AlmostaTexan Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 A quick catch up: I'm currently 38, ex military medic, current EMT/NREMT. In 2015 I started my journey to PA school in KY. In early 2016 I started a BS in Emergency Medical Care but was experiencing a high risk pregnancy. By the end of 2016, after delivering my preemie son, I had to withdraw from classes. Relocated to TX in late 2017, finally stable I talked to my university in KY and was able to take 4 classes Spring 2018, while I searched for a local university. Made a 4.0 for all classes, President's Award etc, brought my gpa up to 3.72 for 25 hours. Found a local university with a pre-PA track. Transferred. Looking to start again this Fall. Went in to meet with my new pre-health professional advisor. Correct advisor that I made appointment with was apparently out of the office, so I was sent to another advisor. New advisor asks "Why PA and not MD?" I replied "Because I'm at a point in my life I don't want to be in school forever, and I believe that I will be able to provide positive outcomes as a PA." So she said "Well what about RN/NP?" I replied "Honestly, RN isn't my cup of tea. They're amazing, don't get me wrong, but it's not where my heart is." And she said "But, you'd graduate BSN in 2021, work a year and go to NP... (add list of reasons why NP is better than PA)" Honestly all I heard was I'd be out of school and working. So I agreed to change. And then she told me that it was extremely competitive, that they had overwhelming applications for the limited seats, everyone had at least a 3.7 gpa... I got home and thought no big deal. But yes, it is a big deal. RN? WTH was I thinking? And extremely competitive? I wouldn't be able to get less than an A in any class between now and the end of 2019. And one of my classes is Math, and I am horrific at Math. There's no way I'll get above a C. If I don't get accepted into the BSN at the end of next year I'll be working on a Public Health major. Umm no. And honestly, RN has never been on my plan. And as it turns out, the advisor is an RN. I have had this knot in my stomach for days now. I've been trying to justify it by saying "You'll get in. You'll graduate at the end of 2021, pass the NCLEX, you'll do great. Work a year in acute and apply for NP." but it's not helping. And then I say to myself well if you can't get into the BSN how the heck do you think you'll get into a PA school? What on earth have I done????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lctexas4 Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 Maybe I’m oversimplifying things..but can’t you just switch back? Or have you already started classes? Your future is your choice and something you have to live with. I wouldn’t dwell too much on what some random advisor who you’ll maybe see 3-4 times again in your life tells you. If you think the RN to NP route interests you, by all means research it. If PA is what you want, I wouldn’t think twice about going to your original advisor and having them put you in the right classes for PA school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmostaTexan Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 Nope, you're not oversimplifying! And I think I will do just that, because quite honestly, RN is not on my radar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lctexas4 Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 Just now, AlmostaTexan said: Nope, you're not oversimplifying! And I think I will do just that, because quite honestly, RN is not on my radar. I’ve had several people try to sway me from PA to MD, but honestly it’s about knowing yourself enough to know what you think will make you happy and working hard to make it happen. It’s no one’s choice but yours and frankly, that “advisor” doesn’t sound like a very good one. Do what makes you happy. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Also, request a new advisor ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarcyJ Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Yep. Switch back to to pre-PA and get a new advisor. You got this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceface Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 The advantages you have already are that you have loads of high quality PCE from being a medic and an EMT. You don't really need to do nursing for any more high quality PCE, the only difference is the salary. RN's make way more than EMT's do. There's a long wait from applying until you start PA school, and there's no guarantee you even get a seat. One school I applied to had an accepted student that got in after 7 cycles. I would rather do 7 cycles of RN pay over EMT pay. You can also do prereqs on the side when you are on the BSN track. I also wouldn't worry about how hard the NCLEX is, you can take it up to 8 times a year if you failed without repercussions. It's not like taking Step 1 for med school, if you fail that you probably won't get a residency. If you did the BSN with prereqs, then you can decide to go PA or NP route. For the math class, you're just going to have to do it, regardless of what BS you do. A lot of PA schools just require College Algebra or Statistics, there are a few that want Calculus. I think a lot of BSN degree plans only require you to go to College Algebra. I took Stats (A), PreCalc (C+), Calc 1 (C), and Calc 2 (C); the schools didn't care about those grades cause I did better in prereqs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmostaTexan Posted June 28, 2018 Author Share Posted June 28, 2018 Oh the math I'm ok with, I'm more freaking out about what the advisor said, that it was extremely competitive and I know for a fact when I take my math class it will drop my gpa. I seriously suck at math. In July 2015, I sat down and made an account with Khan Academy, literally started at 1st grade math and worked my way through to college algebra. In October 2015 I took my ACT, and shockingly got a 23 for math lol. Anyway, I assumed that if I don't get accepted into the BSN program, how the heck would I make the cut for PA? I am hyper-analytical. It is one of my worst faults. I apologize for my emotional post. I was running on less than four hour's of sleep for the past several days. My now 20 month old son is hearing impaired, doesn't speak, and is now being worked up for epilepsy. Was quite the emotional day at the neurologist. Who, oddly enough, received several minutes of snuggling from my son. My son hates strangers, so this was huge. Aceface - that is actually a very good perspective thank you. I honestly felt that if I took RN, I would never be able to go PA. I don't know why I thought that. But it does fall back to being able to earn an income sooner rather than later. My experiences from 2017 have made me extremely conscious of the fact that life has a way of throwing horrific curve balls, that no one is immune from homelessness, and that no one but you can ensure recovery from a disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceface Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 5 hours ago, AlmostaTexan said: Oh the math I'm ok with, I'm more freaking out about what the advisor said, that it was extremely competitive and I know for a fact when I take my math class it will drop my gpa. I seriously suck at math. In July 2015, I sat down and made an account with Khan Academy, literally started at 1st grade math and worked my way through to college algebra. In October 2015 I took my ACT, and shockingly got a 23 for math lol. Anyway, I assumed that if I don't get accepted into the BSN program, how the heck would I make the cut for PA? I am hyper-analytical. It is one of my worst faults. I apologize for my emotional post. I was running on less than four hour's of sleep for the past several days. My now 20 month old son is hearing impaired, doesn't speak, and is now being worked up for epilepsy. Was quite the emotional day at the neurologist. Who, oddly enough, received several minutes of snuggling from my son. My son hates strangers, so this was huge. Aceface - that is actually a very good perspective thank you. I honestly felt that if I took RN, I would never be able to go PA. I don't know why I thought that. But it does fall back to being able to earn an income sooner rather than later. My experiences from 2017 have made me extremely conscious of the fact that life has a way of throwing horrific curve balls, that no one is immune from homelessness, and that no one but you can ensure recovery from a disaster. It's kind of understandable why math isn't really easy for you since you probably haven't done it since high school. Most on here usually say get a degree that they enjoy the most; and all that matters are GPA>Prereqs>PCE>GRE. I see the financial aspect of it by barely making ends meet at $12/hr as an EMT with any BS degree. Not only do you make a livable wage as a RN, you also can get great benefits, including healthcare for your family. If I started from the beginning, I would think about doing the BSN route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmostaTexan Posted June 29, 2018 Author Share Posted June 29, 2018 18 hours ago, aceface said: It's kind of understandable why math isn't really easy for you since you probably haven't done it since high school. Most on here usually say get a degree that they enjoy the most; and all that matters are GPA>Prereqs>PCE>GRE. I see the financial aspect of it by barely making ends meet at $12/hr as an EMT with any BS degree. Not only do you make a livable wage as a RN, you also can get great benefits, including healthcare for your family. If I started from the beginning, I would think about doing the BSN route. Correct. I graduated high school back in 1995 lol. Thank you so much for your reply! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ket131 Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 I got into PA school with far lower GPA and never stepped foot into an “advisors” office. Unless they went through the process, I would take their information with a grain of salt. Lots of grains actually. Keep pressing on. You’ll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Do not allow anyone to sway you from your original plan. Only you should decide what path you want to take because you're the one investing time and money into it. As a student nurse, I never knew how much RNs did in regards to patient care and I've worked as a nursing assistant so I thought I knew what they did (boy was I wrong). That said, and take this with a grain of salt. Nothing is WORSE than graduating with a Bachelors and overworking yourself in an entry level position making $12-$17/hr. A BSN degree guarantees you a well-paying job right out of college. One of my friends during my first undergrad did nursing, graduated a year later than I did, and signed an RN job in transplant making $38/hr x 3 12s per week. I graduated with a BS in Exercise and Health Science, worked as a nursing assistant for $13 an hr...then MA for $17 an hr working 2 12s and 2 8s per week. Now I'm back getting my BSN lol. I thought I would've regretted my decision BUT I haven't and now I have the option to do PA or NP...or both according to UC Davis dual PA/FNP program. I'm not trying to convince you but shedding light since I have experienced the process of applying to BOTH fields. Unlike your advisor. At the end of the day, do what you feel like you'll excel at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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