<p>Hi! Ok so I'm striving to be a doctor (hopefully I become one) and I understand that to be a doctor you get your bachelor's then move on to med school. I also understand that to become a doctor/advance to med school is a huge commitment and it's very serious/competitive, which is why I was wondering, in case I can't make it into med school for whatever reason, would it be smart to become a physician's assistant instead? I know that PA school is also pretty tough (anything with medicine is challenging) but I've read that the PA undergrad program is similar/follows the pre-med program and I figured that if I already have my bachelor's in bio or chem (or whatever major I have) and have completed the pre-requisites for med school, then would a PA be a smart backup plan?</p>
<p>Sorry if I sound super stupid or if I sound like I don't know what I'm saying :/</p>
<p>It’s smart to have a Plan B because admission to med school is super competitive. 75% of those who start out freshman year as pre-meds, end up never even applying. Of the 25% who do hang in there, only 40% get accepted.</p>
<p>While there is a great deal of overlap between pre-med and Pre-PA requirements, the two sets of requirements aren’t identical. PA programs expect a significant amount of hands-on clinical care experience (the exact number of hours varies by program–some expect as many 1000 hours) from applicants. So keep that in mind. </p>
<p>You should also shadow both physicians and PAs since their job duties can be quite different. Make sure you’d be happy as PA. </p>
<p>I’d also recommend talking with the career center at your college to get other ideas for career paths for chem/bio majors. There are many allied health profession fields today that don’t involve med school. (But will require good grades and advanced training/grad school.)</p>
<p>First of all, it is Physician Assistant. The best way to get into the graduate program is to be accepted into a 3+2 program that guarantees entrance into the grad phase as long as you meet the requirements. Otherwise the competition is fierce (over 800 applicants for the few spots at the school my daughter attended). </p>
<p>There are specific course requirements and as WOWM pointed out, a high number of patient contact hours. In some ways it is easier to be accepted into medical school. Most people accepted into the PA program as grad students have been out working in a medical field for several years as EMT’s, paraprofessionals, and such. Do some research. You may want to make that decision between PA and MD BEFORE applying to college.</p>
<p>My kid chose the PA route and has no regrets. Less time and money invested and she was out of school and employed in five years. Loves every minute of her day and works very independently of her “supervising” physician. She is in primary care, so she does everything that a doctor can/does do.</p>