3 ALTERNATIVE CAREER PATHS FOR STUDENTS INTERESTED IN MEDICINE

By Dr. Deborah Bedor, CEO, College Admissions Central

ountless aspiring medical professionals envision themselves donning white coats and earning the coveted title of “Doctor.” This was once true for me, too. Yet, as I delved deeper into the world of medicine, I discovered that the path to helping others extended well beyond the realm of traditional MD and DO degrees. Exciting opportunities like Physician Assistants (PA) and Nurse Practitioners (NP) opened up broader horizons for me to explore. As medical providers, these diverse professions still grant practitioners the power to change lives through diagnosis, treatment, and medicinal expertise, all while offering a compassionate, healing touch to patients across the globe. Below you will find some of the most popular non-MD/DO career paths for students interested in medicine.

Formerly named “physician assistant”, but due to their independence in practice, the name is changing to physician associate. PA is one of the degrees that allows you to practice medicine.

For comparison purposes, MD programs require a bachelor’s degree (usually 4 years) at an undergraduate university, 4 years of medical school, then a required residency, with an optional fellowship thereafter (if you want to further specialize). In general, doctors do not have the ability to change their specialty –once they are trained in an area, that is the area they are qualified to work in– unless they go back to school to complete a new residency/fellowship.

To become a PA, you are also required to have a bachelor’s degree, followed by attending 2-2.5 years of PA school. This includes didactic classes the first year, and clinical rotations out in different medical practices the second year. Upon graduating, no residency or fellowship is needed. You are qualified to work in any area of medicine for adult and/or pediatric patients, and most jobs will allow you some training while working on the job to learn more about that area. You essentially do the same tasks as a doctor and typically have your own separate panel of patients that you see independently. You can work in two different specialties at the same time, and you can change specialties if you were to change your mind or desire to learn about a new area. For example, if you work in dermatology for a while and then want to try something new, you can shift to a new position in neurology. This is called lateral mobility, a feature of the PA profession.

Comparable to the pathway of a physician assistant, pursuing a career as a nurse practitioner enables one to become a medical professional, with the primary distinction being the journey to reach this position. Nurse practitioners have the opportunity to work across various specialties as well. A notable difference is that NPs typically begin as registered nurses, necessitating RN licensure for application. Consequently, they must complete four years of undergraduate studies in nursing or, if they hold a degree in another field, attend nursing school to acquire their RN status. Once they are registered nurses, they become eligible to enroll in nurse practitioner programs. A further distinction is that NP students often attend school on a parttime basis while continuing to work, which is not the case for PA students. As a result, the duration of NP programs ranges from 2 to 4 years, depending on whether the student is attending fulltime or part-time, and encompasses both didactic coursework and clinical experiences.

As a nurse practitioner (NP), you can customize your career path by selecting a particular focus such as family practice or mental health, which allows you to gain in-depth knowledge in that specific area. However, this may limit your flexibility to switch between specialties. Alternatively, you can opt for a broader NP degree, providing you with the ability to explore a range of specialties and adapt your career as desired. For instance, family nurse practitioners (FNPs) with primary care training can work in diverse settings like women’s health or other areas, given the opportunity for on-the-job training. NPs have the option to change the area they work in and can see patients completely independently. Pay for NP and PA positions tend to be about the same, and both are slightly less than a doctor/physician –although all three careers still make good salaries.

This degree allows you to become a nurse (RN). To receive your BSN, typically you attend an undergraduate university that has a nursing program. After 4 years of undergrad with nursing declared as your degree, you graduate, and then sit for the NCLEX exam to become a nurse. A key difference is that this role is in the nursing category but is technically not considered a medical “provider”. The term provider implies you can diagnose diseases, order labs, and prescribe medications. As a nurse, you cannot do these things, but still have a wide scope of practice. You are the one to fill orders such as placing IVs, giving patients medications that were already prescribed, among other tasks. Nurses tend to be common in hospitals, but can work in a wide variety of settings (ex. inpatient/hospitals, outpatient/clinics, emergency departments, ICUs, surgery, mental health, skilled nursing homes, etc.) with the ability to change specialties.

By Rebecca DePalma, PA-C Instagram: @rebeccawestcoastpa