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~ MEDEX BCHS Class of 2014 ~


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Alcon,

 

Today I received a letter that said "The MEDEX Selection Committee reviewed the comments from your interview day and considers you to be "Competitive for Entrance" into the Class of 2012." Did anyone else get this letter and before reading have their heart sink... Then after reading it you think there is still a chance to join the legendary MEDEX program... Wow, talk about a mix of emotions. I am most confused by this portion of the letter " After the last conference we review the list of individuals on the Hold List and extend additional invitations to join MEDEX in either Seattle or Spokane." Does this mean that even though I applied to Yakima, I could be heading to Seattle or Spokane if accepted? Thanks for the help and support

 

Again congrats to those of you who have received that call already, good luck to those on the wait-list, and lastly, good luck to everyone in the future if this isn't the year.

 

Travis

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Probably just a letter sent to everyone on a "hold list" that they might not have modified for Yakima interviewees, but that's just a guess. I'm holding out for you, Travis! I will be mourning along with you if you don't get in. Don't give up! You are going to be such an amazing PA!!! You handled yourself so well in the interview that I was in with you.

 

Sara

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Alcon,

 

Today I received a letter that said "The MEDEX Selection Committee reviewed the comments from your interview day and considers you to be "Competitive for Entrance" into the Class of 2012." Did anyone else get this letter and before reading have their heart sink... Then after reading it you think there is still a chance to join the legendary MEDEX program... Wow, talk about a mix of emotions. I am most confused by this portion of the letter " After the last conference we review the list of individuals on the Hold List and extend additional invitations to join MEDEX in either Seattle or Spokane." Does this mean that even though I applied to Yakima, I could be heading to Seattle or Spokane if accepted? Thanks for the help and support

 

Again congrats to those of you who have received that call already, good luck to those on the wait-list, and lastly, good luck to everyone in the future if this isn't the year.

 

Travis

 

You have a choice, I'd say your glass is half full....but I'm an optimist! Good luck buddy, you are still a competitive candidate :-)

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  • 3 weeks later...

I don't know if any of you are still reading this thread, but as a newbie to the site I want to tell you all how great it is to read your posts. It is wonderful to see the comraderie between you all that has been created just via a forum. I am so very happy for you all who did get in, and I am praying that I will be there with you in Yakima #19.

 

Best of luck to those left to interview in a couple of days. SO nervous!! By the way, I am the "black sheep" here--I am coming from the dental profession. I have been a dental hygienist for nine years and a dental hygiene instructor for four years. It is a little strange being the only one from the dental field--I am used to being around a bunch of other hygienists!

 

Nicole:)

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So I was extremely hopeful that I might be a somewhat decent candidate for the MEDEX bachelors program, however, after reading about the years of experience of some of the other candidates I'm starting to second guess my initial thoughts and wonder if I even have a chance. I've been a Navy Corpsman for nearly two years, been a ED tech for about two months (4 12's a week, about 2300 hours a year), ED volunteer for 9 months, and I'm in the process of shadowing a PA at the Urgent Care across the street. While I have pretty good grades (about a 3.5 gpa) and I'll be able to hit the 4,000 hour minimum HCE mark, I'm wondering if that will even put me into consideration with candidates with 5, 10, 15 years of experience? If you're currently in the bachelors program, did any of your fellow classmates have experience close to my own? Is there anything else I might be able to do in order to make me a more viable candidate for the program?

 

Thanks, Joel

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One thing to consider is that 4k might be the minimum requirement and to be competitive, you need 10-15 years because that's who is applying this cycle. My program is one of the old school programs that emphasize on HCE (Specific HCE for that matter) that required 3-4k but no one in my class had that little. We had one with 7k as the least and some of us were in the 20k range. Mine was around 22k after the official count....good luck!

This post is prob not too helpful :p but I wish you the best! There are a lot of programs who require less and some with no hce requirement. 4k would be competitive for those progs..

 

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So I was extremely hopeful that I might be a somewhat decent candidate for the MEDEX bachelors program, however, after reading about the years of experience of some of the other candidates I'm starting to second guess my initial thoughts and wonder if I even have a chance. I've been a Navy Corpsman for nearly two years, been a ED tech for about two months (4 12's a week, about 2300 hours a year), ED volunteer for 9 months, and I'm in the process of shadowing a PA at the Urgent Care across the street. While I have pretty good grades (about a 3.5 gpa) and I'll be able to hit the 4,000 hour minimum HCE mark, I'm wondering if that will even put me into consideration with candidates with 5, 10, 15 years of experience? If you're currently in the bachelors program, did any of your fellow classmates have experience close to my own? Is there anything else I might be able to do in order to make me a more viable candidate for the program?

 

Thanks, Joel

 

Hi Joel,

 

I will be starting in Yakima Class 19 this March and can assure you there are many cookie molds that were accepted. It seems they are looking for a well-rounded candidate......which it appears you are :-) (I meant that in a nice way)

 

Looking at your experiences, I would say the Navy corpsman time is excellent.....can you get more or are you out,out?

ED tech is good....keep doing that and track every bit of you hours since you are pulling some overtime there.

ED volunteer is good....I would suggest moving that time commitment to your paid ED tech job since paid time is what they seem to emphasize under the minimum 4000 hours....Personally, I had a ton of volunteer time mixed in aside from my paid experience, but in your situation I would definitely recommend getting a little more paid time in....If you still have energy after signing up for all the OT you can scrounge then yes, I'd pull some more volunteer time.

 

Have you applied yet? You might be exactly what the ADCOM is looking for, but the only way to know is to give it a shot.

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Thanks for the comments, they were both encouraging and discouraging (not sure which emoticon to insert here, lol). I know Joelseff and a couple others have commented on my previous posts where I said I was considering a BSN or a bachelors in public health in order to meet the BS portion of the various masters PA programs. Neither are my ultimate goal, so I was hoping that the MEDEX bachelors could possibly fill that, as opposed to taking the long route into a masters program.

 

Rich, I'm still a Navy Corpsman, however, I'm in a reserve roll so I will rack up about 380 HCE hours between my weekends and my two weeks yearly. I'll have all my BSN pre-reqs done this semester, which also gives me all the classes I need for the MEDEX BS program. The only thing really holding me back is the hours. I suppose a deployment would take care of that ;)

 

I guess I was expecting the BS option to be the one requiring less of the candidates experience wise, however, it seems to be the opposite from what I've read and heard from everyone. And as someone else mentioned, it would never hurt to apply. The worst that could happen is that I get rejected, but at least in that case they see where I am and where I've gone when I re-apply.

 

Anyways, thanks for the input and comments. Anything else would be much appreciated.

 

Joel

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Why not get into an AS PA prog then do the ATSU APA MSPAS bachelors equiv entry? Im doing it now AS a working PA and psst, I dont have a BA/BS, but will have a masters next year AND 3 years exp as a PA-C. I graduated PA school Jan of 2011 and decided to bypass the BA/BS (which was only a year away for me). Now i'm about a year in the MS program, and working...just another option but fot me, it was a win-win..

 

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The only thing really holding me back is the hours. I suppose a deployment would take care of that ;)l

 

Even though your hours my be on the low end, definitely still apply. You have some good experience with the Corpsman gig and the ED gig. You'll need to compensate with other areas though. Bear down on your PS (and Medex statement and Military statement), make sure your LOR's are from people you trust. I think you said you have some volunteer experience, that's always good. Don't be afraid to rack up more. And its doesn't all have to be medical volunteering.

While doing drill weekends, try and volunteer doing different medical assignments each week. Not sure what type of command it is, but different experience in other areas will increase your knowledge base.

I was in a similar boat after I got out of the Navy. I did pre-reqs for PA-school that also matched a Bachelors degree I was interested in. Its good to have a back up plan if you don't get in this round.

 

I got accepted this round with about 13k hours (both as a Corpsman and medical assistant). There were some that got accepted with less, denied with less, and some who got denied with more and accepted with more. I'm really active in my community and school, so I'm sure that looked good as well. Moral of the story is to not be discouraged with the HCE thing. You meet the minimum: good. Push forward. Adapt and over-come. If its your time it'll be your time. Like Rich said, the only way to know is to give it a shot.

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Agree with the above. Your hours are not holding you back! You meet the minimum requirements, so apply. Even if you don't get in the first try, the experience of going through the process will help a lot... & you never know, you just might get in. But, if you don't, MEDEX loves re-applicants.

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Thanks for everyone's input regarding the matter. I've been stressing out so much lately regarding whether I should pursue a BSN or just shoot for my ultimate goal of becoming a PA. While I feel a bit behind the curve at 27, which I realize I am not age wise, I want to reach this goal sooner than later. Personally, I think maybe it would just be better if I took two classes a semester and worked more, gaining more and better HCE hours along the way. There really isn't much point, in my opinion, of getting a BSN if I get it and dont even use it. I might as well get good grades in two classes a semester and work more, thus getting me closer to my ultimate goal.

 

Anyone agree?

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Thanks for everyone's input regarding the matter. I've been stressing out so much lately regarding whether I should pursue a BSN or just shoot for my ultimate goal of becoming a PA. While I feel a bit behind the curve at 27, which I realize I am not age wise, I want to reach this goal sooner than later. Personally, I think maybe it would just be better if I took two classes a semester and worked more, gaining more and better HCE hours along the way. There really isn't much point, in my opinion, of getting a BSN if I get it and dont even use it. I might as well get good grades in two classes a semester and work more, thus getting me closer to my ultimate goal.

 

Anyone agree?

 

That sounds like a good plan. If you're dead set on MEDEX, then make sure those classes meet their Bachelors completion requirements, & you won't have to take any extra classes while in PA school. You have a little over half a year to get some of this done before the next application cycle begins.

 

Good Luck!

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Hey Friction, you seem really focused on the BS. What's more important to you, becoming a PA or getting a degree? The answer to this might help guide you.

 

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Well Joelseff, to be honest, it's a bit of both. Obviously my ultimate goal is to be a PA, but I would also like to become in a Naval Officer which requires a bachelors or higher (for PA's). After this semester my BSN pre-reqs are all completed, however, I don't know if I'd rather just rack up more HCE hours and give MEDEX a shot next application cycle or apply for the BSN program. I understand, as Joel said, its a bit limiting in just trying to apply to one school but I guess there's always a chance and we only live once, so why not. Thanks ToppDog and Steve, I really appreciate the advice!

 

Joel

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A "HEADS UP" for Yakima bound students for 2014 students...they don't plow the snow off the main streets worth a damn, and apparently don't touch the side streets at all. I HIGHLY suggest a decent set of snow tires (that is four tires, don't be cheap and try to squeak by with two). We have about 10 inches after a couple of days of snow and I haven't heard or seen one plow yet. What I have seen are a bunch of desert dwellers who apparently haven't thought about how to drive in the snow...ever...despite an annual snow fall.

 

All wheel drive and snow tires...I just shake my head at the spinners as I drive around them on my way to and fro....

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A "HEADS UP" for Yakima bound students for 2014 students...they don't plow the snow off the main streets worth a damn, and apparently don't touch the side streets at all. I HIGHLY suggest a decent set of snow tires (that is four tires, don't be cheap and try to squeak by with two). We have about 10 inches after a couple of days of snow and I haven't heard or seen one plow yet. What I have seen are a bunch of desert dwellers who apparently haven't thought about how to drive in the snow...ever...despite an annual snow fall.

 

All wheel drive and snow tires...I just shake my head at the spinners as I drive around them on my way to and fro....

 

I'm from Sacramento and have driven many hours in the Tahoe snow so hopefully, sooner than later, I'll get to experience this WA snow. I'm sure it's somewhat different, but hopefully somewhat the same. Anyways Steve, I hope you have a good first year up in Washington at MEDEX and take care of business. Gl brother.

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Well Joelseff, to be honest, it's a bit of both. Obviously my ultimate goal is to be a PA, but I would also like to become in a Naval Officer which requires a bachelors or higher (for PA's). After this semester my BSN pre-reqs are all completed, however, I don't know if I'd rather just rack up more HCE hours and give MEDEX a shot next application cycle or apply for the BSN program. I understand, as Joel said, its a bit limiting in just trying to apply to one school but I guess there's always a chance and we only live once, so why not. Thanks ToppDog and Steve, I really appreciate the advice!

 

Joel

 

I hear ya. My point is there are.many ways to skin a cat....who the heck came up with that expression...lol...anyhow just tryin to help out a fellow corpsman

 

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I hear ya. My point is there are.many ways to skin a cat....who the heck came up with that expression...lol...anyhow just tryin to help out a fellow corpsman

 

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Cat...as in cat fish. The skin of a cat fish isn't very tasty and it really interferes with the cooking of the flesh. Much better to "skin the cat" before you try cooking it. There are many ways to hold that fish while you try to remove it's flesh... :-) Make better sense meow?

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I hear ya. My point is there are.many ways to skin a cat....who the heck came up with that expression...lol...anyhow just tryin to help out a fellow corpsman

 

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Much appreciated...

 

Two Joel's, Two Corpsman, Two PA's? Time will tell, but I think its a sign ;)

 

Steve, thanks for the clarification. I always wondered who these people were that skinned cats. Naturally, I assumed they were Southerners.

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Much appreciated...

 

Two Joel's, Two Corpsman, Two PA's? Time will tell, but I think its a sign ;)

 

Steve, thanks for the clarification. I always wondered who these people were that skinned cats. Naturally, I assumed they were Southerners.

 

Fasho' I aint worried 'bout u u'll get in where u fit in...hey remember, adapt and overcome!

 

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3 Corpsman....Myself, Joelseff, and Just Steve. We'll forgive you Friction for being a reservist...;)

 

Ha, Simper Gumby! After his last few posts I'd just assumed that Steve was in the Catfish industry...

 

I would have had no problem going active but $20k made the decision pretty easy...

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