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- Sep 11, 2012
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I'm currently considering refocusing my pursuit to become a dentist and transitioning over to pursuing becoming a physician assistant. I do have a couple of questions though. I graduated this past spring with a bachelors in finance, however I've taken all the prerequisites needed for dental school. However, I'm not sure it's in the cards for me anymore. I'm taking a hard look at PA school, however I had some questions that I was hoping some of you may be able to answer. I need a couple of classes before I'm able to apply, and was considering taking them at my local community college so that I can save money and an extremely long commute it'd take to travel to the nearest university. The prerequisites I have remaining are developmental/abnormal psychology, statistics (I have credits for business statistics I & II, not elementary statistics), medical terminology, and microbiology. Would PA schools mind if I take those four courses at my local community college as opposed to a four year university? I've already taken Bio I & II at a community college back in high school for college credit, and while at university I took general chemistry I & II, organic chemistry I & II, anatomy & physiology I & II, calculus, and general psychology. I also took physics I & II over a summer back in 2014 at a local community college. My current overall GPA sits at a 3.43 and my science GPA is a 3.21.
My second question is in regards to the direct patient contact experience hours. I was considering becoming certified this summer after completion of those four classes as a EMT. I thought about taking the 10 credits it'd take in order to become certified as an EMT at my local community college, and then work for the following two semesters to build up my hours. I'd then apply that summer for PA school. I have 1,500-2,000 hours of volunteering already (medical mission trip to Honduras, building a library in Ghana, several pre-health honor society and club events). Is this an efficient route at applying to PA school and accruing the direct patient contact hours I'd need in order to apply and be a competitive applicant?
I'd be greatly appreciative of any help you all are able to provide me. I'm sure most of you are quite experienced and have far more knowledge about where I probably stand in my current situation, and the best route to take from here. I'm hoping I can get the advice needed in order to become a competitive applicant and possibly gain acceptance into PA school.
My second question is in regards to the direct patient contact experience hours. I was considering becoming certified this summer after completion of those four classes as a EMT. I thought about taking the 10 credits it'd take in order to become certified as an EMT at my local community college, and then work for the following two semesters to build up my hours. I'd then apply that summer for PA school. I have 1,500-2,000 hours of volunteering already (medical mission trip to Honduras, building a library in Ghana, several pre-health honor society and club events). Is this an efficient route at applying to PA school and accruing the direct patient contact hours I'd need in order to apply and be a competitive applicant?
I'd be greatly appreciative of any help you all are able to provide me. I'm sure most of you are quite experienced and have far more knowledge about where I probably stand in my current situation, and the best route to take from here. I'm hoping I can get the advice needed in order to become a competitive applicant and possibly gain acceptance into PA school.
