Virgil Said:

The best way to become a physician's assistant?

We Answered:

That doesn't close the door to PA school. You can work in public health, or physical therapy etc and use that as your experience to get into PA school later; you just have to take the PA req's along with your other courses. PA school is like med school--you can major in several different topics as long as you take all the science required (and a few more for good luck).

Jo Said:

I need your input plz...MD or PT or PA-C?

We Answered:

well im a PT so you know what my answer is gunna be. but seriously, PT's are in very high demand right now. so thatd be a good choice.

Jessica Said:

Can I just drop out of a public university and the info about it be inaccessible except for at that university?

We Answered:

When you apply to PA or DPT school they're going to ask you to report ALL classes taken and ALL schools. If you leave out one school entirely, which means not reporting even the good grades from that school, then chances are they'll never know about it. But if the PA school ever found I'm sure they would immediately reject you. If I were you I could retake all the classes you did poorly in, and report all the courses you have taken. Admissions Committees are more forgiving than you would think. They'll generally just look at the good grade and ignore the bad ones for the same class. Hell I didn't even have good grades, but took hard classes and got in!

Bobbie Said:

Applying to more then one program in the same school. Has anyone done it?? (Eg. Medicine and PA and Podiatry)?

We Answered:

You can usually apply to all, or almost all of them, because they belong to different 'schools' in that particular school. So there will be a school of nursing, a school of medicine, a PA school, etc. But some schools only have a medical school and have different 'programs' that you apply to. These schools might or might not allow you to apply to more than one, depending on the school.

Keep in mind that the jobs of PA, podiatrist, physical therapist, and doctor are all VERY different. If you go to PA school, you will be a PA, and etc. for all the others. You will not be a docor, you will not have the same experiences or training. Your friends are waiting because they want to be doctors, not be in 'medicine'. If you decided that what you wanted to be was a doctor, not just in medicine, you will have to finish your schooling, and usually practice for a while before applying to medical school again. They don't look kindly on people leaving programs in the middle.

Your friends are probably not sitting back and doing nothing. Most people who do not get in the first try are actively attempting to make their applications look better. This is usually done with a 1 year master's program, working in a lab, working in a hospital, etc.

Ron Said:

Physician Assistant or Physical Therapist?

We Answered:

Essentially the amount of schooling is the same.
PA schooling is undergrad with Masters of 2 years or so.
PT schooling is undergrad with Doctorate, sometimes a direct-entry program (I highly recommend that option if it's available.) Usually 2 years extra.

Yes, PTs are generally the jocks; they understand how the body moves and do very well with helping people recover after injuries.
PAs are essentially doctors, with a few restrictions. Its the way the medical profession is going. If you like to figure out medical problems, and work well with other people, its a good way to go.

In either profession, you need to have a good ability to work with people, and have a good ability to multitask.