GoTigers! Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 About me: I graduated in 2011 as a mechanical engineer and have worked for the past ~3 years for a large multinational corporation as an automation engineer in steel manufacturing. Last year I began making the journey towards PA school after taking a step back and thinking about where I wanted to be in life in the next 10 years. I realized I was unhappy with the person that I would be and the life I would have with that career. Growing up, I spent all four years of high school in and out of hospitals due to various injuries. (ACL tear, fractured ulna w/ damage to the ulnar nerve, Bennett's fracture of the first metacarpal, and 3rd degree burns that required a month in the burn unit and multiple surgeries). Pretty sure my parents aged 10 years in those 4. Struggling through injuries and illnesses and getting back to some level of "normal" is a tough road. I absolutely would not be the person I am today without the outstanding care I received as a patient in those experiences. People say that your career doesn't have to define you as a person. But the reality is you spend a big portion of your life at work. For me personally, I want my career to define me. I want to be able to look back when I'm 65 and say that I was able to give back and help others through their worst days. I am currently taking 15 hours of pre reqs on T/TH, working part time on M/W/F, and volunteering at my local hospital's burn center. I also became EMT certified this summer! While life has been pretty crazy lately, my experiences thus far have been absolutely justifying. I can not begin to explain how great it has been to be in the burn center. It brings back a ton of really hard memories, but it has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had. So here's where I stand: Undergrad: Mechanical Engineering Undergrad GPA: 3.39 This semester: Chem II w/ lab, A&P I w/ lab, BIO I w/ lab, Abnormal Psych Next semester: Organic I w/ lab, A&P II w/ lab, BIO II w/ lab, Micro w/ lab, (maybe BioChem) Anticipated post bacc GPA: 4.0 GRE: Math 160, Verbal 154 Writing 3.0 ( I plan on retaking the GRE this winter ) 40 hours shadowing hospitalist PAs 10 hours shadowing ortho / surgery 10 hours clinical rotations in ER for EMT The biggest hurdle so far has been trying to find employment to get HCE. I was certified as an (W)EMT-B this summer through SOLO in NH, but Georgia only really recognizes the EMT-I / AEMT level. I am constantly applying but haven't had much luck. Its looking like I will need to take an AEMT course in spring with hopes that I can find a ER tech position once I complete the course. This however would push back my application date by a year, as I will not have sufficient hours to apply to most schools for the next app season. Any who, just looking for suggestions on how to get more HCE / become more competitive come application time. Any help is appreciated! - Jacob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Engineering is a great starting point for medicine; the whole concept of cause and effect, the scientific method, changing one thing at a time, and not having to know absolutely everything about the physics to solve a problem. It's where I started, and my PCP for that matter. I like what you're doing to get ready. I became an EMT-I twenty years ago and it didn't take all that much time back then; maybe more now. Good stuff to learn. If not, perhaps a tech job in a trauma ward or the ER; so of my classmates did that. Whatever you do, you are on a good path and starting from a good place. Best of luck, gearhead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I think you should consider medical scribing at a clinic or ER because you don't have to take a course to get certified in most places and you will become very familiar with a ton of medical terminology and the process of charting. However scribing often does not count as hands on HCE. You could probably get a job as a nurse aide, but it's a gross job and if you work at a busy place may not learn much except how to toilet and bathe patients. Medical assistant at a clinic is excellent experience accepted at most PA programs and it requires only 6 to 9 months of schooling instead of years like an LVN or RN. I know one nurse aide who ended up scoring a sweet gig at a doctor's office as a dialysis tech. If you could convince the burn center to give you a paid, hands on position as a tech based on your EMT training I think you'd do well to accumulate some hours at that job. It needs to be hands on and paid, though, to count at most PA programs. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melscott62 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Ok, Seriously.... If you get a 4.0 with that course load, esp semester 2, I would be seriously impressed as a school. I think you sounds like a great applicant, but I would personally be nervous about keeping my grades up with all of that. 4 labs in a semester is a lot and org chem is time consuming. :) About me: I graduated in 2011 as a mechanical engineer and have worked for the past ~3 years for a large multinational corporation as an automation engineer in steel manufacturing. Last year I began making the journey towards PA school after taking a step back and thinking about where I wanted to be in life in the next 10 years. I realized I was unhappy with the person that I would be and the life I would have with that career. Growing up, I spent all four years of high school in and out of hospitals due to various injuries. (ACL tear, fractured ulna w/ damage to the ulnar nerve, Bennett's fracture of the first metacarpal, and 3rd degree burns that required a month in the burn unit and multiple surgeries). Pretty sure my parents aged 10 years in those 4. Struggling through injuries and illnesses and getting back to some level of "normal" is a tough road. I absolutely would not be the person I am today without the outstanding care I received as a patient in those experiences. People say that your career doesn't have to define you as a person. But the reality is you spend a big portion of your life at work. For me personally, I want my career to define me. I want to be able to look back when I'm 65 and say that I was able to give back and help others through their worst days. I am currently taking 15 hours of pre reqs on T/TH, working part time on M/W/F, and volunteering at my local hospital's burn center. I also became EMT certified this summer! While life has been pretty crazy lately, my experiences thus far have been absolutely justifying. I can not begin to explain how great it has been to be in the burn center. It brings back a ton of really hard memories, but it has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had. So here's where I stand: Undergrad: Mechanical Engineering Undergrad GPA: 3.39 This semester: Chem II w/ lab, A&P I w/ lab, BIO I w/ lab, Abnormal Psych Next semester: Organic I w/ lab, A&P II w/ lab, BIO II w/ lab, Micro w/ lab, (maybe BioChem) Anticipated post bacc GPA: 4.0 GRE: Math 160, Verbal 154 Writing 3.0 ( I plan on retaking the GRE this winter ) 40 hours shadowing hospitalist PAs 10 hours shadowing ortho / surgery 10 hours clinical rotations in ER for EMT The biggest hurdle so far has been trying to find employment to get HCE. I was certified as an (W)EMT-B this summer through SOLO in NH, but Georgia only really recognizes the EMT-I / AEMT level. I am constantly applying but haven't had much luck. Its looking like I will need to take an AEMT course in spring with hopes that I can find a ER tech position once I complete the course. This however would push back my application date by a year, as I will not have sufficient hours to apply to most schools for the next app season. Any who, just looking for suggestions on how to get more HCE / become more competitive come application time. Any help is appreciated! - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoTigers! Posted October 10, 2014 Author Share Posted October 10, 2014 Engineering is a great starting point for medicine; the whole concept of cause and effect, the scientific method, changing one thing at a time, and not having to know absolutely everything about the physics to solve a problem. It's where I started, and my PCP for that matter. I like what you're doing to get ready. I became an EMT-I twenty years ago and it didn't take all that much time back then; maybe more now. Good stuff to learn. If not, perhaps a tech job in a trauma ward or the ER; so of my classmates did that. Whatever you do, you are on a good path and starting from a good place. Best of luck, gearhead! Wow, just took a minute to read the synopsis of your book. Absolutely inspiring. Great to hear that you come from a similar educational background. I had the chance to shadow a few PAs (hospitalists) a couple months ago and I was really surprised at the similarities with my engineering career. Seemed like a lot of problem solving in a team environment (which I love). At this point I'll keep throwing my resume out there and hope someone bites. Volunteering has been a great networking experience so far, so maybe something will come out of that too. Worst case I take an AEMT class this spring and apply a year later. Thanks for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoTigers! Posted October 10, 2014 Author Share Posted October 10, 2014 I think you should consider medical scribing at a clinic or ER because you don't have to take a course to get certified in most places and you will become very familiar with a ton of medical terminology and the process of charting. However scribing often does not count as hands on HCE. You could probably get a job as a nurse aide, but it's a gross job and if you work at a busy place may not learn much except how to toilet and bathe patients. Medical assistant at a clinic is excellent experience accepted at most PA programs and it requires only 6 to 9 months of schooling instead of years like an LVN or RN. I know one nurse aide who ended up scoring a sweet gig at a doctor's office as a dialysis tech. If you could convince the burn center to give you a paid, hands on position as a tech based on your EMT training I think you'd do well to accumulate some hours at that job. It needs to be hands on and paid, though, to count at most PA programs. Good luck! My brother in law is a med student and worked as an ER scribe for a year. Have heard nothing but great things from him about it. Said it was overwhelming at the beginning but you really get to see and learn a ton. I definitely plan on going to talk to the burn center floor director in person and see if anything can come of that. The tech I work with on my volunteering shift has been talking to her and trying to help me out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoTigers! Posted October 10, 2014 Author Share Posted October 10, 2014 Ok, Seriously.... If you get a 4.0 with that course load, esp semester 2, I would be seriously impressed as a school. I think you sounds like a great applicant, but I would personally be nervous about keeping my grades up with all of that. 4 labs in a semester is a lot and org chem is time consuming. :) Its been a ton of work but doable so far. T/TH are just reaaallly long days (at school from 8am to 7pm T and 8am to 10pm TH). Hard to keep your brain on for that long haha. We start week 9 of 15 next week for this semester and my grades are good. Just have to keep it up and stay on top of things. If anything, I feel like it is making me really key in on my efficiency and time management skills. Without a doubt next semester is going to be tough. Mentally preparing myself for the suffer-fest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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