RNPA93 Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Hey everybody, I have wanted be a PA for a while now, especially after working on a trauma floor and seeing that the trauma team consisted of mostly PAs, (who were pretty awesome by the way.) I am a registered nurse right now, currently doing RN to BSN. I posted this question on a nursing forum and was basically told to go away, sooo... has anyone done the PA program after first doing nursing? I have heard the transition may be difficult due to the nursing process being pounded into our heads and having a nursing perspective on things rather than a PA perspective. Are there any nurses out there who also want to be PA's? I would appreciate and welcome any input. Thank you! Haley Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNPA93 Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Hey everybody, I have wanted be a PA for a while now, especially after working on a trauma floor and seeing that the trauma team consisted of mostly PAs, (who were pretty awesome by the way.) I am a registered nurse right now, currently doing RN to BSN. I posted this question on a nursing forum and was basically told to go away, sooo... has anyone done the PA program after first doing nursing? I have heard the transition may be difficult due to the nursing process being pounded into our heads and having a nursing perspective on things rather than a PA perspective. Are there any nurses out there who also want to be PA's? I would appreciate and welcome any input. Thank you! Haley Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk Also, please do not tell me to do nurse practitioner instead, I have already had that discussion multiple times. :) Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACrankset Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 I have heard of a few people doing this and worked with a couple. Although the ones I work with never worked as a nurse. It is a legitimate choice to go from RN to PA, I think the only issue you may face is being prepared to answer the why not NP question. It sounds like you already know you don't want to do that though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8404PA Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 There's 2 nurses (both BSN) that I know of in my program, one was an ICU nurse for 10 years 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cg02186 Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 I worked with several PAs in the emergency department that were nurses first. They love it and said they felt like they got a better medical education with PA. While NPs are doing great politically there are still quite a bit that prefer the PA model. I'm rotating now in the ICU and had a consult with a cardiology NP and while we were talking she said she tells every student that they should go the PA route instead because it just teaches you so much more about medicine. Both careers are good but you are definitely not alone in nurses going PA. One of our professors loves when RNs apply to the program. Good luck! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankB Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 I was an ICU nurse for 9+ years. Currently in my 2nd year of PA school doing rotations now. I'm glad I went the PA route, but taking 2 years without pay is a little painful compared to working and going to NP school(tuition is cheap compared to 2 years salary). I have worked with PAs who were RNs. Best of both worlds for inpatient medicine. You know both sides and can mediate well. Finish the BSN. Avoid online BS programs like U of phoenix that cost way too much and not likely to be accepted. BSN of nursing should give you the vast majority of you prereq's. My BSN classes and RN prereqs were the exact same as PA school. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
needmorecoffee Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 I shadowed a CV Surgery PA for 6 months who was a nurse prior to going to PA school. He was actually accepted into NP school but then chose to go the PA route because he knew he wanted to go into surgery (not that there has never been a NP in the OR). He is an excellent clinician; his understanding of physiology and science, coupled with his bedside manner, was profoundly influential. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren R Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 I know a nurse who went to PA school. She got into school pretty easily due to her background. I think you'll be ahead of the game with medical knowledge upon arrival to PA school. Really, PA school is hard for anyone so that is besides the point. You'll be fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 20, 2017 Moderator Share Posted January 20, 2017 probably 1/3 of my class was RNs in the early 90s. it's a great background for PA school. good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconisnewt Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Ahhh reading this thread makes me happy. Im currently an RN and during my last sem of nursing I decided to try for PA school. The PA forums are pretty bare about RNs going the PA route. This gives me hope, for some reason I thought us RNs would be looked down on as if we were abandoning our field or putting down NPs...which Im not btw 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyFunturePA Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 On 1/9/2017 at 8:43 PM, FrankB said: I was an ICU nurse for 9+ years. Currently in my 2nd year of PA school doing rotations now. I'm glad I went the PA route, but taking 2 years without pay is a little painful compared to working and going to NP school(tuition is cheap compared to 2 years salary). I have worked with PAs who were RNs. Best of both worlds for inpatient medicine. You know both sides and can mediate well. Finish the BSN. Avoid online BS programs like U of phoenix that cost way too much and not likely to be accepted. BSN of nursing should give you the vast majority of you prereq's. My BSN classes and RN prereqs were the exact same as PA school. I am also rn want to go pa school because more Medical knowledge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdr8908 Posted February 1, 2023 Share Posted February 1, 2023 I'm an RN currently waitlisted and starting my 4th cycle applying to PA school. It's been a rough road, but I'm in the same boat as you guys. I want to medical knowledge you get in PA school. I have also heard a lot of the NPs I've worked with and shadowed recommend that I become a PA instead. NP school is just a build of what we already learned in nursing school and they said it wasn't very beneficial in practice. It was more paper-writing than anything. But a lot of programs I'm interviewing for are essentially saying I SHOULD apply to NP school because it's less competitive and easier, which I get a little irritated about. How did you guys angle your essays? I've written four and proofreaders say that it comes off as me putting the NP profession down because I'm wanting to learn medicine instead of advance nursing, which it doesn't read that way to me and of course not my intention. I've also been practicing for 7+ years and I've had to retake a lot of my undergrad classes which has been annoying. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAdmission Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 I had RNs in my class in PA school and they did fine. One kept her nursing license active and I used to see her in the hospital every now and then pulling an RN shift because the travel RNs were getting paid around $100/hr. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaminIngo Posted February 3, 2023 Share Posted February 3, 2023 On 2/1/2023 at 7:37 AM, jdr8908 said: How did you guys angle your essays? I've written four and proofreaders say that it comes off as me putting the NP profession down because I'm wanting to learn medicine instead of advance nursing, which it doesn't read that way to me and of course not my intention. I've also been practicing for 7+ years and I've had to retake a lot of my undergrad classes which has been annoying. lol I was an RN for five years before I started PA school. In my essay I only talked about why I wanted to be a PA, not why I chose PA over NP. But when asked about it during my interview, I made sure to say that all of the NPs I worked with were total rockstars but I really couldn’t see myself taking any more nursing theory classes and would rather take additional science classes. I also mentioned that I am interested in many different specialties and didn’t want to choose a specific patient population like NPs do. It’s very hard to explain why PA over NP without sounding like you are putting down NPs, even if that’s not your intention! Hope that helps and good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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