carriagada Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Hi, I am 25 years old and work as a microbiologist/analytical scientist for a pharmaceutical company. My B.S. was in biochemistry with a final GPA of 3.0. I am interested in applying to PA school, but understand that with my GPA and situation, I would require impressive HCE to have a fighting chance. With that said, I am seeking to submit an application at least one full year from now for the following fall. So my question is this- as someone that is not a nurse, EMT, what-have-you, and balancing a full time job during the application process, how can I gain experience? It seems that most jobs require some previous certification or hours that directly conflict with holding a job. I would be willing to quit and accept a new position if the salary could cover my bills for the time being. If (in a beautiful world) I got into PA school, i would of course no longer work. But I cannot take that risk until then. Can someone please advise me on this? I would love to take the first concrete step! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted October 31, 2015 Administrator Share Posted October 31, 2015 Some programs will definitely take people with a strong biological sciences background with limited patient care experience, but in those cases the candidates tend to have 3.5s far more often than 3.0s. I'm guessing that if you work for a major pharmaceutical company, you're living in a major metro area, where opportunities for relevant volunteering are minimal to nonexistent. I worked ~5 years as a volunteer EMT/FF before PA school, but my department is now getting volunteers from the adjacent county because they have essentially no more volunteer departments. Any path that you take to PA school is going to be a lot of work, and probably going to involve both taking additional classes to raise your GPA, as well as working or volunteering part time to get hands-on patient care experience. The good news is that while it won't be fun or easy, it will start to prepare you for the work involved in PA school itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Definitely try and do some PA/MD shadowing. As far as HCE, as someone who had a 'real' full time job before applying I, too, was hesitant to give up my salary for HCE and no guarantee of PA school, so I'd suggest finding something that will allow you work PRN/per diem or even part time. This may leave you with smaller numbers if you plan to apply next year, but it will give you a chance to save extra money. This is assuming of course that you won't need to be taking any additional courses for your apps. 2 jobs plus classes may not be a viable option. Things like CNA, PCT, phlebotomy, scribe might be an option for you and require minimal training and depending on your state may or may not require certifications. Just as an aside, CASPA opens in April and if you wait until a year from now to apply you will be late in the cycle. So either have yourself prepped to apply next summer for programs starting in 2017 or you may find yourself delayed another cycle to applying in early 2017 for programs starting in 2018. If you need the time, that's perfectly fine, I just wanted you to have an accurate timeline for applying. Starting in fall of 2017 will be competing with applicants who start the cycle this coming April 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlottew Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Or cut your lifestyle waaaay back, so that you can pay your living expenses on the (very) reduced salary of a CNA or ED tech. In the meantime you can take extra prereqs you might be missing (I was also a biochem major, I needed to take A&P 1 and 2 for PA school). If you don't need to take any classes, you might be able to work fulltime in lab and part time in healthcare, or part time in both - that will make the $ part easier. The first option will require living with roommates or moving in with family, driving an old car, possibly accumulating some debt - but with a less than stellar GPA you need to convince PA schools that you are committed, and that you understand what working in healthcare is like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I sympathize with your situation. It is possible to go to PA school without ever having a full-time medical job; that's what I did. I think one approach for you would be to not worry about getting everything done in a year and just start taking steps. Get your prereqs done at night in community college, get a medical job nights or weekends (I did mine as a volunteer and later as part-time paid in a 9-1-1 service), and keep making money in your day job. Do some shadowing so you know what the system is and also so you can confirm your career choice. Just keep moving forward and don't worry about exactly which year you'll be going. From the day I decided to do this until the day I graduated was 9 years. And it was a good time. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 You should also consider taking more classes over the next year to raise your GPA, even if it isn't much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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