mtorr_ca Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Hi Everyone, Long story short, I have been trying to find a primary care office to shadow a PA and none of the offices either allow for it or simply don't call me back. I have been overly persistent trying to get more shadowing in and specifically primary care. My shadowing experience is in surgery, urgent care, ER, and the burn unit. I found one place that would take me to shadow, but will charge me $500 to shadow....but, they don't have a PA available to shadow...He has a student currently with him. They offered I shadow the doctor. For $500 is this worth it? OR is it just a waste of time and money to shadow the doc? I'm at a cross-roads on this one.. Any advice would be great! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlynneg Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 I only shadowed about 50 hours or so with 2 surgical PAs (in the office and rounding on patients) and I got accepted to PA school. Unless a program you are applying to has specific hours and requirements as to who you shadow, I don't think I would worry about it. When I interviewed for PA school I did touch in the fact that I reached out to 5 primary care PA without success. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtorr_ca Posted April 27, 2017 Author Share Posted April 27, 2017 I only shadowed about 50 hours or so with 2 surgical PAs (in the office and rounding on patients) and I got accepted to PA school. Unless a program you are applying to has specific hours and requirements as to who you shadow, I don't think I would worry about it. When I interviewed for PA school I did touch in the fact that I reached out to 5 primary care PA without success. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk I've been so bummed about this because I've been calling places like crazy! I will remember that in my next interviews. I am reapplying this cycle. I interviewed at 5 programs last cycle and got waitlisted at 2 programs. I'm not betting on getting into those programs. When you interviewed did you know what specialty you wanted to work in? I currently work at an urgent care, but I have no idea what I want to do in the future, in terms of specialty, etc. Can I respectfully say that in an interview? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryebread203 Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Hi Everyone, Long story short, I have been trying to find a primary care office to shadow a PA and none of the offices either allow for it or simply don't call me back. I have been overly persistent trying to get more shadowing in and specifically primary care. My shadowing experience is in surgery, urgent care, ER, and the burn unit. I found one place that would take me to shadow, but will charge me $500 to shadow....but, they don't have a PA available to shadow...He has a student currently with him. They offered I shadow the doctor. For $500 is this worth it? OR is it just a waste of time and money to shadow the doc? I'm at a cross-roads on this one.. Any advice would be great! Thanks. No, dont pay to shadow. Look somewhere else, keep shadowing in the departments you have access to. PCE and HCE matter much more than shadowing hours. Focus on maximizing those hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlynneg Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 I've been so bummed about this because I've been calling places like crazy! I will remember that in my next interviews. I am reapplying this cycle. I interviewed at 5 programs last cycle and got waitlisted at 2 programs. I'm not betting on getting into those programs. When you interviewed did you know what specialty you wanted to work in? I currently work at an urgent care, but I have no idea what I want to do in the future, in terms of specialty, etc. Can I respectfully say that in an interview?I have no idea what area I want to work in... my background is 13 years in the operating room at a large hospital but don't plan to work in the operating room. I'm currently in PA school so it's still unknown as to where my path will lead me. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlynneg Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Of course you can respectfully say you don't know what area you want to work in. During school you will be exposed to many areas. I said during my interview that I'm keeping my options open as to what area will interest me the most. Keep your focus on your personal statement, HCE, grades, and interviewing ....everything else is secondary. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtorr_ca Posted April 27, 2017 Author Share Posted April 27, 2017 Of course you can respectfully say you don't know what area you want to work in. During school you will be exposed to many areas. I said during my interview that I'm keeping my options open as to what area will interest me the most. Keep your focus on your personal statement, HCE, grades, and interviewing ....everything else is secondary. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk Thank you! What program at you at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlynneg Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Thank you! What program at you at? University of Washington MEDEX Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyNichiavelli Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Do NOT pay $500 to shadow anyone. That's ludicrous and I can't believe that they would charge you that. Have you tried connecting with PAs in your area on LinkedIn and messaging them? I was able to find 2 shadowing opportunities that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Yeah, no. Unless he/she is training you to be their personal MA, I'd walk away from that opportunity. Do you not know what $500 can do for you? Allow you to apply to 3-4 programs lol. As hard it may be to find a PA to shadow, never ever pay to stand around and observe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsman89 Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 My lord. Like Diggy said, use the money more wisely, apply to more programs. I'm not sure of your background or the requirements of the programs your looking at but I hope you have also satisfied the pce\hce requirements. That is FAR more crucial to acceptance than shadowing hours. Also, shadow an MD or NP if you can't find any PAs. Or volunteer somewhere where, and work it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optimistic3 Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 That is insane. Do NOT pay them to shadow! Shame on them for charging at all and especially that much. It seems like you have plenty of shadowing already. I would focus on another aspect of your application if I were you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panglossian Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Have you tried asking the PAs you have previously shadowed if they have colleagues in primary care they could connect you with? Networking can really help in these types of situations. Do not pay $500 to shadow a doctor. That is ridiculous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtorr_ca Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 University of Washington MEDEX Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk Oh my! That is my dream school! Congratulations! I interviewed up there last September and unfortunately didn't get in. I'm going to reapply this cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA-C-to-be Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Have you only been calling these offices? That may be part of the problem, so often people don't return phone calls, especially when they don't really have anything to gain from doing so. Show up in person, I literally went door to door to dozens of offices and asked to speak to the office manager about it if possible. Many places took down my contact information and didn't call me, I took my resume into some offices too but eventually got in with a great primary care office with multiple PAs to shadow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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