help! what are some potential doctoral programs for PAs - PhD, PsyD, etc??

[Sof2239]

Hi, I have a dilemma. So, I am currently a pre-PA undergraduate student majoring in neuroscience and minoring in psychology. My ultimate end goal is to be a neuropsychologist or at least work in the field. I'm pre-PA because I want that clinical experience. Ultimately, I want to work in the clinical field, but also possibly conduct some neurology research on the side. I'm interested in stroke rehabilitation, etc.

I want to go to PA school + become a PA, but I ultimately want to get a doctorate, whether that be a PsyD or a PhD. However, that seems like it's not feasible with the research I've been doing recently. My first plan was to go to PA school and work as a PA for a couple of years (be able to settle down, have kids, get a house, pay off loans, etc.) with going back to school as the ultimate goal. Then, I would pursue a PhD program and be able to make start my own lab or conduct my own research, or even work clinically. It seems backwards, but it made sense to me. I would be able to live my life a little and then further my schooling.

Call me vain, but I want "Dr." before my name. However, I'm not at all interested in going to medical school. But, is it worth it to just truck through medical school, go through residency, and then become a neurologist? Or, should I skip PA school and just undergo a PhD to become a neuropsychologist that way? I really wanted that clinical experience. Would it even be an option to obtain my PhD or PsyD and then go to PA school? Also, a big dilemma for me is if I worked as a PA and then tried to get into a PhD program, I won't have research experience and therefore be a less competitive applicant. Also, is the PA Master's equivalent to a "normal" Master's?

My question is, what's the best route for me? I know during PhD programs I won't be able to work, so that puts a wrench in my plans. Does anyone know of any PAs with a doctorate that's not the doctor of medical science?

[rev ronin]

The only issue with doing both PA school and a neuropsych doctorate is that PA school doesn't count towards a PsyD/PhD, so you'd have a lot of schooling ahead. Not sure what research you've been doing, but the issue is of overlapping vs. continuous studies.

There's a lot of assumptions baked in here. Let me tackle some of them:

- 2% of PAs have doctorates per the latest information I've seen quoted.  That's rising. There are A LOT of DMSc programs starting, so any PA who wants one and is willing to spend the time and effort can get a professional doctorate. Research doctorates are a bit longer and more involved, but you can still do those as a working PA.

- You can do research and publish as a working PA.

- You can work in many PhD programs, especially Commonwealth-style.

- Once you get into the groove of working and doing school or research, it becomes sustainable. Even though things aren't technically prerequisites, just the exercise of doing graduate work in one field will improve your ability to plow through classes in another.

For comparison, I rolled right from a postgraduate level humanities masters degree, into a PA professional doctorate, and am now working towards a PhD, all while working full-ish time as a clinical PA.

Does that help?

[Sof2239]

Hi, thank you for the response.

Would it be easier to do a PsyD or a PhD? Also, I thought that you couldn't work during a PhD, so can I ask how you are making that work?

Could it be possible to get my PA degree, work a couple of years as PA while doing research, and then getting my PsyD?

[rev ronin]

9 hours ago, Sof2239 said:

Would it be easier to do a PsyD or a PhD? Also, I thought that you couldn't work during a PhD, so can I ask how you are making that work?

Could it be possible to get my PA degree, work a couple of years as PA while doing research, and then getting my PsyD?

Easier how? PhDs in psychology are mostly grant-funded, hence competitive and prior research matters. PsyDs are professional, student funded, and hence much less competitive, as i understand it.

Of course you work during a PhD, just in most cases you work as a TA, which is academic indentured servitude: you get a subsistence wage, a lot of scut work, and get to attach yourself to a successful professor for 4+ years. At least, that's the U.S. PhD model.

European/Commonwealth PhDs are much less tied to the idea of a PhD student working as cheap labor. Not all PhDs, even in the U.S., are residential--that's just the prevailing paradigm. Those involved in it will dismiss anything else as a degree mill, but there's really much more variety than that.  Also, that's not even taking non-Ph.D. research into consideration, with the EdD and DHSc probably being the two most relevant, which are also somewhat more oriented to working professionals rather than lifelong academics.