Masters degrees that opens up doors/options post-PA

[deltawave]

On 12/10/2020 at 9:26 AM, MediMike said:

Military didn't cross my mind! Larger more bureaucratic organizations probably do have some set in stone standards.

Did you end up finishing a MS and joining up still?

PM inbound

[kargiver]

On 12/10/2020 at 1:49 AM, deltawave said:

Could you expand on this thought a little more? Thank you. 

Sure.  In the world of business and administration education, the Masters level degree is considered a terminal degree and anything beyond that is generally utilized in teaching endeavors.  It is also this way with the MPH but there is a collective effort to push for DrPH degrees to be terminal degrees in public health.  It isn't an issue at the moment, but senior positions are moving towards DrPH holders and other doctoral level education.  Additionally, the MPH is often pursued by those in healthcare with a doctoral level education (MD/DO) so they can fall back on their primary degree as their doctoral degree.  For PAs, with Masters level education as the de facto terminal degree, if you do an MPH, you are limiting yourself long-term to a "mid-management" or practice-oriented role.  This is especially true if you want to purse administration or policy positions.  

If you are going to make the leap for branching out your education, do that which best positions you to be tops in your field.  Or not - your choice of course.  But being a PA is a 24/7 fight within the medical hierarchy (we don't want it to exist - but it still does) so anything that builds your credentials at the highest levels will only benefit you.

G