<p>I'm an entering freshman at my state's flagship, and am pursing a BS to then go into graduate school and receive my masters in Physician Assistant Studies. I'm entirely dedicated to this path, but I also understand it has a likelihood of changing within the next 4 years.</p>
<p>However, I'm having a hard time explaining to my dad's side of the family why I'm going with this path. Through their lens, they see it as me giving 50%--i.e. me not pursing my MD to become a doctor. I don't believe they quite comprehend the job of a PA, and that they misinterpret them as literal assistants, which they're not. I've attempted to explain this, but they fail to see their role. They keep pushing me and saying that I will eventually do my best and become a doctor. However, this isn't what I want to do. My 100% is PA. And I'm dedicated to this.</p>
<p>Any suggestions on how to convince my family that this /is/ a respectable path and that I'm making a conscious, adult decision not to pursue an MD?</p>
<p>You can explain to them that there is no guarantee that anyone will get into a good medical school. That medical school is extremely difficult and expensive, which means more loans. Because of residencies after school, loan payments will pile up for a long time before you actually start making revenue to pay them off. And that you are going into a much more stable career path where you’re much more likely to get a job.</p>
<p>I have a hard time explaining to my family that Theatre Design/Technology is a legitimate career path. It’s not anywhere near the same level of instability as being an actor.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter what your parents think. It’s all about what YOU want to do in life. After all, you need to start making a path for yourself. Parents do panic if their kids don’t go for a professional degree or get into a job with high starting salary…but do what you think you like to do.</p>
<p>I went through almost the same exact situation. My parents always had high standards for me and saw that I had a passion for the medical field. I’ve wanted to become a MD for a long time, but I switched over to wanting to pursue nursing (and do pre-med prereqs to keep my options open). My dad was FURIOUS at me! lol </p>
<p>The way that I look at it is that a MD is my dream career, but sometimes you just have to settle for what is best. Med school is extremely hard and becoming a MD with a good career is even harder. By going to PA school, you are insuring yourself a job in the medical field. Whereas other pre-med students are lessening their chances by only wanting to go to med school. Would you rather be a small fish in a big pond or a BIG FISH in a little pond?</p>
<p>Personally, I would love to become an MD, but I see myself much more stable and still satisfied becoming a RN and -later- a Nurse Practitioner. I have a higher chance of success compared to all my friends doing pre-med biology with “aims” on going to med school. And, can you guess what happens when they fail the entrance process? They’ll be jobless and we (a RN and a PA) can laugh our butts off.</p>
<p>By the way, do you know what happens to med school students that barely skimp by med school? They end up at regional med centers in the middle of know where, working unfulfilling careers (I work with some in a hospital as a dietetic aide). You’ll have a better chance in PA school and will increase your chances of a rewarding career!</p>
<p>Talking with a lot of the physicians and nurse practitioners that I work with, they see med school as decreasing in value. Physicians’ costs are going up and up, which means that soon our future MDs will go into higher paying specialties (like surgery, cardiology, oncology, and etc.) This will leave a huge room for other practitioners, like PAs and NPs, to take on family practice, pediatrics, internal medicine, and etc. </p>
<p>My hospital is doing it now by hiring less MDs and DOs in favor of cheaper -yet still as talented- NPs.</p>
<p>Unless you know that you will be top of your med school class and can handle demanding specialties (and can even get a good residency to do so), med school is a wash. Doing a masters in PA is going to be more stable than a doctorate degree in medicine.</p>
<p>PS: You’ll probably work better hours, too. I have a hunch that the reason most MDs are so crabby is because they work a billion hours a week and never leave the hospital. Is that something that you can handle?! lol</p>
<p>Thanks for your posts guys. Really helpful. </p>
<p>And yeah, while an MD would be nice, the PA route is much more practical for me. My wallet is certainly not going to be deep coming out of college to afford another decade of schooling and clerkships, and with more doctors going into specialties (like you said), there’s an enormous boom for NPs and PAs.</p>
<p>So what you’re saying is your parents are right. You’d rather be a doctor but you’re afraid to go for it because the path to get there is not easy.
Why are you putting yourself out of the running before you even start the race? You can always complete the Pre-requisites for both and decide after you hear back from grad schools.</p>
<p>I think the main factor between MD and PA/NP (beside the years of training and lifestyle) is the level of autonomy involved with each job. I have talked to both a PA and a DNP who both told me that one of the most frustrating parts of their job is frequently having to defer judgement to an MD and that they were frequently repeating the same tasks/having the same responsibilities everyday. I would argue with your point that an MD is not as stable as PA or NP. The healthcare industry is undergoing significant change, but MDs will always be well compensated (and hopefully work more reasonable hours). All 3 of these jobs are important and rewarding, however the point about autonomy and type of responsibilities you will perform should be considered before giving up on the idea of MD.</p>
<p>“You’d rather be a doctor but you’re afraid to go for it because the path to get there is not easy.”</p>
<p>No, I would rather not be a doctor. If I did, I would pursue that path. I’m not a slacker–I don’t turn things down simply because they’re hard. I simply noted there are obvious benefits to being an MD over a PA, just as there are obvious downfalls of being an MD over a PA. While pay is obviously higher for MDs, PAs generally are able to interact more closely with their patients due to their ability to augment the role of a doctor.</p>
<p>The occupation of a PA appeals to me in that overall schooling and cost is minimal compared to that of an MD, PAs can change their field of practice easily (they’re not married to their specialties like an MD), and tail coverage for malpractice is not as inhibiting.</p>