Phoenix Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 I appreciate anyone's input on this question. I've looked through the forum and I understand it always seems to be school-specific, but I'm not sure which job to take. I have two job offers: One is a health tech working in a jail with inmates. According to the job description, it would involve taking vitals, simple dressings and treatments, and reporting information to the nurse or MD on-call. This is in addition to other other various duties in the jail. The other job is a PCA in a hospital working in the oncology department. This job is probably pretty self-explanatory. So, does one job seem to be better for health care experience hours for most PA schools' requirements? I'm also starting and EMT course which will be finished by April. I should also mention that I've got about 10 years of experience working as a medical assistant in a chiropractor's office (not sure how that will apply, but hopefully it counts for something). Thank you all for your input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted January 1, 2015 Administrator Share Posted January 1, 2015 I'd go with the jail, if for no other reason that if you like working with an inmate population, there are a LOT of prison PA jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted January 1, 2015 Author Share Posted January 1, 2015 That is the one I was leaning towards simply because it seems to be a little different than the run of the mill PCA job that I'm sure PA programs see every day. That, and working with that type of population would probably be good experience. Thanks for your reply! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 You could make either one of them work as far as applying to PA school goes. I'd go with whichever one you think you'd enjoy more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teacher2PAC Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Think about the different environments, and how the experiences may differ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share Posted January 2, 2015 Both of the jobs will provide a very different kind of experience from my time as a MA at the chiropractic clinic and that is quite appealing to me for both opportunities. It's sounding like being in a hospital environment isn't necessarily an edge as far as HCE goes over the jail setting, and that it is more about what I make the experiences out to be rather than a strict job description. Thanks again for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBallent Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Good luck with your choice! I don't know where you are planning to apply, but I'm doing my pre-PA academic work in Utah and can tell you that the Utah PA school (well-respected) puts a lot of emphasis on working with underserved populations. It seems like the prison work fits that bill nicely. But ultimately it's important to consider what you're more passionate about as well. I also got my EMT; did the January-to-April course like it sounds like you're doing. You may be able to do some part-time or even volunteer work with that; I've gotten the impression that PA programs are interested in seeing demonstrated interest, not just getting the cert and sitting on it. So I've been trying to stay in the game by doing some volunteer EMT work outside of school. At any rate, you sound like a strong candidate. Good luck with the decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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