Transitioning from a PA, physician assistant, to an MD, medical doctor, is not unheard of and
it's certainly achievable. But is it the right path for you? In this video
I'll cover the differences and similarities between the two, discuss how to determine if
it's the right move for you, and give you some steps you can take now to make the transition.
Hi I'm Nadine Evans with BeMo Academic Consulting. Before we get started subscribe on
whatever social media channel you're watching this from, that way you won't miss any of our upcoming
videos! Also if you want us to help you with your medical school application, click the link either
above or below this video to schedule your free initial consultation. A physician assistant is
someone who participates in patient care working under the direct supervision of a physician. PAs
along with MDs examine and diagnose patients, take and review medical histories and help
educate patients. Depending on the state compared with MDs, PAs cannot perform surgeries though they
can assist, they cannot make final decisions on complex medical issues, and may not be able to
prescribe medication. They don't have full independence and are in some ways reliant
on physician oversight. After undergraduate degrees, physician assistants often studied
for two to three years and begin practicing thereafter having gained a lot of knowledge
and completing their degree without a large amount of debt. MDs spent a significantly longer amount of
time training for six to twelve years after their undergraduate degrees and rack up a lot more debt
than PAs. More time in training however means more knowledge, responsibility, experience, and training
allows MDs to be fairly independent. So how do you know if you should make the switch from a
physician assistant to a physician? You need to be 100% sure and that requires taking a lot of
time to think and reflect. You need to know why you want to become a physician as opposed to
a physician assistant. Do you feel like you're missing something? Do you feel like you're not
fulfilled as a PA? Are you finding yourself wanting to know the answers to more in-depth questions
like why are certain things happening to certain patients? Do you want to perform surgeries? Do you
want to be fully involved in complex cases? Are you finding yourself answering yes to a lot of
these questions? That's a good indication that you're interested in becoming an MD. There are
other considerations you need to make when thinking about transitioning from a PA to an
MD. Where are you in your life stage? Are you ready to go back to school and spend six to ten years in
training? What about debt? Have you considered the cost to go to medical school? Are you working on
paying off your PA student loan? Are you currently working as a PA? Are you ready to give up that job
or significantly reduce your hours in order to go to medical school? Okay so you've taken the time
to consider everything and you know that pursuing an MD degree is the right choice for you. I'll give
you four steps to take to help get you on your way to becoming an MD. Number one: check your courses.
You need to make sure that you have completed all the correct prerequisites in order to be eligible
to apply for medical school. It's possible that you may be missing a few courses that weren't required
for your PA program such as organic chemistry or physics. Also you may need to retake some courses
in order to boost your overall GPA. Number two: be honest with your employer. Going back to school is
going to be a serious time commitment so having the support from your employer is key. You will
likely need to significantly reduce your hours and work out a schedule that allows you to study
and work at the same time. In addition you need to be thinking about letters of recommendation
and having an excellent relationship with your employer is essential to securing a positive
one. Number three: take the MCAT. If you haven't taken the MCAT yet, this is something you need
to prepare for and complete in order to apply to medical school. Again it may be difficult trying
to balance work time with study time so having the support from your employer will be helpful.
Number four: gain shadowing experience. Of course your experiences as a PA can give you a unique
advantage. You already know medical terminology, you have a lot of knowledge, and are familiar
with being in a hospital setting. But that doesn't exempt you from shadowing a doctor. You need to
have the experience of following them around on their day to day schedule to see what it's like
for them and you'll be subjected to additional experiences you may not have had already. And
finally number five: your last step is to write your personal statement, gather your letter of
recommendations, and apply to medical schools. Thanks so much for watching! If you found this
video helpful please subscribe, like and leave a comment if you have any questions. If you
want to learn about how we can help you with your application, go to BeMomedapplication.com
to schedule your free initial consultation. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next time!