Today

Well, today was kinda stupid.

It was pretty much a boring day. Until gym class. A kid who I really like walked around the field with me (we were with a group) and talked to me and I got super excited...I think I'm secretly a sixth grade girl. Whatever.

My inner monologue at the moment is a long, involved discussion with myself about college. I could go to the college mentioned in my last post. I like it... I do. The only thing is, I have four years of working on a biology degree. I like biology, but I love medicine... and I have to wait at least six years before I'm practicing any type of medicine with this route. I love the undergrad school, and the medical school is also really nice. I've already been to two or three events at the undergrad school, so I even feel comfortable up there. After eight (or seven, depending on how I play my cards) years, I'd be an osteopathic physician.

Option two is as follows: another, closer-by college has a four year Physician Assistant program. I've never even visited this school (although a family member advised me against going there because he didn't like the school), but the cost is the same for the undergrad portion of Option A with scholarships factored in. After only two years, I'd begin clinical work, and after only four years I could be a certified Physician Assistant. The salary would be [very] good, I could be in virtually any area of medicine, and the lifestyle would be much easier. Afterwards, if my grades were good enough and I scored high enough on the MCAT, I could apply to Medical Schools if I felt like it.

So let's look at the "pros:"

Option A (BS/DO):

• My patients would get the care of a fully trained physician when we interacted, not a mid-level (this is one of the most important points, in my book... patient care)
• I'd get to be a physician when it was all said and done. A real doctor. The kind I've always wanted to be (there are emotional/sentimental "pros" to that, as well as practical ones [like being able to practice medicine independently, etc.])
• I love both schools (undergrad and the medical school)
• I could pick to go to the med school campus in Florida - this would be a good chance to travel and see another part of the country before I start working
• There's something huge, to me, about being able to say that I'm going to be a physician.
  
• This might be what I want, deep down

Option B (BS in Physician Assistant):

• I'd be a Physician Assistant, an advanced clinician who could do much of the same things as a physician, without the headache of becoming a DO/MD
• I'd be in and out and working in four years... at a great salary, with an awesome life style, and the ability to still go to medical school
• I could work in any area of medicine, without needed to do a residency (unless I wanted to)
• I'd get clinical experience faster
• It just makes more sense, for concrete reasons (like money and time) which, although are not the most important to me, are still important to take in to consideration
  

And now the "cons:"

Option A:

• No clinical medicine for 6 years
• It would take 8 years, plus a residency, before I was really employable
• I'd have to maintain a 3.5 and score "satisfactorily" on the MCAT to go on to the Medical School (if I don't keep it up, I'd be a nobody with a BS in bio)
• Having a BS in Bio is stupid... but I could always go on to a Masters in Physician Assistant Study or do a BSN, or get my paramedic certificate and still probably be happy - if I don't make the grade, that is
• The school is in the middle of nowhere
• In the end, I'd be in CRAZY debt (although the Medical School is the cheapest in the country, or at least close to it)... I'd need to find a way to pay for eight years of school
  

Option B:

• I don't even know if I like the school - I've never even been to it
  
• I wouldn't be a physician at the end of it - my future patients would be cared for by a PA, not a DO... am I ok (ethically) with knowing that they could be getting better care from someone else?
  
• If I enjoyed being a PA and didn't go to Medical School immediately afterwards, I don't know that I'd ever get around to it - what if I ended up regretting that?
  
• If I enjoyed being a PA for a while, then decided to go to medical school afterwards (as a non-traditional applicant), would I get in? would I fit in if I got in? would I be able to put my life on hold to achieve my dream of being a physician?
• Certification as a PA is kind of complicated (it needs to be renewed, etc.)

I thought this would help make the decision... it didn't.