ohearn102 Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 I am 25, currently work as an ER-Tech for a local hospital for a year. I have been an EMT sense 2007. As far as college degrees I have an Associates degree in Fire Technology (un related unfortunately to where I want to be now). I am looking for advice as to what BA degree I should go for that PA programs would prefer. Every PA and current PA student I have talked to so far said that experience is a big thing, and that they say that I have the clinical experience part down, just need a 4 year degree. Any advice in what way to go from here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 University of Washington/MEDEX PA program...no degree needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Yeah I'd go for one of the programs that either doesn't require a bachelor's or else one that grants a bachelor's en route to a master's in physician assistant studies. MEDEX requires 4000 hours minimum health care experience I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I suggest getting a BS in something that would independently lead to a job, just in case you either don't go to PA school, or later decide to change career directions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Work on a bachelor's in the meantime anyway to open up more options in the event you aren't accepted to those programs that don't require one. Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcreek Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Hello fellow EMT and ER-Tech! That is my background as well. As you continue gaining valuable direct patient care experience, you should work on a bachelor's degree (any) and the required pre-requisite courses that will give you a wide option of programs to apply to, which will greatly improve your likelihood of acceptance. You can earn any bachelor's degree, but it will be faster and cheaper to earn a science related degree that involves such courses as biology, anatomy, physiology, chemistry, etc. That way you can tackle the pre-requisites as part of the degree. I got a Health Education degree with an emphasis in Emergency Medical Services which covered only some of the pre-requisite courses I needed. That meant that I had to do a lot of extra coursework outside of my degree. It would have saved me a lot of time and money to earn a biology degree, or some other type geared towards pre-meds (which would have you well covered for PA school). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceschlorff Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 My bachelor's degree is in athletic training....it's a lot of work, but a lot of schools (not all unfortunately) count athletic training hours as healthcare hours or patient care hours....also most required classes for athletic training (anatomy and physiology, chemistry, biology, etc.) are the same ones needed for PA school...so you can knock your prereqs out while you are also getting your degree and gaining experience....athletic training opened a lot of doors for me to do internships with PAs and doctors...a lot of athletic trainers go into either PT or PA.... Also, once you graduate you could work as an athletic trainer while applying to get even more experience and make some money :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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