Changing from Med school to PA school? ADVICE

[wattupdoc]

So I've decided to opt for PA school instead of med school for personal choice. I'm pretty sure I would stand a fairly good shot at getting into at least one med school, but the length of time I'd be in school and being stuck in one place for another 3 years of residency is not appealing.

Here lies the problem: While I'm pretty confident I'd get into at least one med school somewhere, my lack of HCE makes me not so appealing to most PA programs.

my summarized stats:
3.9 gpa
pretty decent extracurriculars -while nothing impressive, if i was rejected i dont think this would be why.
and let's hypothetically assume a 30 on the MCAT and pretty well on the GRE. --(i'd take only one, just trying to show how I'm atleast somewhat competitive for MD but not for PA)
and only 100 health care hours ---while this is just fine for MD, not for PA

everything else is in order for my switch from MD to PA just the HCE issue. I do NOT want to take a gap year. I am graduating a semester early in Fall 2014, so when exactly should I apply to PA programs? the same time as I would if I were still doing MD? how can I rack up quality HCE before then? is it even possible to get that many in such a short time? and how should i do it?

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[TheWeeIceMan]

This might be easier to answer in the PA forum. I would guess that graduating in fall 2014 means you will have to at least take a half gap year since I don't believe any schools start in the spring. As for application time, I would assume that it would be similar to med schools in that you would apply in next summer's cycle to enter as soon as possible, but I'm not certain of that.

You could get paid HCE in a number of ways. Most of my pre-PA friends went the CNA route, but I assume you could also be a scribe, EMT, etc.

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

Go shadow some PAs?

 

[HipChick]

You'll need patient contact hours. specifically paid patient contact hours. Most PA schools where I am located have app deadlines in sept. Id take that next spring semester and summer to get your hours. Contact a hospital, contact a physical therapy clinic and ask about being an aid, most do CNA or EMT. You'll also need to shadow a PA.

 

[mappingmedicine]

Why are you planning to take the MCAT if you no longer want to apply to med school? They're not gonna care about your MCAT score, it's like telling medical schools your DAT or LSAT score. If anything, showing them your MCAT score will tell them you're using PA as a back-up and last minute switch, which you are. Save yourself the time.

If you need quick HCE hours and you're short on time, look at EMT, CNA, or scribe positions. Certification is also quick.

 

[whatbout2morrow]

I honestly think you have plenty of time. I believe there are CNA courses which last about a month, knock one out ASAP and find a job and do some shadowing as well. I imagine your hours would have to be done by the time you apply, so plan accordingly, even if it means taking a semester off or spreading your classes (and graduating Spring 2015 instead).

 

[whatbout2morrow]

Why are you planning to take the MCAT if you no longer want to apply to med school? They're not gonna care about your MCAT score, it's like telling medical schools your DAT or LSAT score. If anything, showing them your MCAT score will tell them you're using PA as a back-up and last minute switch, which you are. Save yourself the time.

If the OP is looking into Anesthesiologist Assistant programs, I believe MCAT scores are accepted. But if he/she is applying PA only, I agree, waste of time and money as most of them require GRE.

 

[pathologyDO]

So I've decided to opt for PA school instead of med school for personal choice. I'm pretty sure I would stand a fairly good shot at getting into at least one med school, but the length of time I'd be in school and being stuck in one place for another 3 years of residency is not appealing.

Here lies the problem: While I'm pretty confident I'd get into at least one med school somewhere, my lack of HCE makes me not so appealing to most PA programs.

my summarized stats:
3.9 gpa
pretty decent extracurriculars -while nothing impressive, if i was rejected i dont think this would be why.
and let's hypothetically assume a 30 on the MCAT and pretty well on the GRE. --(i'd take only one, just trying to show how I'm atleast somewhat competitive for MD but not for PA)
and only 100 health care hours ---while this is just fine for MD, not for PA

everything else is in order for my switch from MD to PA just the HCE issue. I do NOT want to take a gap year. I am graduating a semester early in Fall 2014, so when exactly should I apply to PA programs? the same time as I would if I were still doing MD? how can I rack up quality HCE before then? is it even possible to get that many in such a short time? and how should i do it?

Why PA? Have you shadowed a PA?

 

[wattupdoc]

I'm not planning on taking the MCAT anymore, just the GRE. I just mentioned the MCAT to compare the two. I haven't shadowed yet, but I plan on it very soon!

Thanks so much for the advice! I'm gonna keep on researching and googling schools and such :]

 

[alpinism]

So I've decided to opt for PA school instead of med school for personal choice. I'm pretty sure I would stand a fairly good shot at getting into at least one med school, but the length of time I'd be in school and being stuck in one place for another 3 years of residency is not appealing.

Here lies the problem: While I'm pretty confident I'd get into at least one med school somewhere, my lack of HCE makes me not so appealing to most PA programs.

my summarized stats:
3.9 gpa
pretty decent extracurriculars -while nothing impressive, if i was rejected i dont think this would be why.
and let's hypothetically assume a 30 on the MCAT and pretty well on the GRE. --(i'd take only one, just trying to show how I'm atleast somewhat competitive for MD but not for PA)
and only 100 health care hours ---while this is just fine for MD, not for PA

everything else is in order for my switch from MD to PA just the HCE issue. I do NOT want to take a gap year. I am graduating a semester early in Fall 2014, so when exactly should I apply to PA programs? the same time as I would if I were still doing MD? how can I rack up quality HCE before then? is it even possible to get that many in such a short time? and how should i do it?

Yeah I wouldn't call 100hrs "just fine for MD". At many MD schools that's well below average for most accepted students.

No offense OP, but PA programs are designed for people with significant health care experience (1000s of hours over multiple years). That's the whole reason why they're streamlined to be so short. At the very least you should spend 6 mos working full time (1 year part time) as a CNA or EMT (after becoming certified). Either way, you'll need to take a gap year.

 

[StephanieZ]

Yea, I tried for PA last year with a very good GRE and 6 months HCE as a CNA and I didn't even get an interview, even though the school I applied to said they only required 80 hours. It's all about the HCE, I think. If you are going to apply, though, DO NOT mention being a premed at all. I reported my MCAT score on the PA application because they asked for any other standardized test scores you wanted to report, and someone told me later that it just made me look like a pre-med who couldn't get into medical school and was using PA as a backup plan. Which...wasn't entirely untrue.

You might be able to rack up enough HCE if you start now, but just curious, why are you so against taking a gap year? Alot of people do, and if you fail to get accepted anywhere, you will end up having no choice, so I would keep an open mind if I were you. Starting school one, two, or even three years later than you had planned is far from the end of the world.