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HCE feedback (dietary aide)


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Hello all! New to the forums :) I've searched for this topic that I'm about to ask about and I didn't really see any concrete answers for my specific situation (though I think I may know the answer to this question already), but here goes:

 

So my track for my undergrad degree is currently dietetics, but after some deep soul searching, I've realized that this track is not for me and I'll be switching it to allied health after this fall semester so I can begin doing pre-reqs for PA school. Because I was on the track for dietetics for the last 4 years or so, I have a combined total of a little over 2 years of working in hospitals as a dietary aide in two different major hospitals. I primarily work with patients on many different diets and I also some experience with tube feedings (very elementary experience, mind - like knowing which tube feeding does what and how many liters or can to send for a certain goal rate).

 

The schools that I'm thinking to applying to after my undergrad do not require healthcare experience, but it is strongly preferred. If push came to shove, I could try to transfer out of the dietary within the next few months into phlebotomy for some hands-on HCE, but it would really suck if my dietary aide experience didn't matter at all. Do you think that will be the case when I apply to these programs? I'm not sorry for that experience - if anything, being a dietary aide is what led me to wanting to work in heathcare in the first place, but I still would like that it counted for SOMETHING.

 

Thank you for any feedback!

 

 

 

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Definitely use your dietary aide experience to your advantage but honestly, no it's not the kind of HCE most schools are looking for or consider competitive. Even though the schools you plan to apply to don't require HCE know that most competitive applicants will have solid, hands on HCE which leaves you at a disadvantage. For this reason I highly recommend looking for more hands on experience and phlebotomy still wouldn't be my first choice.

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Don't wait for push come to shove, start racking up HCE now while you are still on schedule for your own application timeline.  As MT2PA has mentioned, though a school may not require HCE, the most qualified applicants will have years of experience as nurses, medics, techs, etc.  You have to place yourself in an adcom's place and ask why pick you among a pool of very highly qualified applicants.  Don't forget that you are stepping into an incredibly competitive environment with many more applicants than seats.

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You should absolutely use it, especially if it's what made you want to work in healthcare in a different capacity. Understanding how a sick or recovering patient gets nourishment will be valuable at some point down the road. That said, HCE is better when it involves a certain level of responsibility for patient outcomes. I don't think phlebotomy is any better than dietary in that respect. For where you are in your schooling and the contacts you undoubtedly have at the hospitals... I think you might be better off staying in dietary while taking an EMT course and then transferring to the ED as an aide.

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