prncess23 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Hello, So i know some PA schools require 2000 of paid job experience in the health or medical field. I have a lot of volunteer hours but no job. Im in a catch 22 because i need a job in the med school but dont have training for it. so as a result, Since PA is my passion, i am going to go to a training school for either pharm tech or medical assisting. Its only 8 months long and i can start working after and then start getting my hours in time for PA school apps. what i am wondering is which one should i do? i was looking at both. I asked a dermatologist and he told me to do pharm tech b/c i will get more out of it and its better for PA school. I thought, I would get more out of the medical assistant program since its similar but according to my dermatologist he said no and a few others also favored pharm tech over med assisting. But, it seems like there are way more jobs for MA than Pharm Techs... please help. i have an appointment with the a lady tomorrow for both the pharm tech program and the MA program tomorrow (yes, the school and programs for both are accredited). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 CMA is considered high quality hce, while pharm tech is low quality. With CMA you're going to be introduced to more of what you're going to be doing as a PA. If you get a job in a DR office, maybe there will be a PA staffed there and you will get first hand experience. I only tell people to do pharm tech if they plan on applying to pharmacy school. Have you also considered CNA it's much shorter and more flexible? EMT is also excellent hce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physio Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 consider CNA or EMT-B as well. Also, some programs allow HCE hours as a volunteer as well, so its best to check with the specific program you are interested in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prncess23 Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Thank you for all your help! I think the doctor was considering pharmacy tech because he probably thought I was gonna do the admin part of a medical assistant. You have to choose between admin and clinical. Yea, I was going for ma too except it takes a while...not a lot but still. What does a cna do? I heard you either bathe people, wipe them, and work with old ppl. I dont know a word for that but, i dont wsnt to be doing that. How do I find schools for that? How long does it take? I'm in northern California. I did look at all the pa schools in Cali. Majority requires 1 year direct patient care (paid), very few don't and a couple recommend it. I rather go through being an mA, and be a better candidate when I Apply for PA school. That is the dole reason why I am doing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 CNA takes 4wks, and yes you can empty bedpans and bathe patients but I tell prepas if you go cna make sure it benefits you as a future PA and you're not doing grunt work. In the beginning you may have to do grunt work, but don't stay there long(3mos), you can build up your hrs. Go private duty/agency and choose your own hrs and type of work. You say you don't want to work with old people? Then maybe you should reconsider PA b/c a majority of your patients are going to be seniors and their health issues...unless you're planning OB/Gyn, Peds. Maybe you should shadow to see what hce is a fit for you, I can tell by your post you know very little about the types of hce and what they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakura Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 What does a cna do? I heard you either bathe people, wipe them, and work with old ppl. I dont know a word for that but, i dont wsnt to be doing that. How do I find schools for that? How long does it take? I'm in northern California. I'm probably biased, as a CNA myself, but this misconception makes me sad. Yes, when all is said and done, it's grunt work...but you don't get much more hands-on than physically moving people from a wheelchair to a bed or performing ADLs such as bathing and toileting for them. The program I went through was at a tech school and it was about four weeks in class work followed by several weeks of clinical work at a nearby long-term care facility. I was offered a job at that facility when my clinical was up and accepted it shortly after becoming certified. Some of the residents were elderly who needed skilled care. Some were young, fresh from a hospital, needing skilled care before they could go home. (The LTC facility I worked at had a good rehab program.) A number of the residents were physically disabled. Besides ADLs and transfers, I took vitals and learned how to communicate and chart efficiently. I was there for six months before I landed a job in an outpatient clinic at a hospital, working in rehab medicine. I still do a lot of grunt work - stocking, cleaning, ordering - but I take vitals, help the RNs with wound care and catheter changes, and assist the doctors with exams and procedures. I work with two MAs (as the only CNA) and both consider me to be the lead in the clinic, even though I'm "below" them. Others have said it and it's true - being a CNA does not automatically mean you work with a geriatric population. And being a PA does not automatically mean you do NOT work with a geriatric population. If you're looking for a quick way to get a certification and get going on your hands-on care, CNA is probably a better resource. On top of that, at least in Washington, there are several LTC facilities that will train you for free as long as you "pay them back" and work for them for a period of time. I didn't think I wanted to work with the elderly population before I became a CNA, I just knew I wanted some hands-on experience. I wound up really, truly enjoying the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Ah sakura, deep in my heart......:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prncess23 Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 I wasnt condoning CNA at all. I hope thats not what you got from my post. I could never be able to do that line of work...May God Bless all CNA's. And yes, you are right. I do not know about hce (what does hce stand for?) which is why I am asking here. I was pre-med for all of my life up til a few months ago where a friend of mine introduced me to becoming a PA. It appealed to me more so than pre-med. I want to be in dermatology...i know several PA's that are in derm, so you arent restricted to just internal med, pedi or ob/gyn which is what i got from your previous post. On another note, I found a school that has BOTH the PA program and the MA program. Dont you think that would be in my favor when i apply for PA instead of going to different school for the MA and PA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakura Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 @prncess23 HCE = health care experience. Whether or not it's in your favor when applying to a PA program to do an MA program with the same school is your discretion. My experience has been that these things aren't always the case. I graduated from X college and later applied to them as a post-bacc student for their nursing program. I had already been a CNA for a couple of years at the hospital affiliated with X college. That previous degree AND that experience in the system offered me no assistance and I didn't get in. Now, that wound up being a blessing in disguise because I'm now going to PA school, but I've learned that just because you already have an affiliation with a school doesn't mean an automatic bonus for you applying to that school...unless they SPECIFICALLY say that they hold a certain number of seats for people from that MA program. Everyone's different and I'm not saying you NEED to become a CNA. You need to do what's right for you. I was merely offering my take, as a CNA, about the broad statements towards what a CNA does. I would just make sure that you check carefully with what the PA program says as far as whether or not they offer any preferential treatment towards MAs from the MA program at the same school before leaping to the belief that they do. And I would also offer you the final piece of advice, which you can feel free to take with a grain of salt: it's great that you want to go into dermatology but don't be so focused on that that you close yourself off to other opportunities. You'd be amazed what you can wind up loving (and LEARNING!) if you're open minded about the experiences offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosox2k1 Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I used Pharm. Tech as my experience and I thought it was pretty good experience. We get patients, just not in a hospital setting. Twist it any way you want it, I view them as patients. Another thing, you don't need to go to school or get formal training to be a Rx Tech. They do on the job training, so don't go spending a few hundred dollars to get trained. Lastly, I thank my lucky stars everyday that I was a pharm. tech for 5 years whenever I sit thru a pharmacology lecture. I have pretty much seen every drug or close to it during my time as a tech, and half the battle in pharm is knowing the drug names. Just my two cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJKitty Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Hey now, I take pride in being the best damn butt-wiper this side of the Mississippi. The vitals, hands-on experience, and critical thinking and scrambling around during cores is just the icing on the cake. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brannow Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 PA school is not for the faint of heart. If you're absolutely positive this is what you want, it probably doesn't matter much. My wife is a CMA and she likes the work and knows quite a bit about patient care/interaction. But the pharm tech would give you a leg up when it comes to pharm class in school. To date, my hardest classes have been biochemistry, EKG/cardio, and pharm. It's not just memorizing, it's understanding how they work and where and the why that's important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryMed Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I would definitely recommend becoming a medical assistant. I know that there are many medical assistant jobs out there and if you choose to go down this route, then you will not have any problems finding a job. Best of luck and I hope you discover what your best path is. =) Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Look at some of the PA schools you plan on applying to to see what they accept as HCE. There are probably some schools that will accept Pharmacy Technician experience as HCE, but I think many will not. On the other hand, I have not heard of any PA school that will not accept Medical Assistant HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 On another note, I found a school that has BOTH the PA program and the MA program. Dont you think that would be in my favor when i apply for PA instead of going to different school for the MA and PA? If you're talking about CA PA programs the answer is no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenLight Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Hi Everyone, I just returned from a campus visit to a PA school. We discussed the job requirement. The admissions officer said she saw a few successful pharm tech applicants, but most of the students had either CNA, EMT or nursing backgrounds. My job out of college was in pharma industry and I am currently volunteering in the ER. However, I feel that I need to get a paying job in the medical field to increase my chances of getting in. Thinking of CNA, but the local training will begin after the New Year, and I already want to apply in April. Wondering if any facilities will train their own. How does one get a CNA job? Only through vocational school training? Need something that would be faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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