Not sure what the next step is....

[Time4AChange]

I am a 25 year old student that's pretty much been force to the cross roads and I need to make some life-altering decisions ASAP.

 

I am 2.5 classes away from graduating with a B.S in Psychology through ODU (Distant Learning Program). Right now my cumulative GPA is 3.4. Graduated from a community college with an Associates in Social Science (3.6 GPA). I did a good bit of volunteering in high school but there was a bit of a lull between ages 20-22. The most recent volunteering I did was working at a horse rescue facility but that was short-term. I feel the best medical volunteer experience would be to join my local rescue squad. I've taken an EMT-B course, passed everything but unfortunately performance anxiety got the better of me and I did not pass the 'medical' practical portion of the NREMT. I know now I would pass with no issues at all (thanks in large part to my job which requires me to do a great deal of patient interaction).

 

I'm a certified CNA and currently work as an endoscope technician at a medical clinic; I will be approaching one year in a handful of days.

 

I've finished most of my pre-reqs at my community college.

 

I'm not sure if I should just finish the remainder of my pre-reqs at my local University (Adv. Human A&P, Organic Chem, etc) or should I pursue a second B.S degree in Neuroscience. I feel that pursuing the degree will allow me the opportunity to gain research experience (which I have none), show that I can do well in 'hard' science courses, study and take my GRE, and allow more time to volunteer, ideally as an EMT-B, and work part-time at my job. The only problem with this is I don't know if it would be worth it since it will take me 4 semesters to complete this vs 2 if I decide to just do the pre-reqs.

 

I just feel that I haven't done anything worth while or anything that would make me a competitive candidate.

 

Any suggestions as to what to do in terms of education goals and strengthening my resume would be greatly appreciated.

[IndianaU-PA]

@Time4AChange:

 

I am the Director of Student Enrollment Services at the Indiana University School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. You've done what you can so far. Some programs prefer prerequisites to be taken at a 4-year institution, on the theory that CC courses are not as rigorous. This is an assumption that may hold true in some institutions but not others.

 

I do not see value in a second undergraduate degree. If your cumulative GPA is between 3.4-6, and you have a strong prerequisite GPA, you'd seem to be academically well qualified for many programs. I can't tell what your health care experience is, but our program requires 500 verified patient care involvement hours in the last 5 years from program deadline. If you do not have the hours, you'll not be considered for programs with hard requirements. Programs that do not require but prefer hours certainly want to see them, but do not necessarily have a fixed number in mind.

 

Best of luck to you.

 

Josh Morrison

Director, Student Enrollment Services

IU School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, IUPUI

http://www.shrs.iupui.edu

paadmit@iupui.edu

[Time4AChange]

Thank you very much for your response,

 

I have to take the upper level pre-reqs; I will do them at a University, will do the core pre-reqs and any recommended pre-reqs.

Right now I assist the doctors with GI procedures (mainly Colonoscopy and EGD procedures), and I rotate with prepping the patients for the procedure and recovery post-procedure. I've definitely surpassed the 500 hours of direct patient care.

 

Do you have any ideas of things that I could do that would set me apart that you've seen from other applicants?

I was also considering joining the Americorps or the military reserves before PA school.

I do not work directly with the PAs at my clinic but I have a good idea of what they do on a daily basis...would it be beneficial to shadow a PA from another specialty?

 

It seems like if I score high on my GRE, maintain or increase my science/cum GPA, get some more medically-related volunteer experience within the next year, continue working at my job and building more pt care experience, I should be okay?

[Astrideh09]

@Time4AChange- Are you interested in possibly working in neurology? If so, the B.S. in neuroscience may help your future plans. I know that I never had any advanced level neurology courses before coming to PA school, and because of that, I struggled greatly in neurophysiology and subsequently, in my clinical medicine course for neurology. It might be nice to be able to learn more in depth/at a slower pace if that's something you're truly interested in. If you are especially interested in neuro, then I say that 2 semesters is NOTHING in the grand scope of things. An extra year or so will not really make a difference when you're working towards your life's calling.... I'm 26 & I never imagined when I was 18 that it would take me this long to get started! Now I've got one year left! Whatever it is that you want- GO FOR IT!!

 

on another note- I think it's cool that you get to assist with GI procedures! I never did anything that cool as a CNA! :-) I think that makes you pretty unique....

well, best wishes!! Be persistent, continue to pursue your passion, and you will stand out.

[Time4AChange]

Thank you very much for your response Astride,

 

I am, that and psychiatry and Emergency Medicine. Those would be my top three specialties.

 

I forgot to mention that financial reasons are also deterring me from pursuing a second degree. While I think it open me up to some wonderful opportunities (research, taking really thought-provoking courses, etc); I'm already a decent amount in debt (~30k), my job doesn't pay much and I really don't want to accumulate another (30k+) and still be on the undergraduate level and not have a job for at least another 2-3 years while I pursue P.A. school where I would have to take out additional loans. Although, I feel like I would regret it if I only took my pre-reqs, applied to some schools and didn't make it in and had to wait another year...it's really like a mental tug of war..../sigh.

 

How many years did you work as a CNA before you applied? How many schools did you apply too? What did you major in (if you don't mind me asking)? What was the most difficult thing about the application/interview process?

 

Since I work at a clinic, we don't handle extremely sick patients....so most of the procedures are fairly routine screenings...but you do get some very interesting (and sad) cases now and again. I was fortunate to get this job with only a CNA cert but they gave me a good bit of on the job training.

[lov2xlr8]

Experience is experience... Apply now IMO, after you finish pre-reqs, PA school will take a hit to your finances as well and you don't need that stress, let rotations determine what specialty you'll get into (having the Neuro degree would be nice, but at what cost? And if you want to do Neuro as a PA, you can regardless of undergrad degree)... Good luck, sorry for short answer, quick perusing

[lov2xlr8]

Your stats are good, just make sure to apply to a good 5 or 6 schools, maybe more

[Astrideh09]

@Time4AChange, sorry I am just now seeing your post after all this time! I personally like to ignore the part about money. Not very realistic of me, no, but so long as I have had credit that is good enough to take out loans for school/ my parents have been able to help me out, I have just kept it moving. As far as student loan repayment- I stay in school, they leave me alone!!! That's going to end soon, yes, but it's a part of life & it's about time that I enter the real world, this time, where I have wanted to be!

I was a per diem CNA for a little over a year while I was in Respiratory Therapy school. I worked on Ortho/neuro (the hospital I was in combined the two on the same floor, until they opened a special stroke unit). I received my bachelor of science in health sciences in 2009- at the time I was originally trying for a 3+2 bachelor's to master's program for PA studies but Organic Chemistry decided that wasn't going to work for me. ;-)  Then I worked on my bachelor of science in Respiratory therapy from 2010-2012, and I applied again to PA school at the start of my last year in that program.  I applied to A LOT of schools. Over 20, I believe. It took me a while to get to this point, as I had applied in the past maybe to 4-5 schools, wanting to stay in the NY area.... but a good friend of mine encouraged me to push for what I really wanted/ apply to as many as I could. "Let them say no to you!" Don't say no to yourself before you even get started. And finally, I got in! I think the most difficult thing about the application/interview process was getting started. I went back and forth with myself about how old I would be when I finally finished- if I did decide to apply to PA school again, and how much later I'd be completing a program vs. my undergrad classmates who are finished with theirs now- but now that I'm here, none of that matters!!! I hope you're well on your way to accomplishing your goals. Take care! :-) 

 

 

Thank you very much for your response Astride,

I am, that and psychiatry and Emergency Medicine. Those would be my top three specialties.

I forgot to mention that financial reasons are also deterring me from pursuing a second degree. While I think it open me up to some wonderful opportunities (research, taking really thought-provoking courses, etc); I'm already a decent amount in debt (~30k), my job doesn't pay much and I really don't want to accumulate another (30k+) and still be on the undergraduate level and not have a job for at least another 2-3 years while I pursue P.A. school where I would have to take out additional loans. Although, I feel like I would regret it if I only took my pre-reqs, applied to some schools and didn't make it in and had to wait another year...it's really like a mental tug of war..../sigh.

How many years did you work as a CNA before you applied? How many schools did you apply too? What did you major in (if you don't mind me asking)? What was the most difficult thing about the application/interview process?

Since I work at a clinic, we don't handle extremely sick patients....so most of the procedures are fairly routine screenings...but you do get some very interesting (and sad) cases now and again. I was fortunate to get this job with only a CNA cert but they gave me a good bit of on the job training.