Shnittle Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 Hi everybody, I'm in an English Professional/Technical Writing class, writing a recommendation report on what career advancement opportunities are out there for PA's. I have been accepted into a PA program and would like to stay a step ahead as my future becomes my present. As far as I have seen, there are only 3 options available to PA's. 1. Go to Med School, taking 4 years followed by X years in residency 2. Taking up a role as an administrator as a health or medical services manager; managing how medical services are rendered and overseeing a range of practices. 3. Switch jobs/locations from one niche to another, i.e. Family Practice to Emergency Are there any other options out there or are these about it? And if these are the options, why haven't they been expanded upon? I don't see why there hasn't been a 'fast-track' for a PA to become a Physician in their respective niche if they've had 10+ years of experience in that field. (Like a Family Practice PA going for a Family Practice Residency slot without having to go back to school, because this could easily solve the 'doctor deficit') Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoMD Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 1 hour ago, Shnittle said: I don't see why there hasn't been a 'fast-track' for a PA to become a Physician in their respective niche if they've had 10+ years of experience in that field. (Like a Family Practice PA going for a Family Practice Residency slot without having to go back to school, because this could easily solve the 'doctor deficit') LECOM offers a 3 year PA to DO bridge. That topic has been discussed a lot on here. If you search "LECOM" or "APAP" most of the threads should populate. Otherwise you it appears you listed all of them. Obviously you could add education in there with its respective progressions as well as our national organizations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinkertdm Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 You are correct, an MD degree is the next step in our career. I regularly get asked by patients why I dropped out of med school or if I'm planning to "go on". I get a wistful look in my eye and tell them that if the bank didn't foreclose on the family farm, I wouldn't have had to drop out. Now I'm stuck as the assistant. Here's something to put in your paper: the physician assistant profession is still in it's infancy; we -each one of us- is actively defining it daily. You are getting in on the ground floor- and there's nothing you can't do, given a little "get up and go". You no doubt read the post about PA's as medical examiners, and there's a whole damn thread about the amazing things that pas are doing. Daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 Alternatively, why does there need to be a progression? No one asks med students/doctors "So, what are you going to do next". If doctors can just be doctors, why can't we be PAs? I don't need to become a doctor, I certainly don't want to become an administrator, and I'm quite happy in the specialty I plan to stay in for the duration of my career. Why must I 'advance'? I have 2 masters degrees. I think that's quite enough, thank you. Given that you are a new poster with multiple fonts (i.e copy/pasting from somewhere) I'm going to maintain a high degree of suspicion of trolling. Someone admitted to a PA program should already have some insight into the questions you're asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted April 14, 2019 Moderator Share Posted April 14, 2019 6 hours ago, thinkertdm said: You are correct, an MD degree is the next step in our career. I regularly get asked by patients why I dropped out of med school or if I'm planning to "go on". I get a wistful look in my eye and tell them that if the bank didn't foreclose on the family farm, I wouldn't have had to drop out. Now I'm stuck as the assistant. Here's something to put in your paper: the physician assistant profession is still in it's infancy; we -each one of us- is actively defining it daily. You are getting in on the ground floor- and there's nothing you can't do, given a little "get up and go". You no doubt read the post about PA's as medical examiners, and there's a whole damn thread about the amazing things that pas are doing. Daily. I hope that is tongue in cheek PA is NOT a step to MD I think the career progression will change drastically with the DMSc degree - honestly think jobs are going to open up across the board.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinkertdm Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 39 minutes ago, ventana said: I hope that is tongue in cheek PA is NOT a step to MD I think the career progression will change drastically with the DMSc degree - honestly think jobs are going to open up across the board.... Yes, it was complete sarcasm, but frustration that a supposed pa student even thinks pa-md is the next step in a career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted April 14, 2019 Moderator Share Posted April 14, 2019 2 hours ago, thinkertdm said: Yes, it was complete sarcasm, but frustration that a supposed pa student even thinks pa-md is the next step in a career. yeah me too.... I truly think that the terminal doctorate will really open up a lot of hospital admin jobs - not more can the nurses say they run the place as it is Nurse and Doctors that matter - well I guess we just join the degree of doctorate...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted April 15, 2019 Administrator Share Posted April 15, 2019 3 hours ago, ventana said: I truly think that the terminal doctorate will really open up a lot of hospital admin jobs - not more can the nurses say they run the place as it is Nurse and Doctors that matter - well I guess we just join the degree of doctorate...... I'm resigned to this as well. I've already done one doctorate*... they just called it an MS at the time. * By workload Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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