2full2eat Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Hey Guys! I was just curious since I have all of my healthcare experience as a physical therapy aide (somewhere around 2000 hours) how many of you that have been accepted have been accepted with the same HCE as me? Im only asking because I know that pt aide experience counts well as direct patient care, but my head is getting jumbled by so many people telling me I should become a CNA, or an EMT, to get noticed by schools. I just don't see why I should stop working, thus losing hours of HCE as an aide to become one of the above, and it wouldn't really matter any way. Any answers, and opinions would be awesome! Thanks Everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted March 7, 2012 Administrator Share Posted March 7, 2012 Not me personally, but there were about half a dozen PT aides in my class--Off the top of my head, it was one of the most popular backgrounds, only EMT and CNA were about or more as prevalent. That will vary from school to school, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiepo87 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I got healthcare experience as a nutrition tech and got into PA school! Every school will vary but I say keep working as a PT aide. Just having HCE will set you apart from others that don't have any. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveyTI Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I was accepted to PA school with almost all of my hours working as a PT aide. I also had many shadowing hours as well as around 1,000 hours of sitting with patients at night. Variety of experience is always good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 7, 2012 Moderator Share Posted March 7, 2012 there was a pta in my class. she did very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2full2eat Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Thanks guys!!!!! Good to hear that what I've been doing CAN be put to good use! Im planning on applying for the 2013 cycle which is approaching soon, I'm getting excited and even more stressed about my background and credentials. My grades are not near competitive, but I'm hoping for the best, and applying to every school I can. Knowing that I have a good amount of usable HCE is definitely going to help me take some of this weight off my shoulders. Thanks again everyone!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlietelesco Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I currently work as a PT aide and am accepted for the upcoming class at Stony Brook. I also had some doubt about whether it was competitive HCE, but it worked out okay for me. I had about 8000hrs of PT aide experience... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I had about 8000 hours of HCE as a PT aide. I had a few other minor additions to my profile from back in college but my time as an aide was what defined my HCE. I had no problem getting into school and am doing very well - now in my last quarter of didactic year. Don't stop working. :) As you know, being a therapy aide exposes you many sides of healthcare and a diverse patient population. It sets you up nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2full2eat Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Thanks a lot guys, if you both don't mind me asking though, how did you add up so many hours?! I've been doing this position part time for about 3 or 4 years now and I've only racked up 2000 hours. I wish i was a few thousand more up! lol, I'm guessing obviously working full time while in undergrad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) More time. :) I got the job in 2002. I worked holidays and one summer during college. I had other jobs while I was away at school (not all healthcare-related... made mochas for a while). I took five years between undergrad and PA school, during which I accumulated most of my hours. Edited March 8, 2012 by greenmood clarity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestler133 Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Glad to hear all of these positive posts! I'm graduating this May and know of a few places that are hiring PT Aides. I'm hoping to get hired right away and start working towards my HCE hours and applying next fall for fall of 2014, hope it all works out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestler133 Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Glad to hear all of these positive posts! I'm graduating this May and know of a few places that are hiring PT Aides. I'm hoping to get hired right away and start working towards my HCE hours and applying next fall for fall of 2014, hope it all works out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjohnson3604 Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Wasn't sure if you needed more positive responses, but there are like 7 former PT aides in our class too :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjohnson3604 Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Wasn't sure if you needed more positive responses, but there are like 7 former PT aides in our class too :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2full2eat Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 The more positive responses the better! I've spoken to certain schools and some don't consider it as heavily weighted direct care as others. Im always confused with this appellation process between what counts as this and what counts as that. Just knowing that the work experienced I've gained is the least bit useful is good enough I think. THANKS A BUNCH GUYS!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joanna.nola Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 i had experience as a therapy tech (worked w/ PT, OT, ST) before PA school. i was also briefly a CNA. i think it is good experience! be prepared to make the argument in your app and to the ad-com why you think it is good experience, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebecker Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 i had experience as a therapy tech (worked w/ PT, OT, ST) before PA school. i was also briefly a CNA. i think it is good experience! be prepared to make the argument in your app and to the ad-com why you think it is good experience, too! I agree with this - you'll probably have to defend how your experience makes you a good candidate. There is nothing wrong with the experience and some have done fine with it, but in the end PAs are decision makers and knowing that you can do that is important prior to you starting PA school. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lem0nlem0nade Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Thank you all so much for this valuable information. Last week, I interviewed for a Physical Therapy Aide job (still waiting to hear whether I got the job!) and was on the fence as to whether this job would provide valuable experience for PA school or if I should hunt for a job with more potential. I'm so glad to hear that others have been successful in PA school with PT Aide experience. Now I'm really hoping for a positive response from this interview! Christina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashingdots Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 If you don't mind me asking... for those who got accepted to a PA program as a PT aide, what school(s) did you get into/apply for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 That's really not an especially good way to make a decision about a school... why not find some schools that interest you and simply call them and ask? Many, MANY, schools consider this perfectly reasonable pre-PA experience and I've seen oodles specifically list it as an example of HCE on their website. Listing them all out here is too much work. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggwilliams30 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Did you end up getting the physical therapy job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggwilliams30 Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I would also recommend to see what kind of internship you could get too. It is a good way to do some networking and connect with a company before getting a job. If you do well enough, a lot of times they will hire you on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRosler Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 As a pre-health advisor, I get this question a lot. Many schools do NOT count PT aide for patient contact care hours! Each school varies, but if you are just starting your quest for these hours, you should do something else like the slam dunks of CNA, EMT, phlebotomy, etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 27, 2021 Moderator Share Posted May 27, 2021 28 minutes ago, KRosler said: As a pre-health advisor, I get this question a lot. Many schools do NOT count PT aide for patient contact care hours! Each school varies, but if you are just starting your quest for these hours, you should do something else like the slam dunks of CNA, EMT, phlebotomy, etc.. Gotta disagree. I think PTA is certainly better than phlebotomy and scribe experience. I know many PAs who started as PTAs. My current student was a PTA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 For real. And way to haul in here and resurrect an 8 year old thread on your first post. Look back at school-me, giving advice like a boss. But seriously it stands today. PT aide is great experience, especially if you work in a hospital setting where you get to see lots of patient variety and acuity. If all you're doing is outpatient sports medicine with healthy 20 year olds it's a different kind of experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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