cgjames Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Hello All, I am a masters-level social worker with apx 7 years field experience (3 post-masters) and am interested in going back to school to become a PA with a focus on psychiatric medication. However, I am rather concerned about the acceptance rates of these programs. Virtually every program appears to have the same 3-5% acceptance rate. As an MSW, I have very little background in hard sciences. In order to complete the basic prereqs, I'll need 1-2 years of additional schooling in many particularly rigorous classes. I am worried about investing year/years of time and money into prereqs, only to be denied because the programs are just really competitive. I am also worried that my lack of hard-science background and educational background in social/behavioral sciences will weaken my application. Is there a such thing as a "safety" or at least "safer" school in PA applications? I would sure feel more confident if I at least had the hope of a fallback, even if it was a less-desirable school/location. Perhaps more importantly, is there a way to search through these programs to find one that will be a better match and increase my odds? For example, programs seeking lots of hours of experience, (I have many many thousand) interested in professionals from other disciplines, option to explore psychiatric disciplines, 2-year program, etc. I havent found any way to evaluate my fit within these 180+ programs except to go to the website of each one and manually read through all of their information, then read between the lines to figure out what they actually want. I'm happy to relocate for the degree, so location is less of an issue than fit. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHU-CH Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 You are probably in better shape than you think. I personally think social work is very attractive experience for PA school. In looking at your file, my baseline presumption would be that you are fairly skilled at dealing with people in pretty bad situations. This can be difficult to assess in a brief interview session and it is difficult to teach; it is a good skill to show up with. In terms of pre-reqs, I would just dip your toe in the water and take one and see how it goes. If it goes well, increase your load. The final thing to think about is the job market working as a PA in psych. Your background will probably make you more attractive than the average graduate for psych, but around here the only PAs in psych tend to be at the VA (as far as I know; I am sure there are exceptions and regional differences). Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralinina Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 I also think you have good chances. My HCE was working as a Mental Health Recovery Counselor, doing residential and community outreach support for people with severe/chronic mental health challenges. This was entry level, no Master's, not a clinician. I applied and got into two schools (and declined an interview) my first cycle; the school I'll be attending is a top 10 ranked program. I applied mostly to schools with low HCE requirements... some schools put more weight on HCE than others, some prefer EMT/Paramedics/RNs, others not as much--choose accordingly. I think the most important thing is to present your experience well and show them how it will contribute to making you a great PA. Of course, balance out your application with great GPA, GRE, LORs and present yourself well at the interview. In my experience, my interviewers really liked that I had mental health experience and all told me it would be really helpful to me as a PA. Feel free to message me if you want to talk more about this. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgjames Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Thanks for the feedback! Having done a bit more research, I now have to step back and re-ask a question I have asked elsewhere. Psych NP, or Psych PA? Many/Most of the threads I have seen have folks worried about whether or not they can practice therapy with their degree. I don't need to worry about that. What I would love help figuring out is which of these roles would allow me to retain the greatest flexibility and the most reasonable work load? I am aiming for as close to a 40-hour week as I can get. I've been doing 70-80 hour weeks with 24/7 on-call for 30k/yr since I graduated and I'm ready to stop that. I would also really like to be able to roll into town and be able to find a job reasonably quickly. In this economy, being able to find a job really matters. I also want to be able to practice in a variety of areas and not be limited to just one, (i.e. severe illness). I find that I like to mix things up from time to time, so I want to be able to do that. I figure every demographic has psych needs, and I'd like to be able to try a few different demographics to see where I best fit and not be pinned to just one. Eg- psych trauma, ER, psych inpatient, wounded-well, kids in schools, etc. Mostly I'm hoping to augment my MSW so that I can provide a full range of care to my clients, covering all aspects of their lives. The PA is appealing because its medical focus would seem to best cover my biggest area of weakness. It also seems to carry a bit more respect, and my existing experience seems to be a better fit for the program requirements. However, many folks are telling me that the PMHNP is far more flexible, especially in psych, than the PA. Others say that with a year's residency, they are equivalent and the PA has a stronger grasp of medicine. However, if becoming a PA limits be to only being able to work in inpatient psych wards and denies any sort of independent practice, I am much less interested than I would be in a degree that allows me to practice in a variety of environments and with a bit more autonomy. Can anyone give me any insight on these differences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBanner Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 There is not an abundance of psych jobs out there that I have seen. Most are in prisons or with the VA. If you go the PA route be prepared to work in other areas of medicine if you have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted April 17, 2014 Moderator Share Posted April 17, 2014 if you are 100% sure that you want psych, go np. lots more jobs in the field for nps. for other potential specialties, consider pa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpsmanUP Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Agree with the above about NP, look at OHSU. They have a two year direct entry PsychNP program with no need for the RN first. There is also a one year Advanced Provider residency in MN for psych if you want post grad training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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