KMLight Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 Hello, I am just beginning the process of pursuing PA school. My plan is to apply to the University of New England in April of 2019. I am a 41 year old professional with 20 years in IT. I work at a Surgical Center as the IT Support person. My plan is to start my sciences in Jan of 18 (I have 6 to complete) I am writing to ask, what would be the best route to get my 2000 clinical hours? I am looking at doing the CNA program here at my job. It is free, it is 11 weeks longs and I would get a job in the hospital, immediately. Working closely with doc's , nurses, on critical care units. I was considering becoming surgical tech but, that is a 1 year intense program and the direct patient care, is with a patient who is asleep, not awake. When looking at clinical hours, what is the best route to take? If I am going to take a 75% drop in pay for a year, I'd like to get into school. The PA program here is super competitive. There were 1200 applicants last year and only 50 seats. Thank you, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beattie228 Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 CNA is a good approach. Taking an additional year to obtain your surg tech credentials will only serve to prolong your application timeline. Your IT background is unique, and you can spin it in the right way with your essay and interview. I know of a couple former IT folks who are now great PAs. Only piece of advice I have is to consider increasing the number of schools you apply to. Applying to just one school can significantly decrease your changes of getting in. All the best on your journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmergencyMedicine Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 On 9/29/2017 at 10:12 AM, beattie228 said: CNA is a good approach. Taking an additional year to obtain your surg tech credentials will only serve to prolong your application timeline. Your IT background is unique, and you can spin it in the right way with your essay and interview. I know of a couple former IT folks who are now great PAs. Only piece of advice I have is to consider increasing the number of schools you apply to. Applying to just one school can significantly decrease your changes of getting in. All the best on your journey. you have to apply to more than one school. All the schools now get k's of apps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted October 1, 2017 Moderator Share Posted October 1, 2017 also, if your long term goal happens to be in a surgical field it would be worthwhile to have the surgical tech> the cna experience. many "ins" at first jobs are based on prior hce: paramedics to em, ortho techs to ortho, surg techs to surgery, resp therapists to pulmonology/critical care, etc agree that you need to apply to more than one program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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