PT vs PA here we go again...

[baee]

Hi Guys,

So I will be graduating from college this May 2008. I have came to a crossroad of whether to choose DPT program or Physician Assistant program for my career advancement. I have been reading some of the excellent debates in this forum and wish to ask a couple of questions:

1. For those of you who are already in the profession, which field would be more flexible in terms of working hours and vacation, since I am one who value family time strongly?

2. I am interested in the pediatrics field. Which profession would offer greater opportunities for the pediatrics field?

3. A successful DPT and PA probably share a handful of personal characteristics. So my questions would be what are the characteristics that is DIFFERENT between a successful DPT and PA (or since nothing is black and white, probably a characteristic that a DPT would require more/less of, etc.)

I understand this is a PT forum, so it's fine if you don't know anything about PA, it would be nice to hear from your experience as a PT.

I really appreciate anyone who participates and thank you graciously in advance!

Sincerely,
Baee

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Buckeye4life]

IMO, being an extremely socialble and upbeat person is the personality you should have in PT. The progress made in therapy can be so slow and minimal, and the time spent with patients can be so long, that if you don't possess those qualities, burnout is right around the corner.

 

[Elbrus]

Baee, Here are my thoughts to your questions.
Also, I suggest you do a search on SDN--different aspects of this topic have been discussed previously.

Working hours and vacation
As with most areas of PT, expect 8-10 hour days, 4-5 days per week, depending on how you like to schedule your patients. In outpatient departments (adult & pediatric) offices are closed on major holidays. Vacations in most settings depend on how much accrued time you have. Other PT staff typically cover for your patients when you are gone, and the same is done when other staff are away.

Profession with greater opportunities in pediatrics
I think both professions have opportunities in pediatrics, but what you are actually doing with children is quite different. As a PT, you can work in a large variety of settings, from educational systems, private practice, hospitals, outpatient clinics, gait labs, etc. I did a long peds rotation and loved it. If this is what you are considering, I would suggest contacting a PT who specializes in the area and observe them for a day. Here is a link to Find a PT, and the Pediatric Section of the APTA

In addition, pediatrics is one of the areas considered to be in professional shortage for PTs, so the federal gov't is giving up to 2k/yr x 5yrs of loan forgiveness for PTs working in this area.

Personal characteristics
I'm not sure if I follow your last question, and not being a PA, I can't tell you what characteristics would differ. For PT I think being compassionate, organized, perceptive, inquisitive are desirable traits to be successful in this field.

 

[baee]

Thank you for your respond.

Elbrus, I never knew that pediatric PT was in a shortage so thank you for the insight!

 

[Bad0 Fish0]

I debated between the DPT/PA programs at my school and ultimately was drawn to the fact (obviously among other things) that the DPT program offered an advanced undergraduate entry option, so I could complete the first year of the program my senior year of college and receive a bachelors degree first. This allows more options because regardless of what happens in the future, I will have that bachelors degree that could allow me to even possibly pursue the PA program if I chose to quit the PT program (not saying I'm thinking that, it's just nice to have options). Whether it be med school, PA school, pharm school, pharmaceutical sales, whatever.. I will have the option because I will have a degree and 98% of the pre-reqs required for almost anything healthcare related. Therefore, the DPT is the quickest route to a bachelors degree in my case. I realize this probably doesn't apply to you, so moving on...

As for your first question, I would say it certainly depends. There are PTs who own their own clinics who put many hours in, and PAs who work in outpatient clinics who have a schedule that would be considered "normal". But as a whole, PTs generally have more flexible working hours - i.e. no nights, no call, and usually no weekends unless you work in a hospital and rotate them... this is not the case for a PA. Most PAs in the hospital work 3 12's and rotate call. But again, just like with physicians, there are specialties which allow them more normal hours.. i.e. family practice, outpatient OB/GYN, etc. So it really just depends.

For your second question, both offer limitless opportunity when it comes to working with this population, but it just depends on what it is you want to do with them.

Lastly, I can't say too much about the characteristics of a good PA, but there are certainly some things that are (or should be) rather standard for anyone working in healthcare... the desire to help people, compassion and empathy, being a hard worker, working well with others, etc. For PTs, I definitely think patience and compassion are the biggies.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[truthseeker]

The best thing to do in my opinion is to shadow a couple of PAs and a couple PTs that work in pediatrics. See which aspect you like better, then weigh that against pay, hours, job availability etc . . .

i would have a hard time, personally, becoming anything that had the word "assistant" in it. I know that will rile people but that's how I feel.

 

[Bad0 Fish0]

i would have a hard time, personally, becoming anything that had the word "assistant" in it. I know that will rile people but that's how I feel.

This is, IMO, a legitimate stance. You'd be surprised how many people hear "physician assistant" and think "medical assistant", not realizing there's a HUGE difference. I have a friend in the PA program at my school and she said she often talks to people who assume she's in an associates degree program when she tells them what she's doing.

 

[freddydpt]

PA's have more flexibility in what they can practice... basically anything at anytime. Unlimited learning opportunity and broad scope of practice... don't like peds? do derm. derm not you? do cards.

All inpatient PT is basically the same thing... get'em up and walking. I've met PTs who were insulted that they had to get a masters to get people out of bed to walk and teach them ankle pumps while in bed.

OP ortho is interesting and as close to independent practice as you'll get in PT but scope of practice is narrow.

It really depends on what you like. PM&R PA's do everything and more a PT can do if trained well.

I'm a DPT/MD and I recommend becoming a PA to anyone considering both medicine or PT. If you have ego issues with the word assistant, then good luck being a PT! From my experience, PT's get less respect than PA's do.

With that said, do what you love. If you love PT, do it. If you love medicine consider PA. Shadow shadow shadow.

A PT patient encounter lasts 30-45 min. PA encounters last about 15 min. When I was a PT, I wanted to shoot myself being with one patient for a half hour. I got bored... soooooooooo bored. In medicine, at least you know your agenda, get it done and leave the room

 

[DOForeverYO]

...

 

[truthseeker]

I disagree. Do you screen for malignancy for every chronic LBP patient you see or do you refer to PT for them to do a battery of clinical test that you don't have the time to do?

If you do MRIs on every one of your back pain patients then you have a tough time putting on you labcoat because of all of the red flags sticking out of your back.

I don't understand why so many are threatened by the DPT. Its not like we are going maverick on the traditional healthcare model, heck, we are proud members of the team. Why do we not get the respect that we have earned in our orthopedic evaluation skills? Do you need to see a DO to treat the hamstring strain that happened when you rounded third base? In the current system, yes in most cases. That adds no protection to the patient and adds the cost of your office visit where you explain to the patient that they pulled a hamstring something that they already knew.

The reason we choose not to go to medical school, and most of us choose because we have the academic credentials to do either, is because of lifestyle choices. I don't want a beeper, I don't want call, I don't need to make the DO $$ in exchange for that lifestyle.

The reason we go to school for 7 years is so that we can safely recognize when that LBP patient you are describing is NOT experiencing mechanical symptoms that don't follow the expected pattern. Many MD/DOs are unable to discern those pattens because they don't take the time to do a thorough musculoskeletal exam or they have forgotten how to do it. The point is, if all you do is read what the diagnosis is on the prescription sheet and treat it the way the Doc says, then you are nothing but a technician and if that was what you were doing, then you would have felt overqualified. The trick is to use the knowledge to THINK and problem solve. I know that my evaluation skills are better than yours will be in a certain scope.

I don't claim to be a physician, but don't belittle MY profession. We offer things that you don't and our screening skills are effective. We don't positively identify things, but we can rule out many and have demonstrated that we refer appropriately.