tuxedosheep Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Two cents from a person who went through both med school applications and PA school applications. I shadowed physicians, and in my experience, it helped me solidify not pursuing medical school after I didn't get in the first time. I remember asking a resident (poor timing?) if they felt proud/happy with how far they had come, and she replies "Well, I can't turn back now." That was one of several instances where I saw the unhappiness with career that I would have otherwise not seen if I didn't shadow. When I shadowed PAs, it was different. Most were happy people that liked what they were doing most of the time. That helped me decide I wanted to continue pursue PA school, and as I am an intuitive person, it gave me a good 'gut feeling' about it. I think I'd say shadowing didn't make my decisions for me. Working in the healthcare field did it for me. P.S. the MCAT was extremely difficult for me, even with two different prep series and two tries. I think it was the lukewarm motivation for med school I had that just couldn't push me into doing well on that test. It keeps the people out that don't want to give the energy and time to something they don't REALLY want. **And I really wanted to have a chance at work life balance, because I never have wanted work to be the majority of my purpose. P.S.S I don't think you can even compare GRE to MCAT. It tests wildly different subjects, other than verbal reasoning. I personally enjoyed the GRE more because I hate physics and general chemisty, haha. Oh, and I found the PA school application process to be much more grueling than medical school application process. I'm pretty sure I didn't make the cut because of my MCAT. But it was certainly less consuming than applying to PA school. But of course, this is just but one opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8404PA Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I've seen several people get into programs with ZERO Health care experience. There are some good journal articles by Dr. Kenneth Harbert about why some of the most qualified PA candidates ( military medics and specifically combat medics) are not being accepted or tapped in to. Application process was grueling Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 I've seen several people get into programs with ZERO Health care experience. There are some good journal articles by Dr. Kenneth Harbert about why some of the most qualified PA candidates ( military medics and specifically combat medics) are not being accepted or tapped in to. Application process was grueling Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Times are changing. For better or worse, students right out of undergrad with amazing GPAs are appealing bc they do well with the rigorous testing environment and at the end of the day - you have to pass the tests to graduate and pass PANCE to practice. Ideally candidates will have both aspects (HCE and grades) but many have strength in one over the other. That's not to say that either type of candidate is better or worse for being a PA, just that PA and PA school isn't what it was decades ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asclepius Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 This is an interesting thread. I appreciate the different perspectives thus far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akrenner0991 Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Just spent a solid 20 minutes reading this thread. Appreciate all the outlooks, however I wish I had a bag of popcorn during it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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