Planning for my future PA career

[cjaydb]

Hey guys! I can't begin to say how much information I've learned just combing through this forums. I can see how close knit you guys are, especially those who are already PA's and looking out for the future and present PA students.

 

I know you guys come across a whole bunch of "am I qualified" or "how does my background compare" topics but I'd like to throw mine in for some review and advice since I'm planning on applying for the BCHS tract next year. I'm relatively a young medical professional, a cardiovascular sonographer to be exact. I'm 26 yrs old with no degree, but I am RDCS and RVT (board registered in Cardiac and Vascular ultrasound). I've been a sonographer for 2 years now full time. In fact, this year I just started working 7 days a week splitting my time at the hospital and private practice. At the same time, I'm currently enrolled at my community college taking up a whole bunch of science classes i.e. Biochem, microbiology, Chem, etc. A lot of people have called me crazy for taking on such a workload but I'm actually one of those people that gets restless and bored when I'm home doing nothing. When I was younger I never really had a sense of direction, to be honest I did horrible in my first few years of college. I took a lot of crappy classes, signed up full time each semester only to withdraw weeks into them, wasting a lot of my parents money, and ending that phase of my life with an embarrassing 2.3 GPA and 47 semester credits. On the plus side, that was more than 3 years ago and a completely different school/state. Since I started anew last semester my GPA is 3.8 and I have 15 semester credits (not counting my past since I wanted to start over from scratch).

With that said, I already know my CASPA application won't look too pretty when they see how I first started :sadface:. Anyway, it wasn't until I was 22 or 23 did life really hit me and I woke up from my slumber. I enrolled in an 18 month ultrasound program and found my calling. Since then, I've been glued to the medical field. I know it took me a while to gain my bearings but I guess the saying better late than never applies right? Heh. Anyway, in the past 2 years I've been to several cardiac and vascular medical conferences throughout the country. I literally believe this is my passion, I don't ever remember having this much enthusiasm for anything I ever did. Currently, for the private practice I work with here in Hawaii, there are 3 PA's and 1 NP. It's from them that I decided that's what I want to eventually be.

 

I know by the time I apply next year I would have a measly 3 years of medical experience under my belt, not to mention my profession is specialized in the cardiovascular field. However, by the time I apply I expect to fulfill more than enough of the science and english prerequisites. In fact I should come close, if not fulfilling even the master's programs prerequisites for science. With this all said, I know my background may not even compare to the others who will be applying. What worries me the most is that they might look down on my application after seeing how bad I did when I first started college. Does anybody have any insight or advice for me on what to expect? Or even if I have a chance? I remember reading somewhere that they prefer applicants with a broad medical background. Anyway, I hope someone who's gone through the interview process or even the program itself can shed some advice for me to follow. I find myself losing sleep at night just thinking about applying to the program next year! Hahah!

[kempoguy]

I think that you have a very good foundation for a solid application essay utilizing the above post. Your GPA is important and medical experience is essential, however, growth and maturity are invaluable. You should apply when you are ready. If you don't get in the first time at least you have gained great insight into the whole process. Have you looked at any other schools besides UW MEDEX? I think that there is a school in Oregon that specifically recruits students from HI (Pacific University I think). They just became a Masters program. You won't regret your decision to pursue becoming a PA. I was in your position when I was younger except I screwed around in high school. I didn't have any chance of gaining acceptance into any college. It took me 8 years in the military to find direction and this is where I discovered my passion for medicine. I wasn't accepted my first time I applied to PA school and gained acceptance into or at least an interview for 5 of the 6 schools I applied to my second try. If you show progression in your academic career you will be a strong candidate. Good luck.

[Joelseff]

I think that you have a very good foundation for a solid application essay utilizing the above post. Your GPA is important and medical experience is essential, however, growth and maturity are invaluable. You should apply when you are ready. If you don't get in the first time at least you have gained great insight into the whole process. Have you looked at any other schools besides UW MEDEX? I think that there is a school in Oregon that specifically recruits students from HI (Pacific University I think). They just became a Masters program. You won't regret your decision to pursue becoming a PA. I was in your position when I was younger except I screwed around in high school. I didn't have any chance of gaining acceptance into any college. It took me 8 years in the military to find direction and this is where I discovered my passion for medicine. I wasn't accepted my first time I applied to PA school and gained acceptance into or at least an interview for 5 of the 6 schools I applied to my second try. If you show progression in your academic career you will be a strong candidate. Good luck.

 

Sounds like me! Military straightened me out.....and I used take go shin jitsu kai kempo.....small world.

 

OP: I agree with kempo guy. I had bad grades in the past and had the same cycle if enrollment/withdrawals. Your gpa looks good now just address the growth you gained from learning the tough lessons to get you on track in your PS and how that translates over to being a pa student and ultimately a pa. Good luck!

 

Aloha

 

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[Acebecker]

I agree with those guys - your maturity and the advances you have made will make more of an impact than a bad GPA initially. The one drawback I see to your experience is just as you've mentioned - it is quite specialized. Furthermore, you aren't the decision maker regarding what gets done with the echocardiograms you perform. That's not a deal-breaker at all. In fact, I think we just took a cardiac sonographer into this year's class in Spokane, if I remember correctly. At any rate, you'll need to find something about your experience that makes it stand out from the others, but your maturity and your most recent academic performance will be impressive enough to at least get your foot in the door with an interview, I would think. And keep in mind - if you are rejected the first time you apply, that should not stop you from applying in the future. You sound like the kind of person MEDEX looks at as a viable candidate. Good luck to you and keep in touch. We'll be glad to offer whatever advice we can.

 

Andrew

[Corpsman2PA]

Whatever you do, don't write in your PS that you have a passion for underserved primary care medicine ;) Your experience is your experience. You need to show, like has already been said, that you are a mature individual ready to advance to the next stage of your healthcare career. I'm in the same boat as some of the others on here, the military put a size 10 danner in my you-know-what and straightened me out, along with igniting a passion for medicine. Don't be intimidated by others' hce. The second you say, "not sure if I'm as competetive as..." you've already lost the battle. BUT, don't be too overconfident either...find your middle ground and own it. Side note: What island are you on?

[cjaydb]

Wow, thank's for the replies guy. I'll definitely be in the process of taking all of your advice to heart. Just to answer some questions here - Yes I've looked at several different schools and most of them all require a bachelors degree. The other 2 schools that I've looked into that didn't require it is Texas Tech University and Medical University of South Carolina. However, those require quite a few more extra semester credits than I would have by next year. Thus, next year my only available choice is the bachelors tract at UW. If by chance I can't get in, then the next year I'll try to apply to UW again as well as TTU and MUSC. If my bad luck continues then hopefully by that next year I'll have a bachelors degree and I'll just have to keep trying.

 

No question about it, my current medical profession is a bit specialized. Though while I'm not entirely in the cardiac field, I'm also doing vascular work. Heh, hopefully that's a little better. While I may not have a direct say in how the patient is managed, you'll be surprised at how often ER docs/hospitalists/radiologists and even the cardiologist come to us for our opinion. More often than not, they take our word for it. I guess in that sense, while we may not say directly how to treat the patient, we do heavily influence their patient care decisions.

 

It's good to hear a lot of former military have applied and are PA's or PA students here. In fact, I'm seriously contemplating the idea of joining the Air Force or Navy and take part in the HPSP scholarship program. For those who don't know about it, it's where the military will cover your tuition 100% plus a monthly stipend and reimbursement for books and supplies in return for at least a 3 yr contract. Though this only applies to people who get accepted into PA schools, med school, or some other listed and approved health care field. If any one has any experience or knows anyone who went through this way I would love to hear from them. Looking at the estimated costs of the bachelors tract at UW, $50k is a lot. I already used some of my financial aid paying for ultrasound school and I'm not sure if I have enough left over to cover maybe even half of the tuition.

 

I'm currently working and residing on the island of Oahu. I work at the Castle Adventist hospital and for Hawaii Cardiology (private practice). Not only do I handle echocardiograms and various vascular ultrasounds, I also help assist in endovenous ablations for people with varicose veins. What I'd like to eventually be able to do as well is help assist in the ER utilizing the FAST (Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma) technique. Hopefully it all works out. In fact, assuming I go through and complete PA school, I'd love to still be able to utilize my ultrasound skills (by reading or even doing quick bedside exams) in either the ER, cardiovascular field, or even in cardiothoracic surgery :;;D:

 

Anyway, I gratefully appreciate the support and advice. It's a tremendously reassuring feeling to know that my background is not at all that bad as I first thought, heh. Please if anyone else has more input I'm all ears.

[kempoguy]

I guarantee that you have overlooked some schools that you are qualified for right now. I was accepted into a masters program at a school in NY before I was accepted into MEDEX. I do not currently have a bachelors degree and was accepted into the masters program. They do not require a bachelors because they grant a bachelors and a masters in the process of completing their program. UC Davis and Stanford do not require a bachelors degree. Keep in mind that as of 2020 all PA programs will be masters level. While they only grant a certificate I think there is a bachelors tract that you can follow. There is a private community college in CA that grants an AS along with the PA certificate. The schools back east tend to be more interested in the academic approach to PA education while HCE is more highly treasured on the west. This is obviously a huge generalization but while you may not think of your HCE as very strong (which I would disagree), you would stand out as a great candidate to the east coast schools since many of their applicants are very young with little to no HCE. Check out D'Youville in NY and Seton Hill in PA.

 

I would like to move to HI next year after I graduate. What does the job market look like for PA's on Oahu and Maui?

[kempoguy]

cjaydb,

 

"I'm seriously contemplating the idea of joining the Air Force or Navy and take part in the HPSP scholarship program."

 

I wanted to add that if you are joining the military only for the scholarship you are going in for the wrong reasons. The military was a great experience for me and I loved serving but the commitment far outweighs the small amount of spending money you will receive in school. You are at the military's beckon call, you go where you are ordered and you will definitely make more money as a civilian once you graduate. There are a number of places that will pay your student loans once you graduate. Granted, you will be an officer and a PA in the Air Force or Navy but you must always consider the worst case scenario. It is possible to be sent close to the front lines in which case you will be in danger. There is always a possibility that you could be killed. More than a couple of my soldiers were sorely disappointed that they went in only for the college money. They had horrible experiences and were very unhappy. If you are willing to accept the sacrifices necessary to serve then God bless and congratulations because I have never regretted my years of service and you will have experiences that could only be achieved by military service.

[Joelseff]

The upcoming MS requirement is no biggie. If you can get a ba and go into a MS program then great but I graduated from Stanford who is partnered with St. Francis who offers a MMS to bachelor holders. I graduated with the AS and Cert option and am now halfway through ATSUs APA bachelors equivalency program and will graduate with my masters next june. So if you get in a non ms prog look for one with an AS option or BS option and there are many ways to get the MS. So don't let that dissuade you from the non ms progs. JUST GET THAT PA-C!!!!!

 

Godspeed....

 

Joe

 

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[Corpsman2PA]

UC Davis and Stanford do not require a bachelors degree.

 

UC Davis changed their requirements to requiring a Bachelors as of 2011 I believe.

[cjaydb]

Hey guys,

 

Thanks Kempo for your concern. I completely understand and agree with what you said about those that join the military for the wrong reasons. Fortunately, I've always wanted to join since I was out of high school. In fact, I took the damn ASVAB 3 times lol, once each for the Navy, Air Force, and Army hahah. It just so happened at the time, I was so much more occupied with partying and doing nothing that I just put it off. My two best friends are actually in the military, both Marines. Ironically, I was the one that brought up the idea of joining up after high school. I was the one that made them come and take the ASVAB with me, only to back out at the end lol. They're both still in it, one's active duty the other a reservist. Over the years they gave me an insight on military life, it does have its pros and it definitely has its cons. It just so happens now in the position I'm in, I believe I would be more of a service to my country with the skill set I have developed. I've been giving this a thought for the past 2 years, seriously thinking about where or how my life might turn out now. In fact, if I do join up I would like to stay in it for as long as I can as a reservist.

 

The job market out here for PA's is actually kind of slow. Unlike the mainland, Hawaii is a little backwards when it comes to the medical field. PA's and NP's are not as prevalent nor is most of the population educated enough to be aware of their existence. In fact, don't be surprised if some doctors don't know what a PA is. I've ran across some. To be fair, most of these were doctors that came from outside the U.S. If you don't know by now, Hawaii has a very high Asian demographic. In Philippines for example, there are no such things as PA's. A lot of your patients will be Filipino and to them (and a lot of other different Asians here), everyone that works in a hospital is either a nurse or a doctor. Being a Filipino myself, I can't tell you how many times I've been called "Doctor." No matter how many times I correct them, the next one comes along and does the same thing. To be honest, sometimes I don't even bother correcting them because that same person will still call me doctor when they leave lol. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's a bad place to work here, on the contrary, I love it here. People are so kind and laid back, you'll be feeling the "aloha" spirit almost everywhere you go. Getting back to the topic, in the cardiology practice I work for we have 3 PA's and 1 NP. I haven't run into or heard of any other PA's working for a family/internal medicine doctor. Other PA's that I've run into or heard about from the PA's I work with tend to work in specialty fields. As for the pay, disappointingly it's not that good. While PA pay is comparable to the mainland, it does not account for the high cost of living here. One of our fresh PA's out of school is currently making 90k a year, just to give an idea. For NP's, its a bit worse. In fact, I'm making $48 an hr at the hospital while I've seen some NP jobs offering in the range of $40-45! While Hawaii may be a bit slow, they are in actuality conforming to the idea of how the medical field will turn out now. The need for PA's can only grow here, albeit at a very slow rate. There is only a limited patient pool with already a lot of doctors on this island. You'll have better chances of going to Maui, the big island, or Kauai. At least over there traffic doesn't exist ;) Feel free to PM me for more information.

 

Thank you joe for bringing up St Francis! I probably would not have found out about that tract, at least not any time soon. Going back and looking at how my credits will be going, I found out that if I worked hard at it, it would only take an extra year to get a bachelors degree. So I was thinking, next year if I apply to the Bachelors tract at MEDEX and don't get in, at least the year after I would hopefully have my Bachelors degree in time and that would open up all the possible choices for PA school. Then again, when I say work hard at it, I mean full load every semester, ugh. Who knows, I guess I'll have to play it by ear and see what happens.

[Joelseff]

Hey guys,

 

Thanks Kempo for your concern. I completely understand and agree with what you said about those that join the military for the wrong reasons. Fortunately, I've always wanted to join since I was out of high school. In fact, I took the damn ASVAB 3 times lol, once each for the Navy, Air Force, and Army hahah. It just so happened at the time, I was so much more occupied with partying and doing nothing that I just put it off. My two best friends are actually in the military, both Marines. Ironically, I was the one that brought up the idea of joining up after high school. I was the one that made them come and take the ASVAB with me, only to back out at the end lol. They're both still in it, one's active duty the other a reservist. Over the years they gave me an insight on military life, it does have its pros and it definitely has its cons. It just so happens now in the position I'm in, I believe I would be more of a service to my country with the skill set I have developed. I've been giving this a thought for the past 2 years, seriously thinking about where or how my life might turn out now. In fact, if I do join up I would like to stay in it for as long as I can as a reservist.

 

The job market out here for PA's is actually kind of slow. Unlike the mainland, Hawaii is a little backwards when it comes to the medical field. PA's and NP's are not as prevalent nor is most of the population educated enough to be aware of their existence. In fact, don't be surprised if some doctors don't know what a PA is. I've ran across some. To be fair, most of these were doctors that came from outside the U.S. If you don't know by now, Hawaii has a very high Asian demographic. In Philippines for example, there are no such things as PA's. A lot of your patients will be Filipino and to them (and a lot of other different Asians here), everyone that works in a hospital is either a nurse or a doctor. Being a Filipino myself, I can't tell you how many times I've been called "Doctor." No matter how many times I correct them, the next one comes along and does the same thing. To be honest, sometimes I don't even bother correcting them because that same person will still call me doctor when they leave lol. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's a bad place to work here, on the contrary, I love it here. People are so kind and laid back, you'll be feeling the "aloha" spirit almost everywhere you go. Getting back to the topic, in the cardiology practice I work for we have 3 PA's and 1 NP. I haven't run into or heard of any other PA's working for a family/internal medicine doctor. Other PA's that I've run into or heard about from the PA's I work with tend to work in specialty fields. As for the pay, disappointingly it's not that good. While PA pay is comparable to the mainland, it does not account for the high cost of living here. One of our fresh PA's out of school is currently making 90k a year, just to give an idea. For NP's, its a bit worse. In fact, I'm making $48 an hr at the hospital while I've seen some NP jobs offering in the range of $40-45! While Hawaii may be a bit slow, they are in actuality conforming to the idea of how the medical field will turn out now. The need for PA's can only grow here, albeit at a very slow rate. There is only a limited patient pool with already a lot of doctors on this island. You'll have better chances of going to Maui, the big island, or Kauai. At least over there traffic doesn't exist ;) Feel free to PM me for more information.

 

Thank you joe for bringing up St Francis! I probably would not have found out about that tract, at least not any time soon. Going back and looking at how my credits will be going, I found out that if I worked hard at it, it would only take an extra year to get a bachelors degree. So I was thinking, next year if I apply to the Bachelors tract at MEDEX and don't get in, at least the year after I would hopefully have my Bachelors degree in time and that would open up all the possible choices for PA school. Then again, when I say work hard at it, I mean full load every semester, ugh. Who knows, I guess I'll have to play it by ear and see what happens.

 

Kamusta na, fellow Noypi here! The ATSU option was for me kasi tumatanda na ako lol. 2 years (10 short qtrs) post PA school while working as a PA and very doable. The Nebraska prog is better for Bachelor holders but ATSU is the only non ba to masters prog i found.

 

Mabuhay!

 

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[cjaydb]

Oi pare!! Pilipino ka pala! Hahaha! Thanks for letting me know about ATSU master's degree option, it probably would've taken me a while to research more schools with programs like that. I was already planning to take the St. Francis route, if ever. How do these online advanced courses work? Do you have to be working at the same time and use your employer as like an extern site? Was it hard for you?

 

I looked into Stanford's and UC Davis PA programs and while they are good alternatives, I really really really dislike living in California lol. Granted there are a TON of Filipinos, I just can't stand the traffic and attitude of most of the people there, no offense to anyone here. Besides, it's been a while since Cali has had a big earthquake, overdue some would say; knock on wood. Though I'm not throwing it out the window, I'd look into it if I have to. I know what really matters is the PA-C after your name, but I don't like the feeling some people give you when they ask what degree you have and you reply "none." A lot of people assume that since I'm doing cardiovascular work I have a Bachelors, or even an Associates at the very least. I guess it's personal preference, I mean maybe a lot of places that hire PA's out there only really care that you passed the boards and is licensed.

 

How long have you been a PA Joelseff?

[Joelseff]

Oi pare!! Pilipino ka pala! Hahaha! Thanks for letting me know about ATSU master's degree option, it probably would've taken me a while to research more schools with programs like that. I was already planning to take the St. Francis route, if ever. How do these online advanced courses work? Do you have to be working at the same time and use your employer as like an extern site? Was it hard for you?

 

I looked into Stanford's and UC Davis PA programs and while they are good alternatives, I really really really dislike living in California lol. Granted there are a TON of Filipinos, I just can't stand the traffic and attitude of most of the people there, no offense to anyone here. Besides, it's been a while since Cali has had a big earthquake, overdue some would say; knock on wood. Though I'm not throwing it out the window, I'd look into it if I have to. I know what really matters is the PA-C after your name, but I don't like the feeling some people give you when they ask what degree you have and you reply "none." A lot of people assume that since I'm doing cardiovascular work I have a Bachelors, or even an Associates at the very least. I guess it's personal preference, I mean maybe a lot of places that hire PA's out there only really care that you passed the boards and is licensed.

 

How long have you been a PA Joelseff?

 

Cjaydb, I have been practicing a little over a year now. I have worked/work at 4 different sites here in the bay area in California. Not once have they asked me what my degree was. It helped that I knew these docs thru my connections made as a pre pa but none of ky classmates got the drill about degree. Could depend on location.

 

I hear ya about cali, It's really different in the bay vs down south. May not better, well for me it's better, but different.

 

We had 3 quakes last month in a row in the east bay, only 4 pointers. No bigger. They say it releases pressure and it avoids a more massive one, who knows. I've lived through the big one in 89....

 

My point about degree is don't get caught up in the Chase unless you have a ba/bs if not like I said there are other avenues and ATSU is VERY double....

 

Good luck brah...

 

Joe

 

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[cjaydb]

Hey Joelseff, if you don't mind me asking, what made you pick ATSU's masters program over St. Francis?? Or any other online PA masters program? Was it because that St. Francis didn't accept the associates degree?

 

If that was the case, assuming you had a bachelors already, would you still have chosen ATSU over St. Francis or any other online program and why? Just trying to figure out which program would be best, I can't really find too much information or reviews on them online.

[Joelseff]

Hey Joelseff, if you don't mind me asking, what made you pick ATSU's masters program over St. Francis?? Or any other online PA masters program? Was it because that St. Francis didn't accept the associates degree?

 

If i got my ba/bs after pa school, I would have done Nebraska. Cheaper. But ba/bs plus the masters would have cost the same or more than ATSU, so i went this route. Like i said before, a LOT of avenues to the masters. Btw, I won't get a raise at my job once I get the masters It's pretty much window dressing. No one ever asked for it in an interview. And i hot multiple job offers out of school.

 

If that was the case, assuming you had a bachelors already, would you still have chosen ATSU over St. Francis or any other online program and why? Just trying to figure out which program would be best, I can't really find too much information or reviews on them online.

 

I chose ATSU b/c I don't have a bachelors if i did, I would have done st. Francis, no question. It's less classes, cheaper, and would have finished concurrently with my PA program.

 

If I chose to finish my ba/bs, after pa school, I would have gone Nebraska. Cheaper than ATSU, BUT the cost to finish ba plus Nebraska was close to ATSU. I chose to just get the masters alone and save time.

 

To clarify, I never felt the pressing need for a MS, since I got mult job offers after pa school. It's more or less window dsg to me. But i was in study mode and It's pretty accommodating so I went for it, plus it allowed me to defer my loan until I graduate next year.

 

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[cjaydb]

Thanks for the reply Joelseff. I feel you when you said you never felt the pressing need. Only reason I asked is well, perhaps I'm looking way too far in the future and daydreaming here, but I was looking at PA residency programs after school. I noticed a lot of them required at least a Bachelors and some of the name brand places required a Masters.

 

Would anyone know by chance how are the clinical rotations like for the Bachelors tract at Medex? It doesn't really say on the website, only "Family Practice Clerkships I & II" and "Clinical Clerkships I & II." The latter I'm assuming can be sort of like electives?? Unlike the Masters tract, it doesn't say at least one has to be served in a rural or medically underserved area.