Career Path in Healthcare: A Detailed Plan for Pursuing a PA or MD Degree
Explore a comprehensive career plan detailing pathways to become a Physician Assistant (PA) or Medical Doctor (M.D.), including academic, career, and personal pillars. Discover the steps to follow, from gaining direct patient care experience to improving interviewing skills, in pursuit of a fulfilling healthcare profession.
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Career plan Career plan By: Natalia Ahmann SLIDESMANIA.COM
Pathway U Pathway U Main interests: social and investigative Main values: achievements and relationships Personality: Conscientiousness and extraversion SLIDESMANIA.COM Workplace Preferences: Innovation and recognition
Why Healthcare? Why Healthcare? I have always been interested in science, particularly the biological sciences- especially related to how the complex systems of the human body work together. Many members of my extended family are immersed in some form of medical-related career. Listening to their experiences and discussing their perspectives on career paths has provided me with a helpful lens as I explore my own interests and passions. My interest in going into the healthcare field is also driven by a passion for helping people, particularly children, which is definitely due to the fact that I am the oldest of five kids. Healthcare is an extremely rewarding field and the idea of being able to help others while earning a living is the ideal career for me. SLIDESMANIA.COM SLIDESMANIA.COM
Overview Overview Plan #1 Plan #1 Plan #2 Plan #2 PA with no bridge year PA with 1 bridge year Plan #3 Plan #3 M.D. with 1 bridge year SLIDESMANIA.COM
Plan #1 Plan #1 PA school with 1 bridge year SLIDESMANIA.COM
PA PA - - 1 bridge year 1 bridge year Academic Pillar Minimum GPA of 3.6 Complete Biology B. A. major courses and PA school prerequisites Minimum of 300 on GRE Letters of Recommendation + personal statement Career Pillar Minimum of 1000 direct patient care hours as CNA Shadow PA s Volunteering Personal Pillar Improve interviewing skills Study Abroad Student Organizations/clubs SLIDESMANIA.COM SLIDESMANIA.COM
Plan #1: PA school with 1 bridge year Plan #1: PA school with 1 bridge year- - Timeline Timeline PA PA SCHOOL!!! SCHOOL!!! 3rd Year 3rd Year Summer Summer 2024 2024 Bridge Bridge Year Year 4th Year 4th Year Summer Summer 2025 2025 Continue taking PA prerequisites Study for GRE Volunteer weekly through Madison House Work as a CNA part time Take GRE Work as a full time CNA Shadow a PA Finish PA prerequisites Volunteer weekly through Madison House Work as a CNA part time Work as a full time CNA Shadow a PA Apply to PA school through CASPA Work as a full time CNA Interview with PA schools SLIDESMANIA.COM
Plan #1: PA school with 1 bridge year Plan #1: PA school with 1 bridge year Pros Pros Cons Cons Limited opportunities for advancement Not full decision making authority May lose motivation to go back to a school/classroom setting Shorter economic payback (can immediately start practicing) Easy to switch speciality More time to receive direct patient care hours by working as a full time CNA for a year before starting PA school More time to shadow PAs in different fields to see which I m most interested in SLIDESMANIA.COM SLIDESMANIA.COM
Plan #2 Plan #2 PA school with no bridge year SLIDESMANIA.COM
PA PA - - No bridge year No bridge year Academic Pillar Minimum GPA of 3.6 Complete Biology B. A. major courses and PA school prerequisites Minimum of 300 on GRE Letters of Recommendation + personal statement Career Pillar Minimum of 1000 direct patient care hours as CNA Shadow a PA Volunteering Personal Pillar Improve interviewing skills Study Abroad Student Organizations/clubs SLIDESMANIA.COM SLIDESMANIA.COM
Plan #1: PA school with 1 bridge year Plan #1: PA school with 1 bridge year- - Timeline Timeline PA PA SCHOOl SCHOOl 3rd Year 3rd Year Summer Summer 2024 2024 4th Year 4th Year Summer Summer 2025 2025 Continue taking PA prerequisites Study for GRE in fall/winter Take GRE in spring Volunteer weekly through Madison House Work as a CNA part time Apply to PA school through CASPA Finish PA prerequisites Volunteer weekly through Madison House Work as a CNA part time Interview with PA schools Work as a full time CNA Shadow a PA Take GRE Work as a full time CNA Shadow a PA SLIDESMANIA.COM
Plan #1: PA school with no bridge year Plan #1: PA school with no bridge year Pros Pros Cons Cons Not full decision making authority Limited opportunities for advancement Higher risk of burnout Less time to receive clinical hours/experience Shorter economic payback (can immediately start practicing) Easy to switch speciality Will start my career/earning money earlier so can settle down sooner SLIDESMANIA.COM SLIDESMANIA.COM
Plan #3 Plan #3 Medical school with no bridge year SLIDESMANIA.COM
M.D M.D - - 1 bridge year 1 bridge year Academic Pillar Average GPA of 3.75 Average MCAT score of 501 Complete Biology B. A. major courses and Med school prerequisites Letters of Recommendation Career Pillar Research Shadowing Volunteering Clinical Experience - medical scribe? Personal Pillar Study Abroad Improve interviewing skills Student Organizations/clubs SLIDESMANIA.COM SLIDESMANIA.COM
Plan #1: M.D. school with 1 bridge year Plan #1: M.D. school with 1 bridge year- - Timeline Timeline Med Med school!!!! school!!!! Bridge Bridge Year Year 3rd Year 3rd Year Summer Summer 2024 2024 4th Year 4th Year Summer Summer 2025 2025 Continue taking Med school prerequisites Volunteer weekly through Madison House Finish Med school prerequisites Take MCAT Part time medical scribe Apply to Med School in June Work as full time medical scribe Work as full time medical scribe Shadow doctors Study for MCAT Shadow doctors Medical scribe certification SLIDESMANIA.COM
Plan #1: M.D. school with 1 bridge year Plan #1: M.D. school with 1 bridge year Pros Pros Cons Cons Medical school debt Hard work life balance Longer economic payback (med school, internship, and residency) May lose motivation to go back to a school/classroom setting Financial stability/job security Meaningful job (helping people) Well respected in the community Can own my own practice (ultimate decision making authority) SLIDESMANIA.COM SLIDESMANIA.COM
What I learned What I learned This project allowed me to explore many different possible career paths that I have considered over the past couple years. It was really helpful to create timelines as well as pros/cons lists to compare each of them and see which I think would be the best fit for me. I ve been debating on whether to take a bridge year if I decide to go to PA school and after creating a timeline and laying out the pros and cons for this I think this would really benefit me in that I can put more time into my grades and involvement at UVA and not have as much pressure to gain all 1000 patient care hours during undergrad. Even though this would give me more time to get these hours, I would be starting my career later than if I didn t take a bridge year. I have many doctors in my family and this was the main healthcare career I had always heard about so I just assumed I would take the same route and go to medical school until I heard about a career as a PA. This project made me realize how challenging the work life balance can be for doctors and that I want to be able to start my career as soon as possible which is something that would be a lot more challenging as an M. D. Overall, I feel that the best career pathway for me would be PA School Overall, I feel that the best career pathway for me would be PA School with a bridge year. with a bridge year. SLIDESMANIA.COM
Next steps Next steps This past summer, I became certified as a CNA and worked at a nursing home near my hometown. I am hoping to start working at the UVA Medical Center in the spring so that I can gain more patient care hours. I hope that this will allow me to have enough hours to apply to PA school by the end of my 4th year and if not I will continue to get hours during my bridge year. I want to shadow doctors and PAs hopefully over winter break and definitely over the summer so I can see which field I would want to pursue more. I ve learned from my informational interviews and our pre health speakers that this is a great way to learn more about a certain field and experience the behind the scenes that not everyone is always aware of when going into a career. Lastly, I want to make sure I start studying for the GRE over winter break and into the spring so that I can take it over the summer and hopefully get it out of the way by my 4th year. SLIDESMANIA.COM SLIDESMANIA.COM
Sources Sources https://virginia.pathwayu.com/login?next=%2Fjourney https://career.virginia.edu/Students/Connect/Pre-Health/Pre-Health%20-%20Medicine https://career.virginia.edu/Students/Connect/Pre-Health/Pre-Health%20-%20Physician%20Associate https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/articles/how-to-make-sure-you-fulfill-medical-school-requirements-for-admission https://www.stepful.com/post/pa-school-gpa-requirements#:~:text=Most%20PA%20schools%20require%20all,specifically%20at%20your%20science%20GPA. SLIDESMANIA.COM
