alopez311 Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Hi everyone, First time poster. To start, I graduated with my BA in Psychology in 2012 from a UC. Ended with a 3.2 ish GPA. Throughout college I was pre-med, but not completely convinced it was for me. After college I became a respite care provider to children with autism, volunteered, and took some advanced level science courses/retook classes I got C's in. I applied to DO school last year and received 5 ii, attended 4, waitlisted at 2, rejected at 2. Im convinced it was due to my lack of interview skills. I am currently applying MD/DO again and I find myself feeling like this isn't for me anymore. I even feel like not attending one of my interviews at the moment. In my 4 years off after graduating, I realize that family/relationships are very important to me, whereas before they weren't so much :/ I want a career where I can prioritize my family and my own well-being. I want to start a family by the time I'm 30. I want time. I want to enjoy my life and focus on the quality. I dont care about autonomy in practice anymore. All I want to do is treat and care for patients. The only thing is that I will be going on 27 years old next year and I don't have years of patient care experience like most pre-PA's. I also am already 100k in debt from my undergrad years. My question is: Is it worth it? I will be about 200k in debt by the time I am a practicing PA and I will be around 30 years old. My boyfriend right now works in retail and did not go to college so I will be the sole financial source for our family, which I don't mind. Will we live comfortably??? Does the application offer grade replacement as well? My stats are: Acc to AMCAS--cGPA 3.4 sGPA 3.3 (Still need Anatomy/Physio/Med Ethics) MCAT 501 During college: Honors Society-VP position 100 hours in patient transport in hospital while in college 2 years in college sorority-VP position Optometry Intern for 3 months-patient pretesting, etc. After college: Basically working /taking some classes 2 years experience as volunteer 24 hr hotline advocate for sex assault victims 2 years experience as a paid math/english tutor 3 years experience in volHospice 3 years in Behavior Respite 2 years as Kaplan medical proctor for physicians I would need to shadow a PA, possibly take the GRE, and take A/P + labs. I was also thinking of being an Optometry assistant? Would this count towards direct care work? Do I have any chance at PA school in CA? I really dont want to have to be a reapplicant for PA school, esp since I have already wasted so much time :( Please, I am open to all criticism and advice!!!! I feel like i'm having a quarter-life crisis. I don't even want to tell my family... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 27, 2016 Moderator Share Posted November 27, 2016 I am probably in the minority here, but if I was in your position I would continue with the plan to attend DO school then do a cush residency like FP, work 2 days/week making 150k and have lots of free time. as a pa you will have to work much harder after school to make a good living than you would as a doc. If I could snap my fingers and be a doc instead of a pa I would do it. I work 170ish hrsa/mo to make as much as a doc working half as much. just saying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alopez311 Posted November 27, 2016 Author Share Posted November 27, 2016 @EMEDPA Yes, but isn't it hard to find PT MD/DO positions? Also, side question, how much do you think i'll be paying per month with fed loans and 200k in debt? Will I be okay as a PA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameWasUsed Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 I am probably in the minority here, but if I was in your position I would continue with the plan to attend DO school then do a cush residency like FP, work 2 days/week making 150k and have lots of free time. as a pa you will have to work much harder after school to make a good living than you would as a doc. If I could snap my fingers and be a doc instead of a pa I would do it. I work 170ish hrsa/mo to make as much as a doc working half as much. just saying... Do you have statistics backing up your claim of FPs working 2 days a week and making 150k/year. I'm having a hard time believing a doctor can work 20 hours a week and make 150k in primary care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameWasUsed Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Hi everyone, First time poster. To start, I graduated with my BA in Psychology in 2012 from a UC. Ended with a 3.2 ish GPA. Throughout college I was pre-med, but not completely convinced it was for me. After college I became a respite care provider to children with autism, volunteered, and took some advanced level science courses/retook classes I got C's in. I applied to DO school last year and received 5 ii, attended 4, waitlisted at 2, rejected at 2. Im convinced it was due to my lack of interview skills. I am currently applying MD/DO again and I find myself feeling like this isn't for me anymore. I even feel like not attending one of my interviews at the moment. In my 4 years off after graduating, I realize that family/relationships are very important to me, whereas before they weren't so much :/ I want a career where I can prioritize my family and my own well-being. I want to start a family by the time I'm 30. I want time. I want to enjoy my life and focus on the quality. I dont care about autonomy in practice anymore. All I want to do is treat and care for patients. The only thing is that I will be going on 27 years old next year and I don't have years of patient care experience like most pre-PA's. I also am already 100k in debt from my undergrad years. My question is: Is it worth it? I will be about 200k in debt by the time I am a practicing PA and I will be around 30 years old. My boyfriend right now works in retail and did not go to college so I will be the sole financial source for our family, which I don't mind. Will we live comfortably??? Does the application offer grade replacement as well? My stats are: Acc to AMCAS--cGPA 3.4 sGPA 3.3 (Still need Anatomy/Physio/Med Ethics) MCAT 501 During college: Honors Society-VP position 100 hours in patient transport in hospital while in college 2 years in college sorority-VP position Optometry Intern for 3 months-patient pretesting, etc. After college: Basically working /taking some classes 2 years experience as volunteer 24 hr hotline advocate for sex assault victims 2 years experience as a paid math/english tutor 3 years experience in volHospice 3 years in Behavior Respite 2 years as Kaplan medical proctor for physicians I would need to shadow a PA, possibly take the GRE, and take A/P + labs. I was also thinking of being an Optometry assistant? Would this count towards direct care work? Do I have any chance at PA school in CA? I really dont want to have to be a reapplicant for PA school, esp since I have already wasted so much time :( Please, I am open to all criticism and advice!!!! I feel like i'm having a quarter-life crisis. I don't even want to tell my family... I wouldn't say you have no HCE. You definitely have HCE. You kinda do lack patient care experience. If you wanna be safe you then you need hands on PCE like CNA or EMT. I'm not sure what behavior respite is but sounds like HCE to me. There are more and more cali schools opening ups o you definitely have a chance for PA school in cali but you limit your choices by doing so of course. Nobody can tell you if you'll be a reapplicant or not. Living comfortably depends largely on location. Even doctors can't live comfortably in Manhattan NY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britrae Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Also, side question, how much do you think i'll be paying per month with fed loans and 200k in debt? Will I be okay as a PA? Are all your loans federal? If so, I wouldn't worry too much to be honest. There are programs where they adjust your payments based on income. There are also loan relief programs for working in underserved areas. Those can be hard to get into, but it's still an option out there. I don't think you should base your decision to be a PA off of salary/loan payment. I have the same amount of debt as you from undergrad, but in private Sallie Mae loans. I'm making a payment of $600+ per month towards my private loans (during my gap years before applying to PA school). It sucks, but I'm managing. Go out and shadow a PA and see if it's something you really want to do. Admissions can smell that through your application like my puppy can smell me opening the peanut butter jar. Good luck! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Also, side question, how much do you think i'll be paying per month with fed loans and 200k in debt? Will I be okay as a PA? Are all your loans federal? If so, I wouldn't worry too much to be honest. There are programs where they adjust your payments based on income. There are also loan relief programs for working in underserved areas. Those can be hard to get into, but it's still an option out there. I don't think you should base your decision to be a PA off of salary/loan payment. I have the same amount of debt as you from undergrad, but in private Sallie Mae loans. I'm making a payment of $600+ per month towards my private loans (during my gap years before applying to PA school). It sucks, but I'm managing. Go out and shadow a PA and see if it's something you really want to do. Admissions can smell that through your application like my puppy can smell me opening the peanut butter jar. Good luck! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk Sorry but this is bad advice. You ABSOLUTELY should consider salary/loan repayment. You likely will incur much more than an additional $100k for PA school. Grad school does NOT do subsidized loans so you start adding interest immediately. Even if you only have $200k in loans, you are looking at nearly $2-$2.5k MONTHLY in payments. CAN you do it? Sure. Will it be easy? Definitely not. $2500/mo in loans, rent, car payment/insurance, bills, food, etc.....on, let's be generous and say a $100k salary to start, you're looking at probably barely making all payments with no wiggle room for problems and limited, if any, ability to save/401k/etc. At some point, you also max out how much federal loan money you can take out - do your research to make sure the schools you want to apply/go to aren't going to run you out of money and send you looking for private loans. Yes, there are some repayment options but there are a LOT of stipulations in order to have 'excess' loan forgiven. And, being realistic, who knows if the programs will stick around. Grades are averaged, not replaced, for PA applications. If you don't want to be a repeat applicant, spend a year or two making sure you have a strong application before applying. It's that whole 'measure twice, cut once' thing. If you throw your hat in the ring with what you've presented to us here, you will likely be a reapplicant. It's also a misnomer that PAs necessarily have MORE time for 'life'. This isn't a 9-5 job where you clock in and clock out and call it a day. Are there some positions that do have more free time? Of course. But there are some MD/DO positions that can swing that, too, with better pay. Definitely make sure you do your research. If starting at family by 30 is your TOP priority....don't think that PA school is the 'easy' way (or only way) to make that happen. Right now it seems like that's your only reason for switching from MD/DO to PA...and that's not going to impress any admission committees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loliz Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 This whole idea of more time for family as a PA is nonsense. Any job you take, you will have to decide what schedule works for you. You can work clinic hours as an MD or DO just as easily as you can do the same as a PA. The difference is that you will be getting paid more. If you honestly "feel like not attending" an interview right now, maybe you should reevaluate your actual goals. PA school is not a walk in the park, the admission process is grueling and competitive, and you come out with less debt, but also less income. Don't get me wrong, I love being a PA, but I am being honest. Your reasons for the switch up don't make sense so I would ask you to really think about why you are doing this/thinking about changing your plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Don't let other people tell you what you should do with your life; only you will pay the price and reap the rewards. You are obviously in turmoil and beginning to doubt your direction. When the guns are going off is probably not the best time to work through your life's direction. If it were me (and it obviously isn't), go on the interview and see what happens. At worst, you'll be rejected. At best, you'll get accepted and then get to decide if you really want to go or not. If there is anything I've learned in 70 years on earth, it's this: you learn something about yourself when you put yourself in a new place. Living through possible scenarios in your own mind is generally a poor substitute. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewb Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 I will second the advice here to rethink the life/work balance possible with either a PA or MD/DO career track. Do more shadowing with physicians in FP and you will likely see people with satisfying life/work balance. As far as your debt goes, I would need a very clear plan that involved a student loan forgiveness/repayment program to feel good about pursuing either track going forward. That's me though- six figure debt would cause me too much anxiety to enjoy life no matter what career I chose. If you meet the physical and age requirements the military has outstanding opportunities. I enlisted years ago to pay off some debt and get money for grad school going forward. It was a great decision for me. There are also programs for practicing in rural and underserved areas, or Alaska. It will probably involve some kind of sacrifice one way or other but I can only feel free if I'm debt free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 28, 2016 Moderator Share Posted November 28, 2016 I work with a # of FP physicians who work 20 hrs/week and make what I do working 45 hrs/week. these positions for physicians are not uncommon. they also get full bennies and have a lot more family time than I do... FP is only tough the first yr of residency. after that, 40-60 hr weeks pgy 2 and 3 are not uncommon. at my last job I was in the hospital more than the fp residents. also, with fp you can really do whatever you want; hospitalist, ob, ER, minor procedures, treadmills, scopes,. vasectomies, concierge medicine, wt loss clinic, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameWasUsed Posted November 29, 2016 Share Posted November 29, 2016 I work with a # of FP physicians who work 20 hrs/week and make what I do working 45 hrs/week. these positions for physicians are not uncommon. they also get full bennies and have a lot more family time than I do... FP is only tough the first yr of residency. after that, 40-60 hr weeks pgy 2 and 3 are not uncommon. at my last job I was in the hospital more than the fp residents. also, with fp you can really do whatever you want; hospitalist, ob, ER, minor procedures, treadmills, scopes,. vasectomies, concierge medicine, wt loss clinic, etc I'm having a hard time believing this is the norm for FP physicians. 20hours a week for 170k? Based on http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2016/public/overview#page=2 FP make on average 207k a year and I presume these are all full time FP physicians (second page 2). According to page 25 only 11% of all surveyed doctors reported to spending less than 30 hours a week with patients and this doesn't account for the hours of paper work statistics on page 27. FP physicians account for 13% of the study (page 33). Based on this medscape report it doesn't really align with what you perceive at where you work. I'm not trying to debate or argue but I think accurate statistics and information is pertinent in helping uncertain applicants make their decisions as oppose to anecdotal evidence. Also, how does FP go into ER? That kind of defeats the purpose of an ER residency doesnt it? Same with OB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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