Physician Assistant Program Admissions

[Coastie2011]

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I am in the military but am seriously considering a career change. I've completed my EMT-B and I'm building my experience by volunteering. I'm also considering pursuing a paramedic certification. Will this help my chances with PA admission. I currently have my B.S. in Psychology however I have to fulfill the prequisites courses the majority of Physician Assistant programs I am interested in. What is the best way to accomplish this? The military has relocated me far away from my orginal school. Should I just take the prequisite classes with some random resident college near me, a community college, or do I need to go back to school a well known school and get a Biology degree. I understand that the PA programs are very competitive. What do I need to do to stand out? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[deleted6669]

paramedic would be a great idea. the more health care experience the better your chances and the better pa you will be.
you can get your degree in anything as long as you meet all the prereqs.
for all things pa related see www.physicianassistantforum.com with a forum with > 30,000 members as opposed to the 5 who post here.

 

[Boatswain2PA]

Are you USCG? What do you do?? If you are and can get to a MM/SAR boat station it would help you a lot.

I did 20 years in the CG, retired as a BMCS after 5 stations and 2 patrol boats. Moving around so much it was tough to get my prereq's done, but managed to get them done at a community college. Didn't seem to hurt me too much. I also had time on my last tour to get an online masters from American Military University.

Feel free to PM me if you want.

 

[SarahJGM]

I applied and was accepted to PA school this year. Certain schools focus more on health care experience than others, but all schools want a well-rounded candidate. Military service certainly puts you in that category. They want to see you are passionate about medicine, but to also make sure you don't have tunnel vision. They want to know you have a strong support system to help carry you through the 2-3 years of PA school. They also want to know that you can afford the debt you will go into so that midway through you don't have to leave the program because you suddenly realize how expensive it is. They want candidates who won't crack under pressure. If you break down while telling them about an experience in medicine that touched you, you can basically kiss your spot goodbye. PA school and the healthcare industry are tough, so if you start sobbing about a patient that touched you it doesn't bode well that you'll be able to handle the future pressure cooker you're about to enter. Above all, the interview panel wants candidates who are humble. Be yourself, be honest, and don't give cookie-cutter answers. You're just starting out, you don't have all the answers so don't pretend you do.

As far as school goes, you have to check with each individual program. Some schools exclude community college courses and require completion of pre-reqs from a 4 year school, some won't accept online credits.

Good luck!

 

[Boatswain2PA]

As far as school goes, you have to check with each individual program. Some schools exclude community college courses and require completion of pre-reqs from a 4 year school, some won't accept online credits.

Do you know of any particular schools that exclude CC courses, or won't accept accredited online schools?