Graduating mft program soon, but interested in PA career

[allisonf]

You can skip to the bold sections if you do not want to read all the backstory

Hi, I am 26 years old and I am 2 months away from graduating an Mft program (MA counseling psych, 4.0 GPA) in the Bay Area, CA. After being in practicum for a year working with mostly school-based elementary-aged students and a couple clinic-based adults, I am almost certain this is not the career I want to pursue.

Background:
I was interested in medicine (MD and DVM) when I was younger, but did not think I could get into a program and was also intimidated by moving out of my hometown. I was also extremely interested in psychopharmacolgy right after high school, but had no idea what kind of careers were in that field. After getting my BS (psychology, I think 3.7/8 GPA) I took about 2 years off and worked at an animal shelter while I decided what to do for graduate studies. I looked into the Davis animal behavior program for a long time and spoke with some graduates, but again had low confidence about getting into that program, let alone a DVM program, so I figured I would do counseling. Working with trauma, eating disorders, and substance abuse seemed like it could be rewarding and also I thought the pay to be decent in the field of MFTs. That brings me to where I am now, having gone through pretty much all the school (I am only finishing up a special issues class and a capstone project) and the practice and realizing two things: the pay isn't that great afterall without having a private practice, which I DO NOT want (I thought I could do agency-based work and make a decent salary), and that the actual therapeutic type of work is for the most part not satisfying to me. Sitting down and speaking with a client for close to an hour has proven difficult and I think I may be more suited to a job where I move around more while still helping people.

The past few months I have been finding myself wishing I went into some kind of medicine where there is still patient contact and treatment planning, but also more hands-on type work. My recent psychopharmacology class futher class reawakened my interest in the area of medication (specifically psychotropic but I have been interested in all kinds of medication and the effects on the body). Being so close to graduating a master's program has increased my confidence and sense of self-efficacy and now I believe I can do a lot of things that I wrote-off when I was younger.

What appeals to me about a PA career:
- I love the sound of having just the right amount of autonomy- being able to care for patients on my own while still having a supervisor to oversee.
- I like the idea of being able to diagnose illnesses and prescribe medication to treat certain conditions (I understand this may be limited).
- I like the idea of being able to perform some minor procedures like suturing and being able to do physical examinations.
- I like the idea of ordering tests and interpreting results.
- I like the idea of a comfortable salary based on the area I currently live in and would likely work in.
- I like the idea of being able to specialize in mental health/psychiatry and utilize my education and interest in that field.

What I feel are barriers to PA school/career:
-I am 26 now. By the time I finish pre-reqs (I need to do anatomy/phys and chemistry), I will likely be 28, maybe 29 if I decide to work a bit and pay off some loans first. Depending on deadlines, I may not be applying to PA school until 29 or 30.
- The only HCE I have so far is psychotherapy, which is only around 300 hours of direct client hours right now. I may be ending my traineeship when I graduate, or I may continue it as an intern, but the scope of my HCE would continue to only be psychotherapy and assessments with some possible crisis management. I feel this is very limited and that I will need some other kind of experience as well to be a competetive candidate for PA school
- I am not great at interviews and I don't think I am great at writing either, so I would likely require extra time/money practicing and receiving coaching in both.
- I already have a loan to pay off for the graduate program I am in now, and I would likely have to take out an additional loan to pay for the PA program.


I am still in the early stages of looking into PA school and I suppose I am open to advice, observations, things I havent considered.... Does it sound like I am interested in it for the right reasons? Does it sound like I would have a good chance of getting in to a school based on my academic career so far? Could I gain other good HCE without going through additional certifications first (ex, volunteer work versus spending two semesters/$$ getting EMT cert to work in the field to get HCE)?

I hope this doesnt sound too all over the place. I will end it here since it is already so long.

[oliev]

hey..hope you are doing great..am responding since am having quite the same thoughts and not quite sure what to do..so am curious what did you choose and how it turned out..

[hallybey]

so critical and useful, thank you for opinion i will take your text for my work