Reply to What about becoming a PA?

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[quote=Anonymous]Great option for people who want to focus on patient care and are not motivated by prestige. As a PA, you'll get to spend far more time with patients than a physician, and have to deal with far less bureaucratic BS. Fewer years of school, more emphasis on practical bedside care.

From a patient's perspective (mine, at least), that's what matters for primary care. I don't need a superstar physician trained to diagnose the rarest of diseases to conduct my annual exams. I need someone who actually has the time to listen to what I'm saying, answer questions, sign off on another year's prescription for BC, and notice if something seems out of whack enough to deserve a second look by a specialist. I'm a patient of one of those large medical associates groups, and I always choose a PA (or NP) rather than a physician for routine appointments.

Disclaimer: My father is a PA (military-trained), and he has a LOT of the knowledge of a general physician but was always home in time for dinner. Makes a healthy six-figure salary in a LCOL area, and says he never regretted not going to medical school because being a PA has given him the best balance of patient care, income, and lifestyle.

I have yet to meet a PA who did not have high job satisfaction.

Just keep in mind if you care about what others think...It's kind of like the small liberal arts college of the medical profession. The average person you meet on the street might be like...."Oh, an assistant to the physician? That's nice. You mean like a secretary?" But people who are in the know will be like, "OMG, EXCELLENT career choice."[/quote]

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