love23cali Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Just looking to hear your personal reason(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hustleforthePAC Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 length, time, debt, mcat, being stuck in one specialty without option to switch, work life balance, my ageSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMeOuttaThisMess Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Couldn't have gotten in back then. There weren't med schools on every corner as there are now and you had to be a potential "All-Star/Hall of Fame" caliber player whereas I am the steady, play every day kind of player that will always have a roster spot. As mentioned in the past, this was the approach that I took when I interviewed for school back in the stone-age. Must've worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajames Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I chose to pursue becoming a PA because of the team-based approach in medical practice with this profession. I also value having autonomy but being able to ask a supervising physician when uncertain or with complicated cases. There is a lot of room to grow in the profession, although lateral mobility can still be difficult. I also like the idea of not having to compete while in graduate school because PAs don't apply for residency (most of the time); however I like that there are residencies available to those who feel they want more training in a certain field. Also, there are more PA schools in my area than MD schools. The closest medical school is 2 hours away from my current home. Another personal reason is I am waiting to have children until after school and settling into a job. There is definitely a lot to consider when choosing this profession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boli Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I didn't want to have to choose between being a good father/husband and a good doctor. Plus debt, time, flexibility (professionally and personally), satisfaction survey results, job market forecast and financial goals. Not to mention I'm not a prototypical applicant so getting in to Med school would probably be out of reach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pastudentw Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I knew family would be a big focus for me but I also loved medicine. I felt like I could manage both really well as a PA since I will graduate younger and start having a family sooner. I didn't want to go through pregnancy while in med school or during residency and have to spend a lot more time away from family. Obviously people do it and manage having kids while in med school but it wasn't something I wanted to take on. Plus I have no interest in having my own practice. I really like inpatient medicine so I think switching between different areas inside the hospital setting is realistic. I didn't like the idea of having to go through a whole application process again for residencies but I know I have the option to do that later on as a PA. Just a few reasons :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love23cali Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 6 hours ago, boli said: ... job market forecast ... I've heard some major changes are expected in the next couple of decades for PAs. Many believe it will be difficult to find positions in a saturated market, lateral mobility will be entirely phased out, some have said that PAs will take over primary care (might be phased out of specialties), and others that PAs will require more schooling. Does any of this sound probable? What about the job market forecast seems positive to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boli Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 3 minutes ago, love23cali said: I've heard some major changes are expected in the next couple of decades for PAs. Many believe it will be difficult to find positions in a saturated market, lateral mobility will be entirely phased out, some have said that PAs will take over primary care (might be phased out of specialties), and others that PAs will require more schooling. Does any of this sound probable? What about the job market forecast seems positive to you? Almost every major healthcare policy change recently is targeted at reducing cost without sacrificing quality of care. I believe that this is the perfect position for PA to continue to thrive. We are in and will continue to be in a physician shortage. Not to mention the baby boomer generation is coming to the age where they face significant medical issues. All of these things (on top of continued Pushes for less barriers to practice) indicate that this is a great time to be a PA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hcruz496 Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Length! I am a nontraditional student with a family and it dawned on me that I would've been in medical school while my son was in college. I can't afford that. Plus, speaking to different types of providers PAs have a better work/life balance. In many positions they are hourly whereas most MDs are salary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeQuack Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 2 hours ago, hcruz496 said: Length! I am a nontraditional student with a family and it dawned on me that I would've been in medical school while my son was in college. I can't afford that. Plus, speaking to different types of providers PAs have a better work/life balance. In many positions they are hourly whereas most MDs are salary. Isn't it better to be salaried though? Also I keep hearing contrasting stories related to work/life. Most pertained to the physician making significantly more (up to 3x) and working less hours (no weekend shifts, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 11, 2017 Moderator Share Posted August 11, 2017 fear of ochem, biochem, and the mcat. I was young and stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hcruz496 Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 1 hour ago, LeQuack said: Isn't it better to be salaried though? Also I keep hearing contrasting stories related to work/life. Most pertained to the physician making significantly more (up to 3x) and working less hours (no weekend shifts, etc). The PAs I know work far less than MDs because they are paid by the hour so being salary isn't necessarily better. Yes MDs make more money, but the way I see it I just want to make a comfortable living and 100K is plenty. It would be nice to make 300K, but not if it adds exponentially to my stress level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkearney Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Largely age. I coasted through college without any real direction, and consequently had terrible grades. Joined some pre-med friends and became an EMT at the age of 22. I was quite content doing this for several years, working a bunch of overtime and saving money during the Great Recession, and contemplating my next step (firefighter vs. medic vs. RN vs. other). I was 26 when I came to the conclusion that I needed to be PA - for a multitude of reasons it made the most sense. It took several years to remedy my previous academic missteps and prove myself to be a competitive applicant. Did I mention my previous grades were bad? I was throwing 4.0s at a mountain of 2.0s. If medicine appealed to me at the age of 18, I'm sure I would have tried much harder to put myself in a position to apply to med school on a more traditional timeline. But it didn't yet, and I took a different path. I don't regret this at all, I am who I am because of the life I've led. But I'm older and have different priorities. Spending the bulk of my 30s with medical school and residency sounds insane. I'd rather focus on my family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyJ Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 MCAT did it for me. I always had an interest for medicine. Spending most of my time in veterinary medicine before going to PA school. I wanted to be a vet. Vet school required either the MCAT or GRE. Looked at MCAT for, uhh 2 seconds, and decided the GRE was much easier. If I had the focus I had in PA school during undergrad, I would have likely taken the MCAT. Is the work/life balance and stress gap closing between PA and MDs? I spent most my time in ER and the docs worked 12-15 shifts a month, made 2.5 times the money I did, and had their families. Their life seemed pretty comparable to mine. Of course the medical director had it much different, but the typical ER doc didn't seem any more stressed then me. Family medicine has changed as more and more private practices our bought up by large health care systems. Many of the FP docs I know work their M-F, don't have to worry about overhead any more, and evening/weekend calls get splint amongst more providers with a lot of calls now being weeded out by call centers. For instance, I returned a call from my PCPs office during business hours. I called the number left by the nurse. This number went to a central call center, which then transferred my call to FP call center, which then transferred my call to the office. They all tried to address my call without bothering the office itself. I think for a few specialties the work/life balance is very similar. For surgical specialties I'm sure there is still a big gap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 One of the big reasons I was drawn to the PA profession was the collaborating physician component, and as a physician you don't get that. In my job experiences I love working autonomously, I love leading teams, I love having the knowledge and skills to complete a project on my own, but I also love that I could ask for help whenever I needed it. I've always had someone with more experience and training who could teach me something and answer my questions. I love that part of my past and current jobs. I work as a scribe and I see that physicians are always drawing on resources like other physicians, PAs and NPs, the internet, and books, but ultimately they have the final say and that responsibility is not a stressor I want to take on. I like that I would be able to operate as a solo provider at a high level, that I can draw on multiple resources to make decisions but always have someone to call on if things get over my head. Also, I don't think I'd want to study for the MCAT or be stuck in one specialty forever :P I can definitely see myself as being a PA working multiple specialties at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbum Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Age and family. I couldn't come to terms with being 41 by the time school and residency was done, especially with a mountain of med school debt to pay off. More importantly, I have no interest in missing more of my kids' lives than I already am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 For me personally, the financial commitment to attend medical school to go into primary care isn't financially smart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love23cali Posted August 11, 2017 Author Share Posted August 11, 2017 1 hour ago, Madeleine said: Also, I don't think I'd want to study for the MCAT or be stuck in one specialty forever :P I can definitely see myself as being a PA working multiple specialties at a time. Well, everyone's saying that lateral mobility is going to disappear soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Just now, love23cali said: Well, everyone's saying that lateral mobility is going to disappear soon. First I've heard of this. Can you expand on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HanSolo Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 I chose PA because I don't plan on being a PA the rest of my life. I'd like to practice medicine for 15-20 years and then move on to something else - or I could see myself moving into a teaching role. I also really don't give a hoot about being top dog. I'm glad I never took the MCAT, but it wasn't something I saw as an obstacle I couldn't overcome. My fear was at age 30 I would have been going into debt by putting all my eggs into the medical school basket, possibly have to apply multiple cycles, have little say as to where I was going to live over the next 10 years of my life, and put both a legitimate time and financial strain on my family. I really had to step back and ask myself, do I need to do this? It's not whether or not I could, it was whether or not I should. Ultimately, the answer was no. My passion for medicine just didn't run that deep. However, I can see why for many the answer would be yes. You'll find many a PA and MD who regret their decision. Heck, in 10 years I may change my mind and wish I would have gone another route. You just make the best decision you can at the time and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love23cali Posted August 11, 2017 Author Share Posted August 11, 2017 1 hour ago, Madeleine said: First I've heard of this. Can you expand on that? I've just seen it casually mentioned in this forum and on another forum a few times... EMEDPA, a moderator here, said it recently in the "future of pa" thread and in "deciding to leave medical school..." thread. I can't find every instance I've come across it however....and I can't explain why they believe this is so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollivander Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 After I switched over from pre-dental, I seriously contemplated PA vs DO. I chose to pursue PA because of the limited residencies DO would allow me to be competitive for. Also I knew that going to medical school would make it vastly more difficult for me to break into certain specialties that draw my interest more than others. I wouldn't be as confident matching into something like dermatology if I went to medical school as I would being able to land a derm job as a PA. All I'd need to do is pass the PANCE and interview well. I also knew that I did not want to limit myself to family medicine, and given the brilliant people I'd be competing with for certain specialties in medical school I felt there would be a good chance I'd end up in FM or IM. I didn't want to roll the dice with a ton of debt and years lost just to end up in family or internal medicine. I'm not putting down those specialties or professions by any means whatsoever. Just different strokes for different folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollivander Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 13 hours ago, EMEDPA said: fear of ochem, biochem, and the mcat. I was young and stupid. I think you're doing pretty well for yourself. You're probably in the top 5% of all PAs. You don't really know how medical school would have panned out for you or even if you would have matched into EM. Sometimes the grass seems greener when it really may not be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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