Search the Community

I will be attending bootcamp for the Navy in October 2018. I have a bachelors degree in sports medicine and will be going in as an E-3 for HM. I plan on attending C school for surgical technician so I can gain more experience before applying to PA school. I would like to know what is the minimum amount of time I am most likely to serve before I can be promoted to an E-5 and apply to IPAP or a civilian PA program. And does anyone have any tips on how I can expedite my journey to becoming a PA (perhaps, should I choose a different C-school)? Any info helps. Thanks!

Hi all! I'm about to enlist in the National Guard in order to proceed to IPAP next fall. I'm currently an undergrad with one semester of school left and have fulfilled all requirements except 2 chemistry credits and shadowing hours and I just have a few questions. I've been told that PAs in the guard, after completing school, only have to drill 4 times a year, does anyone know if this is true? I'm also curious if anyone knows if, during the program, students stay on base or if they are paid BAH and if my significant other would be able to move with me? In addition, I currently only have a 3.1 GPA (hopefully 3.2 by the time of graduation), is this considered competitive? I considered retaking classes but an AMEDD recruiter told me they take all classes into consideration to make a GPA and not just my university GPA (my university replaces up to 3 letter grads in the GPA for retaken classes). Overall, if you don't know any answers to my questions but have some input about the IPAP, I'd love to hear it! I've been searching for first hand experiences to learn more about it but it's hard to find! Thank you in advance for your time!

I am currently enlisted and I am taking a few prerequisites so I can apply for IPAP in 2018. I was curious what happens to you if you don't make it through the entire program. For example, if you fail out? What does the military do with you then? -Sean

Hello! So I am 22 years old and I am just starting my education towards an eventual career as a Physician's Assistant. My husband will be getting out of the military (marines) in October of next year, so I have been looking more into the military, myself, as an option to aid in my pursuance of said career. However, I am not sure if it is a viable option as of yet. I have just been recently certified to work as an EMT-B in the state of North Carolina and I am currently working on my paramedic. I have some college credits, but I do not have my bachelors degree. So my question is: Is is possible for me to join the air force, and in doing so, get my bachelors degree and acquire all of the prerequisite courses needed for a PA program? IPAP has been mentioned to me before, but I do not entirely understand the process or all of what it entails. Any and all information pertaining to this topic is welcome. I am in the dark when it comes to the college process, and even more so when looking into the military. And I don't know exactly what to ask recruiters in regards to my particular situation. Thank you!

I am a GVSU student and will be done with my BS in Health Science with a focus on preventativie care and a minor in psychology in about a year! I'm hopping to graduate with a 3.5 ish (I had a 3.6 for 90+ credits and my GPA dropped to 0 when transferred) I'm SUPER worried about getting into GVSU's PA Program and am looking into joining the Navy with the hopes of getting into IPAP I will have all my pre reqs done for IPAP most likely even before I join the Navy? I'm 24 year old, female, with a husband and child and am ok with getting deployed and/or moving around! I'm also an NREMT-B - Questions... -possible officer programs for a BS degree holder - possibility of navy corpsman getting accepted to ipap - how long will it take for a corpsman to get into ipap -is ipap program accredited

Hello, I am looking to find out some more information on what IPAP was actually like for those whom recently have gone through it. I am putting my packet in this cycle and haven't been able to find very much information on how the program is ran itself. I am currently an SMP Cadet with 3 years as 11b for the National Guard and am trying to weigh a civilian school vs. IPAP Basically, what I am looking for is: What a typical day at IPAP was like? Where did you get to do your clinical rotations? Do you choose where to do clinical? Is there a lot of power point learning or is it problem based? Is it pretty laid back or is someone constantly jumping down your throat? Where you close with your fellow classmates? How is the technology (i.e. learning aids/simulations)? What was your favorite part? Was there any leave? (Exodus)? And finally... If I am an O-1 while I go through do I get paid as an O-1? (I am assuming yes and it may be a dumb question, but I am literally getting no answers from anyone!)

My PA program takes three years... http://www.capradio.org/articles/2014/07/28/uc-davis-is-trailblazer-in-three-year-medical-school-model/ A handful of UC Davis students are trailblazers in a new medical school model that has won the approval of Californian Governor Jerry Brown. Brown signed legislation that will allow doctors to practice with three years of medical school instead of four. It’s Ngabo Nzigira’s sixth week of medical school, and he’s already interacting with patients. “So we have the norco, you still taking that?" he asks. Nzigira is being trained by a doctor at Kaiser Permanente in South Sacramento. Normally he wouldn’t be in a clinic until his third year. In this accelerated program, students can shave sixty thousand dollars off their medical school debt. But Nzigira had hesitations. “I thought, 'Oh man, you want me to put the intensity and stress that is medical school in four years, you want me to condense it down to three years. I’m not sure about that,'” he says. The UC Davis program is designed for students who know they want to be a primary care physician. It cuts out summer vacations and electives to get them into the field faster. “There’s a huge problem, a huge shortage of primary care physicians," says Dr. Tonya Fancher who directs the program. UC Davis says it’s meant to increase the supply of family doctors under the Affordable Care act. “It seems like students come into medical school and they’re passionate about patients, passionate about primary care, part of it is the debt that they accrue, and part of it is the models of primary care that they’re exposed to," says Fancher. One patient says he’s not concerned about shortened medical school - as long as students meet the same standards as other doctors.

I have just completed my second quarter of my program and things are progressing ok. As I go through my program, I can't help but sense a disconnect between what I'm thought and what I actually see by healthcare providers in the real world. I feel as if we are taught in an "ideal" manner and not how things are truly done. Is this correct or have I just been observing others PAs that abbreviate things? For example, in listening to the chest for respiratory or heart sounds, we are taught to check multiple areas. It is taught as if this is how you perform this portion of the exam for even general practice. I have NEVER had any provider perform it that way on me. lol. Maybe it's too early but I wonder if this is a trend that I will see the rest of my didactic year.

I am posting this in hopes that someone will have insight on what types of Individual Assignments or deployments female PA's do in the Navy. I know they cannot serve with Marines, but are there other limitations? I am also under the understanding, from posts in this forum, that there are approx. less than 200 PA's in the Navy and that most are taking over MD/DO GMO's. I am AD Navy (not a HM) working on pre-reqs to apply to IPAP. Any information would be appreciated. God bless and thank you to all my fellow present and prior service members.

I am hoping to find a provider to shadow in South Carolina or southern North Carolina areas. Here is a little bit about my background... I'm a 24 year old Air Force medical technician. I've worked in primary care on base for 2 years in an LPN-type role, and I have recently started working in ambulance operations on base as an EMT-B. In the time that I have been stationed here I have completed the pre-PA coursework (for IPAP at least) and a BS in Liberal Arts. I am also enrolling in USC this Fall to pursue a second BS in Biology in order to delve a little deeper into the sciences. I plan on applying to the Interservice Physician Assistant Program (military PA school) at the beginning of next year. Even though I have healthcare experience, I do not have any substantial shadowing experience per se, except for on occasion when I would observe the providers I worked with perform exams, procedures, etc. I also have very limited experience outside of primary care--basically just the clinical rotations I did in trainnig years ago. I would be extremeley grateful to anyone who would be willing to offer me the opportunity to watch and learn from them. :) -Adrian

Was wondering if anyone had any advice for a new USAF PA student about to graduate. I know the first year will be very challenging so i am trying to gather advice on things that may help as far as references that are MUST HAVEs that saved you all or any offered advice to make the transition smoother. :-) Thank you!!