medreno Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 So, I plan on going into a physician assistant program after I obtain my Bachelors. The reason why I chose PA is because I also am involved in EMS and want to continue working in EMS. Also, PA gives me an opportunity to see all aspects of medicine and multiple specialties. The only problem that I have is people (pre-med students) stating that I may not like it since I will be working under doctors and that I will be getting patients that doctors don't necessarily want to see (i.e fast track). They are right being that I don't want to be limited, and I want to perform just like physicians do. However, I heard of PA's working as paramedics but not many MD's working in EMS except for medical directors. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medreno Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 So, I plan on going into a physician assistant program after I obtain my Bachelors. The reason why I chose PA is because I also am involved in EMS and want to continue working in EMS. Also, PA gives me an opportunity to see all aspects of medicine and multiple specialties. The only problem that I have is people (pre-med students) stating that I may not like it since I will be working under doctors and that I will be getting patients that doctors don't necessarily want to see (i.e fast track). They are right being that I don't want to be limited, and I want to perform just like physicians do. However, I heard of PA's working as paramedics but not many MD's working in EMS except for medical directors. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medreno Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 Sorry should have put this in pre-physician assistant forum... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medreno Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 Sorry should have put this in pre-physician assistant forum... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREEN Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 The only problem that I have is people (pre-med students) Stop there. Almost all pre-med students never make it to medical school, I wouldn't worry about them. Do what will make YOU happy. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREEN Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 The only problem that I have is people (pre-med students) Stop there. Almost all pre-med students never make it to medical school, I wouldn't worry about them. Do what will make YOU happy. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen0508 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 if you want to perform like a physician then become a physician. theres no fast track in my ED but we still dont perform exactly like the attending physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sartort Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Stop there. Almost all pre-med students never make it to medical school, I wouldn't worry about them. Do what will make YOU happy. Best of luck. Over 43% of applicants from 2011 were matriculants according to AAMC. https://www.aamc.org/download/161128/data/table1.pdf Are you assuming a large number of pre-med students never apply to MD/DO programs at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nj10 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Over 43% of applicants from 2011 were matriculants according to AAMC. https://www.aamc.org/download/161128/data/table1.pdf Are you assuming a large number of pre-med students never apply to MD/DO programs at all? It probably depends on what the OP means by pre-med student. As a freshman/sophomore in undergrad, I remember a fair number of people who said they were pre-med but changed their minds after a few science classes and thus never participated in the application process. The ones who mades it through all the prereqs almost always ended up applying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREEN Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 It probably depends on what the OP means by pre-med student. As a freshman/sophomore in undergrad, I remember a fair number of people who said they were pre-med but changed their minds after a few science classes and thus never participated in the application process. The ones who mades it through all the prereqs almost always ended up applying. This is what I was referring to. Meeting freshmen that were going to be "veterinarians or surgeons" was a dime a dozen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 So, I plan on going into a physician assistant program after I obtain my Bachelors. The reason why I chose PA is because I also am involved in EMS and want to continue working in EMS. Also, PA gives me an opportunity to see all aspects of medicine and multiple specialties. The only problem that I have is people (pre-med students) stating that I may not like it since I will be working under doctors and that I will be getting patients that doctors don't necessarily want to see (i.e fast track). They are right being that I don't want to be limited, and I want to perform just like physicians do. However, I heard of PA's working as paramedics but not many MD's working in EMS except for medical directors. Any advice? A lot of pre-meds are stuck up. Believe me I was one of them. They think med school is it and PA is "inferior." Then there are doctors who actually WENT through med school and tell you that PA is a better path. Pick carefully who you take advice from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender19 Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 My fiancé just finished med school and hated it. He actually thinks PA school is a better choice with more flexibility, less stress, and less debt! He obviously supports my decision to go to PA school :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medreno Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 Thanks everyone! Great advice. Looking forward to continuing on towards PA school. Im thinking about shadowing some PA's soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medreno Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 My fiancé just finished med school and hated it. He actually thinks PA school is a better choice with more flexibility, less stress, and less debt! He obviously supports my decision to go to PA school :) Yea, Ive heard of med students and physicians regretting their decision. It definitely has a lot more flexibility as a PA. There's a lot of specialties that i'm interested in (mostly Emergency medicine) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 My fiancé just finished med school and hated it. He actually thinks PA school is a better choice with more flexibility, less stress, and less debt! He obviously supports my decision to go to PA school :) Haha I wouldn't say it's "less stress".... at least not while in school. It is A LOT more stressful to be in PA school. While my med school friends are out partying, I am in studying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender19 Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Haha I wouldn't say it's "less stress".... at least not while in school. It is A LOT more stressful to be in PA school. While my med school friends are out partying, I am in studying. Well I think that can be answered more appropriately if someone went through both PA and med school. Every med student/PA student is different. There will be some that party and some who do not. And mederno, that's very cool. I am interested in many fields also :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Well I think that can be answered more appropriately if someone went through both PA and med school. Every med student/PA student is different. There will be some that party and some who do not. And mederno, that's very cool. I am interested in many fields also :) We had a student who went through med school and then PA school. She said PA school is so much tougher (not for her, since she knew the stuff already). What med students cover in 2 years we cover in 1. It's a fact. Few people at my school "party." Do people go out after tough exams on Fridays? Yes. Does anyone go out to the level my med school friends go out? Um no. Please do not go into PA school thinking it is an easier path. YOU WILL set yourself up for failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemegroup Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Well I think that can be answered more appropriately if someone went through both PA and med school. Every med student/PA student is different. There will be some that party and some who do not. Or by someone who knows that the federal mandate for Med didactic education is 2300 hours over 2 years ... for PA didactic education the mandate is 2000 hours ... in one year. Trust me ... there ain't much time to party in PA school. Even during summer, while Med students are off in the Bahamas or Miami relaxing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender19 Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Like I said every individual is different and each person may vary. I never insisted that PA school is "easy" and I expect it to be difficult. I'm not going to PA school because I think it's an easier path. It's because I value different priorities and it's a field that I'm interested in. I would never allow myself to set up for failure. I don't think that was a very encouraging statement to give to someone who wants to enter the PA field... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 It is not about encouraging or discouraging. It is just the truth. t is impossible to believe how busy we get. You will see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemegroup Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Like I said every individual is different and each person may vary. Yes that is true. However, federal mandates DON'T vary. Fortunately or unfortunately :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolWUT? Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Anecdotal evidence inbound: I've got friends in med school that have a lot of extra time that I don't. Like Hemegroup said, we have almost the same amount of didactic coursework but 12 months less to do it. There are some pills we just have to swallow unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sartort Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 In my program we will take classes with the med students. One of the classes we take with them is their only class that term while we will have several others plus clinical hours. In those courses we are allowed to get C's while we are required to get B's in all the others. I think the expectation of the med students' performance in those courses is higher. Although they can pass at a C grade, they know that in order to be competitive for residencies they need to get high grades. Personally I don't envy the med students at all, even if they have more free time. They compete not only within their class but across the nation for their match. That's a lot of pressure for anyone interested in competitive specialties. Sure, we know that in order to get into a PA residency we need top grades also because there are so few out there, but at the end of the day I don't need to get into a residency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolbreeze Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 A lot of pre-meds are stuck up. Believe me I was one of them. They think med school is it and PA is "inferior." Then there are doctors who actually WENT through med school and tell you that PA is a better path. Pick carefully who you take advice from. I completely agree! I have few frnds finishing up pre-med classes and are stressed out about Med school. When you ask them why not PA they don't really have an answer besides the typical "I want to learn everything" "I want to be a leader" "Well...if you work so hard why not go the extra two years.." *palm face* answers. Then I just walk away. Take advice with grain of salt :) That's all I'm saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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