Is physician assistant school harder than medical school?

No, physician assistant school is not harder than medical school. While both PA school and medical school have their own unique requirements and challenges, medical school is normally found to be considerably harder than PA school. To further explain the answer to this question here is a closer look at some factors for PA school and medical school:

• Attending PA school

PA school requires a master's degree. This typically takes between two to three years to complete. Common courses required in PA master's degree programs include:

• Anatomy

• Physiology

• Pharmacology

• Clinical medicine

• Medical ethics

PA students also must complete clinical rotations in several medical venues, such as:

• Primary care

• Emergency medicine

• Surgery

• Other specialties

PA school tends to cover a wider scope of medical topics and in a more in-depth fashion than nursing school does. The clinical rotation requirements are also more intense than the clinical experience that nurses must gain during their education and training.

• Getting into medical school

Before you can even attend medical school you must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), which is notorious for being a very complex and difficult exam. PA school does not have an exam that must be passed for admittance. This is a test that many people have to take two or three times to pass.

• MCAT overview

The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a multiple-choice, computer-based, standardized test that students must take in order to be admitted into medical school. It determines a student's overall knowledge and suitability for a medical school program. Here are some of the areas it assesses and touches on:

• Problem-solving ability

• Written analysis ability

• Knowledge of scientific principles and concepts

• Natural science knowledge

• Behavioral science knowledge

• Social science knowledge

• Chemistry

• Biology

• Organic chemistry

• Psychology

• Sociology

Students that want to prepare to take the MCAT are encouraged to take coursework in these areas. The MCAT consists of lengthy passages of text that can be quite complex.

A strong score for an MCAT is obtaining a 127 out of 132 in each section, or a 508 out of 528 in the entire MCAT exam overall. The average score for students admitted to medical schools in the United States is a 508 out of 528.

• Once in medical school

• Anatomy

• Physiology

• Pharmacology

• Clinical medicine

• Medical ethics

• Pathology

Students also must complete clinical rotations in a number of medical settings, including ones like:

• Primary care

• Emergency medicine

• Surgery

• Other medical specialities

These rotations can often be intense and grueling.

• Conclusion

In summary, while both PA school and medical school have their own unique difficulties, the requirements of the MCAT, the time required to complete med school, and the intensity of most med school programs, indicates that PA is not harder than medical school.