I've asked a bunch of MD/DOs/PAs and I get a mixed bag of answers about whether they would do it over again. What I do like about PA is how one of my friends works in EM and Orthopaedic Surgery, so being able to work in two concurrent specialties is pretty cool and keeps the excitement high.
I am thinking of going to PA school because I really can't see myself studying for so long and missing out on years with my family and friends. I feel like if I were to go to medical school it would be for the wrong reasons, and life is so short to do things that feels that's something not for me. I hope I made the right decision but if I ever feel otherwise then I'll try to go that route (:
The first paragraph of your comment is the reason I'm seriously considering the PA route. I was always focused on becoming a MD but it's the time, cost and basically having no life for at least the first 10 years of the career :/
This was a very informative and wonderful video! One thing I’d like to discuss is the “prestige” portion of your video. As an ERT, I’m exposed to a lot of different providers in a hospital and from my personal experience, nurses talk a lot of shit regarding PAs while the physicians talk well about PAs. I have had some experiences where a physician would talk down on PAs, however, the different between those physicians and the ones that would talk well about PAs has to do with age. For whatever reason, the older and more experienced physicians were the ones to talk well regarding PAs while the younger and less experienced physicans would talk about PAs in a negative connotation.
I guess it depends on your institution and the particular PA. My institution is very supportive of PAs. You're choosing a profession for a variety of reasons and I think it was worth a mention, but I wouldn't base your long-term career goals on that one metric.
Yes, PAs are in many occasions plan B for those who do not make it to med school. It is also plan A for those who like the fun of medicine without the hard work and sacrifice, which is just unfair for the rest of us. In the UK up to 50% of applicants have already been rejected from med school, and many of those who graduate as PAs apply to med school afterwards. PA roles should not exist. It’s just a way the system has to save money in expend of patient safety and making doctor’s jobs harder. It’s just unfair.
Im going to start my skills sessions as an EMT-B next month!!! One of the instructors said they are able to get us in contact with physician assistants, nurses, drs, anyone we need! I’m so exited. I know I want to be a PA I just don’t know what to specialize in yet
I’m undergrad with a 0 GPA literally. Been a freshman for 1 and half year but I just started my fall semester. Do I still have a chance on going to Pa school
@@JohnThePA I’m a nurse assistant and yes nurses will give a report to a practicing PA, but the second the PA walks away they start to talk poorly about said PA. I’ve seen it multiple times at multiple hospitals, so no it’s not a blank statement. They also belittle them because “they don’t need experience to get into PA school”.
Thank you so much for this video. This was really helpful. I am currently very torn between which path would be the best one for me and I love the way you presented the pros and cons of both professions. Most other videos/opinion posts I've seen were leaning strongly to either one side or the other. Yours is the first one that actually seemed objective. So, thank you!
Hey John. I’m loving the educational videos. I’m currently a surgical technologist who has decided that they want to move further in their career and become a PA. My currently problem with the idea is that I’m the provider for my family and have to work this full time job during the day. With working a day shift job, I am struggling to find a college that offers evenings science courses. If you were in the same or a similar situation, would you keep working as a CST or find a new job to try to finish college to attend pa school?
Hey, I can image how such a situation can get overwhelming. I would go to some PA forums and ask if anyone had good experiences with certain online science courses that may fit into your schedule. If you need the lab component you may have to find a way to rearrange your CST schedule or see if you can switch your job (or another surgical tech job) to an evening shift and do classes during the day / sleep. If you feel like another healthcare experience could work better with your goals that's always a possibility but I feel like a stable job will let you focus more on your schooling rather than both your new job and schooling.
Currently I’m going to school for sonography, but it’s just an associates, but I heard through the grapevine that although rare, you can get into Pa school without a bachelors. Is that true? Do you know?? Bc eventually I would love to become a PA
Catherine, you can do a combined 3+2 program where you earn your bachelor's then immediately transition to their PA program for your graduate degree. As of January 2020 all accredited PA programs grant Masters degrees and you essentially need your bachelors completed beforehand
Hey john I'm currently an COTA (occupational therapy assistant) in school to get my bachelor's degree in biology to go to PA school. I've been doing a lot of research and the trajectory for the PA field is 30 percent for the next 10 years. With new PA programs opening around the country and the trajectory for COTA being higher then PA. Do you think it would be a bad move to go to PA school. I dont want to gain a bunch of students loans and attend school. Not to be able to obtain a job once I am done with my program. What is your advice?
I still recommend the PA route as a viable professional choice. You have a multitude of speciality options. PAs are making about twice the amount of a COTA with both having a high projected growth. New grads may have some difficulty finding their dream job now, during a global pandemic, but there are certainly jobs out there.
Awesome video! I have been doing my prereqs and getting my PCE for PA school. Currently a sophomore in college. Do you ever feel like the short education you received limits your ability to practice medicine? That is one concern I have about going the PA route. I love how it's significantly shorter than med school and the other benefits over MD, but I fear coming out of PA school and feeling inadequate to practice medicine because maybe 2 years wouldn't be enough. Do you ever feel like this? Do you know of PA's who feel like this?
Interesting video as always. I’m transferring from community college to finish my bachelors degree thus January! Any advice on how to succeed in the science pre reqs?
If you’re thinking about practicing medicine in the future, you honestly should’ve completed all Transferable Pre Reqs before you even applied for a Bachelors Program. Just my 2 cents Good luck on your endeavors🙏🏽
Don't schedule a bunch of difficult science courses all at once if possible, max 1 or 2 really tough ones so you can focus your efforts while still doing well in other classes. Introduce yourself to the professor and ask for help / tutoring / office hours proactively. Try to find videos on the concepts you're learning online so you can get exposed to it a few different ways. Study well ahead of time and treat courses like they're life-or-death (even though they aren't, you can always retake it).
Hey John first I wanna thank you for those awesome videos. I am a pre pa student I am phlebotomy,ekg and emt licensed. I got lucky been shadowing PAs at a hospital for 5 months now . I was majoring in health science but my college came up with the double majors thing and now I am doing respiratory therapy. Do you think it will make a difference when I apply to pa school?
Hey how you doing? May i ask you a question? I asked some friend's and looked on internet but nobody knows nothing about that... Can I practice medicine in the states since I am a German pa?
Hi John, I’ve gotten different answers over time for this question, but do the patients you see refer to you as Doctor and is it okay for an PA to be recognized/called Doctor?
1) I don't have a doctoral degree. Nobody should be calling me "doctor" and I want them to know that PAs can still deliver competent, compassionate care. 2) For PAs that earned a doctorate, I don't think they should refer to themselves as a "doctor" in a clinical setting (like in a hospital actively treating patients) unless you're a physician. No, physicians don't own the term "doctor" and nowadays the pharmacist, the physical therapist and even the social workers could be referred to as "doctors." Ultimately my stance is about avoiding misleading patients and exposing oneself to legal liability. Giving a lecture or getting mail? Sure, Dr. whatever... you earned it. I've argued with some PAs and NPs about this, but unless it's law they aren't going to change their ways.
Depends on the specialty. Some are a Monday to Friday business hours and others are all over the place. Full-time work is full-time work aka 30-40ish hours a week with some working more and some working less than that amount.
![Should you become a PA [physician assistant/associate] or MD/DO [physician, medical doctor]?](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RV7ByW_qbwM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Should you become a PA [physician assistant/associate] or MD/DO [physician, medical doctor]?](/img/tr.png)
Share your thoughts on which path you are choosing and why! Please keep comments civil
I've asked a bunch of MD/DOs/PAs and I get a mixed bag of answers about whether they would do it over again. What I do like about PA is how one of my friends works in EM and Orthopaedic Surgery, so being able to work in two concurrent specialties is pretty cool and keeps the excitement high.
how much does he make working in two concurrent specialities and what is his work time per week?
Just got accepted to PA school two days ago. Your videos have been crazy helpful on my journey. Thanks for all of your hard work bro!
Congratulations on your PA school acceptance! :D
Congratulations! Hope the classes have been going well for you. If I may ask, what was your gpa and major for undergrad?
I am thinking of going to PA school because I really can't see myself studying for so long and missing out on years with my family and friends. I feel like if I were to go to medical school it would be for the wrong reasons, and life is so short to do things that feels that's something not for me. I hope I made the right decision but if I ever feel otherwise then I'll try to go that route (:
The first paragraph of your comment is the reason I'm seriously considering the PA route. I was always focused on becoming a MD but it's the time, cost and basically having no life for at least the first 10 years of the career :/
@@lini4865 I agree! no shade to MDs they are needed in the field but we should do what will make us happy in the long run
Glad you mentioned that PAs still make a ton of money. So tired of people saying they only make "decent" money
This was a very informative and wonderful video! One thing I’d like to discuss is the “prestige” portion of your video. As an ERT, I’m exposed to a lot of different providers in a hospital and from my personal experience, nurses talk a lot of shit regarding PAs while the physicians talk well about PAs. I have had some experiences where a physician would talk down on PAs, however, the different between those physicians and the ones that would talk well about PAs has to do with age. For whatever reason, the older and more experienced physicians were the ones to talk well regarding PAs while the younger and less experienced physicans would talk about PAs in a negative connotation.
I guess it depends on your institution and the particular PA. My institution is very supportive of PAs. You're choosing a profession for a variety of reasons and I think it was worth a mention, but I wouldn't base your long-term career goals on that one metric.
Yes, PAs are in many occasions plan B for those who do not make it to med school. It is also plan A for those who like the fun of medicine without the hard work and sacrifice, which is just unfair for the rest of us. In the UK up to 50% of applicants have already been rejected from med school, and many of those who graduate as PAs apply to med school afterwards. PA roles should not exist. It’s just a way the system has to save money in expend of patient safety and making doctor’s jobs harder. It’s just unfair.
Im going to start my skills sessions as an EMT-B next month!!! One of the instructors said they are able to get us in contact with physician assistants, nurses, drs, anyone we need! I’m so exited. I know I want to be a PA I just don’t know what to specialize in yet
Woohoo! Keep an open mind and talk to everyone
Very interesting video ❤🔥
Also @ 1:48 u added photo of an Indian guy who won gold in Tokyo Olympics 🎊
Thanks a lot love from India 🇮🇳
I’m undergrad with a 0 GPA literally. Been a freshman for 1 and half year but I just started my fall semester. Do I still have a chance on going to Pa school
Nurses really hate PAs so they aren’t always respected at least from what I’ve seen
I've had an excellent working relationship with nurses, so not sure how you can make such a blanket statement.
@@JohnThePA I’m a nurse assistant and yes nurses will give a report to a practicing PA, but the second the PA walks away they start to talk poorly about said PA. I’ve seen it multiple times at multiple hospitals, so no it’s not a blank statement. They also belittle them because “they don’t need experience to get into PA school”.
Thank you so much for this video. This was really helpful. I am currently very torn between which path would be the best one for me and I love the way you presented the pros and cons of both professions. Most other videos/opinion posts I've seen were leaning strongly to either one side or the other. Yours is the first one that actually seemed objective. So, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Hey John. I’m loving the educational videos. I’m currently a surgical technologist who has decided that they want to move further in their career and become a PA. My currently problem with the idea is that I’m the provider for my family and have to work this full time job during the day. With working a day shift job, I am struggling to find a college that offers evenings science courses. If you were in the same or a similar situation, would you keep working as a CST or find a new job to try to finish college to attend pa school?
Hey, I can image how such a situation can get overwhelming. I would go to some PA forums and ask if anyone had good experiences with certain online science courses that may fit into your schedule. If you need the lab component you may have to find a way to rearrange your CST schedule or see if you can switch your job (or another surgical tech job) to an evening shift and do classes during the day / sleep. If you feel like another healthcare experience could work better with your goals that's always a possibility but I feel like a stable job will let you focus more on your schooling rather than both your new job and schooling.
Scholarship?? For pa program
Can you do a video for High schoolers? I am currently in high school and want to know what to do before hand!
Sure! I planned on maybe doing something specific for the pre-PA high school students.
I am looking at PA school after I finish Paramedic school
Good luck! How is paramedic school treating you?
I don't start until January
Currently I’m going to school for sonography, but it’s just an associates, but I heard through the grapevine that although rare, you can get into Pa school without a bachelors. Is that true? Do you know?? Bc eventually I would love to become a PA
Catherine, you can do a combined 3+2 program where you earn your bachelor's then immediately transition to their PA program for your graduate degree. As of January 2020 all accredited PA programs grant Masters degrees and you essentially need your bachelors completed beforehand
@@JohnThePA I’m going to have to look into that for sure. Thanks for the help!
Hey john I'm currently an COTA (occupational therapy assistant) in school to get my bachelor's degree in biology to go to PA school. I've been doing a lot of research and the trajectory for the PA field is 30 percent for the next 10 years. With new PA programs opening around the country and the trajectory for COTA being higher then PA. Do you think it would be a bad move to go to PA school. I dont want to gain a bunch of students loans and attend school. Not to be able to obtain a job once I am done with my program. What is your advice?
I still recommend the PA route as a viable professional choice. You have a multitude of speciality options. PAs are making about twice the amount of a COTA with both having a high projected growth. New grads may have some difficulty finding their dream job now, during a global pandemic, but there are certainly jobs out there.
@@JohnThePA thank you so much this what I was feeling in my heart. Just wanted clarification from.someone who is actually in the field. 😊
More job offer review videos plz
I collected enough offers to comment on! Planning to drop a new one in October
Awesome video! I have been doing my prereqs and getting my PCE for PA school. Currently a sophomore in college. Do you ever feel like the short education you received limits your ability to practice medicine? That is one concern I have about going the PA route. I love how it's significantly shorter than med school and the other benefits over MD, but I fear coming out of PA school and feeling inadequate to practice medicine because maybe 2 years wouldn't be enough. Do you ever feel like this? Do you know of PA's who feel like this?
This would be a great video to revisit as a collab with a Doctor influencer!
Interesting video as always. I’m transferring from community college to finish my bachelors degree thus January! Any advice on how to succeed in the science pre reqs?
If you’re thinking about practicing medicine in the future, you honestly should’ve completed all Transferable Pre Reqs before you even applied for a Bachelors Program. Just my 2 cents
Good luck on your endeavors🙏🏽
Don't schedule a bunch of difficult science courses all at once if possible, max 1 or 2 really tough ones so you can focus your efforts while still doing well in other classes. Introduce yourself to the professor and ask for help / tutoring / office hours proactively. Try to find videos on the concepts you're learning online so you can get exposed to it a few different ways. Study well ahead of time and treat courses like they're life-or-death (even though they aren't, you can always retake it).
Hey John first I wanna thank you for those awesome videos. I am a pre pa student I am phlebotomy,ekg and emt licensed. I got lucky been shadowing PAs at a hospital for 5 months now . I was majoring in health science but my college came up with the double majors thing and now I am doing respiratory therapy. Do you think it will make a difference when I apply to pa school?
Sounds like a solid plan! Also that's a ton of shadowing time
Hey how you doing? May i ask you a question? I asked some friend's and looked on internet but nobody knows nothing about that... Can I practice medicine in the states since I am a German pa?
To my knowledge you can only practice in the US if you graduated from a US program and pass the PANCE (national exam)
@@JohnThePA thank you very much for the information 😁👍
Hi John, I’ve gotten different answers over time for this question, but do the patients you see refer to you as Doctor and is it okay for an PA to be recognized/called Doctor?
1) I don't have a doctoral degree. Nobody should be calling me "doctor" and I want them to know that PAs can still deliver competent, compassionate care.
2) For PAs that earned a doctorate, I don't think they should refer to themselves as a "doctor" in a clinical setting (like in a hospital actively treating patients) unless you're a physician. No, physicians don't own the term "doctor" and nowadays the pharmacist, the physical therapist and even the social workers could be referred to as "doctors." Ultimately my stance is about avoiding misleading patients and exposing oneself to legal liability. Giving a lecture or getting mail? Sure, Dr. whatever... you earned it. I've argued with some PAs and NPs about this, but unless it's law they aren't going to change their ways.
is not ok, to be referred as a doctor you need to go to medical School
What are working hours for a PA per week
Depends on the specialty. Some are a Monday to Friday business hours and others are all over the place. Full-time work is full-time work aka 30-40ish hours a week with some working more and some working less than that amount.
Can I become doctor after bs in Operation theater sciences?
I would suggest looking into the prerequisites for schooling like medical school to become a doctor where you would like to go to medical school!
yes as long as you take the prereqs, any major is fine