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What is PA school like?


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Hello all,

 

I have been wanting to be a PA for a very long time. I love medicine. I started my path as a nursing student.I work very hard,always make the deans list,  I'm one of the best students when it comes to tests and the actual studies(always top of my class when others are struggling to even pass) . Here is where my situation is turning really bad. This semester i have had the clinical instructor from nightmare on elm street. She has berated me in front of doctors,nurses, patients,etc. She has singled me out and wrote me up on every skill ive learned so far(even though she didnt see me perform any of them).In her report she said that she spends a time answering "many questions" i have. I have not asked her many questions. She made up stuff she didnt even see me not do. I stayed quiet and did hours of remediation.Other students approached me and told me they noticed she was singling me out. Well I'm sad to say that i was too afraid to ask for clarification on a HW and i was told I will fail the class for one single mistake i made under stress ( i have been so crushed by the humiliation and bullying). My question is, what is what is PA school like? I know nurses eat their young but what is the PA culture like?Is there even a little respect for each other and room for growth? Is curiosity encouraged or frowned upon?

 

Any advice or answers will be greatly appreciated from you ladies and gentlemen. I haven't slept in two days.I cant stop looking for another school or option. 

 

PS I'm in my late 20's. Am I getting too old for this field? Would schools actually accept me if I do their pre reqs and other requirements?

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Nurses are well known for this. From my experience, it is much less common in PA school. You aren't too old for PA school.

 

I will say this - it sounds like you are a top notch student. Is it possible that this nurse sees how good you are and knows that the only way to push you is personally? There are many ways wherein a student can shine. Good grades, excellent technical skills, good bedside manner, and a constitution built to handle the unfair things in medicine. Could it be that this nurse is trying to teach you that latter part? Could it be that she's getting you ready for the pediatric code that you will work ten ways from Sunday without any success? Or the three pedi-codes in a row? Sometimes a person not only needs academic prowess and fine tuned skills but also a thick skin and a constitution that can take whatever Mr. Murphy has to give in order to make it in medicine. You may yet have that to learn and this person is teaching that to you the best way they know how. I say you ought to prove to this nurse that you have what it takes to go the distance even if your preceptor is being unfair. Show them what you are really made of.

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1: PA school is hell.

2: Administrators (MBAs) eat their PAs. Some MDs destroy their PAs because...type A personality and borderline psychopath.

3: You're barely old enough to rent a car.

 

 

Disclaimer: I'm not a PA so my statements may or may not be valid.

While it is true that administrators can make life difficult and some docs are a PITA, it's not the norm.

 

PA school itself is the absolute hardest thing I've ever had to do but it is among my top 6 greatest personal accomplishments (#1 being marrying my wife, #2-5 being each of my children). It is 2 years of the most intense studying anyone can do, no personal life, missed events and milestones, sacrifice after sacrifice... But in the end it was worth everything I gave up to be able to say, "I saved his life."

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1. You're not too old. I was at least 30 years earlier when I started PA school.

 

2. PA programs have personalities, like people; the people who work there set them. The school I went to and the one I work for now both are not easy, but are supportive. Besides having a healthy shot at passing the PANCE, that's all a student can ask for.

 

3. The vast majority of people in this world fall in the +/- 3 sigma from the mean. Some are at the jerky end and some aren't. Don't assume everyone in the work is a jerk, but don't be surprised if you spot one. If you can't get away from him or her, cooperate and graduate. THEN you can get away. Remember karma; most people get their just rewards at some point.

 

4. Deal with life as it comes. Change your attitude or change your job. Eventually you will likely end up somewhere you like being.

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PS I'm in my late 20's. Am I getting too old for this field? Would schools actually accept me if I do their pre reqs and other requirements?

We have a lot of students in their 40s, 30s, and late 20s in our PA class. I should mention that the majority of my class is married or has a significant other. A lot of them have kids and a family to take care of as well. You're not even close to being considered in the "am I too old for this" category.

 

FYI, comparing nursing school to PA school is like comparing a high school chemistry class to a college biochemistry class. You'll be busy in both programs, but the material is on a completely different level. Our professors treat us good and they are our future colleagues. Preceptors are hit or miss from what I hear. They're volunteering their time to help you so most of the time they're happy to help you learn.

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OP:

I was 29 when I started my PA program back in the day. Our oldest class member was 60. It's never too late!

Yes, there are going to be psycho people who single you out and try to make your life hell. It doesn't stop after PA school. Overcome it, learn from it, and keep going. Also know that it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the miserable people who feel "better" about themselves for tearing you down because that's the only time in life that they have any power over others. And they use it for evil. 

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Hands down the hardest thing I've done. My wife and kids forgot what I looked like for the better part of last year. I am in my clinical year now and I felt like I knew nothing at the beginning of my first rotation. Now that I have had time to settle I have started to piece together the massive amount of information that is stored in my head into useful information for my patients.

Kinda like the hunger games without the killing though of course. ;-) it's a wild ride. Just make sure to hold on tight.

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Nurses, for the most part, suck. What you describe was my life in perpetuity as a RN, even as I was starting to earn my masters in nursing. Nursing undergrad was probably the worst period of my life. Honestly, I was never quite the same. I completely get where you are coming from. Huge reason why I left is because of this type of BS. As a PA you are apart of the medical community which looks after their own. There are a few people out there who haven't learned the unwritten rule yet, but most get it. I'm much happier now. I don't have constant anxiety about people out to get me. Well, sometimes I do, but that is my own little PTSD. Just always remember how you felt in this moment and swear when you teach a student one day you'll have some empathy.

 

PS. I didn't think PA school was that hard. Did it require hard work? Yes, but I had a good time and did pretty well.

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While it is true that administrators can make life difficult and some docs are a PITA, it's not the norm.

 

PA school itself is the absolute hardest thing I've ever had to do but it is among my top 6 greatest personal accomplishments (#1 being marrying my wife, #2-5 being each of my children). It is 2 years of the most intense studying anyone can do, no personal life, missed events and milestones, sacrifice after sacrifice... But in the end it was worth everything I gave up to be able to say, "I saved his life."

Amen Brother!

 

Oh BTW OP, you are not too old. I was in my mid/late 30s when I graduated... I say go for it!

 

Sent from my S5 Active...Like you care...

 

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