Nursing before PA school?

[Ellis]

Hello everyone.  Let me jump in by first presenting the question, should I go to nursing school before PA school?  I'm a veteran utilizing my GI bill and I just got accepted to a nursing program.  However, my end goal is to become a physicians assistant.  I initially thought that it would be wise do get a bachelors in nursing and then apply to PA school.  I figured that it would give me good clinical experience,  look good on my application to PA school, and guarentee me a job in case I don't get accepted right away.  However, I recently looked at my degree audit and I'm starting to have second thoughts.  In one more semester, I'll have an associates degree.  If I didnt go into nursing, I could finish my bachelores in 2 more years and apply to PA school.  On the other hand, if I start the nursing program, in two years I'll be a nurse, but I'll only have an associates.  That means it would take an additional two years to get my bachelores, and finally apply to PA school. Is the clinical experience, and job security worth the extra two years of school?  Should I just switch my major to Biology or something, and hope to get accepted into PA school on the first round?  Should I consider NP?  So far I've been able to maintain a 4.0 GPA.  I'm not sure if that will factor into any advice you have for me, but I would really appreciate any feedback.  Thank you for your time.

[pastudentw]

This is almost the same situation I found myself in when looking into applying to PA school.

At the time, I already had my associate of science and was wanting to apply to rad tech programs which was also an associate degree. But after thinking about it, I ended up just continuing for two more years and finishing my bachelors in microbiology and then went on to PA school. Basically in the same amount of time I got a BS versus two associate degrees.

I think with your situation is you really have to ask yourself if you want to be a nurse in any capacity. If yes, then I think the time and money will be worth it but you will also have to put in time go get patient care hours before you apply for PA. If you continue for a BS in another major, you can get a tech job (MA, EMT, CNA etc.) while completing your BS and could be ready to go by the time you graduate and are ready to apply.

The second option is risky since a biology degree doesn't usually offer a career working with patients but if you have a strong application (so far your GPA is awesome) and think you will get in your first application cycle, then that risk may be lower and PA would be a faster path.

The nursing route offers a long term play with much more stability and a great back up plan while giving you great clinical experiences. If you have the time, patience and resources go for it. If not, PA might be the quicker route but won't offer as much of a back up plan if you get a BS in biology or something. 

Just my opinion :)

[south]

No BSN option?  By far the best plan even if you have to switch schools.  

You'll find this in other threads for sure, but a Bio degree isn't your only option if you want to do PA school.  Do that degree in a field that you like or find useful, and - most important - can do well in.  A lot of people get a bio degree by default, but there's not too much advantage to it.  So the majority of people study bio or something related, but a lot of people have degrees unrelated to science (including me).  My class was about half kinesiology and athletic training degrees, the rest were a huge mixed bag.  

If I had to do it again, I would have majored in Spanish.

GI Bill here as well, by the way, in my 40s.  But it was post-Vietnam stuff, not that stuff those whipper snappers are getting these days. 

[hustleforthePAC]

Hello everyone.  Let me jump in by first presenting the question, should I go to nursing school before PA school?  I'm a veteran utilizing my GI bill and I just got accepted to a nursing program.  However, my end goal is to become a physicians assistant.  I initially thought that it would be wise do get a bachelors in nursing and then apply to PA school.  I figured that it would give me good clinical experience,  look good on my application to PA school, and guarentee me a job in case I don't get accepted right away.  However, I recently looked at my degree audit and I'm starting to have second thoughts.  In one more semester, I'll have an associates degree.  If I didnt go into nursing, I could finish my bachelores in 2 more years and apply to PA school.  On the other hand, if I start the nursing program, in two years I'll be a nurse, but I'll only have an associates.  That means it would take an additional two years to get my bachelores, and finally apply to PA school. Is the clinical experience, and job security worth the extra two years of school?  Should I just switch my major to Biology or something, and hope to get accepted into PA school on the first round?  Should I consider NP?  So far I've been able to maintain a 4.0 GPA.  I'm not sure if that will factor into any advice you have for me, but I would really appreciate any feedback.  Thank you for your time.

you are in a good situation, there are rn to bsn bridge programs and the beauty of your situation is that once you're done you qualify to apply to both np and pa School and you'll be able to base the next step in your situation off whichever program accepts you first! The rn route will offer you competitive pay while collecting very high end clinical hours making you very competitive for pa school admissions. There is the hsbc scholarship option and another option where For every 2 years you commit to giving back 3 years in military. There are a lot more public nurse practitioner schools While PA school is heavily private  suggesting higher cost. The rn route is a great route because a lot of bio bachelor grads End up getting a certification to become a medical assistant, certified nurse assistant, lvn or an EMT being paid minimum wage, significantly way lower pay and more limited scope of practice than an RN.  

Sometimes us ba degree holders do not get into PA school right away taking us one to two years post grad (sometimes more!) and for every year that we don’t get in it’s another year of lost income.

 

But the beauty of the nursing route is you get compensated while you wait for admissions decisions. 

So to answer your question I don’t think you’re wasting your time earning your RN degree it is a very smart route. 

i went the other route  because I am a career changer with a career in business. as an EMT I am limited in my scope of practice. grad /professional school is very expensive maybe consider using your benefits for those costs (not too sure on the details of your bill)

 

ps: it’s physican assistant /PA not physican’s assistant 

(pet peeve of pa admissions some and go as far as just tossing out the application if the spelling error is made in the ps) 

 

 

[Ellis]

Thanks for the advice.  Using my GI bill for grad school is an excellent idea.  I'll look into that asap.  Do you really think the wait time to get into physican assistant school would really be 1-2 years?

[hustleforthePAC]

Thanks for the advice.  Using my GI bill for grad school is an excellent idea.  I'll look into that asap.  Do you really think the wait time to get into physican assistant school would really be 1-2 years?

PA School admissions many factors
1. GPA
2. Good direct healthcare hours that exceed the minimums
3. Letters of recommendations
4. Volunteer work
5. Well roundedness
6. Personal statement
7. Interview

There are 229 or so pa programs, what makes it a challenge is a program can have only 18-97 spots per year, 2000 plus applicants while They Only interview 70 to 400 out of that batch. There is only four programs that I know of that have 97 seats. ipap has 150 and enlisted have to meet the same prerequisites as civilian pa school plus a letter from sergeant and age waivers if over 32.
I can guarantee you you must devote time into both paths but as an rn you get the benefits of pay, good health care experience and just like there are no short cuts to becoming a doctor there's none for being a pa either because one day a patients life will be in your hands. All these paths require a tremendous sacrifice, but the good news is you have the gi bill on your side!



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[JD2012]

On 10/22/2017 at 9:09 AM, Ellis said:

Thanks for the advice.  Using my GI bill for grad school is an excellent idea.  I'll look into that asap.  Do you really think the wait time to get into physican assistant school would really be 1-2 years?

Definitely plan on applying multiple times and on top of the couple years to get a good amount of patient care hours and building up your application.