Pharmacy Tech --> PA

[Mari1992]

Hi everyone! I have a bachelors degree in Chemistry and more than three years experience as a pharmacy technician. I was originally going to apply to pharmacy school (hence why I started working at a retail pharmacy) but I realized that it wasn't the right profession for me. I got licensed, state certified and nationally certified. Now I'm working at a mental health facility in the pharmacy department and I like it much better. I get to communicate with the nurses and doctors over at the facility directly and we help each other with the patients (with records, insurance, getting their drugs, etc.) I know pharmacy is not direct health experience but it's helping pay the bills and my major student loans. I've been trying to find work with direct HCE but haven't had much luck trying to find something. 

On the side though I have shadowed doctors as well as PAs. I also did some medical assisting (although technically that wasn't the title of the position and I am not certified) at a radiation oncology office. I know everyone keeps saying EMT is a great profession and I've tried to find accelerated programs and such (just been having a hard time with money). I really wanna go back to school. I'm almost done with the pre-reqs (I have one more to go next fall) and taking the GREs this summer. I also know many doctors who can give me a good reference. Is there any advice one can give me? The PAs I've talked to graduated 5-10 years ago so I don't really know anyone who is currently at school or graduated that can share their experiences. Greatly appreciated! 

[Ket131]

33 minutes ago, sutekidane said:

I've been trying to find work with direct HCE but haven't had much luck trying to find something. 

PCT in dialysis can get you direct patient care hours without having to get a certificate.  Plenty of jobs around the states and the local counties.  Job is tough, but you learn a lot.  Fresenius Medical Care and DaVita Dialysis would be somewhere to start looking.

[mooredc]

You can become a medical assistant completely online. 

I did the medical assisting course online through the US Career Institute. It is very easy and took me about 2 weeks to complete. This qualified me to sit for the CCMA exam. I bought their study guide and practice exams and spent about 2 week studying this (since the US Career Institute didnt cover everything). I took the exam at a local testing center and went from a nothing to a CCMA in less than a month.

Obviously the downfall to this is that you dont get hands on experience learning how to do many of the clinical procedures. I was lucky to be working as an interpreter at a clinic where the nurses took time to teach me everything I needed as far as venipuncture, IVs, wound dressing, lab draws, EKGs, etc. If the mental health facility you are at would be willing to let a nurse train you (or even if the nurses trained you behind closed doors ha) then this could be a very valid option. 

Granted, there is nothing hard about the clinical procedures that MAs can do. You really could just get certified and fake it until you make it in a job setting. Honestly its not that hard. 

[jaleesaw]

I was in the same situation as you! Became a pharmacy technician because I wanted to be a pharmacist but changed my mind due to me wanting to be more hands-on. I did a lot of research and there actually is a couple of schools that accept pharmacy technician as patient care hours. I forgot which ones though. So I became a Home Health Aide and got my hours there!