AliB

Yes and Yes - see the CASPA FAQ and the explanation and example.

As EMED already noted, you need to check your STATE licensing requirements. i.e., my home state MOL requires CME ANNUALLY, not bi-annually (a la NCCPA) ... it may or may not be required your 1st / partial year of licensing, but don't assume.

FYI · Only 18 of the United States require re-certification for license renewal; 33 (with D.C.) do NOT require PAs to re-certify in order to maintain their license; these jurisdictions have no issues with patient safety · CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) does not require PAs enrolled as providers to recertify[1] [1] https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNProducts/Downloads/Medicare-Information-for-APRNs-AAs-PAs-Booklet-ICN-901623.pdf However, many private insurers and many corporate owned facilities DO require maintenance of certification as a condition of credentialing or of employment, so the majority of PAs (>90%) are compelled to, or choose to.

My response to the NCCPA email: The actions of the NCCPA in West Virginia, as well as in New Mexico and in Illinois, make me ASHAMED to be associated with NCCPA (unfortunately the only certifying organization for PAs ... at this time). When an organization puts its own financial interests (a possible loss of re-certification fees, plus the financial benefits it receives from the PANRE review courses it endorses) ahead of progressive legislative changes that would remove barriers to PA practice and improve the access to health care for the very persons the NCCPA is posturing that it is "protecting", it is a very sad day for the PA profession. Colluding with a single elected leader to act contrary to the 100% supported actions of the elected representatives of the people of the state of West Virginia is reprehensible on the part of NCCPA. I heartily hope the people "speak" via their representatives to overturn this governor's decision as well as via their votes in their next election. No, I am NOT proud to be aspiring to be a PA-C. The NCCPA BOD and staff should be ashamed. Regretfully, AliB, MS, MMSc (candidate), PA-S The above opinions are my own and not those of any organization or institution with whom I am associated.

What worked for me in evaluating programs: Look at the RANGE of stats on the program's recent cohorts. If the values for PCE (or HCE) is clustered around 100, or the GPA clustered around 3.5, or age clustered around 24, etc.; versus RANGING from 100-10K hours, 3.0 to 3.7 pts, 22-42 years, then they are NOT a good fit for someone that is an outlier from their "norm". Don't "chase" one school because someone else got in there. Do your research and see if the school, overall, is a fit for you; and that includes their educational approach, their clinical rotations, their location, their cost, their 1st time PANCE pass rates, their attrition rates, etc. ... in no particular order ... ALL are considerations depending on what's important for you to succeed.

Good advice here. I will add to start NOW; don't wait until you are actually a student to cut expenses and live as frugally as possible. You may find that eliminating some expenses actually takes a month or two (on anything that you have to give notice to cancel); and yes, you might have to pay some cancellation fees if you are in a contract, but don't stay in the contract if it will cost you more than you will save in the long run. You need a small emergency fund also - a few of my classmates who are funding their way entirely by loans got caught by surprise when their funds were delayed (through no fault of their own - your school may offer emergency short term, e.g., 30-day, loans, but don't count on that), and there are those actual emergencies of all sorts. Also plan ahead. You'll have a period of time after graduate that you won't be earning yet either. It takes time (and costs money) to take your boards, apply for licensing, etc.

Posted about 11 PM Eastern on Huddle: Dear AAPA Members, If you tried to login to Huddle today (Thursday) between 4:30 and 8:00 PM, you were greeted with a rather confusing error message. A coding glitch in an update caused our login verification process to completely shut down, impacting all members. The issue has been fixed and everyone should once again have access to Huddle. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience as we worked to resolve the problem. Best regards, ------------------------------ Catherine Gahres Vice President, Membership Development & Services American Academy of PAs Alexandria VA ------------------------------

Yes. Yes. 2nd year PA-S, so we'll see! Been there and done that. And I'm 15 years older than you. I also kept working at my well-paying job in another field until I started PA school, concurrently eliminated as much ongoing financial obligation as possible, and saved as much $$ as possible. Best advice: 1) yes, make sure that working with patients, in health care, is something you want to do (get broad exposure); 2) as someone already suggested, save now so you can minimize or avoid going into debt for whatever path to medicine you choose! My step mother went to medical school in her 30s with 3 children at home. You'll find other PAs with 2nd career stories - probably more than 1st career, though that is changing. Best of luck.

Yes, but did you notice it is 3 years old ... and notable leaders in the PA profession responded?

I was debating whether to chime in on this thread. :) Since I've been 'called out', I'll respond. I am currently a PA student, and I am a single parent. I'm not in quite the same situation: I have 4 under 3 (wasn't part of the plan, but my 'one more' ended up being a triple play!). I do not recommend it. It has been tough and my academic performance has suffered for it. AND I'm NOT trying to do it on my own. I have very supportive siblings. I moved out of my home state for PA school, but luckily for me, one of my brothers works remotely the majority of the time and he more or less relocated to my guest room here. When the planned 2 was actually 4, I ended up bringing in an au pair as well. If I didn't have the two of them helping, it wouldn't be possible for me to get through the program successfully. My situation is not entirely comparable (number or ages), but I can't imagine having to cope with the inevitable "sick day" when one or more has a fever and can't return to day care until they've been 24 hours fever-free as one example. With respect to schedules, this program has the typical 8-5 as the normal hours. But we've had evening lectures at least once or twice a semester (to accommodate a guest lecturer's availability). We've also had mandatory weekend work a time or two each semester (some of the learning activities that involve real patients!). Additionally, I cannot emphasize enough that the course load in most programs' didactic year is like nothing most people have experienced. I also worked full-time, and took pre-reqs (while pregnant and then with a newborn); and I did it as a single parent without the help I have now. That was a walk in the park compared to the volume and intensity of a PA program. The semester credit hours are 16, 23, 30, 18 (summer, fall, spring, summer) in the 4 didactic semesters in this program and there is very very little "lightweight" subject matter. Understand, too, that, to the best of my knowledge, most programs do not teach (via lecture) you everything you have to learn. Students not only have to study what's been presented during scheduled sessions, but there's additional material that we are responsible for learning outside of the 8-5 time. Another thing for OP to consider: Are you certain you can do ALL of your clinical rotations back in your current city? Policies vary from program to program and there are standards and legalities to be fulfilled. If you've confirmed that, great; this program wouldn't promise that option to anyone, and it's unlikely it would happen - at least some of the rotations would be done at their established rotation sites. I'm not saying don't do it. I am saying don't underestimate the sacrifice or effort that will be required. Don't underestimate the additional support that will be needed. I think I probably underestimated both and it's been a challenge to still make it all work (and I have a great deal of flexibility that you may not have). Also, I agree with a previous post, based on observations of others, don't underestimate the stress it can place on relationships if all parties are not 'all-in' on the goal and committed to making the necessary sacrifices.

All of this is answered in the FAQs. Look under "Transcript Entry: How To Enter Coursework" to start. i.e., All grades are calculated - everything post high school for which you received any form of college credit hours or appear on ANY transcript. REQUIREMENTS REPORT ALL COURSES ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT, NOT JUST PREREQUISITES. Be sure to include courses from which you withdrew, repeated courses, ungraded labs, test credits, gym courses, orientations or other non-graded courses. COURSEWORK MUST MATCH YOUR OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS EXACTLY. Be certain to list your courses under the correct term, year, and class level at which they were taken. Department prefixes and course numbers must be precise replicas of those on your transcripts. REPORT TRANSFER COURSES UNDER THE SCHOOL AT WHICH THEY WERE ORIGINALLY TAKEN. Coursework must be reported under the actual school, and in some cases, the specific campus, it was taken at. Do NOT list coursework under the schools which the credit was transferred to; report all classes under the schools at which they were originally taken, and list them as they appear on the transcript from the original school. Do NOT list these courses again as transfer credits.Medical Terminology falls under English. See "CASPA Course Subjects". Look here for answers to questions about all course subjects and where CASPA reflects them. Your best bet for being familiar with CASPA is to read ALL of the FAQ, not just look for the answers to random questions. The answer to your questions may not be where you expect them to be. And once you've read it, read it again. You'll find stuff you missed the first time through.

Per the CASPA FAQ: CASPA WILL NOT CALCULATE YOUR GPA UNTIL YOUR APPLICATION HAS A STATUS OF “COMPLETE.” Submitted does not mean Complete. Verification doesn't happen until Complete.

I wouldn't agonize over it. Make a reasonable approximation and explain (simply) in the description. I've been salaried for so many years, pretty much ALL of my hours in CASPA were approximated (other than my shadowing). e.g., most of my HCE was in a hospital that's been closed more than 20 years. I certainly didn't keep paycheck records from that long ago either! In CASPA, I put the approximate hours, and along with the description of my duties, the last thing I included was, in parentheses, that the facility was no longer in operation. I would have been challenged to do more than find someone to confirm that I indeed worked there - confirming actual hours would have been impossible.

I did not. :)

What I told the interviewers wasn't one size fits all. It was a bit frustrating for me that the class affected most in my recent return for post-bacc courses was O.Chem. The first semester W was because my job changed and I couldn't get to class. The second semester my stepmother's health took a nosedive and she died. The third semester my mother was diagnosed with inoperable GBM (she died in less than 6 months). Aside from the emotional trauma, O.Chem wasn't something I could miss a lot of class and teach myself, and I knew that. Each time I was passing the course when I withdrew, and each time I had a conference with the professor to determine best course of action. One slightly snarky interviewer commented that having essentially taken it 4 times it was no wonder I made an A (I considered him a bit off base since I have a 3.94 in my last 80 hours of coursework). He went on to ask what my response would be if I was told I had to take O.Chem II. I just said I was sure I'd enjoy it; I actually enjoyed O.Chem I, but I was astute enough about myself to know I wasn't going to learn it well independently, nor could I miss a big block of the course and just pick up and go on as it builds on prior topics as you go. Some of the other multitude of Ws were for less specific reasons, although the ones for Calculus were because I kept ending up in a class with a prof for whom American English was clearly not their first language (probably not their 2nd either!). That was another subject I was not going to successfully learn on my own. I have much less difficulty with co-workers and clients now where we have a lot of common terminology, working together for a shared goal, and I've worked successfully in six countries with many multinational teams, but I know my shortcomings and stay aware of when it's going to be problematic due to my linguistic limitations!