daisies112 Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Hello! Does anyone know of some ways of getting patient care experience hours without doing something that requires taking classes and certification (ex. nurse, CNA, EMT, etc. - all requiring classes and certifications)? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nygirl25 Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 At my local hospital, I work as a Patient Care Technician/Associate (PCT or PCA). This required a week of training done as an orientation week prior to starting on the floor I was hired to work on. I got this job with no medical experience other than volunteering at a hospital (mostly in transport, greeting, etc). There is a lot of patient contact as a PCT, you take vitals, finger sticks, and assist with activities of daily living. I would check and see if they have any opportunities similar to this at your local hospital! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MedLib42 Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 A lot of this will depend on the state you live in, as some positions will require certifications in some states whereas in other areas they may be able to train you on the job. For example, patient care tech (as someone mentioned above) can be an on-the-job trained position, but in the state I currently live in, patient care techs are actually certified EMTs or CNAs with a wider range of job duties. This will also depend on the schools you're applying to. Some schools require or prefer the traditional certified, paid positions (EMT, CNA, etc) while others are willing to accept a much wider range of positions (including those with more limited patient contact). So do your research beforehand and make sure the HCE path you choose is accepted by the schools you're looking to apply to: Some careers you might look into that could potentially train/certify you on the job (depending on your state) are: - Patient Care Tech (as someone else mentioned) - Medical Assistant - Home health care aide / caregiver - Phlebotomy - Dental assistant (not always accepted by all schools as HCE) - Optometrist Assistant Careers that rarely (if ever) require a certification (and that's pretty universal): - Chiropractic assistant (not always considered acceptable HCE) - Physical Therapy Tech (not assistant, but tech) - Scribe (some schools love this as HCE, some won't accept it) - Hospice volunteer (some are allowed patient contact, which makes this a great position IF your school allows volunteering to count as HCE) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inspired Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 As stated by MedLib42, Physical Therapy Tech is an option that does not require a certification - at least my position did not. My bachelor's degree is in Exercise Science which helped for an easy transition, however I am working with people from all different types of backgrounds. I'm not sure if other offices work similarly, but I'm currently involved with a ton of one-on-one contact with patients as well as contacting insurance companies and clerical work (filing, making charts, etc.). Majority of my time is spent with patients. From my communication with schools, this an acceptable form of HCE. Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyM2 Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Scribe is one of the few positions where MOST of your colleagues will be pre-med or pre-PA. Ideally, you want an ER scribe program where you are with the doc while s/he is seeing patients, charting, ordering the tests and meds they want, etc. In this job you will be the doc's assistant throughout the shift and will see and learn a lot more than if you just transcribe notes at the nurse's station. I know at least a dozen people who have been scribes who got into PA school and were very well prepared. Also, I don't think lab tech was previously mentioned and that is another very good learning experience. Again, though, check with your schools. Sent from my Kindle Fire HDX using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisies112 Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thank you so much for the information. I was looking toward the scribe route but here in Texas it looks like you have to be a medical assistant to be one! I will keep searching though! Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shay14 Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thank you so much for the information. I was looking toward the scribe route but here in Texas it looks like you have to be a medical assistant to be one! I will keep searching though! Thanks again! Hey! I was a scribe in San Antonio my senior year in college. So there are companies that don't require you to have a degree/certification. I was with ProScribe and another company is PhysAssist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 You do not have to be an MA to scribe in TX. Scribe or volunteer. Or do a 2 week CNA course. Those are quickest routes. I recommend CNA but perhaps I am biased since that's what I did. A lot of people do EMT also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoopeda Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Scribing can be wicked. In my neck of the woods, scribe positions are so competitive, they can literally do whatever they want with you. 12-hour shifts, 2 year commitment (if you want an LOR out of the deal, lots of nights, and minimum wage. All that, and there were still 30 applicants for every position, last I looked into it! So many other excellent ways to get experience--especially since many schools won't accept scribing as valid HCE. It would be worth confirming the state of scribe-dom in your area, but don't be dissuaded by a 3-week CNA or 3-month EMT-B training. You'll likely get better experience, better pay, and overall better training in one of these latter two fields. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febrifuge Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Hello! Does anyone know of some ways of getting patient care experience hours without doing something that requires taking classes and certification (ex. nurse, CNA, EMT, etc. - all requiring classes and certifications)? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! I truly don't intend to poop on your parade, but if we turn this around a little bit, we could ask: would you want one of your parents or grandparents going to a clinic or hospital where someone cared for them who was not in some way certified, educated, and vetted? Someone who didn't on some level have to prove they were ready and knew what they were doing? Someone who didn't have something to lose by screwing up? The point being, there are no (good) shortcuts. And there's a reason for that. I got EMT-Basic certified in one summer semester, and that was a great introduction to scratching the surface of real medicine. If you're not willing to dedicate 8 weeks or whatever, what does that say about the quality of the experience you'll gain, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoopeda Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I truly don't intend to poop on your parade, but if we turn this around a little bit, we could ask: would you want one of your parents or grandparents going to a clinic or hospital where someone cared for them who was not in some way certified, educated, and vetted? Someone who didn't on some level have to prove they were ready and knew what they were doing? Someone who didn't have something to lose by screwing up? The point being, there are no (good) shortcuts. And there's a reason for that. I got EMT-Basic certified in one summer semester, and that was a great introduction to scratching the surface of real medicine. If you're not willing to dedicate 8 weeks or whatever, what does that say about the quality of the experience you'll gain, right? I think this conversation is getting deep. The origins of the profession were rooted in a solution to practitioners who had already accumulated significant medical experience and had no legal way to reintegrate into the medical workplace and apply their advanced skills. So the original applicants to the first PA programs wouldn't have viewed HCE as a pre-req; applicants who had it simply got in. Nowadays, there is a second breed of applicant--those who set their sites on a PA career before (in a lot of cases) even beginning the HCE portion of the pre-PA training. These applicants--often college students--view HCE as a prerequisite, and the case can be made for some of these applicants that they're simply looking to take the shortcut around medical school. Now that the PA profession is so fashionable, there are many reasons (beyond the less flattering one, just mentioned) that the PA profession has become more of a destination and less of a convenient solution for folks who have (easily) already filled the HCE portion of the PA admissions requirements. So in response to Febr: true, there are no good shortcuts--unless that shortcut doesn't undermine the ultimate goal of quality practice (in which case, we call that "efficiency"). Is the PA career in and of itself a "shortcut" for many applicants? Absolutely. If an accredited program with excellent "stats" requiring minimal (if any) HCE cranks out a bunch of quality practitioners, how does that affect the profession and the face of healthcare in the US? I'm not sure I know the full answer, but it's a great debate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HealthLady Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I have started a Google search for fast track CNA programs in the RI area. Would folks mind sharing the names of the 2 week CNA training programs that they have attended? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_Sheridan Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Well Thanks a lot for sharing this thread. My sister is looking for a similar concern and I have to recommend this post to her now. I am sure it will help her :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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