Nursing School while I wait? Would it look bad to adcoms?

[wildPAbrendan]

In case you want the abbreviated post without my thought process, skip to the bold question at the bottom. Thanks in advance for being willing to read this and help me figure it out. You're a smart bunch of people, you make me want to be better.

 

Thinking about nursing school as a cheap way to increase knowledge of pathophysiology, pharmacology, and other ologies. It's only $6-8k for the 2 year programs, or $54k for a BSN in one year since I have a bachelors already. I have all the prereqs for both.

I would pursue an EMT career, but it is hard to justify spending $1000-1200 to take a course allowing me to make half of what I do as a CNA now. (EMTs you people rock and deserve more)

 

Resume:

I have been a CNA for 6 years now, 4 in a hospital, 1 in the ICU.

I applied to 9 PA programs for this application cycle and got 1 interview at Heritage University, WA but no acceptances. At this point the best ways to improve my app would be more community service, possibly taking more science classes (sGPA around 3.7-3.8 already), and a more varied/autonomous job history.

 

I know people go from RN-PA and it's not stigmatized that much. My real question is about the amount of PA school application cycles I would have to sacrifice. If I got into an accelerated BSN and only had to skip one cycle it wouldn't be a huge deal, and I could enjoy being a nurse for a few year, and think more about applying for ARNP programs (even though as of right now I much prefer the PA model and future outlook. But if I took 2 years to get an Associates of nursing I would be very tempted to keep applying to PA programs and possibly ditch the RN program on acceptance. Would being in the middle of a 2 year nursing program make an admissions committee automatically toss my application?

 

[DiggySRNA]

If I didn't know better I would've thought I wrote this exact post. I am in the same shoe. I applied to 9 programs myself, rejected by 6, still waiting on 3 more for possible acceptance/denial/interview. At this point, if I got denied by the rest I wouldn't be surprised.

 

I'm in fact in the process of applying to around 3 to 4 direct entry MSN and or ABSN programs as I wait. This is my back up plan. I'll be re-applying to PA school this cycle in case all else fails. I told myself I am willing to sacrifice 2 years to apply to PA school. Just 2 years and I'm calling it quits. I dedicated 7 years to get into PA school (junior year of high school to senior of year college). How I see it, if I'm not good enough for admission, I'm not good enough and I should think of an alternative plan.

[beattie228]

Nursing school isn't going to necessarily be a pockmark for you just as long as you're able to articulate why you want to be a PA and not a NP. Getting your RN will be a nice back up plan in terms of money and healthcare experience if your PA plans don't happen as quickly as you'd like. With that said, you have a good amount of HCE hours and a great GPA so you should seriously re-evaluate your application, your essay (can't stress that one enough!) and your Letters of Recommendations. You should also re-evaluate the schools you're applying to. It's really about finding the right programs who look for applicants that are similar to yourself. Without having seen your application or read your essay, I'm assuming there's either a red flag somewhere in your application or a lackluster essay that's standing in the way of you getting interview invitations and acceptance letters.

[wildPAbrendan]

Getting your RN will be a nice back up plan in terms of money and healthcare experience

I think you are right, if I can articulate this clearly that should be alright.

Without having seen my LORs I believe them to be all positive. For the essay, as with nearly everyone's I'm sure, it could have been better. But I felt pretty confident about the essay.

 

The big looming elephant in the room that I tried to explain away in the "Are there any discrepancies in your academic or work history you'd like to explain?" was that my GPA on completion of my AA was a 2.4. Every class after that was at least a 3.0 so for the schools who asked the above question I said I believe the change in grades from that point on shows my change in focus and maturity and my desire to pursue this path.

That is a little off topic for this thread but I'm always looking for advice. Thanks.

 

 

 

How I see it, if I'm not good enough for admission, I'm not good enough and I should think of an alternative plan.

 

I'm at war with that feeling every day. A PA I work with keeps reminding me that it's incredibly common for applicants to get in on their 2nd or 3rd try though. At MEDEX he said their motto was "3 strikes you're in"

That being said I'm like you, gotta keep moving, if not forward, then at least sideways. I had no idea direct entry MSN programs existed. As much as I would prefer PA over NP, 3 years from nothing to NP is tempting. It's hard to compare the curriculums from online but I guess they have to be adequate. And I don't know about you but I'll squeeze every last drop of knowledge out of it.

[BMEtoPA]

I posted this same exact topic a little over a year ago, I think. I had the EXACT same thoughts as you. I also desperately wanted to have a backup plan in motion so I wasn't wasting time and money on something that could very well not happen. So I ended up applying for nursing school and was completely cool with this plan. I put my PA pursuit on the back burner, (I accidentally got distracted taking a nursing pre-req). However, when I was accepted this past May to an incredible program, I literally only felt dread.

I tried to psych myself up for it, but it just felt so wrong to me. Yes, I could get pharm experience, some pathophys, and a well paying job with more patient care that would only help me get into a PA program eventually. However, for me, I'm dying to understand the science and to do the diagnosing. If I went to nursing school, I would just be continually pulled to focus my attention on something that is not that and that just felt like torture to me. To be even closer to what I want to do, but to be denied it? I'm struggling to put this feeling to words..... I don't know. Nursing school is so much work, that's more tangential than similar to PA goal. I would be working with nursing students who want to be nurses. That's their dream, and I wouldn't be able to relate. I don't know... it just didn't feel right. 

 

So, after 2 months of painful deliberation, I decided to put all my eggs in the PA basket and reorient myself on bettering my application. I also had a clearer head of how badly I wanted to be a PA. Instead of going to nursing school, I would have the time to take more advanced science electives, retake a course I got a B in. Get more diverse CNA/tech experience. Shadow more. In one year, you can really do a lot of improvements. I looked at different schools and found where I'd be most competitive. And you know what, I got into PA school 3 months later. 

 

This is just my story and my feelings on nursing. But, I think what you should really be focusing on is what you truly want to do. Why is it you want to be a PA? Is anything else enough? 

 

 

[wildPAbrendan]

 

So, after 2 months of painful deliberation, I decided to put all my eggs in the PA basket and reorient myself on bettering my application. I also had a clearer head of how badly I wanted to be a PA. Instead of going to nursing school, I would have the time to take more advanced science electives, retake a course I got a B in. Get more diverse CNA/tech experience. Shadow more. In one year, you can really do a lot of improvements. I looked at different schools and found where I'd be most competitive. And you know what, I got into PA school 3 months later. 

 

This is just my story and my feelings on nursing. But, I think what you should really be focusing on is what you truly want to do. Why is it you want to be a PA? Is anything else enough? 

When you put it like that I don't think anything else IS enough. It's hard to fight that impatience sometimes but I decided to sign up for Ochem this Spring and I'll move on to more science courses or retaking courses with the lowest grade. I just listened to a Will Smith interview in which he said "There's no reason to have a plan B, it just distracts from plan A." Within reason I think he has a point.

 

Thanks everyone.

[student 123456]

I would suggest having others read your essay. I am a current PA-S, on break so if you want I would be willing to give pointers. I feel that my essay really strengthened my app- I was a below average applicant and got 8/14 interviews. Also, make sure you are applying to the right programs. So many spend years applying because they want Duke... yes it is a great school but any school that is accredited with good PANCE rates will make you a PA at the end of the day. You will get a vibe wherever you interview as to if its right for you.