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Dismissed from PA school, can I get into a nursing program?


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Hi everyone 

So I was dismissed from my PA school, I had a lot of personal and financial problems going on and was too late to withdraw so I have a C+ on my transcript for one my PA classes.  I am looking to apply to nursing school because I really can't see myself in anything else except healthcare and being able to care for patients.  I also know I can't leave off the school because the other universities will have a way of finding out.  Should I reach out to the schools and explain what was going on in hopes they will understand my situation at the time?  Please help, any and all information and suggestions is welcomed, all criticism is constructive in my book. 

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9 minutes ago, Hena83 said:

...I had a lot of personal and financial problems going on...

So...how have you corrected those deficiencies?  No school is going to want to put anyone in the field who lets personal and financial problems interfere with the care of a patient.  Specify how you have corrected those, and I’m sure it will be taken into consideration.  
No need to list them here, just think about it.

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Probably no need to even discuss it. If it comes up, explain the situation in general terms. Having applied to and attended RN school myself, I can say that it probably won’t come up unless you mention it yourself in a personal statement. Usually there are no interviews. If you wanted to mention it, a brief “I started out PA school, but before long realized it wasn’t for me, and that nursing would be a better fit”. That’s mostly true if you consider that the school and circumstances helped you realize it wasn’t a good fit and sent you on your way.

So there you go... enjoy nursing.

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53 minutes ago, Hope2PA said:

Know a lady who applied to multiple PA programs for 2 years. Finally gave up, applied and accepted into  RN program first attempt and then straight into NP. At least you had ability/experience to be accepted to PA, so should have no trouble finding RN program.

And now she can practice independently in over 30 states while we can't practice independently in any....

If that isn't the definition of irony I don't know what is.

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Good morning,

First off I'm sorry to hear of dismissal from PA school.   I'm sure you worked very hard to achieve that goal.  I give you a lot

of credit for continuing to want to be in health care.  Nursing is a admirable profession.  I would do as others have stated apply with the anticipation that if the subject of PA school comes up that you have a thoughtful response.  Maybe have something already written and saved.   Physician assistant school & the profession is not for everybody.  No shame in that.

I wish you nothing but success!!

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All of the early military Medics and Corpsmen were initiallly trained by a RN. As others have replied, nursing is an admirable profession. You probably will not have an interview and the fact that you were honest and state you desire nursing as a career will be all it takes. You can start off and get your BSN and then achieve a MSN through internet studies and go for the gold and become a NP by taking one of the programs for a DNP. Nursing gives you  many options. Good luck.

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13 hours ago, PickleRick said:

Place the pads of your right index and middle fingers on the volar aspect of your distal left radius, about one inch proximal to the base of the thenar eminence.  Do you feel a pulse?  Congratulations, you stand a good chance at getting into nursing school.

Little extreme. While the bar for being accepted into an RN program and consequently NP is definitely  lower than PA, they do have certain expectations.

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My responses to these issues are usually not very popular.....

Have you addressed the issues with PA school? Is this going to be a repeat behavior in school or in your career?

And bless you for not saying you are "asking for a friend".

Is the bridge to PA school on fire? Why can't you get back into the next class or redeem this situation somehow?

I take these issues very seriously as a PA, a PA educator/preceptor and, yes, as a Mom.

My PA class accepted 30 and we graduated 24 - yes, eons ago before the Internet.

One left because she had the WHOLE wrong idea about being in a career and was more worried about who would cook her husband dinner at exactly 5:30 (at age 24).

One had serious academic and attitude issues and was asked to leave.

One messed up at work as an Xray Tech and was convicted of a crime that prohibited further healthcare work.

One just disappeared and we actually have no idea what happened to him.

One was found cheating and asked to leave.

I can't remember what happened to the last one.

Point is - do you still want to be a PA and why? What have you done to improve/correct the situations and can you stick with it?

If the same thing is going to happen in nursing school or plumber apprenticeship or law school or even working at a hardware store?

Just food for thought. I have seen this happen more than I like.

Hope it works out for you.

 

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One thing I have learned over the years is there are many ways to achieve goals. I would just apply to the Nursing Programs you are interested in attending in your area and just be honest when they ask about any past educational experiences. I would also be sure that whatever life problems you were experiencing are fixed and not a current issue if not the problems will continue to be a problem no matter what you do be that a different health care education path or just trying to keep any job.

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2 hours ago, drummer195 said:

One thing I have learned over the years is there are many ways to achieve goals. I would just apply to the Nursing Programs you are interested in attending in your area and just be honest when they ask about any past educational experiences. I would also be sure that whatever life problems you were experiencing are fixed and not a current issue if not the problems will continue to be a problem no matter what you do be that a different health care education path or just trying to keep any job.

I’d take this advice and also commend the Op for being willing to change gears. 

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12 hours ago, ShakaHoo said:

I am just curious,

A single C+ gets you dismissed from a PA program?  Sounds like a silly reason.


I think this post was more about getting dismissed with a C+ as one of their grades.  This grade was not the sole reason for dismissal.  I know that in my program there where a multitude of possibilities for not progressing. Grades or academics are just a small  part of the overall picture for most programs 

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On 9/10/2019 at 8:17 AM, ShakaHoo said:

I am just curious,

A single C+ gets you dismissed from a PA program?  Sounds like a silly reason.

 

Not sure of the specifics at OP’s school, but when I was a student, if you earned less than an 80% in one class you were put on academic probation with a remediation plan. If you earned less than 80% in other classes while already being on probation you would be asked to repeat part or all of didactic. And if you refused to do that you would be asked to leave.

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