FCanales Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Hi guys, I am just curious as to how many others out there have 0 healthcare experience at all and if you still plan to apply to PA school that way. Also how detrimental having no experience(direct patient or not) could be to a would be applicant. I am still in undergrad and have years left to gain experience. Are shadowing and volunteer hours alone enough to gain entry? Any advice pertaining to experience for a well rounded PA School applicant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiggySRNA Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Hey! Let's put you in the position of the Admission Committee where you have 1 seat and 2 applications. Who would you choose? Applicant A or B. A: 25-30-year-old white female, 3.95 cGPA, 3.75 sGPA, 0 paid PCE, 50 volunteer hours, and 15 shadowing hours. B: 25-30-year-old white male, 3.65 cGPA, 3.62 sGPA, 2000 paid PCE, 0 volunteer hours, and 0 shadowing hour. Of course, there are applicants who have 0 PCE or HCE who get admitted into PA school but that is definitely an exception and not a rule. When programs are screening through thousands of applications they are looking to make sure you first meet the GPA requirement then they go down the list in order of importance; PCE>HCE>LOR>volunteer>community service. Strive to be the best PA applicant and PA student, and to be honest, shadowing/volunteer hours is just not going to do that. When it comes to experience, the more responsibility you carry regarding patient-care the better off you are. Shadowing experience is usually a checkbox when compared to direct hands-on experience where you are responsible for providing care to patients. After certain hours there is nothing else you can learn from shadowing. Shoot, even after certain hours working in a certain capacity you tend to stop learning after a few months. That's why I left my nursing assistant position and became an office based EMT (uncertified MA). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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