pangea355 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Hello: I just finished the Peace Corps (not in health, but education). I have a Master's in Education and am a certified teacher. I went to two very good universities. Undergrad GPA is very poor - 2.9 and Master's is 3.4. I am looking at CNA programs so that I may begin working in healthcare. I have always been interested in medicine (my mom is an RN). My science background was too weak to take undergrad science glasses at my university. I see classroom teaching as very clinical - gather information, figure out what is wrong, educate the patient, improve performance. I am looking at some local CNA programs to get into healthcare while I take some pre-reqs. I am in my early 30s and wondering if this career switch is even possible? I would like go into clinical practice as well as e-learning/training in healthcare. Also would be interested into entering the Army as Direct Comission Officer. Any thoughts greatly appreciated! Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProSpectre Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 23 minutes ago, pangea355 said: Hello: I just finished the Peace Corps (not in health, but education). I have a Master's in Education and am a certified teacher. I went to two very good universities. Undergrad GPA is very poor - 2.9 and Master's is 3.4. I am looking at CNA programs so that I may begin working in healthcare. I have always been interested in medicine (my mom is an RN). My science background was too weak to take undergrad science glasses at my university. I see classroom teaching as very clinical - gather information, figure out what is wrong, educate the patient, improve performance. I am looking at some local CNA programs to get into healthcare while I take some pre-reqs. I am in my early 30s and wondering if this career switch is even possible? I would like go into clinical practice as well as e-learning/training in healthcare. Also would be interested into entering the Army as Direct Comission Officer. Any thoughts greatly appreciated! Thank you. First of all, this career switch is definitely possible; however, it may be a bit of a long road to get there. Your background in the Peace Corps will surely help you stand out from other applicants, so that is a big plus. Your master's GPA is fine, but your undergrad GPA leaves something to be desired (and is below the minimum cutoff for many, but not all, PA schools). Academically, I would begin looking at local community colleges (or inexpensive 4-year local colleges) to start taking your prerequisite courses; only take as many at a time as you can be sure you can get A's in, as this will be important to bring your GPA up. Of course, it would be wise to first research some PA schools you would be interested in and figure out exactly which courses they require to apply (and how many hours of patient care experience they require), so you can begin forming a plan of action for your coursework and health-care experience. Many schools require Biology 1 & 2, General Chemistry 1 & 2, Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry, Anatomy & Physiology 1 & 2, Genetics, Microbiology (all of these with lab component, and the version required for science majors); non-science courses often includes General Psychology, Developmental or Abnormal Psychology, Statistics, and another college level mathematics course. This list isn't universal though and varies with each program, so do your due diligence with your research. Planning on getting some healthcare experience is the next large step you should do, and it seems you are already looking into that. CNA is fine, and you can also look into an EMT certification or working as a Medical Assistant (some states don't require certification, and if your state is one of them you could be trained on the job). Finally, if you haven't done so, I would definitely advise you to try to find a couple of local PAs to shadow for at least 20-30 hours, to ensure this is really what you want to do. It's a long road to take, but can definitely be done. I hope that helps, let me know if you have more questions. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OperationalMED Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 First off, congrats on your service in the Peace Corps! I think a career shift is definitely possible if it is what you really want. I also was a non-traditional PA student. I was in the business world (got my MBA and worked in Program Management) and decided in my early 30s that I wanted to transition to a career in health care. I completed 1.5 years of science pre-reqs (mainly at a local CC) and certified as a CNA (started working in a dementia unit then moved on to being a patient care tech at a Peds hospital). If I remember right CASPA used all my grades to create my GPA (undergrad, grad, and post grad pre-reqs) so your higher grad school GPA will help your undergrad GPA. I started PA school at the age of 34 and was fortunate enough to direct commission into the Air Force. I will be graduating this December and although it was a long road to get to where I am, I do not regret my decision to make a later in life career change. Overall, I felt like PA programs placed more weight on my pre-req grades than my undergrad/grad school grades. They seemed to appreciate my"life" experience and understood that I am a different person/student now than when I was an undergrad (make sure you try to maximize your pre-req grades). Feel free to message me directly if you have any questions. All the best to you on your journey toward a new career! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 16, 2018 Moderator Share Posted May 16, 2018 Yes, get yourself a bit of HCE and make sure you get good grades on your prereqs and you should be fine. Folks enter the PA field much later in life than you will. We have a former engineer on here who started PA school at 58 if I am remembering correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moleashish Posted May 16, 2018 Share Posted May 16, 2018 Great advices here. The only thing I will add is regarding direct commissioning into the Army. Check with a Army Officer Recruiter and see what the prospective to get direct commissioned is as a PA. I have heard it is better for Army, but difficult for Navy and Air Force. There are some age restrictions to get commissioned but I think that it is 42 so you should be good on that part. Finally, I would recommend you check out some military scholarships, HPSP being the most logical choice for your case I think. If you get accepted for the scholarship then it is pretty much guaranteed you'd get commissioned. For more questions regarding military and commissioning follow us at the Military section. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Just popping in here to say that I am a teacher turned PA (student at the moment) and your interviewers are going to love it. You are going to have experience with children, parents, administrators, performance metrics, emergency response, etc. that many people will have never gotten a taste of. Best of luck to you and feel free to message me if you have any specific questions about how I wrote my essays and fielded certain interview questions about the non-traditional background! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pangea355 Posted May 19, 2018 Author Share Posted May 19, 2018 Hi everyone! Thank you for all your response; very helpful. Makes me feel very hopeful. I may be starting a job abroad and can do some pre-reqs online through CC but the lab-based classes, probably can't take for a bit of time. Glad to hear focus can be on pre-req grades. I will be posting some follow-up questions. If you have know anyone quality online institutions for pre-reqs beyond CC, please share! Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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