Do you REALLY want to be a PA?

[Fut. PA-C]

From my understanding, one of the main concerns with older applicants is that it has been a while since they have been in school full-time. Many of the PAs I shadowed who enrolled in PA school at an older age even admitted how they struggled in the beginning and had to "teach themselves how to study again". Many programs ultimately seem to prioritize maintaining high PANCE rates as one of their main goals. While a fresh grad might not be as experienced in the healthcare field as the older applicants, they may be a lower risk for the program in terms of academic performance.

[JohnnyM2]

Elsewhere on the forum is a thread about the difficulties faced by married applicants with children. It is very enlightening to read. I think PA school offers some special difficulties for grad students compared to other grad schools. Lecture hours are long. Study requirements can be onerous and rotations can mean even less time with family, particularly if they require traveling a long distance. In short, PA school can really upset normal family life and interactions which adds to the stress. Older applicants are more likely to be married, have multiple children and an established family routine. Moving spouse and children, plus the stress of school and taking on significant debt, all while forgoing income, can be just too much. I suspect that many experienced EMTs might want to become PAs but are restricted by insurmountable financial and family issues. Perhaps that helps explain why so many applicants are younger and schools are willing to take applicants with less HCE.

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

 

[db_pavnp]

Let me suggest another demographic change in the past 20 years that has impacted the ability of the mid 30's applicant to attend PA school.  We get married a lot later and we have kids a lot later.  I believe the stats are now first kid average age for females is 32 and males is 36.  The paramedics, rn's, and rt's with 10 years of experience do not have kids entering high school, they are HAVING kids.  I fit in exactly this category and it had a big impact on my decision making process.  PA programs push the fact that they will annihilate your family too hard and too often.  The sweet spot really is mid-20's now for a BS, prereqs, and a couple years of HCE.

[cg02186]

Just throwing out demographics for our class for comparisons. Our class average age is 25 with about 2,950 hours HCE and GPA average of 3.5. We have 44 females and 6 males and about 35 of us are either married or in a committed relationship. We also have 5 mothers. I personally am a guy and my wife gave birth to our first daughter during finals week of my first semester. I still have maintained a GPA of 3.6 and got a 4.0 last semester. I'm 24 years old and think I made the perfect choice in my profession and when I decided to get married and have kids. It all depends on what you want out of life and I don't think any one else can tell you what's best for you. I love the fact that by the time I'm 30 I'll be married, kids, a stable career where I'm making close to $100,000 if not a little more, and practicing medicine at a high level. I think it all depends on the individual and personally believe that if you're not 1000% sure you want to be an MD you shouldn't go. The time commitment, debt, responsibility, etc. should not be something you have to be convinced about. Hope this post helps someone whose in there low-mid 20s and are interested in PA school along with a family and kids.

[pajourney]

If this helps anyone, I have a blog post that may help you iron out the real reasons you want to become a PA. It is a good read to prepare for questions about this in your CASPA essay and interviews.

 

http://pajourney.com/2015/01/07/why-do-you-want-to-become-a-physician-assistant/

[Krystlee]

2016 AASPA Pre-PA Meeting The American Association of Surgical Physician Assistants is proud to be one of the first professional PA organizations to host seminars specifically tailored to helping people realize their dreams of becoming a Physician Assistant. You will spend 3-4 hours with thought leaders in the PA profession learning specific information to strengthen your PA application and interview. We know what admission committees want to hear! You will meet PAs who are serving or who have served on PA Program admission committees from a variety of different programs.

 

Saturday January 23, 2016 4:00–7:00 pm

Orlando, Florida Location: DoubleTree Orlando Airport 5555 Hazeltine National Dr Orlando, Florida, 32812

Price $65.00

[Neurobics]

I love the fact that PAs can work part time and still make a comfortable living salary above the national median, especially if in a high paying field like dermatology.

 

And the fact that we can be generalists and still specialize with the freedom to move around specialties. My favs are dermatology, neurology, psychiatry, cardiology, and endocrinology, I think. 

 

I considered majoring in physiology before I fell in love with physics and math but realized I don't want to do that for a living. Neuroscience is cool too. 

[pa*prika]

Thanks for that post Rev, it was a breath of fresh air!

[detman]

I agree that there should be expectations that incoming PA students have a foundational knowledge in health care and where they fit in the scheme of a team-based system. One of my favorite instructors was a PA by the age of 22. She is an extremely dedicated person throughout her educational pursuits and now has become one of the most respected PA specialists in the state. What she lacked in "knowing all the in-and-outs" of medicine, she made up for in ferocious dedication to her schooling and her career. It would be a disservice to the profession to exclude such young students from PA programs.

 

Of course, you are speaking in general terms and I used a very specific example so maybe we can meet somewhere in the middle. We should expect that incoming PA students, especially when they're young, that they have been exposed to the health care system in some form as well as plenty of shadowing experience to get a better picture of what a PA truly is. However, we cannot disregard younger students from their lack of in-depth experience in medicine as it can be safe to say that what they may lack in years and years of medical know-how they make up for in their resilience and persistent resolve to become the best in what they do.