Been working towards PA school but made some foolish mistakes. Help please?

[Davelumber1]

Hello everyone.  This is my first time posting on these forums and was hoping to gain some valuable insight on my present situation.  I will be a Junior come fall at an American University. 

This past year at school I was very foolish and got written up for two alcohol related violations.  One of these violations occurred in the dorms and happened when my roommates friends left alcohol bottles in my room and my RA wrote him and me up for it during room checks even though I had nothing to do with it.  

This next violation is completely on me.  I decided after a long week of testing to go out and have fun, which did involve alcohol.  I got a little carried away and got in trouble with my University police and they cited me for underage drinking.  University police remarked that since I had been disposing of beer cans on the ground they also wrote me up for disorderly conduct, vandalism, and destruction of property.  I was very shocked when I got charged with vandalism and destruction of property since I never was trying to destroy or vandalize anything. They also checked my wallet and found a fake ID which I also got charged for with the University.   

Let me be clear.  This never was taken to court.  This is only on my University conduct record.  I was placed on University probation and have been offered a program by the University that allows me to participate in community service and engagement activities that when completed will take me off probation.  I am in the process of doing this.  This has completely devastated me and will forever be my biggest regrets.  The PA profession is my passion and am ready to dedicate my life to this.  It truly is the only thing I want to do with my life and am utterly ashamed of my actions. 

I was hoping that someone could tell me that if PA schools will hold this against me if I am continually trying to amend for my mistakes like keeping a positive GPA trend, keeping up with HCE, etc.  I know they will not look upon it favorably whatsoever once I disclose it on CASPA, but if I really show my commitment to the profession do I still have a chance?

 

Thank you in advance.   

[UGoLong]

Not sure this kind of thing gets disclosed if you were never charged with a crime. Read the CASPA requirements carefully and maybe have a lawyer take a look at it as well.

Your behavior is extremely immature and does not reflect on what the profession expects. Straighten up and fly right from here on.

[GeorgeA]

They will probably run a background check, but if this was all handled by the school it sounds like it might not be in "the system." You are probably ok. You make stupid decisions with alcohol. I would fix that. A medical licensing board won't like it.

[Palurker]

Probably (but really you should dig deeper to make sure) nothing will come of this. You likely can apply, interview, and be accepted without this transgression ever being brought to light, provided there's no documentation of it from your undergrad that would be automatically sent with a transcript or something. 

What everyone else said is true. In really just about every profession in the medical field, providers need to be capable and professional. You can't switch that on/off either. Better make sure this is the direction you want to go in, because you can lose your job and license if you don't take it seriously.

[mmchick]

In another perspective as everyone is giving you crap on here like they've never made a mistake before- it's not like this incident should be a "judging" factor of who you will be as a professional. You sound extremely young and new to the college scene and most of us have done similar things to this without being caught. I think the biggest takeaway is that before you get all riled up about whether PA school will take you in or not, maybe you should just focus on living out the younger years of your undergrad and work on maturing.

As someone who used to be a new undergrad and foolish, I can say with utmost certainty that I have absolutely no desire anymore to be as careless and silly as you've described the situation you've gotten yourself in. I have no desire to binge drink anymore, or expose myself to public situations where things will blow up on me because I already have professional responsibilities that I could lose as consequence aside from my future desire to be a PA. The best advice I can give you is to pursue a large responsibility as soon as you can, whether that is obtaining a job (in the medical field or not - CNA, scribe, etc.) or volunteering as an EMT, etc. something that will force you to grow up right now and be hesitant before getting yourself in another similar situation.

I have friends that have no responsibilities and they are my age at 21-22 and still act like you. I think it is largely due to not having to be mature or worrying about any immediate consequences for action.

Again, I'm not trying to sound preachy, I'm simply giving you some actual practical advice on how you can grow up a little quicker and perhaps also show on paper that you have managed responsibilities and flown straight since these incidents.

Good luck.

[Davelumber1]

Thank you very much for understanding, and no you aren't being preachy. I've been really adamment about being a mature young adult, as I know these incidents are completely out of character. I've actually been working as an EMT all summer and have been getting some great practical experience!