admissions info

[dnetko]

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I have recently been researching PA programs, and I was just wondering if anyone could give me any advice on the whole admissions process. I've looked at several of the program's websites along with <a href="http://www.aapa.org," target="_blank">www.aapa.org,</a> but I was just wondering how competitive it is compared to DO/MD programs. Any advice would be great!

 

[deleted6669]

admission to pa school is fairly competitive. most programs have several hundred applicants for around 30 spots. prior medical experience is weighted just as heavily as gpa. most applicants now have a bs degree plus 3-5 years experience at the level of paramedic, rn, or resp. therapist. some programs allow applicants without prior medical experience(but not any of the good ones). prereqs are similar to med school, but most places reqire the gre. the mcat is not required. a gpa of at least 3.4 is needed to be competitive. often applicants have gpa&gt;3.5 with years of experience and lots of volunteer work. hope that helps-e

 

[dnetko]

Thanks for the helpful information!

 

[Tashy]

dnetko,

So you're thinking of PA school. Congratulations!!!! I was in your position this time last year. First of all, go to the aapa website to find out the different schools. After you know where they are, you can start to narrow your options and find out information about the specific admissions requirements. What I did was matched the classes I already had to the prereqs and scheduled my Fall semester accordingly. The best thing to remember is more is better when it comes to prereqs. If you want to know more let me know, I've been through it all.

 

[Ronny]

I was just looking at the acceptance rates on the aol graduate programs for the PA's, after reading this thread. Most of the PA programs have very high acceptance rates. Some are over 50% and some as low as 20%. I think it must be about as competitive as chiropractic. People aren't really beating down the doors to be PA's or nurses. It's a good job, sort of like a well paid male nurse in my opinion. But, I've had a bad experience with a PA and was maimed as a result of the encounter with the PA. I guess if a hospital is too cheap to hire a real physician, they'll just send in the ('goon squad' as my lawyer called them while we were suing the hospital) PA's.

 

[deleted6669]

RONNY-I am sorry that you had a bad experience with a pa, but realize that people also have bad outcomes with md care everyday. most pa's make significantly more than" a male nurse" (pa's can also be women by the way). a good specialty pa with a few years experience can expect to make over 100k/yr. as for the "goon squad" comment, I would rather be treated by a specialty pa in the emergency dept who works there everyday than your average fp/im doc who wouldn't know how to reduce a fracture or suture a complex lac with a gun to their heads because if they ever did it before(likely for fp, unlikely for im) they forgot those skills years ago because they never use them. as far as acceptance rates, I imagine your source only lists % of applicants interviewed who are accepted. I am on the admissions committees of 2 programs and we screen 10 or more applications for every actual interview.let's not start another "I'm better than you" thread here , ok?-peace-e

 

[Ronny]

empeda,

Two years ago I was in a car accident and the seat belt broke my collar bone. The PA I saw at the hospital misdiagnosed my broken collar bone as 'cervical neck strain'. When I was in the hospital I didn't even see an actual physician, just the PA (BTW the goon squad was my lawyer's comment). I went untreated for 2 weeks because I thought I had a bad neck strain and got worse and was in increasing pain and developed a hump where my left collar bone is. When I finally went to another doctor for the collar bone they took x-rays and the doctor said that a first year medical student could should have known that I had a broken collar bone. From then on I was properly treated.

I know PA's are more than a male nurse. They're a pseudo-doctor. Sort of like a glorified nurse practicioner.

I believe the acceptance rates I posted are accurate. I will cut and paste some of the info to see if it jiggity jives with what you know to be the case. BTW, all of this is from the numbers for 'Physician Assistant Studies'.

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Graduate and Professional Programs
Physician Assistant Program
Philadelphia, PA 19131-1694

Profile:
Offers health sciences (MS).

Students: 74 full-time (56 women); includes 8 minority (2 African Americans, 2 Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, 3 Hispanic Americans, 1 Native American) Average age 26. 171 applicants, 40% accepted. In 2000, 18 degrees awarded.

Entrance Requirements: For master's, GRE, minimum GPA of 3.0, previous course work in biology, chemistry, English, physics.

Application Deadline: For fall admission, 1/15. Application fee $50.


Chatham College
Graduate Programs
Programs in Health Sciences
Program in Physician Assistant Studies
Pittsburgh, PA 15232-2826

Profile:
Offers MPAS.

Students: 77 full-time (65 women), 1 part-time; includes 4 minority (1 African American, 3 Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders) Average age 26. 171 applicants, 35% accepted. In 2000, 33 degrees awarded (100% found work related to degree).

Entrance Requirements: For master's, TOEFL, community service, interview, minimum GPA of 3.0, health science work or shadowing, volunteer work experience.

Application Deadline: For fall admission, 1/15 (priority date). Applications are processed on a rolling basis. Application fee $35

Duquesne University
John G. Rangos, Sr. School of Health Sciences
Pittsburgh, PA 15282-0001

Profile:
Offers health management systems (MHMS); occupational therapy (MOT); physical therapy (MPT); physician assistant (MPA); speech-language pathology (MSLP). Accreditation: AOTA (one or more programs are accredited); APTA (one or more programs are accredited).

Students: 289 full-time (227 women), 65 part-time (40 women); includes 19 minority (8 African Americans, 5 Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, 5 Hispanic Americans, 1 Native American), 2 international. Average age 24. 217 applicants, 22% accepted. In 2000, 157 degrees awarded.


Application Deadline: For fall admission, 12/1 (priority date). Application fee $50.

Philadelphia University
School of Science and Health
Program in Physician Assistant Studies
Philadelphia, PA 19144-5497

Profile:
Offers MS. Evening/weekend programs available.

Students: 50 applicants, 62% accepted.

Entrance Requirements: For master's, GMAT, GRE, or MAT.

Application Deadline: Applications are processed on a rolling basis. Application fee $35.

 

[deleted6669]

thia is the info for the most recent class at pacific university's masters level pa program in oregon
Class Profile

Applications Received: 248
Men: 40%
Women: 60%
Average Age: 29
Age Range: 21-46
Science GPA: 3.3
Last 45 hour GPA: 3.5

Northwest residents: 53%
NCCPA Board Pass Rate: 100%
Employment rate Post graduation: 95% - 100%

this is approx 8 applications for every admission. most quality programs have stats like this. when I was at hahnemann we had a class of 80 with over 1000 applicants.
by the way let me list a few hospitals "too cheap to hire real doctors"
mass general, duke, johns hopkins, ohsu, yale affiliated hospitals, harborview seattle, usc/la county, cedars sinai(beverly hills), ucla, baystate(mass), michigan state university hospitals, henry ford, stanford university hospital, mayo clinic(all sites), dartmouth hitchcock, hartford hospital, hahnemann hospital, etc, etc..... this is just a partial list off the top of my head. pa's work in all specialties in all settings, both with direct supervision and with distant supervision often hundreds of miles away. once again, I am sorry that you had a bad experience ,but not all pa's( or md's for that matter) are created equal. peace-e

 

[AggiePA]

Dnetko and others:
I'm finishing up my first semester at UT Southwestern. Having just been through the whole application/interview process, here's what I've discovered:
--medical experience is nice, but NOT necessary. You have to have volunteer hours, of course, but you do NOT need to be an EMT, med tech or anything like that
--if you have a high GPA/GRE score, they'll overlook the fact that you're "younger" and "less experienced." I got accepted to every school I applied to (all very competitive--Baylor, UTMB, Southwestern and Arcadia) and I just graduated from college this past May and I don't even know how to take someone's blood pressure. Trust me, they'll teach you.
--Here's the profile for my class:
Applied: 372
Interviewed: 98
Accepted: 36
Av. age: 30, range is 22-43
Male/Female ratio: 7/29
Av. Science GPA: 3.4
We have a great variety in our class, from RN's, to a former doctor (in another country who doesn't want to go through the hassle of becoming a physician in America), to fresh out of college, to lab techs, paramedics, forest rangers, youth ministers...you name it.
So don't ge discouraged. If this is what you want to do, go for it. It's a VERY promissing field and if you're in it for the right reasons, you'll be as amazing as any physician out there.
God Bless and Gig 'em!
Aggie PA

 

[joseph-arveson]

Every single specialty?

How about Classical Freudian Analysis?

 

[deleted6669]

I imagine they teach classical freudian analysis at the psychiatry postgraduate program below in addition to modern concepts in psychiatry...
( I cut and pasted this from their site)

Physician Assistant Graduate Level
Psychiatric Training Program
Cherokee Mental Health Institute
1251 West Cedar Loop
Cherokee, Iowa 51012
Bradley R. Dirks, PA-C, M.Ed., Associate Director
(712) 225-2594, Extension 2454
Fax: (712)225-6956
Email: [email protected]


Length of Program
12 months
Class Size
3
Starting Date:
April
Ending Date:
January


PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY:

The Mental Health Institute (MHI) in Cherokee, Iowa will begin the nation's first postgraduate Master's Degree Psychiatric Training
Program for Physician Assistants. Trainees in this program have the option of obtaining the Master's of Physician Assistant Studies
Degree with a specialization in Psychiatry in affiliation with the University of Nebraska Medical Center Physician Assistant Program.

Five trainees per year will be admitted and will participate in an intensive one-year didactic and clinical program. Hospital inpatient
and outpatient rotations at the MHI in Cherokee, Iowa will be supplemented by telemedicine experiences in mental health centers,
nursing homes, and residential care facilities, along with experience working with mental ******ation, forensic psychiatry, substance
abuse and geropsychiatry programs.

CURRICULUM:

The program will emphasize differential diagnosis, medical management through psychotropics, and fundamentals of the interpersonal
process. Students will have fifteen hours of didactics per week, along with supervised clinical experiences and case presentations.
The 40-hour work-week will be supplemented with one first call experience per week.

Weekly lectures will be accessed from the University of Iowa medical Center Psychiatry Residency Program. These will include
Grand Rounds, Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy and Resident Education Seminars. This is made possible with advanced
technology utilizing fiber optic networks developed for the State of Iowa. The Iowa Communication Network (ICN) is an interactive
telecommunication system.

UNIVERSITY/INSTITUTION AFFILIATIONS:

The program is affiliation with the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The University of Nebraska Medical Center Physician
Assistant Program offers the option of a Master's of Physician Assistant Studies with specialization in psychiatry along with an
Institutional Certificate in psychiatry. The University of Iowa Medical Center will provide the educational programs as described.

ADMISSIONS PROCESS AND TIMETABLE:

An interview is required with Cherokee Mental Health Institute and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. If the option of the
Master's of Physician Assistant Studies Degree is not pursued the University of Nebraska interview is not required. The start date is
scheduled for January 18, 1999. The program is scheduled for a twelve-month period. The first class will graduate January 14, 2000.
Intermittent starts will be determined on an individual basis.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:

To qualify as a candidate for this Program, one must be a graduate of an accredited physician assistant program, have earned a
bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and be currently certified by the NCCPA.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Five qualified residents will be selected based on academic history, work history, personal interview and the desire to pursue a higher
level of competence in evaluating and treating the mentally ill.

CREDENTIAL AWARDED:

Upon successful completion of the twelve-month residency program, the resident will receive a Psychiatric Certificate from
Cherokee Mental Health Institute. In addition, the residents that chose the master's option will receive a Master's of Physician
Assistant Studies with a specialization in Psychiatry from the University of Nebraska Medical Center Physician Assistant Program.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

A salary of $40,000 is offered along with a benefit package similar to the State of Iowa employees. This includes three weeks of paid
time off, health insurance and malpractice coverage.

Students applying for the Master's of Physician Assistant Studies will be required to pay $1,805 for tuition. This includes required
texts and materials.

State vehicles maybe used for any travel required by the State.
ask a silly question.....

 

[mndm7176]

It sounds like many of you have an interst in medicine. Why not be the doctor? Have you looked into podiatry school? It from what I understand by my reserach, affords a great lifestyle and you treat the patients. You can specialize in sports medicine. You see patients from 0-99. You can do surgery, treat dermatological needs. It seems like a great alternative. I am attending an Open House in August at NYCPM. I will post more after the event.

Good luck to all.
Deb

 

[angelic02]

Deb,

I hope this doesn't offend you or anybody else, but if I wasn't accepted into general medical school (leading to doctorate degree), I would rather choose PA over podiatry (or dentistry or optometry) because the scope of practice of a podiatrist is very limited (foot disorders), whereas eventhough the scope of a PA is limited to practice under an MD/DO, the PA would have more opportunities to treat ailments other than that of the foot. Personally, I plan to be one of the following: FP/Psych Combo, PD surgeon, PD optho, or PD oncologist/hematologist. Don't anyone ask me why I am choosing this particular choice of specialties (one might say that this group has very limited relations to each other, but that's just the point, I am undecided). By the way, I recant what I said in one of the above statements. I would probably choose OD school over PA school, though I would have to be very old in life before I make this decision (I will keep applying to a school of general medicine until I'm too tired to keep applying, and that will probably be somewhere late in life). I plan to keep applying to a school of general medicine until I get in. Besides, I heard on the podiatry section of this forum that podiatrists are not exactly in high demand.

 

[vixen]

some of you people argue about the dumbest thing....why don't you just do your own thing and not worry about accp rates, gpa's etc for other schools.

angelic, aren't you just BEGINNING college? Don't you need to have some exposure to other fields etc, before you start putting them down?

And why do people stereotype a whole profession because of one individual they've dealt with? 🙄

I would say I'm pretty lucky to have met and dealt w/a lot of nice doctors, lots of nice PA's and nurse practioners, dentists, dental hygenists, etc.....but there are always bad apples in every bunch!

 

[angelic02]

Vixen,

I am not putting any profession down. I am simply stating my opinion as to what I would do if faced with a choice. My apologies for anything in this post that would offend anyone. Yes, I do acknowledge that career goals change.

Thank you.

 

[PACtoDOC]

For all of you who know me here, I tend to lay low until something really gets me going. So let me make a couple of responses to a few who are less than informed.

First, Ronny, so a provider made a mistake, and you now think the whole profession sucks? And please, maimed? The clavicle, you must be kidding. You can live without a clavical and many people who were treated correctly have a LARGE KNOT THAT NEVER GOES AWAY. It is the nature of a fractured clavicle. I would tend to say that you can find an attorney to sue someone for anything, but my guess is he took most of your settlement leaving you with a few candy wrappers, am I right? And why don't you just go ahead and apply to PA school for the fun of it? In fact, I will pay for it buddy. Then we will see if your opinion of the ease in which it is to get in will still be so prevelant. You know nothing about the profession hence your use of the analogy of a male nurse. You are misinformed altogether.

Next, anyone who thinks that podiatry is the career of kings needs to rethink their company line. Podiatry is just about the worst place to be in medicine, because medical doctors generally do not conider them equals, and often do not think they are competent. There is not a large calling for them, and the ease in which you can get into Pod school is far easier than getting into PA school. When I took the MCAT this last year, I received a bunch of letters from Pod schools about "considering podiatry". If you look at their entry stats, they are comparable to Chiropractic but maybe a bit higher. They have to do a separate residency to do surgery and still not all hospitals will priviledge them. Trust me, my best friend and office suite mate is a Podiatrist. He would tell you the same thing. If you want to practice virtually unlimited medicine, but you don't want to be a doc, then PA is the best way to go. I am a PA and have been for four years, and am now in medical school. There is a PA school in my medical school now and it is awesome to see the respect and support they get from combined faculty.

But again as for Ronny, the others here might kiss your butt and feel sorry for you but you just need to get over it. Maimed, you make yourself out to sound like dog or something. What the heck are you doing on our forum anyway if you don't like us. Go back to your forum, the one titled "How to sue just about anyone for just about anything"


MJM, PA-C, MPAS, PACmatthew