MD to DPT - Crazy or best idea EVER?!

[somo47]

Choosing a career (no matter what it is) you are genuinely passionate about is not "selling yourself short;" choosing a career for the money and prestige is.

Yes, this! I think this is what everyone's been trying to say, in so many words. Choosing a career for prestige, money, or because your parents told you to is a sure way to wake up every morning dreading work.

@Yannined08

Will you make more money as an MD? Yes, but that should not be your only deciding factor - PTs don't worry about paying the rent either. Shadow the PM&R/sports medicine doctors, compare the environments, and decide from there if you still feel like making the switch.

But for goodness sakes, don't equate being a PT to 'selling yourself short' because 'you're smart enough to be a physician.' As @DesertPT said, most PTs would rather not work with someone holding that mentality.

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[DesertPT]

I'm sure being an engineer or something requires you to be "smarter" than being a doctor or a PT...things like med school and PT school mostly just require the ability to memorize huge amounts of information. There is plenty of synthesis and application of information of course, but people act like you have to be a genius to be a doctor and that's just not the case.

 

[engmedpt]

@Yannined08

There are many PT students and physical therapists who are smart enough to become physicians. There are many nurses, social workers, engineers, chefs, and stay-at-home parents who are smart enough to become physicians. Yet, they were smart enough to pick something to do the rest of their lives that would make them happy.

Choosing a career (no matter what it is) you are genuinely passionate about is not "selling yourself short;" choosing a career for the money and prestige is.

Yep

 

[referee3]

@Yannined08 what are your thoughts on vaccines?

 

[engmedpt]

@Yannined08 what are your thoughts on vaccines?

 

[engmedpt]

But for goodness sakes, don't equate being a PT to 'selling yourself short' because 'you're smart enough to be a physician.' As @DesertPT said, most PTs would rather not work with someone holding that mentality.

I'm sure being an engineer or something requires you to be "smarter" than being a doctor or a PT

........Differential Equations was the most miserable elective that I got an A in during sophomore year after my calcs.......yeah, got an A...pat myself on the back. whoopie. Hated it. Doing pt where the highest math is stats......nope, not selling myself short. AT ALL.



so....many....derivatives

 

[Yannined08]

@Yannined08

There are many PT students and physical therapists who are smart enough to become physicians. There are many nurses, social workers, engineers, chefs, and stay-at-home parents who are smart enough to become physicians. Yet, they were smart enough to pick something to do the rest of their lives that would make them happy.

Choosing a career (no matter what it is) you are genuinely passionate about is not "selling yourself short;" choosing a career for the money and prestige is.

Thank you for this Aaron. I really resonate with what you said

@Yannined08 what are your thoughts on vaccines?

Honestly, I don't know all the facts to make a concrete judgement. Obviously some work, such as the polio vaccine. There is a counter-vaccine culture that claims some initiate some pretty harmful side-effects. I think more research has to be done to be conclusive, and sometimes its hard for me to trust every article I read online.

........Differential Equations was the most miserable elective that I got an A in during sophomore year after my calcs.......yeah, got an A...pat myself on the back. whoopie. Hated it. Doing pt where the highest math is stats......nope, not selling myself short. AT ALL.



so....many....derivatives

You know what, I think I got a C+ in my differential calculus class. So I guess you are smarter than me hehe

I used to think engineering made me appear smart, even more than a doctor. I saw doctors just like tradesman, learning their craft and doing it over and over. I thought it would be boring after awhile. I've always hated engineering, but just did it to appear smart. That is 'selling myself short,' thank you for what you said @aaronlp88. I will shadow PM&R/sports medicine docs. And so far I really like sports medicine PT. I love team and collaboration it takes in PT, contact with several patients, Patient/clinician contact, sports, intellect, and nurturing aspect, evidence-based and contribution. Seeing patients get and feel better and back to full speed and knowing that I caused that is priceless.

At this point I don't think I can go wrong with any choice. My original thought was doctor was for the prestige, PT was I was a failure if I was a PT, and the more money I make, the more people will like me. All inauthentic. But I'd like to be practical in my choice too. I am almost 30 years old and maybe a MD career just isn't practical for me. And I'd like to spend the majority of my time with patients, vs. charting, bureaucracy, etc. If the only benefit to being a doctor is they can treat with pharmaceuticals and surgery, and PT can do everything else, right now I think I would definitely do PT. No sense going through all that school to learn those 'weapons' if I don't intend to use them in my practice.

 

[DesertPT]

I think more research has to be done to be conclusive

Yes, the research on whether or not the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks by thousands of times is not conclusive.

Please do not go into healthcare until you get this figured out.

 

[DesertPT]

sometimes its hard for me to trust every article I read online.

Trust what you read in peer-reviewed scientific literature then. Try to find a handful of papers showing evidence that we shouldn't give vaccines and let me know how you do.

 

[BiffTheFlashRogers]

This thread can't be real. OP has to be a troll.

 

[somo47]

Thank you for this Aaron. I really resonate with what you said

Honestly, I don't know all the facts to make a concrete judgement. Obviously some work, such as the polio vaccine. There is a counter-vaccine culture that claims some initiate some pretty harmful side-effects. I think more research has to be done to be conclusive, and sometimes its hard for me to trust every article I read online.

:troll:

 

[engmedpt]

@DesertPT

Peer reviewed........ I cannot tell you how annoying it is seeing people post fb posts with screamingly obvious sensationalism making claims like GMOs will cause down syndrome in 50% of the population from some random person (this actually wasn't far off from one).....and then people believe it. -__-

 

[engmedpt]

@Yannined08 what are your thoughts on vaccines?

Trust what you read in peer-reviewed scientific literature then. Try to find a handful of papers showing evidence that we shouldn't give vaccines and let me know how you do.

:troll:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slat...eon_general_tells_elmo_to_get_vaccinated.html

 

[wkabenga]

Old thread I know, but anyone have any perspective on doing PT as a second career if you've already been unsuccessful in med school?

Long story short, I used to be in DO school but hated it and resigned several months ago at the end of third year before taking Step 2 boards. In undergrad I did mechanical engineering and was very successful, but I went to med school without logically through my options and I did very poorly (I was in the bottom 5-10%). I don't have any regrets about leaving med school, I hated the physician's clinical practice of medicine, however I could see myself liking PT because I did really enjoy MSK Anatomy and I enjoy working with people on a more routine basis that PT seems to provide more of than being a physician.

However I'm not sure that would be a smart play on my part and if I should just try to work in a Mechanical Engineering job instead? I need to work in the military for a few years (which I'm doing right now) to help pay off tuition for med school, which complicates things, so working in PT wouldn't be an option for me until a couple years down the road when I would be in my early 30s... I guess I'm still in the process of figuring out exactly what I want to do long term, but any thoughts on doing PT down the road compared to some of my other options? Thanks for your time

 

[NewTestament]

I guess I'm still in the process of figuring out exactly what I want to do long term, but any thoughts on doing PT down the road compared to some of my other options? Thanks for your time

30 isn't that old anymore. Some people never figure out what they want to do. There were several students in their 30's in my class. I would stay in the military for a couple years and explore all options. You have time, but your job right now is to figure it out.

Going from DO to PT is unusual. You might not like the fact that you have less autonomy and less authority as a PT. You can't order imaging, change meds, or alter a protocol. Yes, you might like helping people, but you won't like the documentation, Medicare, or all the rules and regulations in this industry. It's not a bad industry overall, but ask yourself how you can be the most valuable in the market place.

As for mechanical engineering, the job market isn't as good as you think. Some of those jobs are being outsourced to India. They talk about the STEM fields as if are guaranteed a job in one of those industries, but there are plenty of graduates with those complex degrees that have poor career prospects.At least with a DPT, you will always have a job anywhere, and you can start your own business.