sushithefish

I agree in that PA work hours will depend on specialty, location, and yourself. Same goes for MD. Where I work, the PAs pretty much work the same hours as MDs. However as a PA, school will only take 2 years and there's no residency, so in a way you are getting more personal time. Have you done any direct patient care, volunteering, shadowing PAs/MDs, GRE? If not, I would start there. You probably have taken many of the pre reqs, but most likely you will need to take anatomy and physiology I and II, medical terminology, a psychology class, etc. Schools vary in pre-reqs so you should look u

This is based on reading the topic title. From reading the student doctor forum (has some useful, applicable advice when you dig deep), it's recommended that you don't mention mental illness or health problems that make it seem like you are a high-risk student. High risk meaning a student who might not be able to finish the program. Although it can show strength of character, it may cause some doubts of what would happen if you were placed in a stressful situation such as PA school. It's why some interviewers ask about your support system, your hobbies, what you do for fun, how you deal with s

I've noticed that schools vary in how they interview and give out seats. Some are truly rolling and give out seats to the earliest applicants. Others pick a few at each interview, reject a few, and then reevaluate all other interviewees at the end. Others save some spots per interview. If it's the last two, then you have a chance. I recommend that you go if you haven't received any other interviews.

You should ask in the PA student general discussion or Professional PA general discussion.

If you were second guessing yourself on getting a MPH because you have never taken a public health class, then you should be second guessing yourself on becoming a PA since you never had real healthcare exposure. I recommend shadowing a PA or getting more healthcare experience to make sure you want to be a PA. How much you work as a PA will depend on the specialty, where you work, and yourself. If you were to apply to the 2018-2019 cycle and get accepted, it would be 2 years from now before you start PA school, and then PA school itself will take about 2 years. The main things to focus on woul

For the amount we spent for applications, they could at least provide some update. Some schools didn't even contact me yet. It's like saying, "Thanks for your money, k bye."

Some schools post their stats on the websites. Sometimes they make it easy to find, and sometimes it's well hidden, so you would need to go through the whole PA website. Other times, schools don't post stats. They don't want to discourage people from applying if their stats don't match. If that happens, then you can usually get the info from contacting the program. If they don't give an exact answer by email, then calling may be better.

Most employers want longer than 5-6 months. Most wouldn't be willing to train you for a few weeks just so you would leave that soon. However if they're desperate and/or have high staff turnover, then they may be OK with 5-6 months. Agreeing to a pay cut can help as well. I work in a large office that has high staff turnover since most of the MAs are young and end up leaving within 2 years. You could also just not tell them that you only want to work 5-6 months.

Option A! The price difference is huge. An extra $45k is not worth it, even if it's closer to home. 750 miles from home isn't really that close. You will meet new people and make new friends. An older program will also have the benefit of better clinical rotations and more experience teaching students.

Working as a CNA counts as HCE

Your biggest problem is your GPA, like many of the posters mentioned. I suggest spending time taking (preferably) science classes. Although it may not make that much of a dent in your GPA, it will at least show an upward trend. Your verbal is also slightly lower, so I recommend retaking the GRE to at least get 150 unless you want to apply to schools that don't require the GRE or be willing to find schools that accept a V148. Although applying broadly is good, it might be better in your case to further research schools and narrow down your list to up to 10-15 schools. It can be overwhelmin

I'm in a PA friendly state. The PAs in my workplace are overall happy and have good autonomy, though some restrictions here and there. They are well respected by the staff and doctors, but not as respected as the doctors. Sometimes I see the staff bending over backwards for the doctors but not for the PAs. There's a PA who has worked in that specialty and at that practice longer than some doctors but she doesn't get the respect she deserves because of her title. There is an overall sense that doctors > PAs. However, I've also seen management and staff disrespecting the doctors as well. So y

Wow, that's very short noticed. Think of all the students who took off a few years to replace grades and suddenly faced with this news.

Thank you whoever canceled their January spot yesterday.

The best time would be when you're ready. It will take about 2 weeks to get your official GRE scores after taking the test. Once it's sent to schools, it will take another few days for the schools to process it. So you could theoretically take it about 3 weeks before finishing your applications. That way, the school will have everything when you submit. You can take it close to the time of application or even after you start the application but the schools will unlikely look at your application after submitting until official GRE scores are in.