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What would be the best option; becoming a surgical technician first, then becoming an emergency physician's assistant or vice versa?

Im really stuck on either being surg tech or an emergnecy PA and after weighing my options i dont know which to choose from #pre-med #physician #emergency-medicine #surgical-assisting

pre-med physician emergency-medicine surgical-assisting
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Douglas’s Answer

Those are two separate career pathways, really. From my perspective, the things you need to think about are:
1) OR vs clinic: surgical techs typically work with surgeons on patients while ER PAs work with patients to diagnose and treat illness or injury
2) Amount of education: PA is a higher degree and will require more time in school and higher GPA to qualify for training
3) Long-term plans: both of these are "terminal degrees" in that they are the final step in that career pathway, to move out of the field (for example to medical school) after would require returning to school and starting over although the experience will be relevant and may help with interviews, resume, etc
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Rachel’s Answer

PA school is much more competitive than surgical technician school. PA school requires a bachelor's degree before you can apply to the program. Surgical technician school does not. I would shadow both, consider how good your grades are in college (they need to be high to apply to PA school), and then decide which path to take.
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Estelle’s Answer

I agree with the above answers. PA school is more competitive and requires an undergraduate degree. See if any PA's in your area will let you shadow them. Surgical assistant training is much faster and does not require a college degree before applying. They are limited to the OR, however.
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Richard’s Answer

If your goal is PA, then concentrate on finishing college with really good grades then apply for PA school. Your time would probably be better spent shadowing other PAs or physicians.
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