SharonRez22 Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 (edited) Hi, So I've been doing a lot of research trying to see if it is feasible for me to be a physician's assistant. I am an ultrasound technician/ back office manager and have shadowed with many hours with other PA's, NP's and Dr.'s. I have clinical hours needed. I have a lot of humanities and general courses needed as the pre-requisites. I am currently enrolled at a community college to get some of the science pre-requisites needed. I have been contacting admissions at different schools to make sure my classes completed would be sufficient. I also have my bachelor's degree in healthcare management through Platt College. Admissions at Marshall B. Ketchum verified my transcripts and told me that unfortunately my bachelor's degree is Nationally-accredited and NOT regionally-accredited. It seems like most PA programs are the same. Now I'm not sure if this is something I can do while working full-time and having a 2 year old. I'm stuck with trying to see if anyone has had something similar happen to them or any advice. I don't think it would make sense financially to get a whole other bachelor's degree from a four year university. Also I would need night and weekend classes and that seems impossible with regular UC's. The only other option I could think of is taking my science pre-requisites at community college still and then getting a bachelor's degree online. However, I'm not sure which online schools would be sufficient for the regional-accreditation and also be a reasonable price. I'm thinking of another healthcare management degree or something related since it technically doesn't need to be science based. Just a bachelor's degree with the right accreditation. Any advice for my situation? Edited August 11, 2020 by SharonRez22 missing word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mands Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 5 hours ago, SharonRez22 said: Hi, So I've been doing a lot of research trying to see if it is feasible for me to be a physician's assistant. I am an ultrasound technician/ back office manager and have shadowed with many hours with other PA's, NP's and Dr.'s. I have clinical hours needed. I have a lot of humanities and general courses needed as the pre-requisites. I am currently enrolled at a community college to get some of the science pre-requisites needed. I have been contacting admissions at different schools to make sure my classes completed would be sufficient. I also have my bachelor's degree in healthcare management through Platt College. Admissions at Marshall B. Ketchum verified my transcripts and told me that unfortunately my bachelor's degree is Nationally-accredited and NOT regionally-accredited. It seems like most PA programs are the same. Now I'm not sure if this is something I can do while working full-time and having a 2 year old. I'm stuck with trying to see if anyone has had something similar happen to them or any advice. I don't think it would make sense financially to get a whole other bachelor's degree from a four year university. Also I would need night and weekend classes and that seems impossible with regular UC's. The only other option I could think of is taking my science pre-requisites at community college still and then getting a bachelor's degree online. However, I'm not sure which online schools would be sufficient for the regional-accreditation and also be a reasonable price. I'm thinking of another healthcare management degree or something related since it technically doesn't need to be science based. Just a bachelor's degree with the right accreditation. Any advice for my situation? Oh gosh, this is a situation to be in i'm sorry... SOO, I popped in to swing by a suggestion. One of my friends goes to SUNY Albany online (for Bachelor's in disaster management?). It's one of those blackboard programs where you plug and chug in information and do discussions. It doesn't seem like the most difficutl thing (with the most respect to him because he actually is honest about his work & doesn't use the plug and chug to his advantage). SUNY is accredited through NY state. I think this is a viable online option for you. However, I don't know the fine tuned details, you may be paying out of state tuition.... or worse, not be eligible for FAFSA (only student loans). I lived in NY and I was only eligible for student loans. I took some of my prereq courses through an online "bachelors" (even though I didn't finish it) at Stony Brook. Loved it, however, it broke the bank. So, if possible, depending on what state you live in, maybe try to find an online program there so you can pay local tuition? Otherwise, look into SUNY! they have many campuses online and i'm sure you'll find a major you can grit through! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonRez22 Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 23 hours ago, mands said: Oh gosh, this is a situation to be in i'm sorry... SOO, I popped in to swing by a suggestion. One of my friends goes to SUNY Albany online (for Bachelor's in disaster management?). It's one of those blackboard programs where you plug and chug in information and do discussions. It doesn't seem like the most difficutl thing (with the most respect to him because he actually is honest about his work & doesn't use the plug and chug to his advantage). SUNY is accredited through NY state. I think this is a viable online option for you. However, I don't know the fine tuned details, you may be paying out of state tuition.... or worse, not be eligible for FAFSA (only student loans). I lived in NY and I was only eligible for student loans. I took some of my prereq courses through an online "bachelors" (even though I didn't finish it) at Stony Brook. Loved it, however, it broke the bank. So, if possible, depending on what state you live in, maybe try to find an online program there so you can pay local tuition? Otherwise, look into SUNY! they have many campuses online and i'm sure you'll find a major you can grit through! Thank you! I’m thinking the cheapest option is to take something online since it’s convenient. I’m just worried about it being valid for regional accreditation so maybe I can check with admissions and give them a few to see if they qualify. It’s just a cheaper option I think than taking the science classes at an expensive 4 year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mands Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 1 hour ago, SharonRez22 said: Thank you! I’m thinking the cheapest option is to take something online since it’s convenient. I’m just worried about it being valid for regional accreditation so maybe I can check with admissions and give them a few to see if they qualify. It’s just a cheaper option I think than taking the science classes at an expensive 4 year. The SUNY school system is a safe one then! they are 100% accredited and have a bunch of pre-med focused majors (also easy classes! very manageable)! They also have PA schools, too, so if you get their bachelors from them, some campuses *may* give preference. Right?! I know Doane University has degrees online and they are accredited. However, I looked through their "majors" and they're a little underwhelming for a PA school application. Also, U New England has online bachelors too, and they are 100% accredited. however, UNE is a very challenging school system (When I took classes with them they were quite difficult). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomRRTtoPA Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 I am really sorry to hear about this. The same thing happened to me when I decided to head back to school. I had my AS in Respiratory Therapy from a nationally accredited school and I was fully licensed and had been practicing for 5 years. I tried to get into an AS to BS transition program and they actually suggested to me that I retake all of the Respiratory Therapy program from the start... after telling them how insulting that was to a credentialed RRT, I did what we all have to do, I started from scratch with a focus in healthcare administration. 15 years later and my daughter is now 19 and I have 3 PA schools interviews scheduled and I am still waiting to hear back from 11 schools. I know it wasnt what you wanted to read but national accreditation means nothing to regionally accredited schools (well it meant 2.5 years of education=6 undistributed credits). Good luck on the rest of your journey. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMeOuttaThisMess Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Simple question to program. How much of a check do I need to write you for you to just give me the darn degree? When people started bridging to MS since the majority of us then were BS back then, I couldn't justify the additional expense since it sure wasn't going to get me any more money. It's all a cash racket, just like it is for premium athletic seating at collegiate athletic events. Yes, I went down that road for a short while as well (at least I got to see a national championship out of the darn Longhorns after seeing one as a pre-teen in '69). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 16, 2020 Moderator Share Posted August 16, 2020 https://www.tesu.edu/ accredited 100% online BS. They will accept transfer credits from all of your prior schooling and tell you what you need to finish up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooredc Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 https://www.logan.edu/academics/bachelors-human-biology/ Logan University also has a very affordable, online bachelors in human biology. I have a friend who just completed it and it was a solid program. Its only $275 a credit hour. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonRez22 Posted August 16, 2020 Author Share Posted August 16, 2020 On 8/15/2020 at 10:57 AM, DomRRTtoPA said: I am really sorry to hear about this. The same thing happened to me when I decided to head back to school. I had my AS in Respiratory Therapy from a nationally accredited school and I was fully licensed and had been practicing for 5 years. I tried to get into an AS to BS transition program and they actually suggested to me that I retake all of the Respiratory Therapy program from the start... after telling them how insulting that was to a credentialed RRT, I did what we all have to do, I started from scratch with a focus in healthcare administration. 15 years later and my daughter is now 19 and I have 3 PA schools interviews scheduled and I am still waiting to hear back from 11 schools. I know it wasnt what you wanted to read but national accreditation means nothing to regionally accredited schools (well it meant 2.5 years of education=6 undistributed credits). Good luck on the rest of your journey. Yeah it really sucks to have to start over. I’m looking into getting another bachelor’s degree in healthcare. Just not healthcare management since I already have that. It does add some time and a little bit more money to this journey now but I’m glad I’m not the only one and it’s still possible. Good luck to you too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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