4 hours of work during a 12-hour shift). Which makes the opportunity cost higher in pursuing anything. I realize that a CAA is a highly trained professional, but I see it as an "advanced RT" a technical role more so than a provider. I can already do A-lines, intubate, and sit ECMO as an RT and I am not fulfilled by that. I shadowed a nice and personable CRNA and they told me they wish they became a provider instead. Doing 80% of the same work for 40-50% of the pay. I also did not particularly find sitting in the OR titrating propofol for cardiac incisions that exciting. Maybe because I was spectating? These are the reasons I wonder what the right path is... maybe it's to do nothing? I could see myself enjoying being an endocrinologist doing mental masturbation over some hormonal pathways. But is that the way it is now? Or is it 25-30 patients a day where you don't have time get to do that?
I do not mind doing 10 years of school or doing nothing. I am open to anything since I don't have a family or anything yet. I wouldn't mind the nice income of the A A, but after doing the math, it will take me roughly 15 years to get an ROI on my opportunity cost. These 15 years could be used to do a lot of things other than pursuing higher education to make income. I have also considered the academic fresh start of Texas but that would mean doing another bachelors all over again.
Thank you. All feedback is heavily appreciated!
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