Shadowing Question

[write2bre]

When shadowing a PA and documenting your hours, must you get your shadowing form notorized or is the signature of the PA significant enough? Thank you for reading.

[PM2016]

I didn't need any anything. Just keep track of your hours yourself. CASPA doesn't ask for any physical proof

[Latina PA]

No notarization needed, just keep an accurate count of your hours. I also recommend you make a note of each case you see with names of medications given, diagnosis, and treatment. Just for learning purposes. I would always go home after shadowing and look up the medications and diseases so I could learn more. It is helpful, I think.

[write2bre]

Thanks guys for answering, you helped me alot! I never thought to note the medications and treatments but that's a great idea, I still have a few weeks of shadowing left so I will make sure to do that.

[write2bre]

Also what is a good amount of hours to accumulate shadowing? I am currently at 30 hours and plan on finishing at 60 hours. Is this sufficient enough?

[Patho]

This is arbitrary, but I like the number 100 if you have limited time and 100+ if you have time. I intend on shadowing 100 hours or more and doing 100+ in various volunteering opportunities. Besides from required HCE hours some programs have, everything else is nice to have, but the more the merrier.

[greenmood]

It depends on what your other experience is like. Long story short: I shadowed for 10 hours, total. At the time of my CASPA submission I had over 8000 hours of good HCE and daily working experience with PAs in a number of specialties. I truly did not see the point in taking a day off work to follow a colleague around, when I could just work with her and get paid for the learning experience. I explained that reasoning to the single interviewer who asked me about it, and she must have liked the answer since I graduated from that program in June. :-)

 

If you don't have HCE that involved working closely with PAs, I think it's reasonable to expect more shadowing hours to make up for your real-life ignorance of a PA's job. Still, it would be better to be actually working where you have some real responsibility for patients.

[Just Steve]

never shadowed, just worked in medicine around/with PAs

 

I was under the impression that shadowing was to inform one's self of the average day in the life of a PA. See them interact with staff and patients, maybe present a patient or two, talk to them about the political side of the profession...stuff that can be knocked out in 8-16 hours. This 30, 60, 100, 100+ hours sounds more like you are trying to gain health care experience from looking over someone's shoulder. I am confused why you don't spend that time taking a class, such as EMT, at 120 hours, and actually learn medicine first hand? Even first responder at 40 hours is a start. Who knows, it may even translate into a position with an ER/urgent care/back off MA position where you actually a better understanding of the medical profession.

[rocketpropelled]

Steve,

 

There are programs starting to require 100+ hours of shadowing to qualify for admission, regardless of paid HC experience.. As lowly pre-PA types, we don't write the rules, we just have to function within them.

 

As an old flight instructor I had put it, "if the minimums weren't good enough, they wouldn't be minimums."

[Patho]

While paid experience is most preferred, some programs (east coast schools) strongly recommend that candidates perform some shadowing, and with so many applicants, it will help you stand out. I agree that actual HCE should be earned doing something paid, and that varies, some program only require healthcare experience supplemented by shadowing, some require direct patient contact.

[write2bre]

Thank you all for your responses. I currently have 2000+ hours as a cna and plan on getting more. My biggest fear was on the number of hours I would need to obtain from shadowing and you guys all helped clarify that. I greatly appreciate it!