Physical therapy and Medical school?

[Paxian]

-J[/quote]

Cheers mate , thanks for the info. By Crikey, it must be real arduous going back to Med school after working as a PT. I graduated at The University of Melbourne, Vic, Aust. Not a bad place if you love Physio. But after a stint abroad i.e. London, Israel, India, Copenhagen & just recently Cape town ( S Africa)...I knew I wanted more. physio. is great, but the academia bug infected me during my interaction with the local medicos in all these places. This left me with an intellectual stimulation to try out Osteopath , more bcoz It comprises of useful manual therapies such as OMM, Cranio Sacral Therapy along with traditional Allopathic medicine. Somehow I'm quite skeptical as to chiropractic manipulation, I've dealt with two Stroke cases...courtesy their local Chiros ! How do you manage work and studies ? Are the classes squeezed or do you get time to earn while you learn too ?

As always it was an interesting time chatting with you guyz. Good luck with school too !

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DOctorJay]

I work on weekends, usually 2-3 days a month. That is certainly managable without cutting into too much study time. Most of my friends don't work though and my job certainly isn't putting me through med school but the extra cash for relatively short hours is very very nice.

-J

 

[Paxian]

I work on weekends, usually 2-3 days a month. That is certainly managable without cutting into too much study time. Most of my friends don't work though and my job certainly isn't putting me through med school but the extra cash for relatively short hours is very very nice.

-J

Okay, but how do you support yourself through med school i.e. fees, costs etc ?

 

[DOctorJay]

loans glorious loans

 

[Paxian]

loans glorious loans

...hahahahaha ! Yeah mate and then we all keep talkin about the national debt. Bloodyhell, what a life !

 

[DeeV021]

I have wanted to go to med school since my first year of physical therapy school ( I am in the last semester now of my third year). Our physiology and differential diagnosis/path classes caused me to become fascinated with medicine. I am amazed with the physiology of the body and the processes the occur inside of it, as well as being able to distinguish what mechanisms are causing a pathology. I have many friends in med school while I am in PT school and would love to be where they are right now. I am aware of the rigors of med school via my close friends and from speaking to medical professors at school, but still I cannot regress my desire to give up 8 more years of my life of being stuck in the library.
My plan is to take a job as a PT in a rural area of the state and apply to medical after two years of working as a PT. I want to take this time to save money for school, gain experience in the field, and make sure PT is not what I truly want to do, although i do enjoy it. PM&R is very interesting to me, especially dealing with neuro patients since the majority of our classes in PT school are geared toward neurological diseases and rehab. As I mentioned, I do enjoy PT but feel constrained by not being able to provide further medical interventions when the patient's condition is beyond the scope of physical therapy. I would be 28 when starting medical school. Any advice?

 

[FLsurferDPT]

.

 

[fozzy40]

If you did go to medical school, what field would you go into?

 

[MoDPT]

I must say that I feel comforted to know that I’m not the only one who realized that medical school was for them after completing PT school. My father is a physiatrist and I didn’t think I was capable of sustaining the amount of time he spent on studying and working. But I realized that PT school required a similar amount of dedication and persistence. It’s been hard admitting that after spendings 7 years completing a DPT degree that I always wanted to be a medical doctor. The thought of 4 years of medical school, then residency was daunting. Although, I have been a PT for 8 years and I know that is not where my passions lie. Hindsight is 20/20 so I can't say that I should have gone to medical school instead of PT school, but I have learned a lot clinically along the way that will help in my journey.

I suggest work a 2-3 years and figure out what you really want and then go to medical school if the desire is still there. After a few years as a PT you know if it's for you or not. I urge you not to put off your decision hoping that if you change clinical settings one more time then miraculously you will love physical therapy, as I have done.

 

[brooklynaks25]

I was wondering if I could get some feedback on a situation. if a person finished undergrad and then a dpt program who is interested in orthopedics. after that they want to go to a post bac program to prove that they can handle becoming a doctor. do u think if they didn't have spectacular grades in undergrad, do they have a chance of getting into a post bac program?

thanks

 

[pato83]

So, has anyone gone from being PT to med school? was it worth it? How long did it take to finish pre-reqs? I've been a DPT for 2 years and I'm wondering about going to med school. Thanks!

 

[fozzy40]

I believe that DOctorJay is a physical therapist that went on to medical school then PM&R. You should try to PM him/her if you haven't already.

 

[dg1984]

myr 11: I would highly advise just going to med school if that is your interest. There is no point spending 3 years getting a DPT if you will never use it. PT school shouldn't be considered a "stepping stone" for med school. It exists for those who want to become physical therapists. The modern DPT program is insanely demanding and I couldn't imagine anyone doing well in my program without an intense passion for PT. If PT is your thing, go for it. If not, just go right to med school.

Best of Luck

 

[dg1984]

If you can find an MPT program left, I would definitely do that instead of the DPT. You can always do a transitional DPT later. You will save yourself a couple quarters or a semester of work and several thousand dollars. I in no way feel I got less of an education than the DPT students who are graduating now. However, if you plan to stay in therapy for your career, which you said you weren't, I would go ahead with the DPT because you may feel a little out of place with all the DPT students who will be graduating when you do and in the next 10-20 years. The profession definitely needs to find a way to lessen the debt of a 7 year program (undergrad and PT) or increase the income of entry-level practitioners to compensate. The DPT from what I hear from others is just longer clinical rotations, which you want to get through as fast as possible so you can graduate, and some more case studies or radiology training. Bottom line, I would do the MPT. You will probably get burnt out of being in class after the first year anyways. That's part of why I chose independent study in med school. Good luck.

Good description, but I think there may only be a handful left in the country. In my DPT program we have Integrated Clinic Experiences (1 in each of 3 different semesters while taking classes) on top of outside orthopedic, acute and neuro afflis. In talking with others who have gotten the MPT, the DPT it is a pretty big step up in terms of demand. Although the length is the same (3 years) you are fitting in 5-8 extra classes over that time. Also, the evidenced based aspect of the DPT is a huge advantage. I believe our research class and subsequent journal clubs in nearly every class (Neurology, Biomechanics, Spine, Neurological Evaluation and Treatment and Orthopedics) is a major difference between the DPT and MPT. I spent two years doing behavioral neuroscience at NIH prior to starting a DPT program and I feel like my research skills and ability to critically analyze a journal article has grown profoundly in PT school even with my experience. Also, many top flight DPT programs are beginning to use integrated clinical experiences which adds a significant demand to the student.

I went PT because I believe we have the greatest impact on those dealing with MsK injuries. We have a great amount of emerging orthopedic and neuro literature appearing in journals with high impact factors (JOSPT, American Journal of Sports Medicine, Stroke, Spine etc). The bottom line is people can talk about degrees until the end of time, but the literature speaks for itself.

 

[Shah_Patel_PT]

So, has anyone gone from being PT to med school? was it worth it? How long did it take to finish pre-reqs? I've been a DPT for 2 years and I'm wondering about going to med school. Thanks!

Finish PT then apply straight to Medical school. Dont waste time doing anything else. BTW...u need to prepare for the MCATs.

 

[rrusso77]

The benefits of Physical Therapy for arthritis and fibromyalgia are becoming more and more popular.