Excited & Terrified

[SLPmom]

Hi everyone. I’m new here. I am 43 years old and have been working as a Speech Language Pathologist for almost 20 years. I’ve been bored out of my mind for about the last 15. I’ve been fantacizing about going back to school to be a P.A. for the last 5 years. 

A little background- I’ve lived a lot of life in my 43 years. I was married for 10 years and had two children (the loves of my life). They are 12 & 14 now and in middle school. I got divorced 6 years ago, was a single mom for several years. My first husband was never supportive of me going back to school and I couldn’t fathom going back to school while being a working single mom. I remarried a few years ago and I finally feel like the timing is as good as it’s going to get for me. My husband now is very supportive. But our lives are crazy. We have 5 kids between the two of us. And his job is extremely demanding and long hours. In addition to my two kids, I now have three stepkids. Two of my stepkids are away at college. And my other stepkid is only 7, but she only lives with us 50% of the time. My two kids life with us all of the time except they go to their fathers house every other weekend. I am only working part time right now - 2 days a week. 

I got my bachelors from UF back in 1997. And got my masters from Nova Southeastern in 2001. I’m likely going to need to take many prerequisites & study for my GREs. And then the 2 year intense PA program (if I even get accepted anywhere as an older student). Ideally, I would really like to find an Online Program that doesn’t require the GREs. So that’s my first question - does anyone know of any programs that would be good options for me?

But my main question is - am I crazy for considering this? It is a total dream for me to pursue this. I’m a great speech pathologist but I’m so bored and unsatisfied. I WANT this but I have so much more to think about than just myself  

Here are all of my concerns. Looking for any & ALL feedback, advice, help making this decision. Thanks guys 

1) Will my 20 years in healthcare help me? Will I still need to Shadow someone or accrue hours prior to applying?

2) Does eveanyone know of any Part Time programs in Florida? Or Online Full time programs?

3) Any Online schools that don’t require GREs? I scored great on my GREs 20 years ago! But I haven’t done math since then! They won’t accept them from so long ago. But I can’t even wrap my head around studying for those again. 

4) Several schools say that the prereqs don’t expire. But I’ll still need several of them. Any good online schools where I can get those? I’ll have free time to study but can’t leave my kids or move anywhere. 

5) I’m scared about the surgery and ER rotations. I get anxiety thinking about being in a surgery up close. Or a trauma in the ER. Was anyone else nervous about that prior? I am a big believer to face your fears. Did it get easier? Any tips? 

6) Didactic Year - was it really 8-6pm? I’m just concerned how I will give time to my kids. I pick them up from school everyday and cook dinner, HW etc. I don’t have any help with this. 

7) Clinical year - what were your hours like?

8- Would I be at a disadvantage being so old as a student? I would probably be 46-47 when I finish assuming I’ll need 1 year to take pre-reqs and GRE and then 2 year program  

9) Am I crazy for wanting to take this on? 

Thanks for the sounding board - I really need advice so I can make my final decision. I’m worried if I don’t do this, I’ll wish I did. I do feel the window is closing. I also worry that I’ll start it and be consumed with guilt for putting my own desires ahead of my kids needs. HELP pls  

[SERENITY NOW]

18 hours ago, SLPmom said:

1) Will my 20 years in healthcare help me? Yes, of course.  Will I still need to Shadow someone or accrue hours prior to applying?  Have you worked side by side with us to know what we do?  Do you know the positives and negatives of our profession well?  If so and can articulate it, could probably bypass shadowing.  Reach out to programs to ask if your experience counts as direct patient care, which I'd imagine it would.  

2) Does eveanyone know of any Part Time programs in Florida? Not sure.  Or Online Full time programs?  Only one that I have heard of -- Yale, probably very hard to get into since its the only one.  

3) Any Online schools that don’t require GREs?  I am not sure.  Could reach out to the programs and ask.  I scored great on my GREs 20 years ago! But I haven’t done math since then! They won’t accept them from so long ago. But I can’t even wrap my head around studying for those again. 

4) Several schools say that the prereqs don’t expire. But I’ll still need several of them. Any good online schools where I can get those? I’ll have free time to study but can’t leave my kids or move anywhere.  I am not sure, sorry, but prior posts have discussed this if you search for them ( https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=online+prereq+site:physicianassistantforum.com&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8  )

5) I’m scared about the surgery and ER rotations. I get anxiety thinking about being in a surgery up close. Or a trauma in the ER. Was anyone else nervous about that prior? I am a big believer to face your fears. Did it get easier? Any tips?  Many people get nervous - thats normal.  As a student at first you just basically stand there and have minimal responsibility in trauma and surgery.  You can try pre-exposure with videos of trauma and surgery to acclimate yourself.   

6) Didactic Year - was it really 8-6pm? I’m just concerned how I will give time to my kids. I pick them up from school everyday and cook dinner, HW etc. I don’t have any help with this.  My program was more like 9-4pm.  It would be very challenging with a family to care for, but I've heard its been done.  

7) Clinical year - what were your hours like?  Around 45-60 hours per week on average for me.  My program had to ship us around all over the state for rotations but some lucky people were able to stay around their home for most rotations.  

8- Would I be at a disadvantage being so old as a student? I would probably be 46-47 when I finish assuming I’ll need 1 year to take pre-reqs and GRE and then 2 year program   We had older students than you in our class.  We found that they tended to struggle more with didactics being so far removed from the classroom, but did fine in clinicals.  We all graduated though!

9) Am I crazy for wanting to take this on? Just be sure you take time to learn what you are getting yourself into before spending the pretty serious cash it takes to get prerequisites, fly around and interview, place deposits, and expensive tuition... haha.  We are talking easily over 100k for many programs nowadays.  Talk to people, read through the forum posts and blogs of prior PA students with families, shadow if you can.  Its a huge commitment and you'll essentially put your life on hold for 3+ years, but the other side is great!   Best of luck to you.

 

[SLPmom]

Thank you so much for your response. So much to consider.

[charlottew]

I went back to PA school later in life, with kids in elementary school. I had a supportive spouse with a slightly flexible schedule, as well as a sitter (OK, a series of them) and some afterschool programs. I would say it is do-able, but you will need support to get the household stuff and childcare taken care of. Your middle schoolers are probably fairly self-sufficient, but the seven year old will need support. Also the tween/teen years tend to benefit from a stable home life with supportive people around and Present.

As far as I know there is only one online PA program, and that is Yale's (just started). I imagine it's competitive to get in. A little research shows that Univ Wisconsin has an online-ish program, but you need to be in the area, it seems.

If you cannot move (I was in the same situation), then in addition to Yale you will have to research programs that are a commutable distance from you, see exactly what their requirements are. Go and visit. Speak with some of the admissions staff to see if you are in the ballpark of their acceptance criteria.

Didactic year is a time sink. Probably less of a time sink, if you aim for passing instead of top grades.

Clinical year time requirements vary depending on the rotation. Some can be fairly mellow (like a regular 9-5 job or maybe even a bit less demanding - but use your extra time to study!); others can be punishing in terms of time demand (overnight shifts, 12 hour shifts, high intensity environment). I just kept telling myself, "I can put up with ANYTHING for 4.5 weeks".

It IS a bit crazy. And it is certainly expensive (not only tuition, but the lost income from your current job). It can be done though. I did it, and am now happily working as a PA (of course, I picked a very demanding specialty, but that's a whole other story...).