Med school after Physician Assistant program?

[thehumanmacbook]

Has anyone heard of the case where someone completes their physician assistant program and then applies directly to med school and gets in?

[TonesRN]

Has anyone heard of the case where someone completes their physician assistant program and then applies directly to med school and gets in?

 

I was a nurse practitioner prior to entering medicine. Don't know if any PA has entered medicine after the PA program (because it's so new), but certainly it can be done.

[PAstudent]

Has anyone heard of the case where someone completes their physician assistant program and then applies directly to med school and gets in?

 

There are indeed PAs who end up going back to med school to do MDs. I have spoken to physicians who were PAs (this is in the USA mind you, I have yet to meet one in Canada) and they told me the reason they did it is because they were tired of doing the exact same job as the physicians while getting paid half as much and not having the same status. But according to the American statistics it is quite rare for a PA to pursue an MD and the PA job satisfaction scores are quite high. Here is an example of someone in their third year of an MD program who left to become a PA:

http://www.mypatraining.com/pa-vs-md-meet-sundance-shes-done-both

 

(keep in mind that her programs are different from the Mac MD and PA programs)

 

There is nothing wrong with a PA becoming an MD. But if you already know you want to be an MD, using a PA program as a route to an MD is an odd choice in my opinion.

 

There is also the subject of bridging programs, one of which has now started up in the USA.

 

There is nothing precluding that. But if you already know you want to do an MD, why not just try for that in the first place? If you have a shot at getting into the PA program then you have a shot at getting into the MD program so long as you have done three years of coursework.

 

It seems silly to do the PA program only to then go into the MD program where you will be repeating almost every thing you already did (the PA tutorials are based on the MD tutorials with the same cases and facilitators and all the core clerkship rotations you do in the PA program will be repeated in the MD program). See my post about how similar the MD and PA programs at Mac actually are: http://premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?p=536475#post536475

 

 

Finally, as the Mac PA program, like the MD program, is not grade-based. You won't have a GPA from it. I don't know how MD program adcoms in Canada will treat that. Perhaps someone else can comment on that aspect?

 

 

If you want to be a PA, go for it. But if you already know you want to be an MD, go for that. One is not really a route to the other.

[mrnursing]

Finally, as the Mac PA program, like the MD program, is not grade-based. You won't have a GPA from it. I don't know how MD program adcoms in Canada will treat that. Perhaps someone else can comment on that aspect?

 

Very interesting.

 

For some of my nursing courses (clinical practice), it did not have GPA. It was either pass/fail.

 

Are all of PA courses pass/fail with no GPA assigned to it?

 

If so, I assume that the adcom will look at the previous undergrad GPA.

[PA-guy]

they told me the reason they did it is because they were tired of doing the exact same job as the physicians while getting paid half as much and not having the same status. But according to the American statistics it is quite rare for a PA to pursue an MD and the PA job satisfaction scores are quite high.

 

There is nothing wrong with a PA becoming an MD. But if you already know you want to be an MD, using a PA program as a route to an MD is an odd choice in my opinion.

 

 

It seems silly to do the PA program only to then go into the MD program where you will be repeating almost every thing you already did

If you want to be a PA, go for it. But if you already know you want to be an MD, go for that. One is not really a route to the other.

 

Every PA turned MD that I have spoken to made the change because they hit a wall in the profession, mind you I do not know a whole lot, but I think that could be used as a majority across the US. The decision to attend PA school goes without mentioning a balancing act of pros/cons to both PA and MD. I would make a bet that 90% of PAs made that decision to go PA rather than MD, so I wouldn't necessarily say it is a "route". If it is.. then your right.. kind of a dumb way going about things.

 

Personally, I want to attend PA school. I weighed the pros/cons and chose the PA profession, however, there may come a time when I want to take another step and go to med school. I have thought about this over and over again. Right now, the decision for PA is right for me. In 5-10 years of practicing as a PA I need more, then I go to med school. I can still practice. I would think the program would be somewhat easier coming from PA school and practicing under the scope of practice of an SP who went to med school. It is not impossible, and definitely not something that is wrong or silly... if you have the right intentions of course.