ICRob0351 Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Hey Guys, I'm a 28 year old US Marine Veteran and served in two separate tours in Iraq; the last time serving as an Infantry Squad Leader in charge of twelve men. As a civilian I have worked as an EMT-B in CT for the last three years. I graduated from UConn with a Psych major (3.5 GPA), and I recently decided that after taking the MCATs (30), applying to med school, and proceeding to get rejected from everywhere, that PA school might be a better fit for me. I have gone through this whole process by myself, and I am trying to find out what the role of a surgical PA is (Trauma or General), and how they integrate as part of a medical team, or to what extent they are involved working with the surgeon in the OR. Additionally, are there specific PA school programs that are better to apply to if an individual is more interested in going the surgery route? As a natural leader, and decisive individual who thrives in high pressure situations; I am just trying to figure out what field and PA programs would be the best fit for a guy with my background. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted May 18, 2011 Moderator Share Posted May 18, 2011 on a complete side note THANKS for your service - it is greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 A very dear friend of mine nailed a 36 on the MCATs and was an actively working paramedic when he was turned down from Med School. He simply took another year of employment and reapplied the following year with great success. I only mention this as my first bit of advice is to re apply for med school. Don't let rejection be your reason for deferring your dream. You have faced horrific odds in desperate situations and came out on top. This is only a bump in the road, not a reason for a detour. That being said...as a paramedic (or you can do as an EMT), I kept asking around who is a PA in the area who graduated from the school I want to apply to. I got a name, made a call, interviewed him. During that interview, I asked for names of other PAs I can talk with..he gave another name, which led to another, which led to another. I had a form business letter stating my desires for an interview, dropped them at clinics with my contact information and it all worked out over about 3 months of time. Through these series of interviews I dug into the real scene of the PA world, or at least the scene they felt like sharing with me. If I was you, with an EMT job, I'd use that as a hall pass to get me into the ER of the local trauma hospital. Smile, be politely enthusiastic, ask around who the trauma PAs are...start chatting them up. If they are not elbows deep inside someone trying to put pieces together, or its not the middle of the night, they typically are quite enthusiastic about sharing their experiences with you. Maybe just a hand shake, five minute conversation, and an appointment the next day for a working lunch...buy them a meal while you interview them. Fast Track (minor care section) of the ER is another good place to find a PA. If they are not killer busy, they will usually give you a few...they may not be involved in trauma, but maybe their drinking/card playing/sleeping buddy is and can give you a name and number. Think strategy man...get inside the wire, isolate, interrogate, move on the intell gathered to the next target until you meet your objective. :-) Happy Hunting HM2 1990-2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICRob0351 Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Just Steve - Thanks for the data dump bro, I really appreciate it. I actually took a good, long introspective look at WHY I was applying to med school instead of PA school, and I found that my reasons were more ego/monetary motivated than about true passion, happiness, and fulfillment. So I guess the rejections were a blessing in disguise and let me re-evaluate what I really wanted to do, and I feel much happier and more excited about my choice to go the PA route instead. The feeling of foreboding and dread I felt about medical school is gone, and has been replaced with eager anticipation. But enough of the existentialist crap, I'm glad you mentioned finding a PA to interview/shadow. There is an awesome former Navy PA that works in the Yale ED that enthusiastically agreed to let me shadow him whenever I want. So I'm assuming that I have already found a good source from which to extract some high quality intel. Its awesome that there's a part of this site with all former/current military guys; it's hard to find people with our experiences in the every day world. Anyway, thanks again for the help. I'll let you know how it goes. Semper Fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 BAM! Money right there...hit that dude up and run with it. existentialist crap is good. People spend BA-zillions of dollars trying to unwind whatever spring is tight inside of them when all they gotta do is ponder a bit and be honest with themselves. I think sending kids on old school vision quests would be a good thing to help them unwind their dx of ADD/ADHD. Let them do some hard labor all alone with no food or drink for a couple of days, talk with their spirit, then come back to the tribe a changed person. Think of the money saved by health care companies not having to pay drug companies...Of course there is the issue of consecutive concussions while engaged in live combat with no down time to heal...that crap will take more than a few days in the high country to work out..but that is a conversation for another day. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICRob0351 Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Goddamn ROGER that... Couldn't have said it better myself. I'll PM you sometime later in the week and let ya know what the guy said. Oh yeah, and so far the TBI and partial deafness haven't gotten in the way, so screw it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatswain2PA Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I also have significant hearing loss from my service. The VA not only got me hearing aids, they also bought me an amplified stethoscope. Best of luck to you Marine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devildoc0311 Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Rob- Thanks for your service! Who were you with? I was a corpsman with 2/5 out in Pendleton 2002-2005. Let us know if you need anything! HM2(FMF) "Krappy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOP Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Semper Fi, do or die, hold 'em high at 8th and I! Spent 21 years, 3 months, and 17 days in the suck.... and I made it. I can give you Leatherneck to Leatherneck advice if you want it. Don't know anything about surgical stuff as I found it so unremarkably boring but I know a little about ER. I managed to survive a year so far as a new grad with minimal healthcare experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medic25 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 There is an awesome former Navy PA that works in the Yale ED that enthusiastically agreed to let me shadow him whenever I want. So I'm assuming that I have already found a good source from which to extract some high quality intel. Just make sure you bring him a big bottle of Diet Coke before the shift; he has a major addiction :) Yale has PA's in every part of the hospital, so if you are interested in shadowing with other services that is also something that might give you a bit of perspective on the day to day life of a PA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICRob0351 Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Haha, thanks for all the replies guys... I'll definitely store all the good info in my brain housing group. DevilDoc, I was with Charlie 1/25, a reserve infantry company out of Plainville, CT. I spent just about as much time on active duty getting shipped all over God's green earth as I did in the reserves, and I trained in Pendleton in 2005, so we may have even run across each other at some point before I shipped to Iraq. TOP- Thats a long time in the suck brother... glad to see you're making it in the First CivDiv... good luck with your career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryc Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Hey, I know I'm late on the reply to this one - served as a 2171 USMC (98-07). Working as a medic, working towards PA school too. The VA got you an amplified set of ears too??? Any info on that would be great. My husband works as a medic now too (prior 0311). Both of us could use some help in the hearing department. Glad to see you made some progress finding a PA to shadow. Semper Fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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