Jump to content

What was your undergrad before PA school?


Recommended Posts

HI guys.

 

FIrst, a little about myself.  Single full time dad of 2 little ones. FT respiratory therapist with 5 years experience. Now, before my kids were born and before respriratory school had even begun, I knew my goal was to become a PA. My plan was to graduate as an RT, as I did, and gain experience and reapply for shcool for my bacheors.

 

Being an RT is great, but being an RT and supporting 2 kids gets a bit difficult when your constantly streatching yourself between working night shifts and raising children.  I had an understanding a long time ago that being a PA fulfilled some sort of home/work balance.  Thats whats always intrigued me to the field. Good pay without all the extra OT hours to keep up to pace with lifes curveballs. And of course, I knew i wanted more patient interaction, more responsibility than that of an RT.

 

Now, I am at a point where I am ready to go back to school in the very near future.  My dilema is finding a proper undergrad.  I am trying to find something that isnt a biology degree (because really, is PA school doesnt work out, WTH am i going to do with a biology degree??) .  The only thing that may seem semi interesting to me is Healthcare admin.  BUt even that doesnt sound all that appealing.

 

Anywho, what was the path you took before getting into PA school??  I am trying to find my "blueprint" so to speak.  Maybe yours could enlighten me.

 

Thanks GUYS !

and BTW what a great forum this is....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found that my fellow applicants had degrees from a wide variety of fields, and really, if you complete the prerequisites, you'll be good in terms of degrees. It may be true that a degree in the sciences can better prepare you for the rigor of school. You could get a degree in anything, complete the prerequsites, and get in, especially considering your past experience as an RT, which is pretty great patient care experience.

 

As for myself, I got a bachelors degree in Nursing, with a pretty useless minor in biology. I worked as an RN in a pretty high volume trauma center's emergency department for a few years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ICU RN with a 17 month old and one on the way. I can definitely empathize with you. My wife is part time RN, so I have to work full time, attend some science classes in person, and complete my degree. I would have majored in chemistry, but it would be too difficult for me to attend all of those classes in person while working (I work Thursday-sunday nights). By choosing to do my BSN, its not only shorter credit hours wise but I can complete online.

 

My question for is do you have similar constraints? Can you be in a physical classroom fulltime? I've googled already and found programs that allow RRT's to complete their bachelors all online.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderator

ER Tech while in college,( BA Medical anthropology) to paramedic x 5 yrs to PA school.

 

That perception of work/life balance is largely a myth, in my experience.

yup. my current "work/life balance" involves driving hundreds of miles/mo to 3 different ER jobs(2 of them rural) to work 180-240 hrs/month while the docs I work with have 1 job within 10 min of home and work 120-144 hrs/month max.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That perception of work/life balance is largely a myth, in my experience

I don't like the comparison game, which is how this conversation usually goes. I doubt OP is saying you PAs are living the life of luxury, but you do realize that he is working nights with two kids, going to school, while working full time at 20-30 bucks an hour?

 

I bust my butt in the ED as hard as anyone there, all at 13 dollars an hour. And I know being a provider isn't all glory, but at some point being the guy in triage that walks patients around 10+ miles a day, day in and day out (while the providers walk between a handful of rooms with a scribe behind pushing a computer), gets old. Full time nights.  Go to school all day. Work every weekend. No way a regular provider job has this much time commitment. I work with them. I know.

 

At this point I just want a raise, and to not have to be somewhere 16 hours a day, 5-7 days a week. Maybe thats all OP was driving at.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And to OP, I am getting a pre-professional health bio degree - the least useful of all bio degrees, because screw it. I'm going for broke. Its grad school or nothing, haha. My backup plan is a grad entry NP program I guess. 

 

I understand the wanting to diversify, but with your strong HCE and hopefully good grades, I imagine your chances would be good. You could always go to nursing school. I know a guy that is a RN, RRT, EMT-P. Sworn deputy too. A man of many hats. He was pretty valuable for staffing purposes at his flight program...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a BS in Athletic Training and have been working as an athletic trainer for the last 7 years. I also have a MA in Exercise Physiology. I'm planning to apply in 2015 and start PA school in 2016. It doesn't pay much and the hours can be rough depending on the time of year, but I can always work as an ATC.

 

 

Tiffany

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Find somewhere that will lead to a BS and some certs. Paramedic, ATC, etc. There might be some programs out there specifically for an RT to continue to a BS.

 

Really, all you need is to hit the prereq courses for the programs you are aiming for. My standard advice is to work backwards from the programs you like, figure out what they require, email to clear up any ambiguities, and make up a plan to hit those classes + getting the BS. Also, be sure the plan allows you to keep a high GPA within the life you have, don't over stretch yourself just to get it done quicker, you'll likely end up with a lower GPA than you would like.

 

I wish you all the best!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was an xray and CT tech for many years and then did a bachelors of health science all online at a local university. Once that was done I finished the rest of my pre reqs at a local community college and will start PA school next week. The bachelors of health science is great for those of us that work in allied health positions because it can be done completely online and much quicker than most other traditional degrees. Also many of the classes are leadership/management type focused if you happen to decide PA school isn't right for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a BS in Liberal Sciences.  I started as a Exercise Sports Science major then I realized that I wanted to become a PA...so I began taking all of these biology, chemistry, and health courses.  In my experience, it has benefited me because it gave me a pretty wide knowledge base...some exercise related..some hard biology related...and then general health related coursework.  Afterwards, I completed my MS in Health Science which was a mixture between public health, health admin, and health education. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a pretty traditional Bio major (with some recommended classes like Immunology/Virology thrown in) and will end up with a Chem minor just based on the classes I will take. Seems to me that with all the required/recommended science (especially biological science) classes that it would be silly to major in something outside of the science field unless you have a bunch of credits towards that major already. Just my 2 cents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a BA in Aeronautical Engineering and worked as an ATC but my acronym means Air Traffic Controller for the FAA. I got sucked into a family business and ended up owning a medical practice for about 5 years in the mean time I found I really enjoyed working with patients. Got accepted to PA school this year and I cannot wait to start. I think you will find so many different back grounds from the people on here that the only one that matters is yours and how it fits in with applying to the programs you want to attend. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn More