the prereqs listed above are MINIMUM requirements. that doesn't even guarantee you an interview. many pa programs receive 1000 applications for 100 interviews for 30 seats.
a good friend of mine( an er nurse) with 15 yrs of experience and a 3.5 gpa was told to improve his gpa this yr if he wanted AN INTERVIEW at our local pa program.....
"Most require 1,000-2,000+ hours of "direct patient contact" - which is really not that different from what most pre-meds with siginificant volunteering/shadowing/working experience have (and, if the OP is an MS1, she's probably well on her way towards racking up more contact hours). "-SPOKEN LIKE SOMEONE WHO HAS NO IDEA ABOUT PA SCHOOL ADMISSIONS.....
yeah, right...how many paramedics, rn's, rt's in a typical ms1 class? 1 or 2?
you can't compare a bit of shadowing and volunteering that a typical med student has with the yrs of exprience that an ACCEPTED applicant to a good pa school has....
the AVG student in my pa program was 35 with 10+ yrs as a paramedic/rn/rt.....
FROM A QUALITY PA PROGRAM..
Applicants applying in 2007 must meet or exceed all of these prerequisites:
Clinical Experience:
Minimum of two (2) years of paid, recent, full-time equivalent, hands-on experience in the direct delivery of medical care to patients (approximately 4,000 hours); examples might be LPN, RN, Paramedic, Corpsman,
OR
Current professional credentials and at least two (2) years of paid, recent full-time experience in an allied health field, such as medical technology, X-ray technology, pharmacy, etc. For more information on allied health fields please visit the AMA website at
http://www.ama-assn.org/.
Our strongest candidates are those with some experience in direct patient care so; if you are considering a career in an allied health field, please consider a field with direct patient care listed in the job description. If you are already in a field that does not have much direct patient care, volunteer experience is a great way to supplement your 4000+ paid clinical experience hours.
Clinical experience can be calculated up to the October 1st application deadline date. You must have the minimum two years fulltime equivalent experience by that date to be eligible to apply in this admission cycle. Experience must be from paid position(s), not volunteer work with the exception of paramedic and EMT experience when the emergency services are only provided on a volunteer basis. Clinical experience gained through a training program as a student does not count toward satisfying the 4,000+ hour requirement.
We strongly encourage spending time as a volunteer and shadowing a PA as it is valuable experience and adds to an understanding of the PA role in healthcare and expands the understanding of primary care. Again, volunteer experience is a great way to supplement your experience but does not replace any clinical paid time.
