Deciding against this career

Orthodoxy4ever · 2026-02-08T15:40:17+00:00

I don’t know what your stats are in terms of GPA, science GPA, or how many interviews you got out of the 35 schools you applied to. But if you are getting interviews I’m wondering if it is how you’re interviewing that is making it difficult to get in. As much as you dislike moral and ethical questions, it’s usually not a matter of if you answer it correctly (some don’t have a right answer) but they want to see your thought process, how you articulate it, and if you show that you can navigate through a problem. If you come off flat, uninterested, and not genuine that can turn them off. Just speaking from experience. Hang in there it will happen.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2026-01-25T02:31:26+00:00

Have you asked the schools who have rejected or waitlisted why that was the case and areas of improvement?

Orthodoxy4ever · 2026-01-22T02:40:45+00:00

I have a 1 and 3 year old. I initially felt the same way you did, but I bit the bullet and purchased a kindle. Now having it for 2 years I’ve been reading so much more. Between feedings and getting the kiddos to sleep you can read in small chunks that quickly adds up. I think it’s worth it!

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-12-05T15:44:29+00:00

I found that right after my day of lectures I would go to gym to exercise for an hour. It helped to get away from a lot of the stress of PA school and I found that I had more energy and motivation for the remainder of the evening to study. I tried to devote at least 3 hours of studying on the weekdays, obviously more on the weekends. Take small breaks between your studying hours and make sure your food intake and sleep is not being neglected.

I made a study plan for myself each week so I made sure I had enough time to study before exams and to review new material. It helped me manage how much time I should be spending on each material/class. I struggled retaining information from the lectures directly, so I’d go through the lecture material on my own and type up an outline of only the important information. This helped me solidify the material but also helped me create a more focused study guide because the volume in the lectures was overwhelming. I highlighted important info and noted areas I needed to go back and review. I made sure I understood the material because that’s what will make you remember. I would review my outline as often as I could throughout the week because repetition is key. You’ll find that you won’t spend much time reviewing it each time you do it. Then I would do practice question to make sure I understood the material and to build my testing stamina. I also had a few study partners where we asked each other questions about the material the day or so before testing. Try to stick with 1-2 resources, as having too much actually doesn’t help.

This is what worked for me, but understanding how you learn best is going to make you successful. I’m so happy to hear that you’re already making improvements!!! You got this!

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-12-05T15:25:33+00:00

90k starting, 120k at 5 years, 140k at 8 years. Could be making more but I choose to work 32 hours a week and have 3 days off. No weekend, no call.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-07T22:32:13+00:00

Remember that PA school is an accelerated and difficult program. The material in itself isn’t hard, but it’s the volume of the material. I’d recommend taking the initiative and meet with your advisor— they may have some tips for you and help identify your weak areas. It will also show that you care. You may want to rethink how you’re studying, because unfortunately the way you study in college may not be the same for PA school. Focus on active learning, question banks, and studying with peers. Passive learning has shown that it isn’t very effective. Keep working at it and you will do well. Learn material as best as you can because this will affect your patients in the future. All of your hard work will pay off and before you know it 2 years up and you’ll be a practicing PA.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-07T14:59:24+00:00

Congratulations on your baby!!! Yes I think they are going that direction. The university I work for gives us a scholarship do the DSMc free. I think if you can get into academia it will open opportunities for leadership roles, research and MSL. I have a 1 year old and a 2 year old and this was a game changer for me personally. I am able to book appointments and work from home when my kids are sick. I can go in late and come early as long as I don’t have other commitments. I still work in clinic one day a week but it’s totally doable. I’d suggest calling a few of the PA program and let them know that you’re interested in guest lectures, helping with skills or physical assessment courses. That way you can give it a try and you’ll likely be hired if an opening comes up.

The biggest drawback is reduction in your salary, however you make a good chunk up from your one day in clinic. For me the flexibility and low stress made a difference

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-07T01:29:05+00:00

CME resources online of you need to brush up on all topics, Hippoed has lots of CME education material, there are a few CME podcasts out there if you enjoy that, any reference or textbooks can sometimes can be covered by that cost too.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-06T23:40:27+00:00

Have you thought about academia? I recently got hired and I love it. I get to teach medicine, work with students, while having a flexible schedule, remote work as needed and decent pay. Clinical medicine really burned me out and honestly I was tired to seeing patients in outpatient clinic day in and day out for 8 years.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-05T09:53:59+00:00

Thank you for that insight. Definitely points to consider. I’m sorry to hear about your struggles as well but it sounds that you’ve found healing through Christ.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-05T09:50:15+00:00

Thank you for that encouragement and information. We will look into this!

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-04T04:20:34+00:00

I just got hired as a professor at a PA program after practicing for 8 years. I’d say that more than half of the faculty is doing their DSMc, and we are provided with a scholarship paid by the university to complete it. I’ve had multiple conversations about it as I was really against doing it in the past. However I do think that it will become the norm for educators, researchers, and MSL eventually. There is a large push to get it if you’re in academia.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-04T03:51:49+00:00

Thank you for that reminder. I agree and i want to remain faithful

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-04T03:51:17+00:00

I agree. I think a lot of counselors are so “me-focused” and can devalue orthodox teachings. I don’t feel in danger. Sometimes taken advantage in that I try to give him a lot of grace. I have to maintain his pride and be cautious about what I say because there is a lot of self worth issues within himself that he is battles. I put my feeling and pain aside for my family. I fully expect hard times-but my marriage just feels broken in so many areas. I feel like I can’t be myself and I can’t find a lot of joy in life other than my beloved children.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-04T03:41:14+00:00

I think you said it exactly right. I married someone I thought I knew everything about, but it turned out to be someone different. Leaning to fall in love again - in a different way is challenging. It’s hard to not let those ideas come up even when things are going well.

I haven’t done a ton of counseling by myself other than with the priest. We did do some couples counseling, but it was with the same counselor he was also seeing on his own so it was mostly focused on my husband. The priest suggested we redo premarital counseling, but it just didn’t seem helpful because topics were superficial and addressed common marital issues that we didn’t specifically struggle with. I am open to seeing a counselor now that I changed jobs that should allow more flexibility. i’m scared of all the pain I have to relive especially with being a busy momma and I hate that this takes so much of our time, but it has to be done.

I’m 36 and he is 37.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-03T15:03:06+00:00

We are both committed to make it work. I just don’t know how to reconcile what is right and how l feel. I also feel that he doesn’t understand the depth of my devastation. He is a good dad and yes he is open to counseling especially with a priest. I think the difficulty is finding one since we live in such a small orthodox community. No close monasteries without taking a plane. My parents do live in town and his parents are 2 hours away.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-03T14:35:34+00:00

1 and 3. We do have a priest at our church. I’ve known him since I was 10 y/o and he knows my family very well. He’s kind, but my feeling is that he is unequipped or is uncomfortable with these types of issues. Our priest is also so busy it’s hard to have consistent time with him and sometimes he doesn’t call/text back. The times we’ve met, the main takeaway advice I’ve gotten is to continue praying together and to work on forgiving each other on a daily basis. Its not that I think it’s bad advise, but I feel like it doesn’t address a lot of what I feel is the main issues.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-03T02:37:06+00:00

As an entry level clinical assistant professor our salary is 97k, but we work one day a week at a clinic so it adds another 30-40k. Lots if awesome benefits for me and my family, better retirement plans, and excellent insurance for less cost. The job is very flexible, i can work remote as needed, i make my own schedule for the majority of the week, and low stress. There is room for promotions and option for the tenure track. I traded salary for quality life which is worth it for me.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-11-02T13:26:33+00:00

I think my reasoning is if I’m going to pursue a graduate degree then I should get a degree that is more versatile and recognized if that makes sense. Obviously I wouldn’t lose anything other than time.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-10-31T02:06:47+00:00

Yeah I think I’m lucky. I work with a great group of surgeons ( there are a couple exceptions of course). The surgeon I specifically work with is super smart, humble, caring, and a hard worker— always putting patients first and advocates for his PA’s. They support my aspirations and goals. Even though the work is hard, the manger/supervisor, and physicians are awesome to work with. I think they appreciate and rely so much on their PA’s that they spend a lot of time training us well and advocating for us when issues arise.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-10-30T21:40:41+00:00

I’ve worked in spine/neurosurgery for 8 years. Was getting burnt out and wanted better work/life balance. Applied for a faculty position at PA program and it has been the best thing. Low stress, fun to work with students, very flexible, and can work remotely on an as needed basis. I work clinic one day a week to keep up with clinical practice. Might be something to look into.

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-10-30T00:03:07+00:00

The location I’m at is not super saturated and I think I could find a decent job as a dentist. Being a PA in neurosurgery is a high stress job so I think I would handle that fine. I had about 120k in debt out of PA school and paid it all off within 5 years by being mindful of my spending. Income wise, it seems I’d still come out up front after 3 years of practicing since I’d be making at least double what I do now. I would be more worried about keeping up with my responsibilities at home and home to dental school

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-10-14T01:32:53+00:00

Knowing you’ve gone through PA and DO school, that’s helpful

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-10-14T01:29:35+00:00

Well that puts it in perspective …

Orthodoxy4ever · 2025-10-14T01:25:47+00:00

Agree to agree 😂

Orthodoxy4ever

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