Advice wanted

[NorthernPA]

Hello all,

 

As most of you are older and more experienced in the game of life than I am I am hoping to get your input on something that is occupying my thoughts almost every minute of every day. I am a new grad PA in Canada where the profession is relatively new. I never really wanted to be a PA though. I had initially set-out on becoming a physician and after completing an undergraduate degree in medicine I started in an MD program in the USA. I did not get in in Canada but did get into a school in NY state. For various reasons (mostly financial) I was unable to complete medical school at the time and being greatly in debt from student loans I returned home tail between my legs knowing I needed a way to make a living.

 

I jumped on the chance to do the PA program. It seemed perfect in that I could go to school for a short time and start making good money. Well, I did this.

 

I am 30 years old and work full time as a PA. Due to all my schooling I owe about $180,000.00 in loans combined to both my bank and government student loan services. I have tried to convince myself that I can be content and happy as a PA. That I should pay off my debt and move on with my life being the best PA I can be and forget about becoming a physician.

 

The problem is, I have not convinced myself. I guess I am hoping you guys can convince me.

 

If I still want to pursue med school it will mean going back and redoing a regular degree to improve my chances of admission. It would mean even more debt. It would mean I won't ever really have any money until I am in my mid 40s. Going back to the US school I was it is not an option.

 

I want to be happy and content as a PA but dreams die hard and I have wanted to be a physician since I was a kid.

 

Everyday I go to work and work with physicians I am troubled. It bothers me that I am not one. That's bad for a PA. But that's how I feel.

 

 

I feel I am at a cross roads and I really don't know what to do here. Maybe I just needed to vent.

 

Any advice is appreciated.

[Teasip]

I believe that you've already answered your own question but are being held back due to the debt concern. Speaking only for myself, I have just walked away from about as secure a position as one could have, making six figures, with great benefits. Why did I do such a crazy thing? Because I wasn't happy in the position and there was no challenge. As I've noted in other posts, this has been a step of faith for me that there is something better out there that will be more self-fulfilling for me, though it may result in much less income. The way I see it, more money but dissatisfied, or more satisfaction with financial concerns? Not having money until your 40's? The clientele I work with (fellow employees/patients are one and the same) are even older and STILL don't have any money, living paycheck to paycheck. As a physician, even with debt, I believe that you could still knock out a pretty decent lifestyle. Best of luck with your decision!

[SocialMedicine]

I am trying to figure this out. Money does not seem to be an issue for you. Do you work in a setting where PAs do not have a highs cope of practice? In primary care and internal medicine PAs essentially have full autonomy. Would a different area of medicine as a PA make you happy? Is it a Canada issue ... PAs are new in Canada .. maybe coming down to the states would grant you much more career satisfaction. Do you want to be a physician because it is more prestige ? I would caution you that being an MD does not always free you of a boss or bring about prestige. Do you want more basic science education? Do you want to be a surgeon? I think the answers to these questions might be useful. You go to follow what feels right... My only concern would be that PA felt right and now it did not. For you to take out another 200K in loans .... essentially putting you 380K in debt I would be real cautious. I feel as though several different careers would make me happy .. If PA is not right maybe you can rebrand yourself in healthcare consulting or health administration ? Good luck man ... I am sure no matter what road you follow it will work out.

[NorthernPA]

I want independence/autonomy. I want to be able to decide how to treat my patients without having to ask someone first. I want to be the place where the buck stops, you know what i mean?

 

 

I am trying to figure this out. Money does not seem to be an issue for you. Do you work in a setting where PAs do not have a highs cope of practice? In primary care and internal medicine PAs essentially have full autonomy. Would a different area of medicine as a PA make you happy? Is it a Canada issue ... PAs are new in Canada .. maybe coming down to the states would grant you much more career satisfaction. Do you want to be a physician because it is more prestige ? I would caution you that being an MD does not always free you of a boss or bring about prestige. Do you want more basic science education? Do you want to be a surgeon? I think the answers to these questions might be useful. You go to follow what feels right... My only concern would be that PA felt right and now it did not. For you to take out another 200K in loans .... essentially putting you 380K in debt I would be real cautious. I feel as though several different careers would make me happy .. If PA is not right maybe you can rebrand yourself in healthcare consulting or health administration ? Good luck man ... I am sure no matter what road you follow it will work out.

[Febrifuge]

I had started out on a track heading toward MD, but I knew I wanted to focus on the medicine, and in my heart I care not one whit about being a department head, or a private-practice small-business owner. I also have no problem with the right kind of authority, and all sorts of issues with the wrong kind. I was over 30 when I started the journey, and in my late 30s when I finished, too, so spending years and years being sleep-deprived and taking orders from people younger than me might have been a bit prickly at times.

 

So I intentionally chose PA, and I love it now. I'm also over $150k in debt, adding up all my undergrad loans from when I was floundering in non-medical areas before going to grad school.

 

My advice? The debt is a fact of life, but it's also an abstraction. It's like a house payment every month on a house in your mind rather than one you get to move your physical stuff into. Keep the rate low, consolidate when it makes sense, and do auto-payments or whatever you can to shave off half a percent. Then just pay it, and work around it.

 

I don't thik of my $1400 a month in loan payments as money I'm losing, because if I hadn't gone back to PA school I's owe $800 a month anyway and I'd have no idea where to get it.

[NorthernPA]

My debt doesn't worry me all that much. I'm just wondering if I am nuts for wanting to do all this work just for a chance at getting in to finally do my MD. Should I just be happy as a PA? Am I nuts for still wanting to become a physician?

A lot of people in my life think I nuts but understand this is what I want. But maybe I should give up on it?

 

 

I had started out on a track heading toward MD, but I knew I wanted to focus on the medicine, and in my heart I care not one whit about being a department head, or a private-practice small-business owner. I also have no problem with the right kind of authority, and all sorts of issues with the wrong kind. I was over 30 when I started the journey, and in my late 30s when I finished, too, so spending years and years being sleep-deprived and taking orders from people younger than me might have been a bit prickly at times.

 

So I intentionally chose PA, and I love it now. I'm also over $150k in debt, adding up all my undergrad loans from when I was floundering in non-medical areas before going to grad school.

 

My advice? The debt is a fact of life, but it's also an abstraction. It's like a house payment every month on a house in your mind rather than one you get to move your physical stuff into. Keep the rate low, consolidate when it makes sense, and do auto-payments or whatever you can to shave off half a percent. Then just pay it, and work around it.

 

I don't thik of my $1400 a month in low payments as money I'm losing, because if I hadn't gone back to PA school I's owe $800 a month anyway and I'd have no idea where to get it.

[Febrifuge]

I'd never tell anyone to give up. And if you feel you just wouldn't be satisfied as a PA, please don't be part of the profession I love, out of a misplaced sense of obligation. A miserable PA is not usually an excellent PA. I've known and respected PAs who worked for a few years, and decided they needed to start over and go the MD route.

 

But, two things: one, be sure your ideas about how being a PA works are accurate. Things are in flux somewhat in Canada, and maybe there's opportunity to continue to guide the living definition of what a PA is. Personally I'd be excited about the prospect of being the "first of my kind" a lot of people will encounter. Not to mention, you might wind up loving it and feeling it doesn't lack anything; if so, crisis averted.

 

Two, be sure that you really do have a driving, all-consuming need to become an MD, because if you go back to school, over the next 6 to 10 years you'll have plenty of moments to think, "this is so stupid, I was already about to go out and practice medicine..." You'll need to be completely sure you're doing what you need to do, for reasons that matter to you and which will stand the test of time.

 

Best wishes, however things shake out.

[NorthernPA]

thanks. still don't know what to do :(