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Retake classes or gain PCE first?


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Hey all,

I’m currently working as full time as a Med Tech and in the future, want to try apply to PA school. My question is, which would be more beneficial to go about doing first, seeking patient care experience or retaking classes?

I have to do both but I have about 8-9 classes I want to retake and have not started accumulating PCE.

Would one goal make sense to accomplish before the other? I just started as a full time Med Tech as I mentioned above, so maybe in a few months/up to a year I go part time and look for PCE work? Or would it be better to start retaking some pre-req classes first?

Any advice from PA students/PA’s would be greatly appreciated. My cGPA is a 3.22 so I know it’s on the low end of a prospective PA school application. 

Thanks for reading.

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I think COVID-19 complicates this further, because lots of schools are online only and I am not sure how good online classes are for you. Additionally, I would say that some heavy science and math courses are extremely hard to do online. Anatomy is one that comes to mind. It really helped me to be there in person to observe 3D models. So I would question what classes you would like to retake and if any campuses nearby are offering classes that work for your learning needs.

If you are able to find classes that work for you, then personally, I would recommend doing one at a time. Take a full courseload and then save your PCE for later. I say this because you can always gain more PCE, but it is challenging to pull up a bad grade in the middle of a semester. I was a full time student and then worked full time as a CNA once I finished my prereqs. Maybe some people can manage both, but you need to be careful with that risk because you would likely feel pretty bad if you retook classes only to do poorly in them cause you had too many hours at work.

Also, saving your PCE for later may be a safer option if you live with vulernable people or if you yourself are suspectible to COVID

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  • 10 months later...

What does your med tech role entail? Is it lab based or clinic based? Nomenclature can vary but if you're patient facing that very well could be PCE (like in an EMT/MA/PCT role). If you're a lab technician then that would be HCE. If it is HCE you'll have good experience to segue in to a PCE role.

I would look at doing both, or at least working while you take classes. Community colleges often have schedules that cater towards working students so doing both is feasible (albeit you may want to only take 2-3 classes a semester instead of 4-5). I worked full time and took pre-reqs and while it was definitely a lot to juggle, it was much faster to do both. If you're trying to boost your GPA I'd stick with 1-2 classes so you can really hit them out of the park. Hybrid classes with online lectures and in-person labs are great options too.

You will almost definitely need to accumulate PCE since most schools require it and you'll be a more competitive applicant having more hours. I'd start looking at PCE roles now while taking classes. If you work 10s or 12s you won't be tied to a 9-5 and can take classes on days off.

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  • 2 months later...
On 11/18/2021 at 9:59 AM, PApivot said:

What does your med tech role entail? Is it lab based or clinic based? Nomenclature can vary but if you're patient facing that very well could be PCE (like in an EMT/MA/PCT role). If you're a lab technician then that would be HCE. If it is HCE you'll have good experience to segue in to a PCE role.

I would look at doing both, or at least working while you take classes. Community colleges often have schedules that cater towards working students so doing both is feasible (albeit you may want to only take 2-3 classes a semester instead of 4-5). I worked full time and took pre-reqs and while it was definitely a lot to juggle, it was much faster to do both. If you're trying to boost your GPA I'd stick with 1-2 classes so you can really hit them out of the park. Hybrid classes with online lectures and in-person labs are great options too.

You will almost definitely need to accumulate PCE since most schools require it and you'll be a more competitive applicant having more hours. I'd start looking at PCE roles now while taking classes. If you work 10s or 12s you won't be tied to a 9-5 and can take classes on days off.

Hey, didn't log back on until now but thanks for your insightful response! Unfortunately my lab is so big we don't actually do our own patient draws (we have our own phlebotomy department) so my experience will unfortunately fall in the HCE category 😞 

I've had a lot on my plate, unrelated to pre-PA work (hence, logging off for the last few months), but I was thinking of retaking some pre-req's beginning this summer. Trying to decide if I should maybe go part-time in the lab to really make sure I can ace these classes the second time around. Thanks again for your response!

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