You just inspired me! I'm a final year PA (MSC) mid 30's with Children too but will definitely be going into Medicine but took the PA route because it prepares me for the medical school and make me more financial stable abit while in medical school... Remember it not how far but how well... best of luck Donya!
Educating Prince thanks for sharing your journey. I am in the same boat. MA to PA getting into medicine as well. I was thinking on more of a financial level because taking a break to get into med school I want to be financially cushioned before making that drastic move. I have support from my spouse so that has been so comforting. The only difference with the PA and the MD is the med school (4 years of attendance) and residency. I am so thankful there is a PA program, gets you started on a path to medicine and the experience as well.
Definitely will help a lot of students who are in this predicament of options between PA/Med. Ollie you’ve outdone yourself with this interview!! Massive thanks to Donya too for sharing her raw views of her current profession!! 🙌🏽
I would love for you to have another interview with Donya after she has completed medical school. Just to see if her opinions have changed at all in terms of the scope of practicing.
This is indeed a sensitive topic and you went through it nicely. I have discussed similar situation with ANPs (Assistant Nurse Practitioners) in relation to nurses and it is difficult to draw a line
Ollie this is an absolutely excellent interview. Well done to you for keeping an open mind and having a really balanced discussion, you are a credit to the medical profession. Thinking about progression in the PA role, i wonder do you think that there should be some sort of a conversion course from PA to Doctor. I guess i was thinking that the new apprenticeship for doctors might be a good chance for conversion. Im considering medical school myself and I am not a PA but this is an interesting topic.
basically, they regard PA as a BTEC doctor, like when u take Alevels or BTECS etc. I am looking to do an MSC in PA if I don't get into med school this year. i will be applying to medschool until i get in. whilst working as a PA and will have experience etc. it will open my eyes to the NHS and give me a dose of what I could be like.
I would generally not advise doing PA if you want to be a doctor, or indeed doing medicine if you want to be a PA. Recommendation would be to spend time shadowing both and deciding what you want from your role. The problem is that they only really diverge at the graduate level, and it's a lot of time/stress/money to do PA if you want to be a doctor.
@@OllieBurtonMed omg thank you for replying :0 I currently work as an HCA in peads ICU. and I have shadowed in multiple hospitals.I only suggested PA because I'm still in year 2 of my medical science degree. and I'm applying with my predicted grade :) if I didn't get into medicine. my 5th choice on UCAS is going to be a PA course just because I don't want to take a gap year and apply. ill re-apply next year and if I get in ill be differing until I finish the MSC . i want to stay in education after year 3 and in the situation where i don't get a place this year at least i can study PA whilst applying for med :D
@@fareehashah945 That's fine Fareeha, and good luck with whatever you choose to do. I'd just be wary of the additional cost involved with studying, and the fact that even if you did PA it wouldn't necessarily make medical school any easier - you'd still have to go back to basics and start from zero or potentially even un-learn some of the things you'd learn in PA school. See if you can message Donya on Instagram or another PA that's done medical school and see what they say.
Hey I’m currently doing a PA course and I’ve found that it’s helped a lot to see whether or not medicine is actually for me - we had placements in GP and hospitals so for to see both PAs working and doctors as well as learning actual medicine. It’s defo good if u want to see what it’s like before commiting to a long course with mbbs. It is more stress I guess cos it’s 2 years but it’s defo doable and if u don’t enjoy the content or time in placement u will know soon that medicine is or isn’t for you .. hope that helps
I'm considering PA as a back-up route if I get rejected from GEM this year, but I still want to apply for med in the future if I fail to get in, and from what I've seen PA is still quite a fulfilling career that would give some interesting experience. I'm still not 100% sure though.
you can! its the same thing for me. im gonna apply to 4 med schools and 1 pa msc. if i get rejected, ill do the MSC and keep applying to medicine until i get in :)
@@eoinMB3949 I changed over for a few reasons, one of them being what I wanted to get into later on in my career. I was interested in radiology and ophthal, these are specialties where an MBBS is crucial if you want to do the surgeries or report scans. Progression was a big thing for me and PA being a quite new role wasnt offering that. Lastly, I wanted flexibility in location, if I wanted to move to a different country, being a doctor makes it much easier.
They're equivalents - PA-R is the UK version, just means they're on the register. It is worth noting however that unlike in the US, PAs in the UK aren't currently regulated so the register is voluntary - this is shortly due to change.
ACP is worth considering can do most of which a doctor can do and much more then a PA. In terms of prescribing and requesting investigations and work autonomously.
I will try and ask her, is there a particular reason you'd like to know? The only reason I ask is that UCAT thresholds vary by cycle, and the UCAT doesn't have much bearing on anything else to do with your application - so the only real question that matters is 'was it enough to make it over the entry threshold for that particular year of entry'
I'm not sure how PAs would be able to prescribe. Indeed, if PAs can prescribe there would be no need for a certain degree. This questions whether we need both courses.
@@RosesAreGold1 Is it called an independent prescribers course? If a nurse wants to become an advanced nurse practitioner, they would do this course. I guess PAs could do this. They just would not get the title of doctor.
@@benstables8492 no,they wouldn't need any extra courses since its already covered in the course, its purely political due to lack of current regulation .PAs can do doctorates in America but it's a PhD or DHSc,not an MD.
I do disagree on doctors pay, and maybe you feel differently now as this videos was 2 years ago, All levels of doctors are underpaid for the levels work, stress and ultimately responsibility they have to take. Whether you are an F1 or Registrar, you are ultimately reponsible for decision making and at night when you have to make those decisions, its definitely not enough pay. I'm speaking as an ST5 Registrar. PAs should start at a lower pay scale and then scale upto band 7/8. I dont agree that they come out as qualified as an FY1/FY2. What is the point of an assistant that cant prescribe/request imaging ? The point of 5 years of medical training is to cumulatively build up medical knowledge, which you cant cram in to a 2 years masters
I’m just abit baffled why some students would chose the PA route over medical school, don’t get me wrong PA have skills and w everything to cope with in terms of knowledge but they can’t prescribe medicine or anything. medicine vs PA route is 4 years undergrad vs 5 medicine undergrad it’s only an extra year of study and opens the doors up more than A PA degree would. I’ve looked into this degree in reading also as there is an access to medicine course in reading college which guarantees an offer for PA undergraduate. I’d rather take an extra year Of study for medicine which is what I’ll plan to do. No negativity towards any PA but my personal preference would be medical school over PA school. Good vid
Its because of the working life of a PA compared to a doctor. As a PA i can still practice medicine but actually have a decent work life balance at the same time
That’s fair enough if your passionate about the role and duties and the lifestyle you are doing then there is no harm in that. Just me vs outweighing medical school vs PA school I’d rather do medical school as it does open more doors up. I would like to specialise in anaesthesia in the future and PA degree would be very difficult to do that so I’ll just take the route of medicine as to PA. I do agree that medical school and life as a Junior doctor could be way more hectic than PA lifestyle/workplace but we all chose what we prefer in life there is no wrong or right answer, do what suits you as an Individual.
@UC48qI-Gatp8v5Pqh_NzaAkg Interesting but specialist training isn't covered which is where I want to study (anesthesia) It's fantastic that PA's will get recognition for their role in health services in the future just for me personally I have my sole heart on medical school & specialist training in anesthesia or ICU medicine with sub-speciality in pre-hospital care etc.
Tbh, most of consultant's attitude toward PA's is terrible! It needs to change as each hospital trust get paid from training PA, so it important to be treated with respect!
I just don't understand how people can expect high salary like MD/DO but don't want or expect to spend time to go through medical training. May be this is a spoiled generation? I hope not.
How can a PA work at CT1 or CT2 after 2 yr training, doctors would have trained for 7 or 8 yrs. If it were true then MBBS should be cut to 2 yrs. Only the best get into Med School, which in truth the majority of PAs are unsuccessful Med School applicants.
Hence why she said senior PAs who have been working in their field for years. Do you even listen? After already having a BSc in a science subject and an MSc in PA, why shouldn’t she apply for medicine if this is what she wants to do? She has tonnes of experience and good knowledge to do graduate entry medicine
i have an honours degree and 3 postgrads inc. one in anatomy . i chose to be a pa rather than doctor, not because i couldnt get onto the gem but because the role suited me and allowed me to pursue other interests outside of medicine. all pa's i know have at least a 2;1 or first class hons.
This comes across very ignorant but let me break it down for you. The PA role should be looked at completely differently to a Doctor’s role, just like nurses are. You don’t call nurses inferior to doctors, similarly, the PA role is different. PAs are generalists. They never will specialise. They will never be given complex cases. Their job is to treat and manage the most common cases and do the common jobs, their purpose is to alleviate the pressures and high workload from the Doctors to focus on the complex cases. They are not a replacement for Doctors. They are colleagues. They can work up to a reg level as they are trained to do the same common tasks but they aren’t going that deep, and learning neurosurgery for example. On the Neurosurgery ward, they would be tasked with managing patients on the wards and keeping the flow going. If they have to be in the theatres they will assist the surgeon. Every PA is an asset to their department, the GMC are taking over as their regulating body. Currently PAs don’t prescribe yet or order ionising radiation but this will be changing soon. A lot of grad med applications come from bio med degrees, a lot of the same PA applications come from bio med or life science. Not everyone wants to be a doctor and have a terrible work life balance. Most PAs work 9-5 even in a speciality so they get the opportunity to work and go home quite routinely. Society is full of sick people with common conditions, thanks to the western lifestyle. Having PAs supports the NHS and the aging population Why would you be against getting help with your own workload as a doctor lol? As for their training, they are taught at medical schools by doctors so I don’t get what the issue. is you seem bitter and threatened by the profession.
You just inspired me! I'm a final year PA (MSC) mid 30's with Children too but will definitely be going into Medicine but took the PA route because it prepares me for the medical school and make me more financial stable abit while in medical school... Remember it not how far but how well... best of luck Donya!
This is a very refreshing comment for me as a career mum.
this ^^^^^ i really want to start a family too and i would be able to fund my degree being a PA. (med degree)
Educating Prince thanks for sharing your journey. I am in the same boat. MA to PA getting into medicine as well. I was thinking on more of a financial level because taking a break to get into med school I want to be financially cushioned before making that drastic move. I have support from my spouse so that has been so comforting. The only difference with the PA and the MD is the med school (4 years of attendance) and residency. I am so thankful there is a PA program, gets you started on a path to medicine and the experience as well.
Definitely will help a lot of students who are in this predicament of options between PA/Med. Ollie you’ve outdone yourself with this interview!! Massive thanks to Donya too for sharing her raw views of her current profession!! 🙌🏽
i guess I'm kinda off topic but does anybody know a good place to stream newly released tv shows online ?
@Terrell Dustin i use FlixZone. You can find it by googling :)
@Terrell Dustin lately I have been using Flixzone. You can find it on google :)
@Terrell Dustin I use FlixZone. You can find it by googling :)
@Rogelio Raiden Yea, I've been using flixzone for years myself =)
I would love for you to have another interview with Donya after she has completed medical school. Just to see if her opinions have changed at all in terms of the scope of practicing.
A long way away but I'm sure it can be arranged down the line!
@@OllieBurtonMed can you do an interview after 1/2 years into GEM. I would love to hear about her experience
This is indeed a sensitive topic and you went through it nicely. I have discussed similar situation with ANPs (Assistant Nurse Practitioners) in relation to nurses and it is difficult to draw a line
@Oscar Wild sure. Thanks for the correction. No offence taken.
Ollie this is an absolutely excellent interview. Well done to you for keeping an open mind and having a really balanced discussion, you are a credit to the medical profession. Thinking about progression in the PA role, i wonder do you think that there should be some sort of a conversion course from PA to Doctor. I guess i was thinking that the new apprenticeship for doctors might be a good chance for conversion. Im considering medical school myself and I am not a PA but this is an interesting topic.
Great interview Ollie!!! Thank-you for sharing your experience Donya!!! All the best to you attending Warwick Medical school!!!
basically, they regard PA as a BTEC doctor, like when u take Alevels or BTECS etc. I am looking to do an MSC in PA if I don't get into med school this year. i will be applying to medschool until i get in. whilst working as a PA and will have experience etc. it will open my eyes to the NHS and give me a dose of what I could be like.
I would generally not advise doing PA if you want to be a doctor, or indeed doing medicine if you want to be a PA. Recommendation would be to spend time shadowing both and deciding what you want from your role. The problem is that they only really diverge at the graduate level, and it's a lot of time/stress/money to do PA if you want to be a doctor.
@@OllieBurtonMed omg thank you for replying :0 I currently work as an HCA in peads ICU. and I have shadowed in multiple hospitals.I only suggested PA because I'm still in year 2 of my medical science degree. and I'm applying with my predicted grade :) if I didn't get into medicine. my 5th choice on UCAS is going to be a PA course just because I don't want to take a gap year and apply. ill re-apply next year and if I get in ill be differing until I finish the MSC . i want to stay in education after year 3 and in the situation where i don't get a place this year at least i can study PA whilst applying for med :D
@@fareehashah945 That's fine Fareeha, and good luck with whatever you choose to do. I'd just be wary of the additional cost involved with studying, and the fact that even if you did PA it wouldn't necessarily make medical school any easier - you'd still have to go back to basics and start from zero or potentially even un-learn some of the things you'd learn in PA school. See if you can message Donya on Instagram or another PA that's done medical school and see what they say.
@@OllieBurtonMed thank you
Hey I’m currently doing a PA course and I’ve found that it’s helped a lot to see whether or not medicine is actually for me - we had placements in GP and hospitals so for to see both PAs working and doctors as well as learning actual medicine. It’s defo good if u want to see what it’s like before commiting to a long course with mbbs. It is more stress I guess cos it’s 2 years but it’s defo doable and if u don’t enjoy the content or time in placement u will know soon that medicine is or isn’t for you .. hope that helps
Hello Ollie, thanks for always having videos that answers all my questions! They're really so awesome and helpful. Best of luck in everything!
I'm considering PA as a back-up route if I get rejected from GEM this year, but I still want to apply for med in the future if I fail to get in, and from what I've seen PA is still quite a fulfilling career that would give some interesting experience. I'm still not 100% sure though.
you can! its the same thing for me. im gonna apply to 4 med schools and 1 pa msc. if i get rejected, ill do the MSC and keep applying to medicine until i get in :)
@@fareehashah945I wanted to ask if you ended up doing the PA course or got into GEM?
Took the same path as Donya! Great interview Ollie.
Good luck! Could I ask what made you change your career path? Just curious :)
Hey would love to connect! I’m doing the same thing x
Yes could you elaborate on your decision to go from PA to doctor? I'm aiming for PA right now but I'd like to hear your experiences.
@@floshaye539 Hey, sorry for the very late reply, feel free to message me or leave your contact details!
@@eoinMB3949 I changed over for a few reasons, one of them being what I wanted to get into later on in my career. I was interested in radiology and ophthal, these are specialties where an MBBS is crucial if you want to do the surgeries or report scans. Progression was a big thing for me and PA being a quite new role wasnt offering that. Lastly, I wanted flexibility in location, if I wanted to move to a different country, being a doctor makes it much easier.
Hi my fellow PA and A.T. Still grad (DHEd. in 2012).
I wont be surprised if some sort of conversion degree is created in the future.
13:40 and 19:00 for career progression
Thank you so much guys for sharing this🙏🙏🙏
Could PAs go onto a higher band with more training similar to nursing ?
8a is really the current limit for pa's
Hello, My name is Bennie and I am an Occupational Therapist. I would love to talk about my role and it’s contribution to healthcare.
Omg needed this video lol! I just changed from the PA course to GEM
Best of luck with your studies!
What's the difference between PA-C and PA-R ?
They're equivalents - PA-R is the UK version, just means they're on the register. It is worth noting however that unlike in the US, PAs in the UK aren't currently regulated so the register is voluntary - this is shortly due to change.
ACP is worth considering can do most of which a doctor can do and much more then a PA. In terms of prescribing and requesting investigations and work autonomously.
Hey canny tell more about this pls .. I’m currently study in the PA course
hii can i ask what donya got for her UCAT score for GEM ?
I will try and ask her, is there a particular reason you'd like to know?
The only reason I ask is that UCAT thresholds vary by cycle, and the UCAT doesn't have much bearing on anything else to do with your application - so the only real question that matters is 'was it enough to make it over the entry threshold for that particular year of entry'
NHS should introduce a fast track for qualified PAs as they already have an experience.
I do think a 2 year topup for PAs to medicine wouldnt be a bad idea
It already exists it's called graduate entry medicine
@@morounshayooshodi1898that’s different and you know it
Hi Donya thanks for the vid - how long had you worked as a PA? im 3 months in really enjoying it, but consider doing similar in a year or two maybe??
I'm not sure how PAs would be able to prescribe. Indeed, if PAs can prescribe there would be no need for a certain degree. This questions whether we need both courses.
Nurses can prescribe and they can do a 2 year masters, just as PA’s
@@RosesAreGold1 Is it called an independent prescribers course? If a nurse wants to become an advanced nurse practitioner, they would do this course. I guess PAs could do this. They just would not get the title of doctor.
@@benstables8492 not yet, but when they are a regulated profession it may become a possibility
@@benstables8492 no,they wouldn't need any extra courses since its already covered in the course, its purely political due to lack of current regulation .PAs can do doctorates in America but it's a PhD or DHSc,not an MD.
If they do the pharmacology and they do why shouldn't they prescribe.
What we can do after MSC PA
Work as a PA, teach PA students, research? Lots of options!
Can we do Msc PA after Bs biotechnology?
Yes I did it myself
I do disagree on doctors pay, and maybe you feel differently now as this videos was 2 years ago, All levels of doctors are underpaid for the levels work, stress and ultimately responsibility they have to take. Whether you are an F1 or Registrar, you are ultimately reponsible for decision making and at night when you have to make those decisions, its definitely not enough pay. I'm speaking as an ST5 Registrar. PAs should start at a lower pay scale and then scale upto band 7/8. I dont agree that they come out as qualified as an FY1/FY2. What is the point of an assistant that cant prescribe/request imaging ? The point of 5 years of medical training is to cumulatively build up medical knowledge, which you cant cram in to a 2 years masters
All healthcare staff are paid far less than they deserve, the reason this country undervalues us all is a political, and thus intentional decision.
I’m just abit baffled why some students would chose the PA route over medical school, don’t get me wrong PA have skills and w everything to cope with in terms of knowledge but they can’t prescribe medicine or anything. medicine vs PA route is 4 years undergrad vs 5 medicine undergrad it’s only an extra year of study and opens the doors up more than A PA degree would.
I’ve looked into this degree in reading also as there is an access to medicine course in reading college which guarantees an offer for PA undergraduate.
I’d rather take an extra year Of study for medicine which is what I’ll plan to do.
No negativity towards any PA but my personal preference would be medical school over PA school.
Good vid
Its because of the working life of a PA compared to a doctor. As a PA i can still practice medicine but actually have a decent work life balance at the same time
And we will be able to prescribe as the GMC are gonna regulate us
That’s fair enough if your passionate about the role and duties and the lifestyle you are doing then there is no harm in that. Just me vs outweighing medical school vs PA school I’d rather do medical school as it does open more doors up.
I would like to specialise in anaesthesia in the future and PA degree would be very difficult to do that so I’ll just take the route of medicine as to PA.
I do agree that medical school and life as a Junior doctor could be way more hectic than PA lifestyle/workplace but we all chose what we prefer in life there is no wrong or right answer, do what suits you as an Individual.
Ryan Jefferies Nicely said 🤝
@UC48qI-Gatp8v5Pqh_NzaAkg Interesting but specialist training isn't covered which is where I want to study (anesthesia) It's fantastic that PA's will get recognition for their role in health services in the future just for me personally I have my sole heart on medical school & specialist training in anesthesia or ICU medicine with sub-speciality in pre-hospital care etc.
very interesting
Does that mean if she is accepted to do medicine she will have to start from yr 1 medicine ?
Yep that's right, and she currently is at the moment! Doing very well I gather.
@@OllieBurtonMedCould you please do a follow up video with her?
Interesting 🤔
Tbh, most of consultant's attitude toward PA's is terrible! It needs to change as each hospital trust get paid from training PA, so it important to be treated with respect!
I just don't understand how people can expect high salary like MD/DO but don't want or expect to spend time to go through medical training. May be this is a spoiled generation? I hope not.
How can a PA work at CT1 or CT2 after 2 yr training, doctors would have trained for 7 or 8 yrs. If it were true then MBBS should be cut to 2 yrs. Only the best get into Med School, which in truth the majority of PAs are unsuccessful Med School applicants.
Hence why she said senior PAs who have been working in their field for years. Do you even listen? After already having a BSc in a science subject and an MSc in PA, why shouldn’t she apply for medicine if this is what she wants to do? She has tonnes of experience and good knowledge to do graduate entry medicine
You clearly don’t listen well. Not everyone wants to be a doctor yikesssss
i have an honours degree and 3 postgrads inc. one in anatomy . i chose to be a pa rather than doctor, not because i couldnt get onto the gem but because the role suited me and allowed me to pursue other interests outside of medicine. all pa's i know have at least a 2;1 or first class hons.
This comes across very ignorant but let me break it down for you.
The PA role should be looked at completely differently to a Doctor’s role, just like nurses are. You don’t call nurses inferior to doctors, similarly, the PA role is different.
PAs are generalists. They never will specialise. They will never be given complex cases. Their job is to treat and manage the most common cases and do the common jobs, their purpose is to alleviate the pressures and high workload from the Doctors to focus on the complex cases.
They are not a replacement for Doctors. They are colleagues. They can work up to a reg level as they are trained to do the same common tasks but they aren’t going that deep, and learning neurosurgery for example. On the Neurosurgery ward, they would be tasked with managing patients on the wards and keeping the flow going. If they have to be in the theatres they will assist the surgeon.
Every PA is an asset to their department, the GMC are taking over as their regulating body. Currently PAs don’t prescribe yet or order ionising radiation but this will be changing soon.
A lot of grad med applications come from bio med degrees, a lot of the same PA applications come from bio med or life science.
Not everyone wants to be a doctor and have a terrible work life balance. Most PAs work 9-5 even in a speciality so they get the opportunity to work and go home quite routinely.
Society is full of sick people with common conditions, thanks to the western lifestyle. Having PAs supports the NHS and the aging population Why would you be against getting help with your own workload as a doctor lol?
As for their training, they are taught at medical schools by doctors so I don’t get what the issue. is you seem bitter and threatened by the profession.
@@hasfabahar9945 brilliant explanation love this thank u! Planning to do an undergraduate course