Advice for someone considering PA school

[sas5814]

I have been asked to take a call this weekend from a young woman considering PA school. I have very mixed feelings about what to say. I love this profession and it has been very good to me. However, I have some major reservations about the direction the profession is heading and its long term future.

So I was wondering what others might say if asked about enrolling in a PA program today?

[EMEDPA]

GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL. 

[CAAdmission]

Or into the nursing/NP route. 

I fear we have an expiration date. 

 

[ventana]

young - go to med school

older - go to NP school and know that you MUST do a fellowship after - and don't just go to any old NP program but go to an elite program that turns out great graduates

If you love PA then go to PA school - education FAR exceeds that of NP but political activism is in the pits.....

[VentiMacchiato]

3 hours ago, EMEDPA said:

GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL. 

this. 

[kettle]

Depends on what they want to do with their career in medicine. Rural? Go PA, the education base will serve this individual well. Young? Go to med school? Psych? Go to NP school 

[CAAdmission]

9 hours ago, EMEDPA said:

GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL. 

I see where this advice comes from, but most physicians I know are generally miserable, terrible people that are mad at the world. Most are wealthy and miserable, so I guess that helps take the edge off. 

[SedRate]

11 hours ago, sas5814 said:

I have very mixed feelings about what to say. I love this profession and it has been very good to me. However, I have some major reservations about the direction the profession is heading and its long term future.

^This is basically what I tell prospective PA students: I have mixed feelings about the outlook. I love being a PA in a collaborative and empowering environment, but that seems hard to come by and there are current limitations to PA practice and lack of serious momentum to change this. Medicine is a different beast nowadays and in some ways has become the art of business and protocols rather than medicine and helping others. I tell them if they want to learn medicine, look into perfusion, med school or PA. And if they want a better outlook and flexibility, consider RN or NP. 

[Mayamom]

NP psychiatric path.  

[Reality Check 2]

I would not encourage anyone to become an NP.

Substandard educational opportunities and contributing to the masses of less than trained NPs. Not beneficial in the long run.

PA for rural or surgical.

Otherwise, go to med school.

The current route of the PA profession is following the Titanic - HUGE iceberg in the path, growing larger and complete denial that the iceberg even exists.

[ANESMCR]

I’d tell them to get on track for CRNA. Or not do medicine at all. 

[bluiz1997]

If our son has any interest in being a medical provider (we hope not) he will go to medical school.  Mom=PA and Dad=NP

[rev ronin]

The most important thing to do is GRADUATE WITHOUT DEBT. For the most part, the only vote anyone who doesn't own their own practice gets is by voting with one's feet. That's hard to do with a lot of debt overhead. Taking the money out of my 401K to pay educational expenses was the most freeing thing ever.

Avoid tuition reimbursement: if the jobs were any good, they would not have indentured servitude to fill them.

The nice thing about the NP/DNP path is that it's made for working moms. That doesn't always mean pay-as-you-go, but it's a lot easier to do it that way than with PA or medical school. Not many people have accumulated assets like I did when I made the switch.

 

 

[Reality Check 2]

I just cannot get past the current state of NP education.

I cannot recommend it to anyone.

Substandard and not ready to meet the needs of our population.

 

[EMEDPA]

On 9/1/2022 at 3:30 PM, CAAdmission said:

I see where this advice comes from, but most physicians I know are generally miserable, terrible people that are mad at the world. Most are wealthy and miserable, so I guess that helps take the edge off. 

EM docs tend to be pretty chill. Most make 200-300/hr, work ten shifts a month, and spend lots of time pursuing other passions like skiing, biking, mtn climbing, etc

[iconic]

There are some very good NP programs as well as prestigious nursing schools, CRNA, PhD.. lots of opportunities for nurses

[EMEDPA]

Just now, iconic said:

There are some very good NP programs as well as prestigious nursing schools, CRNA, PhD.. lots of opportunities for nurses

Agree- I have worked with a lot of great NPs from solid brick and mortar programs like the U. of WA. 

What makes a good NP is solid prior RN experience(measured in years), a great program, and good rotations. 

[SedRate]

On 9/3/2022 at 6:56 PM, EMEDPA said:

Agree- I have worked with a lot of great NPs from solid brick and mortar programs like the U. of WA. 

What makes a good NP is solid prior RN experience(measured in years), a great program, and good rotations. 

Agree. I usually include this when having a discussion with a pre-health student, whatever path they choose. 

[UGoLong]

One day back on this professional thread and I remember why I stopped reading it so often!

My experience as a PA over the past 16 years has, for the most part, been different than what I've been reading here.  While not everything I've experienced has been sweetness and light, I feel that I've generally been treated with respect by the people I work with: docs, nurses, NPs, and other staff. I try to keep learning and try -- with varying degrees of success -- to avoid negative vibes whenever possible. I try to remember that I'm here mostly for my patients and coworkers. 

I appreciate that there are others out there in different situations and they probably do need to change jobs -- or maybe even careers -- for their own satisfaction. We do, after all, come with different priorities. Go for it, but try to retain at least a little optimism. 

If I read stuff like this thread when I was 18, I might still be cowering in my bedroom!  Fortunately I met some good role models along the way. That started with my Dad, a self-made man who never went to college. He told me that we should make our own jobs -- and be ready to change as opportunities change -- rather than just occupy somebody else's generic slot. And that's what I've tried to do through several careers.

Being a physician is an option for some but, from what I see, it's no bowl of cherries either. And we don't have J&J funding career publicity like the NPs do, and they also have about 4 times the graduates as we do. Sounds like a problem to be worked.

Edited September 7, 2022 by UGoLong

[EMEDPA]

1 hour ago, UGoLong said:

One day back on this professional thread and I remember why I stopped reading it so often!

My experience as a PA over the past 16 years has, for the most part, been different than what I've been reading here. 

In all fairness, you probably got more respect as a new grad PA due to your age and maturity than a typical new grad gets. Once I grew a beard, put on a wedding ring, and got some gray in my sideburns, I suddenly was treated much better than I was as a new grad in my late 20s. 

[iconic]

NP path just generally makes more sense to me - specialization (while BS sells well to the public), DNP (while BS) is the same. You have RN as a back up. You can pursue CRNA work.. Strength in numbers.. independent practice. and so on

[CritCareICU]

I want to echo UGoLong, this blog has instigated a kind of negativity around the field. If we can’t even boost ourselves up, or think positively about the career we chose how do we expect change within our community or respect from other members of the healthcare team for that  matter.  I may have not been a PA for 20 years, but I have been for about 8-9 and I have to say I thoroughly enjoy and love my career. The respect or autonomy or trust that we all crave comes from showing our worth; you can argue that if you had an MD on your lapel we wouldn’t have to prove anything, but it is what it is.    I have been in multiple hospitals throughout my career specifically doing locums from time to time.  Sometimes in the beginning people do question my ability, but after witnessing me in action I easily gain all the respect/trust/autonomy that I want.  
 

but back to the initial question. I tell everyone PA is a great field. It’s a shorter time in school than MD, far superior education than most local/online NP programs, you have the ability to make great money, and if you work for the right group you’ll be able to perform/do almost anything your doc can in terms of scope of practice.  
 

end rant haha. 
 

 

[UGoLong]

On 9/6/2022 at 9:47 PM, EMEDPA said:

In all fairness, you probably got more respect as a new grad PA due to your age and maturity than a typical new grad gets. Once I grew a beard, put on a wedding ring, and got some gray in my sideburns, I suddenly was treated much better than I was as a new grad in my late 20s. 

This comment strikes a chord. I WAS older and (hopefully) more mature at 60 than when I was 22, but no more experienced as a PA than any other new graduate. What was maybe different was that I tried not to display my insecurities to those around me, which I know can be like blood in the water to some.

In a way, I suspect that I acted no different than I had been taught as an ROTC cadet and then as a new lieutenant, sometimes giving orders to people 30 years older than I was. I don't think that I was bossy back then and I generally considered input from everyone, but I knew I was in charge (at least for the moment) and had to make a decision.

As a PA educator now, I wonder if we should be doing more for our students to foster some of those same attributes in our young new graduates. They may not have gray hair (which can certainly help), but other professions put younger people in charge of older ones and it seems to work (works even better if both cohorts keep an open mind).

[SedRate]

On 9/8/2022 at 6:33 AM, UGoLong said:

I wonder if we should be doing more for our students to foster some of those same attributes in our young new graduates. They may not have gray hair (which can certainly help), but other professions put younger people in charge of older ones and it seems to work (works even better if both cohorts keep an open mind).

I think this is a great idea. Although you can't exactly teach confidence, educators and preceptors can offer a supportive and quality learning environment to help students gain skills as well as confidence in those skills and knowledge. 

[SedRate]

On 9/1/2022 at 5:42 AM, sas5814 said:

I have been asked to take a call this weekend from a young woman considering PA school

An inquiring mind wants to know what you ended up saying?