Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 25, 2010 Moderator Share Posted May 25, 2010 this has already been posted by others at sdn so thought I should mention it here. LECOM will announce within the next 2 weeks that they have approval to start a pa to physician(DO) bridge program. I don't know any more details than this: 2 yrs, 10 months in length. mcat score required. ms1 and ms2 are done in their entirety followed by a hybrid clinical yr. 12 spots for the first class. grads not limited in choice of residency Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
istat2 Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 It's been a long time comming!:=D: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain1028 Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 How much does it cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiaroscuro27 Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Wow...amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 25, 2010 Author Moderator Share Posted May 25, 2010 How much does it cost? regular medschool tuition/yr x 3 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 I don't qualify, but if I did I would jump on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joelseff Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 soooo 3 yrs of Med school PLUS residency for a net savings of 1 year of clinical??? hmmm...why do it? Especially if you have been practicing medicine as a PA for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted May 25, 2010 Administrator Share Posted May 25, 2010 Well, if they paid PAs doing residencies as much as, well, PAs rather than residents (including OT as appropriate) that wouldn't be such a bad deal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebecker Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Thanks for posting this up. Glad that good things are coming down the pike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joelseff Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 Well, if they paid PAs doing residencies as much as, well, PAs rather than residents (including OT as appropriate) that wouldn't be such a bad deal... i dunno if you were answering my post rev, but what i mean is why even go through a bridge? just go back to med school do the extra year of clinical and you can go to the school of your choice and not fight for the 12 open slots. maybe that one year is worth it for some, I'll be happy to just be out soon and working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridiculopathy Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 wow cool....hopefully public and m.d. med schools will follow....3 years is cool with me....hopefully they'll allow the p.a. to continue working....whoohoo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physasst Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 I'll be interested in the responses to this, as the AOA is as well. I'm friends with Steve Shannon, who's a DO, and currently President of the American Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. (yes I know everybody, and that's not the point) He emailed me this morning to ask what the PA community response was going to be to this. So I will relay, once there are a lot more responses, your feelings to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
istat2 Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 I'll be interested in the responses to this, as the AOA is as well. I'm friends with Steve Shannon, who's a DO, and currently President of the American Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. (yes I know everybody, and that's not the point) He emailed me this morning to ask what the PA community response was going to be to this. So I will relay, once there are a lot more responses, your feelings to him. It's a great start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deborah212 Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 Very cool news. I wonder how LORs for the match work... At 4 yr programs, md/do students have a full yr plus (3-4 months?) to get letters. If clinicals are 10 months, then the former PAs now DO students would only have several rotations to choose attendings from. I'm sure prior SPs could provide exceptional recommendations, but these would be geared towards how the person functions as a PA and not a DO student. Maybe the key will be to schedule rotations early where you've formerly worked if it's a field you want to match in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridiculopathy Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 wow cool....hopefully public and m.d. med schools will follow....3 years is cool with me....hopefully they'll allow the p.a. to continue working....whoohoo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 26, 2010 Author Moderator Share Posted May 26, 2010 it is a great start. I would be a lot more interested though if they would waive the mcat requirement. I think pa's have already demonstrated an aptitude for medicine by becoming pa's. for me to do this I would need 1 yr of postbac coursework to review/relearn for the mcat then a kaplan course to prep for the mcat. if I could just walk on as a pa with a masters I would consider it a lot more seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 26, 2010 Author Moderator Share Posted May 26, 2010 wow cool....hopefully public and m.d. med schools will follow....3 years is cool with me....hopefully they'll allow the p.a. to continue working....whoohoo! I imagine you could work a bit in the program ms1 and ms2 but certainly not enough to keep up a benefited position. I have several friends who have done the pa to md/do route and they all worked a bit the first 2 years and did fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 I think what you just said speaks for alot of PAs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_me Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 will PA now become a "stepping stone"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemedic13 Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 will PA now become a "stepping stone"? I don't think so. For someone like me I know that I just don't really want to spend 2 years to get my PA only to spend 3 years in DO school and then 3-8 years in a residency working 80 hours a week and being paid like I was a paramedic again. No thanks. If I wanted that route, why the heck wouldn't I cut a year off that and just apply directly to DO school. Heck, last year when I checked the stats it was actually easier for me to get into a DO program than a PA program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 26, 2010 Author Moderator Share Posted May 26, 2010 Very cool news. I wonder how LORs for the match work... ? I'm guessing a lot of pa's interested in something like this already have an "in " at a residency program or 2. for example I have worked as a preceptor at 2 facilities that had fp residencies. at the first my sp was the director of the residency program. I'm guessing I would have a serious advantage over other applicants if I applied there with a letter from the program director in my file. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 26, 2010 Author Moderator Share Posted May 26, 2010 will PA now become a "stepping stone"? I doubt it. think about it. you would have to meet pa school and do program prereqs + 2 yrs of extra grad school tuition( and I imagine there will probably be a requirement of X yrs of pa practice as well) to save 1 yr for only a small shot at program admission. the potential applicant pool for those 12 spots is close to 75,000 applicants after all....they will probably have > 1000 applicants for the first class I'm guessing. 12/1000 . that's a 1.25% admit rate. and there already is a 3 yr DO program out there for primary care at the same program(LECOM primary care scholars program). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemedic13 Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 I think this is a great option for PAs who have been in the field for a while and want to move up. But I am guessing that a lot of PAs, for various reasons including personal reasons, financial reasons, and/or contentment with their current role, will simply stay where they are. I also think many people will also still become PAs because they want to. These days it is so competitive to get into PA school that if you are a good candidate for a PA program you are probably a good candidate for a DO school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 26, 2010 Author Moderator Share Posted May 26, 2010 agree with above. that being said if it was close to me and required no mcat it would be a no brainer. I would apply. I'll take a look at the official requirements when it comes out in 2 weeks but I'm guessing this won't work for me due to family commitments. I have young kids and my wife is an artist....I currently have no debt aside from my mortgage and make a really good living working less than 20 days/mo and have time to volunteer and do lots of fun stuff in my spare time. I applaud this program but think it will probably appeal more to folks who are 10 yrs or less out of pa school.. I really wish this had come along 5-10 yrs ago...oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physasst Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 Agreed E, I look at this in a similar light to the Wake Forest PA/PhD program...it's interesting, and shows the advancement that our profession is making, but really, in the grand scheme of things is only going to affect a small number of people. I'm already finishing my doctoral, and as I am geared more towards a research/policy track, the DO program doesn't really interest ME personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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