Just Graduate w/ B.S. in Cellular/Molecular Biology, now what?

[BrandonS15]

So I recently graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.37, and I have not calculated my program GPA but I know it is higher than my cumulative. I know, not very impressive. However, I know I am smart enough to get above average GRE scores if I prepare properly, I was a captain of the college baseball team, and I will be beginning work as a emergency department medical scribe via SribeAmerica on July 17th, 2017. Would this help my case? Being a baseball player, our spring semesters would be littered with weekday games forcing me to miss classes and therefore my GPA suffered (there was a span of two weeks where I missed every physics lecture and came back to an exam). I don't regret the decision to play in college one bit because I love the sport but was just wondering if my GPA along with above average GRE scores and working with multiple physicians would help. I know being a student-athlete looks good to companies because they know I can manage my time, be punctual, and have incredible drive, but will it look good to PA programs? I pretty much had to self teach myself theoretical and quantum physics in my last semester (do not recommend).

On top of that, I am registered to take A&P I this fall, but I believe most programs require A&P I and II (I won't be able to finish A&P II until the end of the spring 2018 semester). I was thinking I could take the second part during winter break but not sure how that would look to PA programs. I am worried that my parents will be infuriated if I tell them I want to wait another year to apply to programs because I can rack up some serious hours working with patients as a scribe and get a solid GRE score. I personally do not want to wait another whole year and a half to begin applying to schools, but I don't know if I could be a real contender with my qualifications as of now. I really want to work in healthcare and I really believe this is my calling.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I appreciate all of your responses!

[MT2PA]

Don't even attempt to apply this cycle.  Sorry, it'll be a waste of money.  You need to take A&P 1 and 2 and get PCE hours.  You *might* be able to apply next cycle (starting April 2018).

Being a student athlete, while it won't hurt you, isn't really going to be impressive to programs.  It might have been if you pulled a 4.0 while being a student athlete but....  Programs are going to compare your grades, HCE/PCE, shadowing, GRE, etc to other applicants.  Figure out how you compare based on those measures.  Student athlete isn't going to make up for any of those.

[BrandonS15]

7 minutes ago, MT2PA said:

Don't even attempt to apply this cycle.  Sorry, it'll be a waste of money.  You need to take A&P 1 and 2 and get PCE hours.  You *might* be able to apply next cycle (starting April 2018).

Being a student athlete, while it won't hurt you, isn't really going to be impressive to programs.  It might have been if you pulled a 4.0 while being a student athlete but....  Programs are going to compare your grades, HCE/PCE, shadowing, GRE, etc to other applicants.  Figure out how you compare based on those measures.  Student athlete isn't going to make up for any of those.

Thank you for the reassurance! I figured I was making the right choice by holding off for another year but wanted to check just in case. 

[DiggySRNA]

I agree 100% with MT2PA that applying this cycle is already out of the question. One thing that stood out to me is that you will infuriate your parents if you tell them you want to wait a year before applying to PA schools...why would they be mad? 

Explain to them that applying to PA schools is NOTHING like applying to undergraduate schools. There are requirements set in place for you to achieve before your application can be pulled for review. Kudos on the job, but no it will not help your case because 1: you won't have enough hours, 2: you haven't fulfilled the academic pre-requisites, 3: you haven't taken the GREs as yet, and 4: it's pretty much considered late for this cycle. BUT, given your early detection of your shortcomings, you are ahead of many other applicants because you managed to earn a 3.3 GPA while balancing your student athletic career.

I understand you don't want to wait a whole year and a half to apply but have you researched how competitive and highly selective PA programs are? It's a really expensive process. I shelled out ~$2.5K for the 2016-2017 cycle on 9 programs and didn't get into 1 lol. I'm not trying to sound like a debby downer but you want to make sure your stats are up-to-par with other candidates because you are competing with more than 1000 other applicants for as little as 15 seats. 

 

EDIT: woops, just realized you decided to wait out the cycle and work on your stats. Good luck with everything :D 

[BrandonS15]

27 minutes ago, Diggy said:

I agree 100% with MT2PA that applying this cycle is already out of the question. One thing that stood out to me is that you will infuriate your parents if you tell them you want to wait a year before applying to PA schools...why would they be mad? 

Explain to them that applying to PA schools is NOTHING like applying to undergraduate schools. There are requirements set in place for you to achieve before your application can be pulled for review. Kudos on the job, but no it will not help your case because 1: you won't have enough hours, 2: you haven't fulfilled the academic pre-requisites, 3: you haven't taken the GREs as yet, and 4: it's pretty much considered late for this cycle. BUT, given your early detection of your shortcomings, you are ahead of many other applicants because you managed to earn a 3.3 GPA while balancing your student athletic career.

I understand you don't want to wait a whole year and a half to apply but have you researched how competitive and highly selective PA programs are? It's a really expensive process. I shelled out ~$2.5K for the 2016-2017 cycle on 9 programs and didn't get into 1 lol. I'm not trying to sound like a debby downer but you want to make sure your stats are up-to-par with other candidates because you are competing with more than 1000 other applicants for as little as 15 seats. 

 

EDIT: woops, just realized you decided to wait out the cycle and work on your stats. Good luck with everything :D 

Thanks for the reply. I think infuriated was the wrong word there. I just have a lot in student loans to pay back and the scribe position does not pay well at all. They understand that it is an investment to continue school and I can pay off all of my undergrad debt and theirs with the average starting salary of a PA, but it's rough thinking about having to withdraw more loans for more school. I was looking at other options of payment that pay for your education in return for your services after school as an alternative but I think I need to weigh all of my options. I do believe it would be best to wait the extra time so I can rack up patient care hours as a scribe.

[harden4mvp]

Also wanted to comment, since no one else has, that scribing is sometimes considered healthcare experience, but not really patient care experience. i scribed throughout college (like 20 hours a week) but after i graduated i started working full-time as a MA, where i was actually taking care of patients. i think since you're waiting to apply you should look for an MA job, or something similar of the sort. you can do this during the day and take classes at night.

[BrandonS15]

23 minutes ago, eliam22 said:

Also wanted to comment, since no one else has, that scribing is sometimes considered healthcare experience, but not really patient care experience. i scribed throughout college (like 20 hours a week) but after i graduated i started working full-time as a MA, where i was actually taking care of patients. i think since you're waiting to apply you should look for an MA job, or something similar of the sort. you can do this during the day and take classes at night.

What exactly does an MA do? I have a family friend in ophthalmology, would that count? I was actually hoping someone would address that topic, thank you!

EDIT: I've just looked at several medical assistant job openings around where I live and they all require some certifications and 2+ years experience as a MA. Both of which I do not have.

[DiggySRNA]

1 hour ago, BrandonS15 said:

What exactly does an MA do? I have a family friend in ophthalmology, would that count? I was actually hoping someone would address that topic, thank you!

EDIT: I've just looked at several medical assistant job openings around where I live and they all require some certifications and 2+ years experience as a MA. Both of which I do not have.

When I applied for my current job (MA) it stated certification highly desired and 1+ year of experience required. None of which I had and I applied because what's the worse they could say? I was called for an interview a week later and offered the job a few days later. Even during the interview they asked if I could do blood draws, injections, and triaging patients and I said no to all. But I emphasized that with my pre-hospital training as an EMT, I am prepared for the role since it was at an urgent care clinic. Urgent Care is a step down from the ER and I milked that for everything lol. 

I would recommend you become EMT licensed (can be done in as little as 3 weeks but it's at an accelerated pace).

As an MA I do everything in the clinic the providers won't do OR don't have time to do such as triage, blood draws, injections, medication administration, nebulizer treatments, wound care, pulmonary function testing, drug/breath alcohol screens, suture/staple removal, splinting, verbally call in meds, patient education, etc etc. I'm the first and the last person patients see. 

I've applied to Ophthalmic Tech* positions when I was job hunting in 2015 and what I found was the OTs* have a very limited scope  because the field is very specialized. It's great experience if you get the opportunity but I would recommend you venture into something broader like being a MA in primary care or urgent care OR become an ER Tech. They see any and everything. Working in UC allowed me the opportunity to learn medications for common ailments, what assessment is required for certain chief complaints, and how to distinguish between who is SICK vs NOT SICK. 

[BrandonS15]

40 minutes ago, Diggy said:

When I applied for my current job (MA) it stated certification highly desired and 1+ year of experience required. None of which I had and I applied because what's the worse they could say? I was called for an interview a week later and offered the job a few days later. Even during the interview they asked if I could do blood draws, injections, and triaging patients and I said no to all. But I emphasized that with my pre-hospital training as an EMT, I am prepared for the role since it was at an urgent care clinic. Urgent Care is a step down from the ER and I milked that for everything lol. 

I would recommend you become EMT licensed (can be done in as little as 3 weeks but it's at an accelerated pace).

As an MA I do everything in the clinic the providers won't do OR don't have time to do such as triage, blood draws, injections, medication administration, nebulizer treatments, wound care, pulmonary function testing, drug/breath alcohol screens, suture/staple removal, splinting, verbally call in meds, patient education, etc etc. I'm the first and the last person patients see. 

I've applied to Ophthalmic Tech* positions when I was job hunting in 2015 and what I found was the OTs* have a very limited scope  because the field is very specialized. It's great experience if you get the opportunity but I would recommend you venture into something broader like being a MA in primary care or urgent care OR become an ER Tech. They see any and everything. Working in UC allowed me the opportunity to learn medications for common ailments, what assessment is required for certain chief complaints, and how to distinguish between who is SICK vs NOT SICK. 

Gotcha. Well, I guess I'll check out the EMT certifications around here and then start looking around for EMT/MA openings. Thank you!