Thanks Goro. As long as we have this thread going, I just wanted to ask some questions from those of you who have experience. Let's say God willing I get the opportunity to go DO, what specialties would you say is worth pursuing with this degree that would be out of the question for PA?
Another way of putting it is like this: I've heard that if you want to go into primary care such as family medicine, internal medicine, or pediatrics, then in terms of time commitment/salary/opportunity costs/stress/pressure/and all that extra stuff, then it's much better to go PA vs DO/MD. Overall I'm looking to go into either Neurology or internal medicine with a sub-specialty in sleep medicine. If not those fields, then I'd like to have options for maybe Diagnostic radiology and Ophthalmology. I'm trying not to get too ahead of myself but at the same time this is something that's VERY important to consider because you're talking about years of your life here, and I am a bit on the older side being a non-traditional applicant so I have to consider each move I make even more carefully. Salary wise and opportunity cost wise if I end up choosing internal medicine then it's better to pursue PA school rather than DO/MD school (someone correct me if im wrong here). All in all, what specialties would you guys recommend are UNEQUIVOCALLY WORTH PURSUING VIA THE DO/MD route vs the PA ROUTE?
Edit: Once I get there God willing and only want to take the COMLEX and not the USMLE would that severely restrict me in terms of residency options when it comes to matching? Again my thoughts are internal medicine, neurology, diagnostic radiology, and opthamology. Without getting into a heated discussion here, I've heard that this new merger which has gone into effect this year will make it much more difficult for DO's since they're competing now with MD's for residency placements. I'm trying to take everything into consideration with this decision and want to go in with eyes WIDE OPEN as to avoid as much heartache/pitfalls as I can along the way. My end goal is to become a physician, at the same time though, I have to make sure that I pick a path where I know I can succeed and not leave things up to chance/hope/prayer, etc. Thanks.