Shadowing hours for PA before applying?

Started by carol_J
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carol_J

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what is an adequate number of hours one has to have had before applying to a PA program? 50? 100?

I really want to apply for this upcoimng cycle but I am bearly going to start shadowing next week? I plan to apply by August!!!!!

what do you all think?
 
what is an adequate number of hours one has to have had before applying to a PA program? 50? 100?

I really want to apply for this upcoimng cycle but I am bearly going to start shadowing next week? I plan to apply by August!!!!!

what do you all think?

do you have any healthcare experience, preferrably PAID HANDS ON experience?
 
well..... I will be getting my CNA certification by mid July. I plan on working in a hospital as soon as possible and get healthcare experience from there?

I have about 80hrs volunteer @ a hospital and am CPR certified. But thats about it on that.

I'll be shadowing the PA for a few weeks at a family practice clinic, then I will move on to hospital setting and take it from there ...
 
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well..... I will be getting my CNA certification by mid July. I plan on working in a hospital as soon as possible and get healthcare experience from there?

I have about 80hrs volunteer @ a hospital and am CPR certified. But thats about it on that.

I'll be shadowing the PA for a few weeks at a family practice clinic, then I will move on to hospital setting and take it from there ...

sounds good for a start. I would seriously recommend applying later and working for a yr full time first though.....
 
yeah I know I need more experience, but I really want to give it a shoot!
 
My friend got accepted early decision to UMDNJs program w.o shadowing experience... so it depends on the school. I personally don't have that much experience but I'm applying to less stringent schools like UMDNJ so I guess it depends on what schools you apply to.

c.s.
 
Thank you all for the response!!!

Looking more closely at some of the porgram they do not require that much experience, so those I would try to focus on. I am in Texas and do not want to move out of state.
 
Don't forget though, shadowing can be good for YOU, and your decision to go through all the time, expense, and hard work of PA school. It's easier to slog through the tough spots if you have a solid sense of this path being the right one for you. Everybody in PA school thinks about how much nicer it would be to NOT be in PA school. The less shadowing and work experience you have, the higher the risk you might get stuck in that mindset.