dreamlife Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Hello all, I'm brand new to posting on this forum but have been lurking for a little while. Here's a bit about my situation. I'm a physical therapist; I received my DPT two years ago and have been practicing in outpatient orthopedics since then. I'm in my mid-20's, and due to a terrific set of circumstances I have no student loans or debt. A couple months ago I realized that the field of PT is not satisfying me the way I thought it would, and I find myself really desiring to be able to treat patients more comprehensively other than simply addressing the musculoskeletal system thru mostly biomechanical means. Despite going to school for 7 years (DPT is 3 years) post-high school, even things such as ordering/reading imaging and prescribing medications is out of my scope of practice. I'm very frustrated with this, and I don't foresee my field changing any time soon. Enter PA studies. PA really seems to be exactly what I've always wanted to do. I've decided that I'm going to apply for PA school for either class of 2020 or 2021, allowing myself a couple years to stock away savings to avoid taking more student loans than I have to. Here's my question: has anyone taken my route before? DPT to PA? Does anyone have advice for my circumstances or anything to offer in terms of advice? Are my chances for getting into school decent? Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted March 3, 2016 Administrator Share Posted March 3, 2016 My outpatient IM preceptor was a PT before he went to DO school. Those skillsets matched up pretty well for him, but he snorted when he heard a PT refer to himself as "Dr. So-and-so"... :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameWasUsed Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Depends on your PT school GPA, but otherwise I think you would be a great candidate for PA school. Your chances would be really good I bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAGuy55 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I know a rehab PA who works as both a PT and a PA. He loves it. Said being a PT didn't really give him such a big advantage in school besides the muscoskeletal stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UWPAgrad2019 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I think this sounds great from reading your post. Clearly you have found that you actually really want to be a PA and just took a little different journey in order to find that out. I think PA admissions and schools would like to see that you believe you have now found your calling with PA school and the previous experience as an actual physical therapist will look and be great prior to attending PA school. Just do your pre-reqs, shadow some PAs, and maybe some volunteer/community service at this point, and it looks like you'll be a great applicant. Good luck! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamlife Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Thank you all for your feedback! @ HopefulPAstudent2015 - That is exactly how I feel. It simply took me a different route to find what I really wanted to do. I appreciate the advice and what to do at this point! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancer_dancer01 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 One of my classmates was a DPT and he was one of the best students in our program. I know I would trust him to look after one of my family members. I think the advantage of being a DPT is that you are already used to making assessments and plans on patients and coming up with your own treatment plans. The great thing is if you love ortho, you will be in such demand once you graduate that you will likely get your picks of ortho jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirScottric Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Your story is almost identical to mine, except I am an OT. I've been an OT for 2 1/2 years and feel the exact same way about my limited scope of practice and wanting to expand my skills and knowledge. I applied to one school this round, was granted an interview, and was offered (and accepted) a position. I begin my classes in May and cannot wait. During my interviews, I had multiple interviewers tell me I was a shoe-in for the program because of my therapy background. My cumulative graduate GPA was 3.98 and undergraduate was 3.65. I had about 5000 contact hours from my OT experience at the time of my application. I don't really have any special accolades. Best of luck in your decision making! PM if you have any questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UWPAgrad2019 Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Your story is almost identical to mine, except I am an OT. I've been an OT for 2 1/2 years and feel the exact same way about my limited scope of practice and wanting to expand my skills and knowledge. I applied to one school this round, was granted an interview, and was offered (and accepted) a position. I begin my classes in May and cannot wait. During my interviews, I had multiple interviewers tell me I was a shoe-in for the program because of my therapy background. My cumulative graduate GPA was 3.98 and undergraduate was 3.65. I had about 5000 contact hours from my OT experience at the time of my application. I don't really have any special accolades. Best of luck in your decision making! PM if you have any questions. wow awesome, where did you get accepted if you don't mind me asking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfoy Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Sounds like it'd be a great fit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirScottric Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 wow awesome, where did you get accepted if you don't mind me asking? Eastern Michigan University. I live in Flint so I'll have about an hour drive but it will be worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 It's going to suck for those competing against you :P Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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