Need some Advice for Pre-health planning

[jhern32125]

Hello, 

 

Thank you in advance for taking time reading this and getting back to me with advice. I have seen that many parents want their children to go into med school because PA school is not the "best" option, although its increasingly becoming a popular choice in career. I have this story form my own future and would like to know if anyone could help me pin down what I should focus on before application process starts for both PA and Med school: 

I was always pre-med during my college run in NYU. However, after I graduated, I have recently been thinking about PA school while I am working on more healthcare experience as a research coordinator. However, my dad is not so pleased because he has told me that "You don't go to NYU to become a PA". This has ultimately made me very stressed out because I don't care about the salary of being a doctor or a PA. They are both well paying jobs and all I care about is wanting to be able to get into the workforce fast and make sure I have enough time for my girlfriend who I plan on marrying and having a family with. Seeing how PAs work along with doctors, I have ultimately enjoyed thinking about a PA and trying my best to understand the way they function in healthcare. Every time I think about becoming a doctor, Im dreading going through thousands of dollars just for prep before I can even see if I can get in. I don't want to lose any relationships with any of my family that I care so deeply about, but I also want to put in the work to become a PA in order to help the people around me that are not in their best health. Ultimately, I am only 23 years old, male, although being male should not matter for becoming a PA, and plan on applying for the next cycle that starts in April and wanted better advice on how to handle this situation or if you had any insight and tips on the decision that I have to make. I see Physician's assistants always putting in so much more work based on the doctors and PA's I have shadowed and I only care about wanting to help people to the best of my ability. If there is any advice you can help me out with on what career to pursue or how I can tell my father this same issue I have without him losing his support for me, that would ultimately help me so much in this journey ahead of me. I greatly appreciate your time reading this and I wish you the best in your career as well. 

[ohiovolffemtp]

This topic has been discussed many times on these forums.  I'd recommend searching for old threads.

Top line overview: the trade off boils down to the size of the up front investment vs the long term reward.  PA school is 27-ish months, medical school is 36 or 48 months followed by a residency +/- fellowships that can be 3-8 years.  PA's make ~ 30-40% of what physicians make and hit barriers to doing everything they know how to do that vary by state.  PA's lifestyle is pretty much the same as a physician in the same area of medicine (or worse) and don't have more time to spend with patients than physicians (unless they're doing a time intensive procedure).