ms.m.dineva Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Hi all, Here is my story in short: I did not know in which direction I was going, so messed up really bad in my freshman year, and some after it. I had no study habits at all. After my BA, I went in to take all the pre-reqs. Below is what my CASPA grades look like. I am confused as if I should take more science undergrad classes, go and get another bachelor degree, enter a master's, or finish an associates for something in medical field. My HCE is as a research assistant for 2 years, and I recently started assisting an anesthesiologist when he's scheduled for surgical procedures with gynos and urologists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfca40 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 What were you duties as a research assistant? A lot of programs won't consider research assistant for HCE unless you can document you had high quality patient contact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms.m.dineva Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 What were you duties as a research assistant? A lot of programs won't consider research assistant for HCE unless you can document you had high quality patient contact. This is coming from my resume. I used to go the hospital labor and delivery, and the obgyn clinic to meet patients, interview them, get their consent, administer psychophysiological assessments, collect specimen from them, disburse payments for participation. Pretty much 3/4th of my time doing research it involved patient interaction. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Here are my thoughts. 1. When I evaluate CASPA applications, I don't spend much time with the top-level summary of grades (if the overall meets our cutoff). Could you provide a list of the prereqs you took (sorted by when you took them), and your grades? That tells me a lot more. 2. Your RA experience is impressive, but it is generally a good idea to have hands-on experience working with patients (while they are awake!) What you have done and plan to do are good, but -- if I were you (and I'm not) -- I'd try to get some hands-on experience, too. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyhoundGirl Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I am an applicant, so take this with a grain of salt. I wouldn't go a do a whole new degree just for the purpose of trying to get into PA school. To me it just wouldn't be worth the time and money. Your best bet sounds like a nursing assistant class or something like that and working as that for at least a few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted November 12, 2015 Moderator Share Posted November 12, 2015 good news is your total gpa is > 3.0. you probably need both a few more science classes with As to get sci GPA to 3.0 and a thousand or more hrs of significant HCE to be a good candidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms.m.dineva Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Here are my thoughts. 1. When I evaluate CASPA applications, I don't spend much time with the top-level summary of grades (if the overall meets our cutoff). Could you provide a list of the prereqs you took (sorted by when you took them), and your grades? That tells me a lot more. 2. Your RA experience is impressive, but it is generally a good idea to have hands-on experience working with patients (while they are awake!) What you have done and plan to do are good, but -- if I were you (and I'm not) -- I'd try to get some hands-on experience, too. Good luck! Hi UGoLong, I posted this because I am unsure which grades would be looked at. If I had to sort my prereqs by year, it would look like this : So, right now I do interact and care for the patients when they are awake as well. I take them to the OR, take their vitals, get their consent, medical history, then we follow with the procedure, and once they are awake I stay with them until they are fully conscious, then educate them about what not to do for a couple of days, how the procedure went, and in general if they have any questions. This is my main concern I was looking to get more HCE but in NYC almost all medical facilities expect you to be certified even for a medical assistant. If they are not requiring a certificate they need you to have 3+ years of experience. So I am not sure what to do. Nobody wants to train you and give you a shot if you have no direct experience, it is really discouraging. I have even applied for a medical scribe at the clinics and no shot. My bachelors is of no use, seems as if I studied for no reason, if those who hold a lower level degree/certificate can be able to get a job and I can't. I am trying to decide between going for a MS in public health, so I can at least start working somewhere. Or go another year to school to get the certificate for medical assistant...Or start working somewhere that will not directly get me HCE (patient coordinator at a hospital), and take online science classes at a 4 year uni. I need to start working somewhere that is more full-time. I am an applicant, so take this with a grain of salt. I wouldn't go a do a whole new degree just for the purpose of trying to get into PA school. To me it just wouldn't be worth the time and money. Your best bet sounds like a nursing assistant class or something like that and working as that for at least a few months. The thing is that for all those certificate programs I would need to take at least two semesters of classes. Which means two more semesters of not working. I need a job, I need to start working somewhere so I can pay for these classes. That's why I was thinking.. two semesters for a certificate, well that is halfway done in a masters program.. good news is your total gpa is > 3.0. you probably need both a few more science classes with As to get sci GPA to 3.0 and a thousand or more hrs of significant HCE to be a good candidate. Well that is why I posted this thread, nobody would really take you as a medical assistant, or any kind of assistant, if you don't have a certificate. Even though there is people working out there without certificates, since the health dept doesn't require it but it just looks better for the medical practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyhoundGirl Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 The thing is that for all those certificate programs I would need to take at least two semesters of classes. Which means two more semesters of not working. I need a job, I need to start working somewhere so I can pay for these classes. That's why I was thinking.. two semesters for a certificate, well that is halfway done in a masters program.. I know at one point I did a medication aide class in 3 days and I was able to give dr ordered medications and even check blood sugar. With an extra training session you are able to give prescribed oxygen, and there were other modules I didn't do. Also, I have friends who took a 12-week class to become a nurse's assistant. Neither of these jobs pay that well, but they are jobs and not going to school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms.m.dineva Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 I know at one point I did a medication aide class in 3 days and I was able to give dr ordered medications and even check blood sugar. With an extra training session you are able to give prescribed oxygen, and there were other modules I didn't do. Also, I have friends who took a 12-week class to become a nurse's assistant. Neither of these jobs pay that well, but they are jobs and not going to school. Can you give me the website to this 3 day class I want to look into it and see if I can find something similar in my state. So then were you able to work as? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 The certificate thing totally depends on the state. I've worked in both - ones that didn't require it and would train on the job, and one that required certification. Granted the state that required it also had an option to 'challenge' the state exam and I was able to take a refresher course and pass vs taking a 6 week course. If you are looking at something requiring 2 semesters of 'school' for a certification, it might be a scam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms.m.dineva Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 The certificate thing totally depends on the state. I've worked in both - ones that didn't require it and would train on the job, and one that required certification. Granted the state that required it also had an option to 'challenge' the state exam and I was able to take a refresher course and pass vs taking a 6 week course. If you are looking at something requiring 2 semesters of 'school' for a certification, it might be a scam. I am in NYC, so all the medical assistant and all kinds of assistants programs are associates degree, or a certificate that requires you to go to school for 8-9-10 months. =\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Your grade trend is good. I would take patho and beef up your HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyhoundGirl Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 I am in NYC, so all the medical assistant and all kinds of assistants programs are associates degree, or a certificate that requires you to go to school for 8-9-10 months. =\ Look up "certified nursing assistant" versus "medical assistant." They are not the same and the programs are usually 4-8 weeks. Also, you many not find these programs at universities or even community colleges. They are most likely offered by small, for-profit schools (which I normally think are all a waste of money, but in this case I don't see an issue with it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optimistic3 Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 a CNA or EMT class is just 1 semester. Check your local community college for classes. That's where I did my CNA class in 6 weeks over the summer for pretty cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfca40 Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 There are a variety of options available for EMT...programs out here range from 4 weeks, 2 months, to a full semester, depending on the number of hours per week. Some are offered through private professional schools, others through local community colleges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms.m.dineva Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 I got a job training as a derm MA guys! Thank you so much for all your input, I was so worried. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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