Is It a Good Idea to Become a Physician Assistant for Family Medicine
Here are the Height 5 Reasons Not to Become a Doc Assistant (PA)
1. You are becoming a PA because it's (enter your reason here) than becoming a md
Examples include:
- It's easier than condign a physician
- It'southward more than convenient than becoming a doctor
- It'south more practical than condign a doctor
- It's my backup plan in case I don't go into medical school
There are lots of excellent reasons to get a PA but doing so because it's easier, more than practical, equally a "final resort" or any of the examples listed above is certainly not one of them.
The physician banana profession should never be your failsafe fallback programme just in case becoming a md doesn't work out for you. As in: "I wanted to be a doc, simply I am choosing to become a PA because I didn't become into medical schoolhouse," or "I did poorly on the MCAT, so I guess I'll apply to PA school," or "Considering I've heard that PA schoolhouse is easier."
We don't heed that you weigh the determination to become a PA against that of becoming a doc considering many of u.s.a. who went into the PA profession also because becoming an Dr. at in one case or some other.
But even if you were on the Doctor path and subsequently changed your mind (similar I did) make certain that the determination to become a PA is in line with your passion and your purpose. Utilize the same type of determination making you lot would employ while choosing a life partner. In that location are lots of options, many of them good ones, just only 1 or two that truly tickle your fancy.
Admissions committees are on the watch for insincere candidates, and they tin can spot them from a mile abroad. Be a PA because it checks all the correct boxes because you Desire to be a PA NOT because you lot cruel short of becoming a doctor.
We are non the "fall curt program" nor do you e'er want the profession you choose for your life to be ane.
2. You are condign a PA considering of better work-life remainder or better hours
If you have spent time shadowing or working with PAs, it becomes readily credible, very quickly that PAs put in a lot of hours!
Not to mention, many MDs are "seeing the lite" and embracing the opportunity to offload some of the more undesirable aspects of their piece of work (like weekend rounds and after hours phone calls) to their PAs who are often left shouldering more than of the clinic responsibilities.
Contempo research shows that nearly PAs spend at to the lowest degree ii hours per week unpaid only catching up on charting. Of class, this is in add-on to an already packed 40 to 50-hour workweek.
It's truthful that with time, attempt and the right fiscal situation (i.e., two incomes, a low cost of living, not much student loan debt, the avoidance of lifestyle expansion) you can structure your life in a way so that it's possible to work part-time or at reduced hours. I know many PAs who practice just that, and it'south a dream come true. But I also know PAs who exists on the opposite end of the spectrum. They are putting in long 5 or half-dozen-solar day workweeks, using weekends to take hold of up on errands, picking upwards call, working nights, dropping their kids off at daycare at 7 am and picking them up at 6 pm then going to bed with a laptop and their trusty EMR.
They are burning out merely trying to keep the treadmill turning.
The truth is that piece of work-life balance is not innate to any profession, peculiarly healthcare workers and yes, fifty-fifty PAs where role hours are at all hours.
So if yous are becoming a PA because of its optimal work-life residual, you may be in for a large surprise.
3. You are becoming a PA considering it's more affordable
In a recent blog post titled The Top 5 Reasons People Choose to Get a PA: Put To The Test, I tested the feasibility of the fifth most common reason people choose to become a PA based on the latest AAPA survey results: The ability to pay off debt.
Unfortunately, the results were not encouraging.
Based on national 2019 averages reporting PA student loan debt of $125,000 repaid over x years at four.45% involvement with an estimated monthly payment of effectually $one,292.47 - To justify the toll of PA school education you should make no less than:
- $93.21 Hourly
- $16,155 Monthly
- $193,870 Annually
Equally a new graduate PA, these are hard numbers to attain unless yous are willing to bruise all over your purpose, passions, and highly sought after work-life balance as discussed higher up.
With the increasing price of PA school tuition, combined with sky-high undergraduate education costs and current annual reimbursement rates at around $104,000 pursuing the PA profession every bit a toll-saving measure is non what it used to be.
4. Yous are becoming a PA because someone told you lot likewise (i.e., schoolhouse advisor, friend, teachers, mom, dad, etc.)
I recently had dejeuner with a student who is on a pre-med track. As I write this, he holds a full-ride scholarship to medical school upon graduation should he choose to take it.
He is somewhat "not-traditional" as he has ii children and is in his early 30'south. For the last 10 years, he has focused on providing for his children while completing his undergraduate coursework, preparing to have the MCAT and applying to medical school.
That is until his academic advisor told him that PA would be a better route.
Earlier this see with his counselor, he had never considered condign a PA. Merely as he researches the PA profession, he is beginning to think that this may be a more applied route.
Naturally, he is now full of doubt and questioning his determination to become an MD.
Should he take the more efficient, more applied route and get a PA or become an Doc…the path he has been treading for many years and the one he has had his centre set on since kindergarten?
Skilful question!
While it is truthful that he will take less time in school and a faster path to full time paid work as a PA student, information technology'due south not true that by attending medical school, he will limit his flexibility and options. Medical schools have been around for a long time, and because of this many programs take developed flexible options for parents. Function-time opportunities for PA students have been phased out at many PA programs.
Residency programs are grueling, only with the right support organization, can be manageable. There are many creative financing solutions.
Don't give up on your dream of becoming a doctor considering other people (including doctors) told you lot to do then. If you practice, this is a recipe for thwarting, constant and caustic comparison, and a lifetime total of debilitating "what if's."
Trust me, I've seen information technology, and information technology's not pretty!
five. You are becoming a PA because you are coming to the United states every bit a doctor from another country
I get emails every week from foreign medical doctors and other wellness care providers from non-US countries looking to become a PA.
Strange physicians interested in practicing medicine as an MD in the US, need to set up to pass the The states Medical Licensing Exams, get certified past the Educational Commission for Foreign-Trained Medical Graduates, enroll in a residency program, and and then take a third licensing test.
It'due south a grueling path, one that as an Physician you have already completed once in your abode country, so it's natural to look for alternatives, I become information technology.
But condign a PA to avoid the work of medical licensing in the US is a HORRIBLE reason to choose the PA profession.
Although your prior medical preparation may have prepared you well for the rigors of PA school teaching, PA schools are on the look-out for insincerity.
You may genuinely want to use your skills to help patients hither in the U.s.a., and I applaud that, we are looking for PAs from diverse backgrounds who are passionate and excited near patient care and our profession. If this is you, and then we desire you.
Just, don't cull the PA profession as a half-hearted endeavour to avoid the process of relicensing equally an Doc in the US.
And whatever you do, if yous exercise determine to go the PA road don't complain about having to consummate the necessary prerequisite coursework and required two years of PA school education to receive your PA license. These standards are in place to protect both you and your patients. ,
Do your research, make it a point to understand the PA profession fully, know what you are getting into, and so make up one's mind if information technology is right for you.
I know several foreign MDs who are ecstatic well-nigh the thought of condign a PA and many others who take completed the process and are rocking their PA-C, we are more than excited to have you. But if this is not you, so I would advise you lot wait into a different profession.
- Stephen Pasquini PA-C
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Source: https://www.thepalife.com/top-5-reasons-not-to-become-a-physician-assistant/
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