<p>A physician assistant. Takes a bit longer than nurse, but much shorter than MD. Good salary, easy to find job. </p>
<p>American Academy of Physician Assistants</p>
<p>Physician assistant isn’t a four year degree though. It does involve post-bachelor training.</p>
<p>And most PA programs expect applicants to have 1000 hours of hands-on patient contact.</p>
<p>Do not plan your career/profession based on perceived family life. Go for what most interests you and fits you academically. Any medical specialty can yield a satisfying family life. You have to love what you are doing, not hate it but do it for the hours. Anecdotes- woman general surgeon with 3 or 4 kids, others with more than two kids in varying specialties. Obviously fits both into her lifestyle. Things have become a lot more family friendly since my days as a woman physician.</p>
<p>Figure out which medical fields most appeal to you. Look at on the job details, education required and other details. You may or may not be satisfied with the daily work. You could be bored or wish you had gone the extra years for decades of a lifestyle and/or financial reward. A nursing assistant may need the least training but, while much needed, have the worst pay and working conditions. Nurses and physicians serve different roles in patient care. Likewise you have to like physical or occupational therapy to do either.</p>
<p>Some people will major in a field they enjoy for a bachelor’s degree then get the training to become a medical field worker in something taking less time.</p>
<p>^^^ exactly!</p>
<p>Wayoutwestmom, would you please stop with the 1000 hours requirement?!!! Yes, I’m sure there is a school out there that has the requirement, but I am constantly coming in behind you, to let people know that there are plenty of programs that DO NOT HAVE THIS REQUIREMENT. (kkmama does the same thing on many threads where you’ve made this same claim). My son got in to a 5 year physician assistant program with 30 HOURS of direct patient interaction. He had As and Bs in his high school science classes and a 23 on the ACT. He graduated in August and most physician assistants from his class are starting at $90K.</p>
<p>My daughter is looking at PA programs…masters level. Most DO expect a huge number of patient contact hours from applicants. My friend’s daughter who is in a five year direct admit program did not have those hours as an applicant but is required to fulfill them prior to graduation. She does these on all vacations and in the summer.</p>
<p>What school is that thumper? All the five year programs I’ve seen are set up for high school graduates and don’t have anywhere near the requirements that the regular masters degree programs have. I just hate to see someone constantly discouraging high school students from pursuing this degree.</p>
<p>Toledo, I think you misunderstood me. I SAID that the direct admit 5 year programs do not have that requirement for APPLICANTS. But the students we know must fulfill it by the end of their undergrad portion.</p>
<p>The MASTERS P.A. Programs my kid has been looking into (all east coast) DO have that requirement for applicants. </p>
<p>I don’t know how long ago your son applied and matriculate, but many of these programs have become MUCH more competitive, and have upped their admissions requirements.</p>
<p>I’m not saying I know about ALL P.A. Programs in the country…because I do not. So…as they say…YMMV.</p>
<p>Quinnipiac is a little over 6 years, but you are right about the hours. They require 1,000 hours before graduation. I literally spent an entire week researching every accredited program in the U.S. Even among the 5 year programs, there are a lot of differences. Some are guaranteed acceptance to the graduate phase, some aren’t. Some require the GRE, some don’t. Some require you attend classes during one summer, some two. But any way you look at it, getting in right after high school is easier than applying as a graduate student.</p>
<p>Maybe this link will give some ideas - [Find</a> a Healthcare Job | Recently Popular Top Ten Guides Articles - AllHealthcare.com](<a href=“Page Not Found | Monster.com”>Page Not Found | Monster.com)</p>
<p>They OP may be male or female. One of or neighbors is a male doctor (ob/gyn), and I know it has been tough for him to have family time.</p>
<p>The one way to get the most family time is to be a stay at home parent. I can site many problems with that for my mother’s generation. Quantity, not necessarily quality time.</p>
<p>Another thought. So, you want a career but also want to marry and have kids. Who are you likely to fall in love with and marry? Perhaps someone you meet in school, or later on the job. Could you be frustrated later in life because you settled on a less challenging profession in anticipation of more free time? Could you become jealous of a spouse who did what you chose not to because you feared the loss of family time? Will you ignore a person otherwise very well suited for you because of their potential job? Not all people in any profession are workaholics. Some people are workaholics no matter what they do.</p>
<p>For now ignore the family life part of the profession search and concentrate on the actual work for several decades. You will be a happier parent if you are satisfied with your life, including your profession. Being happier will make you a better parent and give you a more satisfactory family life. Oh, and Mr./Ms. Right will be compatible with your choices.</p>
<p>OP - If you are interested, this recent Parent Cafe thread has discussions on pros/cons of various parenting paths. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1581037-regrets-stay-home-mom.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1581037-regrets-stay-home-mom.html</a> </p>
<p>We hope you find a good-fit career choice.</p>
<p>Medical field is overly regulated and payment structure is changing rapidly. Hospital administrators and insurance executives will make out but medical practitioners will become low wage workers very soon. Even some medical professionals are being turned from salaried to hourly workers in order to make them part time, ineligible for healthcare insurance and low cost employees. Stay away!</p>
<p>I have been paid hourly my entire nursing career. Nothing new there.</p>
<p>OP shouldn’t be dissuaded from choosing a flexible position in a field that she has stated she is passionate about simply because her stated reason for doing so is to have quality time to be with family. Jeez when did it become a crime for a woman to not be a CEO of Google! </p>
<p>In my own experience, I worked after the kids were born. I made a good living and my mom watched the kids. I missed them terribly and felt ripped off. I had waited 30 years to have them and literally saw them for an hour at night. My husband, even less. That’s a reality of “leaning in.”</p>
<p>What I never anticipated was that one would develop a chronic illness requiring constant medical visits and the other would develop a neuro disorder. If it weren’t for my flexible career choice, I or my kids would have lost our marbles. That’s also a reality poop happens! </p>
<p>When I did return to work in their teens, I managed a legal dept. Those years were hell lots of travelling, late nights, being in call always, and weekend committments. The only ones making out from this arrangement was the firm. My daughter was headed down a bad path and my son was becoming more ill and I hadn’t even noticed because I was too busy. So I opted out and now just consulting. Should I have hired a nanny and a housekeeper and an assistant to take care of it all? Perhaps I could have, the difference is I had the option given my background to work from home. All I’m saying is if you know you want a family, this is key. And even if you never have one, when my patents fell ill, I was able to travel to their side at a moment 's notice. Everybody has priorities and if quality time vs moving up the ladder is yours, it doesn’t mean that you’re choosing a dullard existence.</p>
<p>It is kind of hard to tell people to “stay away” from the entire health care field because that has been the source of a large percentage of the new jobs in the last several years. The health care workers were often the ones supporting the whole family, after other industries had layoffs during the Great Recession.</p>
<p>Some health care fields are more likely to have daytime hours than others, if that is a primary goal. </p>
<p>I met a student whose father is a MD. He convinced his son to go to a 5 year physician’s assistant program out of high school instead of trying for med school because he wanted his son to have more family time than he did.</p>
<p>SalveMater - I am sorry for what you have had to go through. You never know what life will bring. </p>
<p>I knew two very bright women who dreamed of becoming MDs. Both decided to persue careers in allied health care because of concerns about having time for family. Both married their respective HS boyfriends. One woman never had children. The other (a close friend of mine) had a child and then saw her marriage blow apart when her H left for another woman. Her job in allied health care supported her and their child but just barely. So yes, you never know.</p>
<p>I do know doctors and dentists who work part time.</p>
<p>thanks Fall but I wasn’t trying to have a pity party, just playing devil’s advocate here. Guess the takeaway is poop happens, divorce happens too, and it takes a village to raise a child, leave yourself some options and a plan b and c. wow that previous post of mine had so many errors, apologies haha.</p>