mrsmojorisin Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I've been going back and forth for awhile now on pursuing PA school vs. Psych school (clinical psych or school psych). COMPLETELY different career paths, I know. Im planning on shadowing some PA's and some Psychologists if I can't make up my mind soon. Any insight is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkrumm Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Do you like touching patients? Does the idea of hearing a heart murmur get you excited? I almost went into psych until I thought good and hard about what it would be like to pack up my stethoscope and never use it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I was on the psychologist track for about 2-3 years in college. I have mixed feelings about it. I worked with a lot of psychologists over the years and they seem to envy me more than the other way. I have a psychologist on staff and share a suite with another one. They have the same insurance struggles as I do, but probably more. They see patients getting better at a much slower rate than us, with many relapses. I do enjoy talking with patients about their lives. So in sum, I think I made the right choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemegroup Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 My Bachelor's is a Psych degree with a concentration in Bio (if I had time to take Physics and just one more math course, I would have had a Bio minor, arrr). I did that for two reasons. One was that I love Psychology and felt it would be useful learning more of that aspect with medical application in mind (which has definitely proven to be true). The other was for backup in case I didn't get into a PA program ... people will hire you if you have a Psych degree ... one of my friends graduated with Psych and a minor in Business and he jumped straight into a high-level admin position making 80K out of undergrad. I figured it would either be that or else only be eligible for Lab Tech positions with a Bio degree. In hindsight, I'd probably have chosen straight Bio and been JUST fine with Lab Tech work lol ... I actually dream about it some days! There's something to be said for wanting to learn absolutely everything, but ... either way, a major or even a minor or concentration in Psych will ultimately serve you well ... people like knowing they're bringing someone on who gets that drift. In answer to your main question, no. Being a Psychologist is not for me, but I have a great friend who decided to take that path and is now moving towards their Doctorate. Personally, I'm way too much into science and medicine to be involved full-time with anything else but the extra insight through my Psych undergrad coursework continues to definitely prove invaluable to this day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 12, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 12, 2012 you could always do a psych residency after pa school (see http://www.appap.org) or get your PsyD after you graduate. there are several programs in which you do all the didactic online then do clinicals. A friend of mine just went this route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treejay Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 you could always do a psych residency after pa school (see www.appap.org) or get your PsyD after you graduate. there are several programs in which you do all the didactic online then do clinicals. A friend of mine just went this route. Which program did your friend do? Do you know some of the others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avalon Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Fascinating question. Feel free to PM me; I am both a clinical psychologist and a family medicine PA. Just one very significant distinction to make: Being a psychologist is not at all equivalent to being a psychiatric PA. The PA model is inherently medically based; the conceptual models of human behavior, psychopathology, and therapeutic intervention in the discipline of psychology bear little to no resemblance to medicine. It is a completely different way of approaching both the understanding of behavior (overt and covert) and of altering maladaptive behavior (both overt and covert). If you complete a psychiatric residency, you will still be basing your assessment, diagnosis, and intervention on a medical/biochemical conceptualization of behavior, and you will not be well versed in non-medical models of assessment and intervention. And a word of caution about on-line doctoral degrees. Your goal as a psychologist is to earn a state license to practice psychology. This generally requires a doctoral degree (exceptions are made for school psychologists at the master's level) from a program that is approved by the American Psychological Association. I am not aware of APA extending approval to any on-line programs, but I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 12, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 12, 2012 Which program did your friend do? Do you know some of the others? the chicago school of psychology. I am pretty sure it is apa approved as he is licensed to practice in ca now. http://www.thechicagoschool.edu/OnlineBlended/About_OnlineBlended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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