dismissed from PA school but with some gray area

[iWiLLsurvive]

Hi guys,

I am seeking advice on my situation. I was recently in a PA school based in California. After enduring a lot of personal hardships including academic probation, I successfully completed the didactic portion. It was an uphill battle because I had to repeat the year (grateful to my school for giving me that second chance) and when I did, my grades were better especially in the classes where I failed previously, I received As and Bs in those.

After finally completing didactic year, I started rotations. I did well on my 1st rotation and passed the EOR exam. However, during my 2nd rotation, I had some personal issues regarding a death in the family and breaking up with my longtime boyfriend all within a short period of time. Unfortunately, I was not in the proper mental state to focus on PA school so I had to request a leave of absence. The problem was that I already signed a contract with my program that had a stipulation that claimed that if for some reason I was unable to continue my education, I would have to voluntarily withdraw from the program without having the ability to go through an appeal process. So that is exactly what I did. The program director said I could reapply to their program however there is no guarantee I will have a seat. He even said that it would be difficult for other PA schools to accept me and would have to consider other career options.

I hope no PA student or anyone for that matter has to ever endure what I've been through. I thought I had the next 40 years of my life figured out, but somehow there was a premature full stop to my PA career. It’s been a few months since this tragedy and I’ve taken the time off to reassess my life goals and taking care of my mental and physical well-being.

After doing some research, there seems to be a lot of stigma against those who failed out of PA/med school. I mean technically, I didn’t fail out of school, I withdrew. People keep telling me that PA schools won’t take me after this. But why not? I have a master’s in health care administration (MHA) degree, numerous hours of health care experience as an EMT and scribe and on top of it all, I’ve already been through the TOUGHEST part of PA school (not once but twice!). I still have all this wealth of knowledge inside my noggin and it hurts to see it all go to waste.

Honestly, I am a practical and patient girl. I am considering other career paths such as nurse practitioner (very similar job outcome but requires way more schooling) and working part time jobs to pay off some of that crippling student loan. But I am never going to be satisfied knowing that I didn’t try my best to get back into PA school. This may sound melodramatic or obsessive to some but if you were in my shoes and knew you had the potential to complete any PA program if given a chance (3rd times the charm right?), you may also feel restless knowing there is some unfinished business.

When I finally saw some light at the end of the very long tunnel, I had to turn back around and now I’m looking for another tunnel out =/ I would appreciate any type of insight from anyone who knows about this kind of situation or has any solid advice even if it's harsh criticism, I am open to that as well. Please help me!

Sincerely,

PA-?

[MT2PA]

I think the bottom line is that it's a red flag.  Why should a school take a chance on you when you've had multiple issues when they could admit a brand new student who has the potential to succeed without problems?  This is where a lot of the 'stigma' comes from.  Schools have so many applicants that they don't have to take the time to understand your history when they have thousands of others without the warning signs.

Honestly if you have any chance at all it would likely be to the program that you left - because they know your story.  Sure your story may be different than those who fail out (but you DID have to decelerate) but you are still going to have a tough time.  No one is saying it's impossible, but with so many highly qualified applicants each cycle, you (i.e any dropped out/failed out/left PA school student) are a risk comparatively

[SrTaM]

Agree with the comment above, I think the red flag is mostly that you repeated didactic. PA programs want to retain their students (for both financial and statistical reasons), which you know because they let you repeat your first year. Other programs might look at that experience and just assume you won't be able to finish their program either. I really empathize, it puts you in such a tight spot because you're clearly determined and know what you want, loans SUCK, and PA programs are rigid with almost a complete lack of flexibility. That's one thing that some DNP programs do better, I know of several that are very flexible and more than willing to work with students on retakes and delays, etc. I agree with the other comment, the program most likely to give you a shot is the program that you left. I also agree with you that it's really unfortunate that there's this stigma against students who failed out or had to withdraw. PA school is SO, so challenging, and it shouldn't be seen as a failure when a student can't get through the program, especially when there's extenuating factors. Keep your head up, best of luck. 

Edited February 22, 2019 by BaxLN

[fishbum]

On 2/20/2019 at 1:34 PM, iWiLLsurvive said:

 I am considering other career paths such as nurse practitioner (very similar job outcome but requires way more schooling)

Even if you got back into a PA school, I'm guessing you'll have to repeat didactic (again). ABSN+FNP might take more calendar time to complete, but I doubt it's way (or any) more schooling. 

It doesn't sound like that's what you want, and I don't blame you. Just making sure that you're evaluating your options realistically.

Why not go into admin with your MHA?

[LostSauce]

Hey!

 My story isn’t exactly the same as yours but similar enough. Im preparing for the appeal process and would love to connect.