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So I failed out of PA school.  My school has a longer program, so I failed out when I had completed 4 semesters and only have 3 months of didactic left.  I didn't fail anything, just got to many C's and didn't maintain a 3.0.  I was pretty sure that they would let me restart the program, but they denied my appeal for that.  It kinda ruined my holidays, but being so busy is holding off my depression.  They don't give you any explanation on why.  My initial reaction was to say screw school, just find some job and move on with your life, partially because this was already a career switch for me, so I'm not fresh out of undergrad.  However, in seeing a million people over the holidays, I've gotten to talk to people about their stroke, pacemaker, fibroid surgery, inguinal hernia, and bariatric surgery.  It's all just driven home how much I truly love medicine.  So I'm back to looking at finding a job for now, but also looking into the BSN to NP route, even though all my reasons from preferring PA > NP are still there.  I also have been looking on here to see what people have said about failing out.  One of the posts said that their school encourages people to reapply to multiple PA schools.  Has anyone heard of someone who failed out getting into another school?  Because, I'm not gonna lie, as long as it will take me to get my pre-reqs for BSN, do that, then NP, I might as well reapply for PA and do what I prefer, if it's an option.  Just wasn't sure it was an option.  Anyone heard of anyone being able to get accepted after failing out?  I'm pretty sure it's a long shot, but can't hurt to ask.  Thanks for the help.

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couldn't hurt to reapply to PA programs while you look at other avenues. only downside is money. take this in the spirit of concern, but did you figure out why you got so many Cs? you likely need to work on that issue to avoid a repeat problem in PA, BSN, or NP programs in the future.

also, there are still part time PA programs out there, you do the 2 yr program over 3 years by splitting the didactic year over 2 years. worth thinking about if you felt overwhelmed by volume.

I did the part time program at Drexel to allow me to work as a medic and finance things as I went. others did it for a lighter academic load.

best of luck whatever you decide.

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45 minutes ago, EMEDPA said:

couldn't hurt to reapply to PA programs while you look at other avenues. only downside is money. take this in the spirit of concern, but did you figure out why you got so many Cs? you likely need to work on that issue to avoid a repeat problem in PA, BSN, or NP programs in the future.

also, there are still part time PA programs out there, you do the 2 yr program over 3 years by splitting the didactic year over 2 years. worth thinking about if you felt overwhelmed by volume.

I did the part time program at Drexel to allow me to work as a medic and finance things as I went. others did it for a lighter academic load.

best of luck whatever you decide.

I struggled really hard core with pharmacology.  I almost failed it, but pulled off a B on the comprehensive final to pass the class, but that caused me to neglect other classes, so I got two C's that semester, which put me on academic probation.  But then the shaky foundation in pharm caused issues in pretty much every block.  I got B's in almost everything.  Had a few that were almost A's, but had to put all my effort into making sure I didn't fail anything.  I tried to explain that in my meetings to defend why I should be able to redo the program (and said I'd take it again before I redid the program too, so I'd be taking it 3 times total), but the Dean didn't seem to believe me.  I definitely plan on taking a pharm class before any programs (PA or BSN) because I definitely need all the help I can get in it.  And if I'm reapplying, to show that I've improved in the areas I struggled with.

Thanks for the info on Drexel.  I didn't really look out of my state much, so I didn't know that was an option.

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It’s a longshot to get accepted at a new PA program. It might have happened, but I’ve never heard of it. All those other, academically unblemished (yet) students to compete with and all that. The PA route would seem to be just finding a way to get back in where you were.

 

Best wishes. There other ways into medicine, as you know.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

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Applying to other programs will likely be low yield (unless you do not tell them about your prior attendance) and expanding your choices to test the waters can be prohibitively expensive.

While E relates his experience with a part time program, those options have nearly disappeared with the transition to a masters degree.

Failing a student after 4 semesters of taking tuition dollars is not acceptable. Makes me believe that this program did not have it together concerning milestones and expectations. I have not followed other posts for your situation but did you get a refund of any sort? Did you get any sort of academic advising or assistance when it was identified you were not doing well?

The fact that you want to reapply and the program won't accept that indicates the program and sponsoring institution have burnt their bridge with you. Now you are left potentially holding the bag of financial obligations undertaken in order to attend that program. You can go quietly into the night or there is the distinct possibility that your program failed you in your quest to be a PA.

Take a look at the ARC-PA standards, specifically A1.05, A1.10, A2.05, A2.14, A3.10, A3.11, A3.17, A3.19, B1.09, C3.03. This can be found at: http://www.arc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/AccredManual-4th-edition.rev6_.17.pdf

After reviewing those standards and the evidence suggestions, ask the following questions:

Did the program make it clear what was expected in writing for the classes a C was earned?

Did the program provide notice and advising/assistance when performance did not meet program expectations?

Are there records indicating these meetings/sessions and the outcomes?

Did the program provide remediation opportunities when those expectations where not met?

If there is a no to any of those questions, revisiting this with the dean concerning the decision to dismiss you could be supported. A complaint to ARC-PA concerning unmet standards could also be a potential action.

Alternatively, if all of the above was met, basis for readmission would be missing. 

There is also the question of poor performance due to a learning disability, for which evaluation may be a necessary pursuit prior to any further endeavors. 

Good luck. George

 

 

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   I'd focus first on figuring out why you couldn't maintain the necessary GPA, whether it be test taking skills, reading comprehension, etc. 

   I have a friend who failed out of his first PA school and was lucky enough to get into another and make it through the whole program, just to fail the PANCE 5 times. He's a memorizer/regurgitater and that strategy failed him. If you can identify your weak points, there are always remedies to strengthen them once they're identified. 

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On 12/28/2017 at 8:44 AM, gbrothers98 said:

Applying to other programs will likely be low yield (unless you do not tell them about your prior attendance) and expanding your choices to test the waters can be prohibitively expensive.

Failing a student after 4 semesters of taking tuition dollars is not acceptable. Makes me believe that this program did not have it together concerning milestones and expectations. I have not followed other posts for your situation but did you get a refund of any sort? Did you get any sort of academic advising or assistance when it was identified you were not doing well?

The fact that you want to reapply and the program won't accept that indicates the program and sponsoring institution have burnt their bridge with you. Now you are left potentially holding the bag of financial obligations undertaken in order to attend that program. You can go quietly into the night or there is the distinct possibility that your program failed you in your quest to be a PA.

Take a look at the ARC-PA standards, specifically A1.05, A1.10, A2.05, A2.14, A3.10, A3.11, A3.17, A3.19, B1.09, C3.03. This can be found at: http://www.arc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/AccredManual-4th-edition.rev6_.17.pdf

After reviewing those standards and the evidence suggestions, ask the following questions:

Did the program make it clear what was expected in writing for the classes a C was earned?

Did the program provide notice and advising/assistance when performance did not meet program expectations?

Are there records indicating these meetings/sessions and the outcomes?

Did the program provide remediation opportunities when those expectations where not met?

If there is a no to any of those questions, revisiting this with the dean concerning the decision to dismiss you could be supported. A complaint to ARC-PA concerning unmet standards could also be a potential action.

Alternatively, if all of the above was met, basis for readmission would be missing. 

There is also the question of poor performance due to a learning disability, for which evaluation may be a necessary pursuit prior to any further endeavors. 

So my program instead of making you reapply, has a lot of meetings with lots of different people and then the Dean decides whether or not you can come back.  She said no.  I got no explanation of why, tho above I did say I don't think she believed my reasoning about why I struggled so much, and so didn't think I would succeed if I did the program over.  And no refund at all, just stuck with a bunch of debt and no degree and no classes that will transfer to anything.

As far as to what my program did for me, once I was on academic probation, I had to go to an extra meeting with my advisor every semester and a meeting with the program director every semester.  They'd basically just tell me that I still hadn't fixed it and I should go to the tutoring center.  I went to the tutoring center for any class I didn't have a high B in.  Sometimes it helped, sometimes it didn't.  I met with every teacher anytime I failed a test or got a low C.  It rarely helped.  I did all this stuff that mostly wasted my time because everyone kept saying if I didn't, then they definitely wouldn't let me redo the program, but I almost feel like it hurt me because the dean specifically said I was doing everything I should and not improving so what's going to change.  I said I was planning on taking an extra pharmacology class and some others that I struggled with, plus redoing the whole program, I thought would be enough.  I don't do well with rote memorization, so pharm and micro were very hard for me and come up repeatedly in every block.  I got better every time they came up, but I was still behind everyone else.  I honestly thought if I had the extra class, plus redoing the program, I'd be solid.  But the dean didn't seem to agree that that was why I got C's.  So she said I couldn't redo the program.  

I figured getting into another PA program was pretty slim, but figured it was worth asking on here, just in case it does happen.  

One good thing about this school is they let me continue to use the career services center, so I'm going to meet with them and see if there is anything other than nursing that might also work for me and give me options.  

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13 hours ago, 2wheels said:

   I'd focus first on figuring out why you couldn't maintain the necessary GPA, whether it be test taking skills, reading comprehension, etc. 

   I have a friend who failed out of his first PA school and was lucky enough to get into another and make it through the whole program, just to fail the PANCE 5 times. He's a memorizer/regurgitater and that strategy failed him. If you can identify your weak points, there are always remedies to strengthen them once they're identified. 

I'm the opposite.  I need to understand to remember, and I feel like not a lot of professors explained the why of things and so I'd be stuck trying to memorize way too much or spend all my time trying to figure out why and either way I was screwed.  I will say, once I was on academic probation my stress went way up, and it did affect my studying, my test taking, etc.  I still didn't really feel like I had test anxiety or anything, I just had absolutely no confidence in my answers, so I'd flag half the test and change answers and we all know that's a bad idea about 90% of the time.

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I think sometimes you have to just be ok with memorizing.  I love knowing the background and the individual biochemical reactions but with the amount of info you get in med or PA school, you kind of have to suck it up and just work on your study style to make sure you are prepared for it next time.  It's going to be that way regardless of where you go. 

 

If you want to go deeper (that sounds dirty), you're gonna have to do it yourself on your free time.  

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On 12/28/2017 at 9:44 AM, gbrothers98 said:

Failing a student after 4 semesters of taking tuition dollars is not acceptable. Makes me believe that this program did not have it together concerning milestones and expectations. I have not followed other posts for your situation but did you get a refund of any sort? Did you get any sort of academic advising or assistance when it was identified you were not doing well?

This is not a solid assumption. For starters, what was the overall atttrition for the class? If the OP is the only person in this position in a class of 30, I'd argue this is more like an individual problem than a systemic problem.

Done properly, PA school gets progressively more challenging. There will be some percentage of people who will hit a wall related to their ability. PA school is not for everyone, and some people will be admitted that just won't cut it. A good admissions process will minimize this, but it will still happen.

 

On 12/30/2017 at 0:20 AM, vaspas2019 said:

So my program instead of making you reapply, has a lot of meetings with lots of different people and then the Dean decides whether or not you can come back.  She said no.  I got no explanation of why, tho above I did say I don't think she believed my reasoning about why I struggled so much, and so didn't think I would succeed if I did the program over.  And no refund at all, just stuck with a bunch of debt and no degree and no classes that will transfer to anything.

Again, own this. I don't mean to be harsh, but people are always looking for an external locus for their problems. If most other people in your class succeeded, the curriculum was workable. It's up to students to find a way to achieve rather than for a program to try to drag along students who cannot keep pace.

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On 12/30/2017 at 0:23 AM, vaspas2019 said:

I'm the opposite.  I need to understand to remember, and I feel like not a lot of professors explained the why of things and so I'd be stuck trying to memorize way too much or spend all my time trying to figure out why and either way I was screwed.  I will say, once I was on academic probation my stress went way up, and it did affect my studying, my test taking, etc.  I still didn't really feel like I had test anxiety or anything, I just had absolutely no confidence in my answers, so I'd flag half the test and change answers and we all know that's a bad idea about 90% of the time.

unfortunately medicine is stress management. If school was becoming so stressfull that it affected your grades than maybe considering another rewarding aspect of medicine is best for you. As stated by another poster, the pance can be too big of a hurle. I mayself know of several fellow classmates in my excellent program who were unable to pass the pance. No pance/ no practice. PA programs are only preparatory to lifelong learning and application. Medical malpractice is very real and can destroy lives. You do not want to be working as a PA and not be able to handle stress.

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