Physician's Assistant

[amanda88]

So I am starting my 3rd year of college, but I am only going part time, as I work full time. I am 20 years old. I have struggled long and hard about what I want to get my degree in, "what I want to be when I grow up," etc. I have always been interested in the health care profession (my mom was a paramedic), and I am currently getting my EMT.

From here I need some help with where to go. I have thought strongly about becoming a PA, but I need some help with what will be the best way?

1. Should I finish my EMT, and work as such while I get a BA/BS in something else, (currently I am a family studies major). more/higher education

2. Or should I continue with my EMT, further to get my medic liscense, and then go to PA school. more medical experience

I realize that getting into a PA school is difficult, and that it takes some dediation, so I dont forsee going to such for at least 5 years. But it is in the mean time that I am not sure about. I dont care if you are a PA already, just getting into the program, or just have some good info for me, please let me know what you think.. Thanks!

 

[deleted6669]

first of all it's physician assistant with no 's.
in a perfect world you would both get more education and more medical experience.
in a less than perfect world experience trumps education so get your medic and take the required prereqs but don't kill yourself taking lots of extra classes at the expense of your gpa.
my path was emt as a senior in high school, worked as an er tech for 5 yrs through my bs and paramedic school (which I started 2 weeks after finishing my bs), then 5 yrs as a medic before becoming a pa.
definitely check out www.physicianassistantforum.com a dedicated pa forum for much better info on the pa profession than you will find here at sdn.
also www.aapa.org and www.nationalassociationpa.com our national associations.
www.appap.org has a list of optional pa residencies.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Great post by emedpa.

definitely check out www.physicianassistantforum.com

I'd recommend the above forum too. I poked around there to learn more about PA training, and it seems like a good resource from a lot of current and future PAs.

 

[amanda88]

Currently my BS is in Family Studies, but UC Davis is not a degree, just a program, and so it does not require a degree other than an AS or 60 units, which I have already completed. So i am stuck... Do I get a degree I dont need just to gain chances, or would medic experience be enough.. Agh!

It sounds like the medic path worked for you, which gives me good hope. If you dont mind my asking, what was the journey like for you... did you have to apply more than once or did you get right in, how long was your program and where was it, anything else you suggest to an aspiring PA...

 

[deleted6669]

Currently my BS is in Family Studies, but UC Davis is not a degree, just a program, and so it does not require a degree other than an AS or 60 units, which I have already completed. So i am stuck... Do I get a degree I dont need just to gain chances, or would medic experience be enough.. Agh!

It sounds like the medic path worked for you, which gives me good hope. If you dont mind my asking, what was the journey like for you... did you have to apply more than once or did you get right in, how long was your program and where was it, anything else you suggest to an aspiring PA...

I applied to 2 programs the first time around. one was a long shot because it was a state school(U.Wa) and I was out of state. the other considered my app incomplete the first time because I didn't send a transcript from a community college for an ethics class I took in high school that showed up as transfer credits on my university transcript.
yr 2 I only applied to the second program from yr 1 with a "complete app", got an interview and got in. U.Wa told me that I would probably get in as a washington resident and that I should move and reapply. I wasn't willing to move for "probably".
I did a 3 yr part time program at hahnemann university in philadelphia. the nl yr 1 was done over 2 yrs and the nl 2nd yr was a full time 3rd yr. this allowed me to work as a medic 24 hrs/week for 2 yrs and full time after summer #1.
the prior medical training/experience really helped. all the top folks in the class were medics(top 3), rn's(next 2), or resp. therapists(next 2) before going to pa school.