CByersPAC Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 An important (possibly) current limitation to PA practice is that it is very difficult under the current laws to work for oneself doing medicine. That is not true for nurse practitioners in many states, and likely to become less true in the near future. As a young person, he may not realize that he may, at some point, want to work for himself. That's the main door I see closing with that career choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 What is the rush? He should get a bachelor's degree and work in healthcare while going to school. Then he might get into PA school right away, and only "lose" 2-3 years. He does not sound like he is thinking about the tremendous responsibility of this job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjwasco Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 "might get into PA school" In my mind, it isn't the additional years to complete, it is the statistical likelihood of being accepted into a program. The combination of College GPA, HCE, GRE results, personal statement and hundreds of applicants for 30 positions stack the odds against many qualified applicants to traditional programs. Applying as a high school student the requirements are a very good GPA and decent personal statement. HCE is extra credit. There are many less applicants for those 30 positions. The GPA for entry to a 5 year program is somewhat indicative of the responsibility and maturity of the applicant (not guaranteed, but indicative). Besides, college freshman must choose from many careers that carry with it a tremendous amount of responsibility when they start working. Heck, when entering the military right out of high school the person is putting his own life and that of his fellow soldiers at grave risk. College itself is part of the maturation process. After 5 years of school if the student doesn't realize the responsibilities of the job another 2 years wouldn't make a difference. During the 5 years if the student realizes he made a mistake, he can easily change programs and lose a couple years. The inverse of deciding to become a PA after graduating is no where near as easily accomplished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db_pavnp Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 See what degree the dual degree track offers. Ours is a straight bio degree. Students occasionally leave the PA track to finish out their undergrad degree to go to medical, dental, vet or nursing school. Like this SHU is saying, it depends on the program. You do not want to get trapped in a 6-8 year "professional" program that neglects to grant a BS and instead traps students for the duration or they leave with next to nothing. Someone mentioned a 3+3 PT program earlier - big risk, bad program, stay away. There was a recent post by a pharmacy student with maybe 3-4 years of pharmacy school credits and they wanted to leave - useless credits and debt. I would also suggest any BSN that tricks students into taking "applied health science" versions of all the core material is also a bad idea. Watch out for scam programs that you have to finish or you are left with nothing. A 2 year do-or-die program is one thing, but locking high school kids into 8 year doctorates is ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjwasco Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Not sure where you got 6 to 8 year program from a discussion about 5 year PA programs, but picking a quality school is all part of the process. No matter what school you go to, no matter what you major in, you need to do your research. There are millions of students who went to school and dropped out early with only horrendous student loans to show for it. There are hundreds of for profit universities whose only purpose in life is to make a profit for the investors. School is no different than anything else, buyer beware. Most likely parents are still involved in a high school senior's life so they aren't going it alone. But again we are talking over achievers so likely they know how to do research and have counselors assisting them. But, I still contend that a 5 year program can be very advantageous for the student that does their do diligence. They can use numerous web sites like college navigator that presents unbiased statistics collected by the government. Look at the retentivity of freshmen fair predictor of success for the entering freshmen. Graduation rates, years that it took to graduate, costs... it's all available to the college applicant, probably much more so than those going for a masters degree. If applying for a PA look at the PANCE data. Find out what the retentivity rate of the program is, and when students typically leave a program. IF the school isn't forthcoming that is an indicator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db_pavnp Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Not sure where you got 6 to 8 year program from a discussion about 5 year PA programs, but picking a quality school is all part of the process. They are an example of the booby trap one can get into, obviously. Any given 5 yr PA program can have the same pitfalls of a 6 yr PT program, don't you think? If the credits are nontransferable, I wouldn't touch it. That's not a university, that is a scam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald66 Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Ok, visited PA schools over April break and this is our list going into senior year...... 1) Springfield College 2) Quinnipiac 3) Wagner Next step, picking 3 CT nursing schools as backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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