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How can you choose between a PA, Nurse, or doctor?

I want to go into pediatrics but I can’t decide which path to go into.

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Robert’s Answer

These three areas of healthcare have different educational requirements and activities. The first thing I would do is determine what I see myself doing with patients. Do I like figuring out problems and determining solutions, then being a physician would be the goal. Do I like taking care of patients such as giving them medication and other treatments prescribed by their condition and managing physicians, then nursing. Physician Assistants participate in care , procedures and evaluations under a physician. There are some variations such as surgery that operate and Nurse anesthetists.
I am a physician, I love figuring out the problem, developing a care plan and guiding patients through it. My wife is a nurse and she is the one who works with the patients and helps the patient on a individual basis, it is her work that insures the patients get the care they need. I have in my practice, PAs who do bone marrow biopsies and work in the emergency room to take care of very sick patients under strict guidelines.
There are major differences in education. A physician will spend 4 years in college, 4 years in medical school then between 3-7 years after medical school in residency, a type of on the job training before you can independently practice. A PA requires a college degree plus 2 years after that. A nursing degree can vary but usually entails a college degree.

Robert recommends the following next steps:

Read about Physician assistants, both job descriptions and education requirements.
Read about Nursing
Read about Medicine and medical school.
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