PA Shadowing?

[montessori2md]

Hi all,

So, I'm having second thoughts about the 7 years of med school/res and the "quality time" I'll be spending in the library....and then I see GWU's PA program and think, hey, that sound's like the fun without the mmm...insert your word for the extra years and $$$ here....

I'm especially interested in the fact that PAs can change specialty.

So, first of all, would I be a complete dork to ask a PA in ED or surgery if I could shadow? (I'm currently a hospital volunteer, I could ask there) -would that be somehow odd for the attending MD?

Second of all, the PA programs say 1 yr clinical experience is recommended, but not required -those of you who've done the program, how necessary was clinical experience, and did anyone in your program come in w/ very little experience? For me this is more of a debt/time issue -I could go work in a clinic/hospital/research center, but probably w/ limited clinical involvement, unless I took yet more coursework, spent more $$ and time, etc to get some sort of certification.

Third, what courses (undergrad) do you wish you had taken?

Thanks!

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[deleted6669]

Hi all,

So, I'm having second thoughts about the 7 years of med school/res and the "quality time" I'll be spending in the library....and then I see GWU's PA program and think, hey, that sound's like the fun without the mmm...insert your word for the extra years and $$$ here....

I'm especially interested in the fact that PAs can change specialty.

So, first of all, would I be a complete dork to ask a PA in ED or surgery if I could shadow? (I'm currently a hospital volunteer, I could ask there) -would that be somehow odd for the attending MD?

Second of all, the PA programs say 1 yr clinical experience is recommended, but not required -those of you who've done the program, how necessary was clinical experience, and did anyone in your program come in w/ very little experience? For me this is more of a debt/time issue -I could go work in a clinic/hospital/research center, but probably w/ limited clinical involvement, unless I took yet more coursework, spent more $$ and time, etc to get some sort of certification.

Third, what courses (undergrad) do you wish you had taken?

Thanks!

shadowing would be a good idea to get an idea of what pa's do. although prior experience is not mandatory(although it should be) , folks with significant prior medical experience on avg do much better in the program and become better pa's.for a pa specific forum see www.physicianassistant.net
also check the official pa website at www.aapa.org and the postgrad residency site at www.appap.org

 

[melcal]

it wouldn't hurt to ask a PA in the ED or surgical specialties if you could shadow. if they can't, ask if they know anyone they know who'd be willing. if you're already a volunteer there, see if you can volunteer in those depts including the cardiology, GI, GU, and oncology services as you may find PAs and NPs there.
i agree with emedpa. i personally think clinical experience is recommended before PA school. from my own experience, i didn't have to study so hard during 1st yr when it came down to various topics. also, knowing the environment in hospitals and private clinics and how each function, that helped as well.
there were many in my class without much clinical experience and unfortunately i don't know how they did during rotations and now 3-4 months since graduation. i do remember those who were squeamish & needed hand-holding when it came to learning how to do phlebotomy.
i think it's worth the time to get some experience. could try medical assistant programs -aren't too long and aren't too expensive.

in undergrad i wish i took spanish.

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

seems to be more common these days for people to be entering PA programs with less clinical experience. A lot of the PA programs around here are for college freshman, so I can't imagine they have any going into the program. One of the schools I was looking at required 200 hours of clinical but it included volunteering.

ETA: if you have trouble finding someone to shadow, schools should be able to help you. I'd just email a local program and they should have a list of PA's you could shadow.

 

[Jengirl18]

Hi MiesVanDerMom,

Can you explain what you mean by many PA programs are for college Freshman?...I imagine that means that they start out as "pre-PA", but still have to get a bachelor's degree, then a Masters in PA.

 

[montessori2md]

Thanks for the info : )

Also, re: the college freshman part of the thread, as I understand it, there are 2 types of PA program, one gives an AA degree, the other the master's. I honestly don't know anything about the AA program, and can't say that I know of any in my area.

 

[deleted6669]

Thanks for the info : )

Also, re: the college freshman part of the thread, as I understand it, there are 2 types of PA program, one gives an AA degree, the other the master's. I honestly don't know anything about the AA program, and can't say that I know of any in my area.

actually there are certificate, as, bs, and ms level pa programs. core content of all of them is the same and all qualify for the natl board exam. the ms programs have an extra research course and write a thesis or do a graduate level project.