rachie Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I am a senior in college, with no health care experience whatsoever. Plenty of volunteer hours, and 2 years of research experience.. but no HCE. I was considering of applying to PA school in June 2012, however w/ my low GPA (3.2), i am discouraged, i don't think ill have a change to get in. I'm always looking for any sort of "non-certified medical assistant job" but they all require some sort of experience as well. My question is, Has anyone took a CNA/EMT course (or any sort of certification course) WHILE still a full time student at a university? I do not want to take a semester off from school in order to obtain a certification as a CNA/EMT. I will be taking classes in the summer as well and my Plan is to graduate December 2012. Any advice, please let me know.. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 This belongs in the pre-PA forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I took mine while a full time student and have worked 40 hours a week all through school. Plenty of others have. Also you will get a way better response if you post this in pre-PA section instead (go back to forums and scroll down to the bottom and click Pre-PA Forum). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimToCure Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I'm just completing my First Responder now which is required before taking my EMT. You can definitely do it while taking other courses. It's just like taking any of your other science prerequisites. I'm a Pre PA at MDC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SocialMedicine Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 EMT is a serious job do not get me wrong. But you can easily take an EMT course while in school, add in working part time too. It is probably the equivalent of a 3 credit course. HOWEVER, it will depend on how frequent the course meets. Most meet 2-3X a week in my experience to accomodate alot of part time students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friction Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Just to add to this, EMT is a cake walk to what you will go through in the future. Between going through Navy Corps School and Paramedic school, EMT education is a joke. Granted, at the time, I thought EMT school was difficult and very hard, however, the further you get into medicine, which, I'm not very far into compared to others, the harder it gets. I cant even imagine what many PA's are/or go through in their studies, compared to what I'm learning now. Just be prepared and understand what you are getting into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Just to add to this, EMT is a cake walk to what you will go through in the future. Between going through Navy Corps School and Paramedic school, EMT education is a joke. Granted, at the time, I thought EMT school was difficult and very hard, however, the further you get into medicine, which, I'm not very far into compared to others, the harder it gets. I cant even imagine what many PA's are/or go through in their studies, compared to what I'm learning now. Just be prepared and understand what you are getting into. While EMT school may not be a super stretch of neurons we do need to applaud the OPs decision to get some sort of experience. EMT beats the pants off of doing nothing. Speaking as a ten year Navy Corpsman and a subsequent paramedic for 12 years... So far PA school has illustrated how little I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I am a senior in college, with no health care experience whatsoever. Plenty of volunteer hours, and 2 years of research experience.. but no HCE.I was considering of applying to PA school in June 2012, however w/ my low GPA (3.2), i am discouraged, i don't think ill have a change to get in. I'm always looking for any sort of "non-certified medical assistant job" but they all require some sort of experience as well. My question is, Has anyone took a CNA/EMT course (or any sort of certification course) WHILE still a full time student at a university? I do not want to take a semester off from school in order to obtain a certification as a CNA/EMT. I will be taking classes in the summer as well and my Plan is to graduate December 2012. Any advice, please let me know.. Thanks! Its doable, I teach Paramedics and EMTs, and there are usually several college students getting EMT certs while still full time in school. EMT is also, IMO a great start for PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiovolffemtp Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Very doable. Two paths exist where I am: - college class: 3-6 credit hours. This can make it nice if it becomes part of full-time tuition, i.e. no extra cost. - vocational school: typically cheaper than college tuition. HOWEVER, the real reason to do it should be to get HCE, not just to check-off some PA pre-req certification box. If you want to learn, you're best off using the EMT certification to get an in-hospital tech job, unless you can get 911 response experience without being dual certified as a firefighter. Private ambulance services hire lots of EMT-Basics, but you do mostly interfacility transports and don't learn much. In my part of the country, the fire service provides almost all of the 911 response. Don't assume that the EMT course will be a cake-walk. I taught it and 1st responder at the college level for years before pausing to go to PA school. Students who were good at memorizing and reguritating, even excellent in chem, A&P, etc. often had difficulty grasping the mindset of patient assessment and treatment. EMT requires a very broad but shallow level of knowledge, especially of pathophysiology. It's the breadth and the concept of going symptoms ==> patho ==> treatment that's unique at the undergrad level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICUman Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Got my CNA done in a week and half here in Utah while doing full-time school and two jobs. Search around, the programs are out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotaox1 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 CNA would be doable, EMT... try not to take any lab sciences............ Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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