Multiple happy moments:

[rev ronin]

1. Finishing your last course.

2. Seeing your online transcript post the final grades and doctoral degree.

3. Getting your regalia in the mail (ahead of #4 because you ordered it early). It may be your sixth set, but its the first with the velvet and tam with golden tassel.

4. Getting the diploma in the mail.

5. Walking at graduation.

I'm now at #4.

[Mayamom]

Congratulations!!!  Well done. 

[TeddyRucpin]

Congrats Dr. Rev 

[SedRate]

Congrats!

[rev ronin]

And now, the formal ceremony is complete.

Earning a DMSc seemed like a huge effort at first, but in retrospect simply required ongoing discipline. Some of the courses were more relevant than others, some of the books were better than others, and some interlocutors in the inveterate weekly discussion forums were more interesting than others.

I have no doubt I could have gotten more out of it if I had had the time to put more into it, but the assignments I found most rewarding were the ones that I did using ErgoCare Clinic as my case study.

I doubt the value of a DMSc as an entry-level degree. I simply don't think it's useful enough to teach a few more research courses to PAs without years of clinical experience behind them. Sure, it'll put new graduates on a "par" with DNPs, but I loved having my clinical experiences behind me and driving my research.  I wrote a capstone project for my MS that wasn't terribly interesting to me, while I am genuinely frustrated that I didn't enroll enough research participants in my capstone to make it publishable. I'm seriously considering re-running it with a different IRB and a wider audience, which is something new.  That is, rather than just getting the degree, I genuinely care about the topic I chose to study, and I don't see that happening with entry level doctorates, where PAs haven't seen the real world enough yet to know what's going to inspire them.

Cost was manageable without debt, but I tend to live below my means so I can invest in things that stroke my own ego seem worthwhile to me.

[SedRate]

10 hours ago, rev ronin said:

I doubt the value of a DMSc as an entry-level degree. I simply don't think it's useful enough to teach a few more research courses to PAs without years of clinical experience behind them. Sure, it'll put new graduates on a "par" with DNPs

Appreciate your insights and sharing your experience. I wanted to show my agreement with and emphasize this part.

Will it put us on par with our market competitors, yes, but actual benefit to us as brand new practitioners that we can then translate into some sort of benefit to our patients? Doubtful. Unless, of course, our pts and lawmakers perceive us as being better practitioners because we have a doctorate behind our name. The placebo effect and perception can be powerful and affect reality. But is reality commensurate with quality?