firemedic9872 Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 I am a nationally registered medic and have been doing this for 5 years. I have an associates degree and was wondering which if any PA programs in the country could I get into without a bachlors degree? I have already looked for this answer for approx 2 days with no luck. Any insight and info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance - FireMedic9872 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMSGuy1982 Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 MEDEX in Seattle,WA offers a bachelors program at a few sites in Washington state and one in Alaska. Definitely worth checking out. I just submitted my application for their school with CASPA. Here is the link to their site. http://depts.washington.edu/medex/ . What state do you work in? Hope this helps you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Stanford as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbalaban Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 I would be cautious about just going to a bachelors program. It's my understanding that most states require you to have a masters in order to practice and that in the next 5-7 years everyone one must be a masters level. If you already have an associate's just go back and finish your degree, I'm fairly willing to bet that you still need prereq's anyways. So if I were you, I'd go and get your bachelors and make yourself more marketable. From what I'm gathering pretty much all schools value experience some, but some value it more. From what I can tell the average amount of experience for MEDEX is about 6 years, plus they have preference for the NW folks. Emory values experience as well but accepts people from all over the nation, but they are a masters level program, but highly regarded amongst their peers (us news ranking). Just something to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Davenport Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 I am a nationally registered medic and have been doing this for 5 years. I have an associates degree and was wondering which if any PA programs in the country could I get into without a bachlors degree? I have already looked for this answer for approx 2 days with no luck. Any insight and info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance - FireMedic9872 HI Firemedic9872, there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a Bachelor degree in PA studies and it will not limit your practice in any state (unless something has changed and if it has, I'd like to see a link to a state regulation stating as such). While it is true, all new PA programs must be a masters level and all existing programs must be a masters level by 2020, those that offer a bachelor degree provide the same diagnostic training. Don't be fooled into thinking it is different. Regardless of degree, all must meet the same ARC-PA accreditation standards. It is the same for a Bachelor as it is for a Masters degree. My advice. (1) Keep taking classes that help you in your pursuit, (2) apply to the bachelor degree programs out there, (3) if you get into a bachelor degree program, graduate and then take a masters online bridge program (if you want). To find programs that offer a bachelor option (for now), go to this website: http://www.paeaonline.org/index.php?ht=d/ContentDir/pid/255 and from there, click on each state and bookmark the programs that offer the bachelor degree. Then go to each of them and read the site to determine if it is a match for you. Hope this helps. Remember, the first program, Duke wasn't a Bachelor program until the early 90s. Many old head PAs who are highly skilled and would mentor you, are certified PAs. Don't be fooled into thinking the degree level is what made our profession competent. It is the training and experience that does that. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbalaban Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 @knappy, I do believe Ohio for one (one of the possible places I would practice) requires a master's degree. http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4730.11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firemedic9872 Posted August 4, 2013 Author Share Posted August 4, 2013 Thank you knappy for your encouragement and info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firemedic9872 Posted August 4, 2013 Author Share Posted August 4, 2013 Thanks to everyone who replied Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Davenport Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 @knappy, I do believe Ohio for one (one of the possible places I would practice) requires a master's degree. http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4730.11 Thank you for the link. It appears a bachelor can only work if you've gone on to get a masters degree in a related field. Ohio is missing out on a lot if good PA providers. Based on this, I imagine there are others. Thus, I think it wise to check the state laws governing PA requirements when choosing a program. I'd be curious if this is seen in PA liberal states and I'm curious about Ohio practice. Is the state conservative in how PAs are governed? Times are changing. The day of using highly trained military medics/corpsmen and certifying them as a PA are dissolving. It won't be long and a residency will be required in all the CAQ fields. Now there's a can of worms. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbalaban Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Thank you for the link. It appears a bachelor can only work if you've gone on to get a masters degree in a related field. Ohio is missing out on a lot if good PA providers. Based on this, I imagine there are others. Thus, I think it wise to check the state laws governing PA requirements when choosing a program. I'd be curious if this is seen in PA liberal states and I'm curious about Ohio practice. Is the state conservative in how PAs are governed? Times are changing. The day of using highly trained military medics/corpsmen and certifying them as a PA are dissolving. It won't be long and a residency will be required in all the CAQ fields. Now there's a can of worms. G My understanding is that it is not a very PA friendly state. Are they cutting themselves out of a lot of good PA's? Most likely yes. It seems like the idea of having lots of experience in the medical field is disappearing greatly in the field. As an applicant with lots of experience I get frustrated with the impression I get from other applicants that seem to believe that the experience thing is just a hurdle to get over and not understand the meaning for it or the benefits of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHU-CH Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Firemedic - You might also look into "dual degree" programs that afford you the opportunity to earn both a BS and an MS in a truncated time period. If you already have a bunch of credits, you might find the time cut down significantly. Just another option to consider... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latina PA Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Miami-Dade college in South Florida. No Bachelors, no GRE required. You get an Associates in Physician Assistant studies. Program to close in 2020 though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeatlesLVR Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Firemedic - You might also look into "dual degree" programs that afford you the opportunity to earn both a BS and an MS in a truncated time period. If you already have a bunch of credits, you might find the time cut down significantly. Just another option to consider... @ SHU-CH, what schools offer a BS and MS together? I have JUUUUST started on my PA endeavor after serving as a Combat Medic in the Army. I have a bachelor's already (in the wonderful topic of English/Writing/and Rhetoric), but since it wasn't in science, I am now taking my pre-req science classes as a second bachelor's degree in General Bio. If there's a dual BS-MS program out there that can help boost up my marketability and GPA I'd love to know! Thanks :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z PA-C Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 UC San Diego has a BS/MS track in Bio. 5 years for both degrees but they will accept transfer students. I'm sure there are other programs that may be closer to you too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiiamalysha Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 Pacific University (Oregon) used to have a Bachelor's completion degree option that gives you a Bachelor's and then a Master's in PA Studies. They may have done away with this though...I would check it out on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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