PA vs NP vs MD/DO? What would you recommend?

<p>I like all the fields but I am kind of turned off from MD/DO because of time commitment. But overall what would you guys say to do? For reference I'm a 15 year old guy that is (hopefully) starting college next year with a GED. Grades would probably not be an issue (I averaged in the 88 percentile in math and 99th in spelling and around 85 in science in the EOG) but overall, what would you guys recommend? I'm leaning towards NP as it is more handy than PA and less time than MD/DO.</p>

<p>It depends on what you want out of your career. It also depends on what you hold as your personal needs and values.</p>

<p>Have you shadowed MDs? NPs? PAs?</p>

<p>Do you understand what the differences are in their scope of practice? Does one appeal to you more than another?</p>

<p>Shadowing would probably be the best place to start. Once you have a better grasp of the difference among the professions, then you can start to apply your personal values to your decision.</p>

<p>PA, MD and DO pretty much require the same pre-reqs. NP requires a different pathway. </p>

<p>(FWIW, spelling has zero predictive value in your future success as college student.)</p>

<p>What attracts you to the medical profession? What specialty do you think you would prefer? That would help determine if you want to go the MD/DO route or the PA/NP routes. If interested in surgery, for example, do you see yourself performing the surgery or doing the supportive role of pre and post op visits and assisting in the actual surgery? If you want to perform the surgery, you need to go the MD route.</p>

<p>For nonsurgical fields, it is less divided. My daughter, for example, is a PA in family practice. She does anything and everything that a doctor would do - routine exams, stitches, removing fish hooks (did that today), follow-ups from things patients saw specialists for but are not back to the family med office. She chose the PA route so that she would be in practice sooner and with less debt. The other factor is that should she choose to switch specialties somewhere along the line, it is easier to do as a PA, with only a course or two.</p>

<p>Another consideration: if you enter college at 16, you’ll be done at 20, and you’ll likely be applying when you’re 19. Medical schools (and likely PA programs) are very hesitant to accept applicants who are that young, simply because they don’t have the life experience and maturity you need for a program like that, so if you go that route, plan on tacking on a gap year or two after undergrad so that med schools can see that you actually have the maturity to commit to the medical path</p>

<p>The best route into a PA career is to do a 3+2 program that guarantees an entry into a grad program; otherwise the competition is fierce.</p>

<p>What is the age requirement for EMT’s in your state? If you can qualify as an EMT and work at that for awhile it will show the PA profs that you have the maturity to participate in the program and also gain you the 300+ hour of patient contact that you will need to enter the graduate phase. </p>

<p>Or, because of your age, it may be better to go the med school route if you think you can afford that financially. When you would reach your residency years, age would not be so much a factor . I do know that my 23 year old daughter finds it a bit scary sometimes that she holds people’s lives in her hands, but she does not find her youth too much of a problem when treating older people (it’s patients her own age that she feels most uncomfortable with)</p>