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What qualifies as hands on patient care hours for PA school?
- Thread starter chef30
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It is entirely dependent on what each school that you apply to wants to see. One school I applied to only wanted 4000 or more hours of real health care experience that was paid and met a threshold for quality (they spelled it out specifically.... RN, LPN, Paramedic/EMT, medical laboratory scientist, respiratory therapy, army medic, etc). Another school I applied to could care less about anyone's professional background, and had no requirement, but lived to see volunteer stuff like what you had. In fact, because I had mostly professional hours in health care, I was at a disadvantage when they compared me to folks that only racked up a bunch of volunteer hours.
It all depends. Programs usually are good about communicating what they want to see. Occasionally, you have to read between the lines, but it's often upfront.
It all depends. Programs usually are good about communicating what they want to see. Occasionally, you have to read between the lines, but it's often upfront.
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When they say hands on, they mean literally your hands on the patient. The two quickest routes for hands on patient care are CNA and EMT because they both just require a 1 semester class to become certified.
As for your second question, it completely depends on the school. Many schools will list if they want their PCH to be hands on or if they are more lenient. They often will have a list of the types of jobs they consider acceptable on their website. If they don't have something like that and you are wondering if a school will accept your hours, then send them an email.
As for your second question, it completely depends on the school. Many schools will list if they want their PCH to be hands on or if they are more lenient. They often will have a list of the types of jobs they consider acceptable on their website. If they don't have something like that and you are wondering if a school will accept your hours, then send them an email.
Like you said, though..."hands on" really means whatever the schools list as "hands on". Some schools mean they want licensed professional level "hands on work", not entry level. Just touching a patient with CNA or EMT skill level might not be enough. Some might consider transporters as being "hands on". Everything is subject to the school's interpretation. And there really is a wide spectrum across PA schools as to what meets their definition of hands on. They usually don't make you work hard to find the information on their websites. Most have learned that staff don't want to answer the same question 50 times a day over the phone with Pre-PA's.
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Echoing what others have said - it depends on the school. I was working as a Unit Coordinator, helping with boosts, transport, pt repositioning, etc. and that would not qualify as HCE to the school I was ultimately accepted to...but transport was! However, the director I spoke with mentioned that, although transport was applicable towards their 1000 hour minimum, they don't give a lot of points/weight to that experience. Hearing that none of my hours would be accepted led me to become a CTA (unlicensed NA). Once I had over a year of that (~2000+ hours), I was offered multiple interviews and acceptances! Getting a role that will give you more meaningful experiences will definitely help you succeed.
