questions about upcoming class schedule....

[gertie1]

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I've been out of school for the last 13 years and looking for some guidance as to what you think of this class schedule. I'm taking my pre-req's for PA school, which means the course load will be very science heavy because I've already got my gen ed credits taken care of via my Bachelor/Master degrees. I don't necessarily mind this, but also realize that being out of school for 13 years may make it difficult for me to get back in the swing of things again right off the bat. That said, here is what I plan to take this year (and get them all out of the way for admission to the PA program in the Spring of 2013):

Summer:
Chem I
Chem II
Micro (or maybe college algebra instead)

Fall:
Survey to Organic Chemistry
Human Anatomy
Human Physiology

Spring:
Pathophysiology
Biochemistry
Genetics/Cell Biology (not sure which one yet...or skip both and just take micro)

I have the option to take either survey courses or "regular" courses for gen chem as well as orgo. I'm not sure what the difference is between the two....is anyone familiar with it? Is taking gen chem I/II during the summer semesters a good idea? Is taking college algebra in the Summer and then taking micro next Spring a better idea.....just to keep things more manageable seeing as how I'm just getting back into school?

I do plan to get my EMT-B and then work at the hospital as a patient care tech or, if I'm lucky, get a part time job with an ambulance crew. Bottom line, I don't want to work so much that it impairs my ability to do well in the science courses. Also, I plan to do some shadowing with a PA, or at least a primary care doc who is very familiar with PA's. I'm also a primary caretaker of someone who is medically complex and this has given me a great deal of knowledge about many things....though not sure if this will help/hinder me in the application process of going to PA school.

So....any feedback? Am I taking on too much? Too little? Personally, I think it's very doable but I'm not currently a student who has done this stuff.

Thanks...

 

[Dookie2010]

I've been out of school for the last 13 years and looking for some guidance as to what you think of this class schedule. I'm taking my pre-req's for PA school, which means the course load will be very science heavy because I've already got my gen ed credits taken care of via my Bachelor/Master degrees. I don't necessarily mind this, but also realize that being out of school for 13 years may make it difficult for me to get back in the swing of things again right off the bat. That said, here is what I plan to take this year (and get them all out of the way for admission to the PA program in the Spring of 2013):

Summer:
Chem I
Chem II
Micro (or maybe college algebra instead)

Fall:
Survey to Organic Chemistry
Human Anatomy
Human Physiology

Spring:
Pathophysiology
Biochemistry
Genetics/Cell Biology (not sure which one yet...or skip both and just take micro)

I have the option to take either survey courses or "regular" courses for gen chem as well as orgo. I'm not sure what the difference is between the two....is anyone familiar with it? Is taking gen chem I/II during the summer semesters a good idea? Is taking college algebra in the Summer and then taking micro next Spring a better idea.....just to keep things more manageable seeing as how I'm just getting back into school?

I do plan to get my EMT-B and then work at the hospital as a patient care tech or, if I'm lucky, get a part time job with an ambulance crew. Bottom line, I don't want to work so much that it impairs my ability to do well in the science courses. Also, I plan to do some shadowing with a PA, or at least a primary care doc who is very familiar with PA's. I'm also a primary caretaker of someone who is medically complex and this has given me a great deal of knowledge about many things....though not sure if this will help/hinder me in the application process of going to PA school.

So....any feedback? Am I taking on too much? Too little? Personally, I think it's very doable but I'm not currently a student who has done this stuff.

Thanks...

unfortunately I don't have much experience with PA school admissions requirements, so I can't speak directly to that, but I can tell you that survey courses are generally less in depth courses that are designed to give you an overview of the material but not necessarily as full an understanding as someone who will use the course in their future profession (often they're designed for non-majors, etc.). I could be wrong though, as I've never heard of an organic "survey" course, and I'm not sure orgo is something that is generally explored by non-majors. If I were you I would call the school and ask for clarification. Also, if there is a PA school near where you'll be going, call and ask if survey courses are accepted as pre-reqs, since that PA school may be familiar with the school where you're doing pre-reqs and can comment on whether the courses are adequate.

as for your course load, I would definitely take college algebra instead of micro during the summer to ease yourself back in. Micro will be a lot of memorization and will likely take more time and effort. Save it for when you will have gotten back in the swing of things. Trying to condense all of those classes into one year will still be a challenge, however, especially if you will need to be working to support yourself full-time. Have you considered spreading them out over 2 years instead? A lot of it might depend on the rigor of the institution, but I probably would have struggled with a schedule similar to yours even as a recent grad. You have even more on your plate being a caretaker and dealing with the real world. Good luck with whatever decision you make!

 

[orthomyxo]

I believe there's a PA section on SDN. You might have better luck there since most of us probably don't know much about PA school.

 

[raltima07]

Summer might be too much - thats a lot of info in a short time

 

[gertie1]

Thanks for the info. Due to financial reasons I will have to find a way to finish all the pre-req's in one year's time. I've already checked into the survey courses at the university where they have a PA program and they stated that survey courses are acceptable. It's just that they give students an option to take "regular" chem courses or survey courses, which is why I wasn't sure what the difference between the two were. Then I'll take the math course during the Summer and save the micro course for next Spring. What I will have to do is contact other potential PA programs that I'm looking into and find out whether they will accept survey courses as well, though the university I'll be attending for pre-req's is well known and their PA program is considered to be quite good.

How do I get this thread moved over to the PA forum?

 

[orthomyxo]

How do I get this thread moved over to the PA forum?

I think you have to ask one of the mods to move it.