Jump to content

Shadowing?/ strengthening application


Recommended Posts

Hi I’m currently a sophomore health science major. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to shadow with Covid going on? I’m in the western mass area. I also wanted any advice on how to strengthen my application? I currently volunteer and work as a medical greeter at a local hospital. I’m getting my Emt certificate in the fall, and I would really appreciate any tips. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey! I hope you are well! Full disclosure, I'm in no way an expert on admissions and have never sat on any admissions committee but I did apply last cycle and am a current PA student! 

Shadowing: Getting shadowing hours was definitely hard during COVID, and I know several programs lifted their shadowing hours requirement (although since COVID has calmed down, definitely look at. the schools you will be applying to just to see if they have a certain shadowing hour requirement). One thing that I did was to do the virtual shadowing experiences from this group called "ClubMed" which is run by a group of college students. They normally do one virtual "live" shadowing opportunity every week, and it's definitely better than nothing! It isn't always PAs, but they've had several PAs already. I think if you follow this link you can sign up for their weekly newsletter. The other thing that I did was that I used my hospital email to email a bunch of random PAs that I found on my hospital website and asked if they would let me shadow them. Some said no because of COVID, some said it was fine because I already worked at the hospital. I'd say that's worth a shot if you have an hospital email or have a way of emailing PAs. 

https://theclubmed.weebly.com/services.html

In terms of strengthening your application, I'd say the EMT is great! You definitely want to get as much direct patient care as you can, and some school won't accept volunteer hours. Definitely get that EMT cert, that is awesome!! In terms of using the EMT cert, I'd say your best move would be to try and work in a hospital in an ED. You can absolutely work on an ambulance, however, the connections you will make in the ED and the experience you will get will almost always be better than on the ambulance (unless you work in a busy area, but also you won't meet PA's on the ambulance so that's a draw back). If you can use your EMT to get you in the ED as a patient care technician that is awesome and will really help you gain knowledge, connections, and experience.

Overall, the fact that you are thinking about this as a sophomore is GREAT! You are definitely thinking ahead! Also, some hospitals will train you as a tech in the ED or on a floor without any previous training, so if the hospital you are working in will train you as a tech before your EMT cert that wouldn't be a bad idea to look into. This way once you get the EMT cert you can maybe use that to increase pay, to move from a floor position to the ED, etc. 

If you need any more advice or have questions, don't hesitate to message me! I'm not an expert but I actually got a lot of my patient care as an EMT, so I have some experience in that area! Best of luck to you!

 

Edited by eeg86
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn More