Can you apply to be a physician's assistant (PA) if you have studied medicine?

[ChristmasLightsAllYear]

My DD started a medical degree, completed one year and then decided to switch to biochemistry.
She is very happy with this change. She is happy that she did one year of medicine, as she feels she would otherwise always regret not doing it - now she knows it is not the right path for her.
She has been looking at the careers that a biochemistry degree can lead to, and one of them is a PA.
I had an idea that if you had ever studied medicine you could not be a PA, but I cannot find details anywhere online.
Does anyone know a bit more about this and whether she is excluded by virtue of having done one year of medicine?
thanks very much

You can't apply for PA jobs if you are a qualified doctor but I don't know how it works if you have dropped out of medical school.The bigger question is really why would she want to be a PA if she made such a conscious decision not to be a doctor.

She has completed one of 5 years of medicine
That will make no difference to anything academically as she didn't study medicine . She isn't a doctor. She has no medical degree.
Biochemistry will open up many avenues for her tj explore and she is young and has time to enjoy making her choices. Good luck to her.

Surely no-one will know anyway. She'll simply have a degree in biochemistry. But yes, I'd also question why she's want to be a PA if she decided against being a doctor, just to be sure it is the right career for her.

You can but I would strongly advise against it.

She would have to do a PA masters after her degree. DD applied for a PA masters but was unsuccessful.

After reading so much negative stuff about PAs feel that she has dodged a bullet. She is about to start a masters in a different medical related field instead.

Just a thought.
Did she definitely drop out of medicine after one year. It crossed my mind when I read your post that she maybe didn't pass her exams or for once reason or another couldn't continue onto year two . It happened to a girl in my daughter's year she had to start again.
PA is often done by people who can't get into medicine straight up because it's so hard to get into.

According to this website, you can't:

https://www.theukcatpeople.co.uk/post/physician-associate-ultimate-guide-to-become-a-pa#:~:text=Alternatively%2C%20you%20may%20be%20accepted,able%20to%20complete%20the%20degree.

"You cannot apply to study for a Physician Associate Degree if you have completed or previously studied for a medical degree. This includes if you were not able to complete the degree."

I don't know if that's definitely correct though - it doesn't seem fair or logical to me.

I suspect that is referring to people who did a five year medicine degree, failed and therefore left with an interim degree,say a BSc in Biomed. Not people who did one year of medicine then switched.

Best thing would be to ask the unis that offer PA Masters and ask.

It's a common position to exclude applicants who have failed to complete a medical degree previously (this is certainly the case at my university). If someone had to withdraw for health reasons, the university might be willing to consider them, as long as the health issues have since been resolved. If someone changed their mind about medicine and went to study something else, universities aren't likely to be very keen on them unless they can convince them that a lot has changed in the meantime.

Medical schools should give withdrawing students extensive counselling about the avenues they are probably closing off for themselves, but I'm not at all convinced that most of them do this. As budgets get more and more stretched, what passes for student support in universities gets more and more centralised and the advisers have little or no knowledge about particular career pathways.

yes she did. what is the point of your response? I am just looking for facts thanks.

thank you so much , I had a feeling it wasn't an option due to the one year of medicine, but hadn't been able to find anything online. this is exactly what she needs to look at. she is just looking at what careers are open to her, and this one was mentioned.

I don't believe the uni gave her any counselling at all. Biochemistry was her first choice, not medicine. when she was accepted into medicine she thoguht she ought to do it because she got in, and everyone else she knew that applied was not successful. Whilst she enjoyed it, biochemistry was what she really wanted to study. Now she is doing biochemisty she is thoroughly enjoying it, so it appears to be the right decision for her.

Thank you so much for all the replies, it is much appreciated.

I'd have thought it's pretty obvious. She didn't want to do medicine so dropped out. What's changed? What's to say she won't drop out again?

Would be bonkers. It's a role with no future.

DD and her fellow students are discussing the careers that might be open to them. Some of them mentioned PA as a potential career. I had an idea she was excluded and wanted to find that data. Thanks for the helpful replies.

Has she looked into becoming a Clinical Scientist in Biochemistry?

There are probably a couple of different routes to entry, it's a registered profession, and she'd probably work in the NHS.

I'd probably agree with others about the PA role - I think the introduction has been mucked up in the UK, and I'm not sure about the future of the role here in the longer term.

I came to say this. I’d recommend looking in to it.

She would be insane to do it. Universities are cancelling these courses as Pa roles are extremely controversial and may not be around - in the form they are now - in a few years. The terms of their practice may be radically curtailed (I hope so) and the new sort of job might not be that interesting to your daughter

Tell her about the nhs clinical scientist scheme, working in hospital labs. Really interesting jobs there

www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/career-planning/study-and-training/graduate-training-opportunities/nhs-scientist-training-programme

PA is a Mickey Mouse job, almost universally disliked by other HCPs
Biochemists have amazing career opportunities in comparison

This.

@ChristmasLightsAllYear
The point of response was to contribute my thoughts which I think b i did in a very kind way including warm wishes to your daughter but I'm sorry you felt the need to pull me up on this and felt my response was not needed given the question in hand.
I have spent of 33 years in the NHS . Something doesn't sit right with "dropping out of medicine because it's not for her" and then wanting to be a PA.
If however she had failed her end of year exams (which was absolutely just a thought is doesn't mean I'm saying she didn't an all) that is perfectly reasonable reason to apply to PA as an alternative.
What is the driver behind her wish to now become a PA?
What is the passion behind this that medicine lacked for her?

Apologies, I read it the wrong way.

Yes she enjoyed the course, but decided that the work life balance wasn't going to work for her post degree. She said she would be happy to do this for another 4 years to finish her degree but to carry on working and studying for another 10 years post degree or so wasn't what she wanted to do. She didn't fail her exams but had been thinking about switching pretty much all the time she had been there. She was missing the chemistry side, it's what she really enjoys.

She hasn't expressed a desire to be a PA, but she and her friends were listing all the careers that they could consider after a biochemistry degree, and some of them said PA - I had an inkling that she wasn't eligible to be a PA, and thought it woudl be good to make sure she was aware of that.

I appreciate you taking the time to share the info, thank you.

now this looks right up her street, thank you