PA Coaching

[Free2b]

HI ALL:smile:,

 

I am considering hiring a PA Coach. I need some guidance deciding on which schools I stand the best chances with, as well as strengthening my portfolio. I have several years experience as a paramedic, hold a 3.65 prerq gpa, and also have a diverse bucket of life experiences. I also need to boost my GRE scores. However, I am an older/returning student and want to align with a professional who can assist me in synthesizing the information in front of me, and paring my choices and needs into doable portions. I have read about both Andrew Rodican and Dave DuBose. Is anyone willing to share their insights/experiences with a coach? I do not know who/how to choose one. Thanks to everyone for reading and I look forward to your feedback.

 

In Peace,

 

Erika

[Just Steve]

I am not convinced you need a coach. However, perhaps a mentor of someone already working in the field would help you out? As a medic, I assume you have close contact with at least some PAs in the ER. If not, talk to the ER docs and see of they have buddies who are PAs..start networking. Maybe you can look at the alumni list from the schools that you want to attend and see if any of those PAs are local to you and if they would be willing to sit down with you?

 

As a paramedic with a respectable GPA AND life experience, you really can write your own ticket into a lot of programs assuming of course you can write a decent personal statement/essay and interview well.

 

UW/Medex is one such place.. and the GRE holds very little weight with them. When I attended their information session someone asked about the GRE. Their reply was "we just care that you took it for the Masters program. Your score isn't that important".

[Free2b]

Steve (Just Steve),

 

Thanks for such a thoughtful reply. Your advice is both practical and doable, since I know a few physicians and a couple of PAs. I looked at MEDEX and was very impressed by their program and core selection factors. Kudos on your acceptance!! How are you transitioning? I believe it will be a wonderful journey.

 

My anxiety stems from not holding a traditional B. S. degree, rather a B. A. from UC-Berkeley. However, over the past 5 years, I have taken many pre-med courses, but am concerned I am still behind the 8-ball in terms of having a loaded portfolio of science courses. I still lack genetics, and am considering retaking developmental psych, since mine is so old. Every time I believe I am all done, a new wave of requirements hits the scene. My one bone of contention with all these schools is that there is no centralization of foundation coursework. And you can literally school yourself to death trying to keep up with the different classes that one program requires vs. the class requirements posted by another. I wonder where the cut off is .... I will definitely heed your advice and consult with a doctor I am comfortable approaching and possibly a P. A. I once shadowed. Thank you again for sharing your insight with me, and best wishes on your journey through school and all your future endeavors:=D:

 

 

In Peace,

 

Erika

[gracec210]

I agree with the others - in most circumstances, I don't think a PA coach would be necessary. Just based on the information you posted, it seems like you'd be a pretty good candidate. Utilize this forum, do some more groundwork yourself, talk to some PAs, and you should be OK. I did find Rodican's book to be helpful when I was just getting started in figuring out how to prepare to apply for PA school.

[swooshie1]

I agree; you do not need to pay for the services of a "coach" in this case. You will find great advice throughout these pages, as you've already seen. Finding a mentor is extremely important. But, this all still does require time on your part. You mentioned the lack of a common foundation amongst schools re: prereqs, HCE, etc. I felt the same way, and I am also an older student with years of experience (and a non-stellar GPA to boot!). I am pasting a portion of a response I gave to another applicant regarding figuring it all out, and I hope you find it helpful:

 

take a look at ALL of the schools that you would consider attending. Even remotely attending....go to the CASPA website to see these, as well do a general search and look at the AAPA website (there are some AS programs that don't use CASPA). Read the program mission statements, their teaching philosophy, their

teaching outcomes (e.g. surgical vs. rural healthcare), obviously location and cost will be factors as well. Get a feel for whether they lean toward degree'd individuals with high GPA and little HCE or non-degreed individuals with loads of healthcare. It seems that many if not all of the AS programs really want those healthcare hours (in the thousands). Find out what each individual school defines as HCE. Make a spreadsheet with degree requirements, pre-req coursework requirements, GPA requirements, HCE requirements, etc., and you'll readily see what schools YOU best fit, or could fit. Those are the schools to focus on, and based on their requirements you'll have a good general path to follow to make your dream happen.

 

 

In my case, I began with the GPA and HCE breakdowns because these are the "hard lines" - if you don't meet these your application likely won't go any further (however, based on your opening post this doesn't sound like a problem for you). Then I looked at the other aspects of each school. There were @ 15 schools that I felt I "matched" - 3 of those were in areas of the country I finally decided I wouldn't like to be, for one reason or another; 10 of those schools wanted BioChem whereas 6 of them wanted an OChem class, 3 wanted an abnormal psych class, etc. That helped me tailor any additional coursework I needed and eventually this process helped me whittle my application choices down to about 7 schools. I ended up with 4 interview invites, one flat out denial, & two were still pending when I had my first interview. That interview was at my top choice, and I was offered a seat, so I withdrew from everything else at that point.

 

Finally, doing the preliminary research yourself will make you more vested in the entire process, and you will ABSOLUTELY KNOW that the schools you apply to and eventually get accepted to, are the right ones for you! Best of luck!

[HLReed]

You seem like a pretty strong candidate. I don't think you need to hire anyone to get into PA school. I also don't suggest sending your personal essay to anonymous strangers on the internet. Try to find a trusted writer/editor that will work with you. Good luck.