chadbri Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Hello, i am almost ready to "officially retire" from u.p.s, with 23 years..I want to go back to school. I am only 45.. Medicine has been tugging on me for many years. i was a single father and ups took very good care of us as the years started stacking up. 5, 10, 15 etc...I am proud that i did it..now for the second half of life,I am set on a physician assistant,i researched anethesia asst and cardio purfusionist etc.. I understand most traditional P.A schools are masters level, most only accept students with bachelors. are ther any accelerated programs? if went to back to school full time and also did summer school, is it possible to get bachelors in science/biology in less than 3 years? are there any P.A programs that will accept students with just all pre med req finished?..i fully understand the quality of the education is foremost, im just really happy and excited, thank you...i would sincerely appreciate any advise or if you would like to share any experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen0508 Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 is it possible to get bachelors in science/biology in less than 3 years? Its possible. I did it in 3 years...you will need to take a full load of classes during each summer semester all 3 years. I was also able to knock out my prereqs at the same time (which often are classes not needed for Biology degrees, such as Anatomy and physiology) and work 2 part time jobs. My days (and nights) were very busy though. You will also need to shadow PAs along the way, and if possible work a part time healthcare job to rack up some hours (EMT, CNA, etc). Go ahead and get that certification asap. PA school considers healthcare experience in addition to gpa. btw there are some schools that accept students without bachelors degrees but these are typically schools that look for people with previous healthcare experiences (former nurses, former paramedics, etc). Also i know that soon all PA schools will be required to be Masters programs (i think 2014?, but i could be wrong) good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 There are also direct entry programs out there that combine undergrad and PA school that may be worth looking into. I think they're five years long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 And the nice thing about the direct-entry 5 year BS + MS programs is that most (all?) of them guarantee you entry into the PA program if you complete the 3 year undergrad with the required GPA and obtain the required number of healthcare experience hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonD Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 The accelerated programs (3+2 MS programs) are meant for students with no previous college experience (i.e. recently graduated high school students). There are probably 15-20 of these programs nationwide. My daughter is in one and she's about to start here in a couple of weeks so I'm quite familiar with them. I suppose they might accept an older person as there is no age limit per se. The problem is these programs look at high school grades (3.5 min GPA, better to be over 4.0), SAT scores (BIG numbers required), guidance counselor recommendation letters, sports/after school activities etc. What would they look at for you? Call them and ask, again there is no reason I can think of why they would not accept an "old" person. One more thing: these programs do say that if you have anywhere from 1-9 credit hours (depending on the program) of college they will not accept you. They also do not accept transfer students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Maybe check out a BS/BA program? Do those still exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annemarreb Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I think in your situation, it would be best to just go through straight BS in Physician Assistant. I'm not sure exactly where you are located but there are several of them in NY. You can take your pre-requisites in 1/2-2 years while doing some part time health care experience then after that you can apply for the program. The program then will take you another 2 years. I think that will be the best option for you. Unless you would want to go through the dual degree option that was mentioned in the earlier posts. I hope that helps! Below is the link of NY PA schools including the degree title: http://www.nysspa.org/resources/programs.html Hello, i am almost ready to "officially retire" from u.p.s, with 23 years..I want to go back to school. I am only 45.. Medicine has been tugging on me for many years. i was a single father and ups took very good care of us as the years started stacking up. 5, 10, 15 etc...I am proud that i did it..now for the second half of life,I am set on a physician assistant,i researched anethesia asst and cardio purfusionist etc.. I understand most traditional P.A schools are masters level, most only accept students with bachelors. are ther any accelerated programs? if went to back to school full time and also did summer school, is it possible to get bachelors in science/biology in less than 3 years? are there any P.A programs that will accept students with just all pre med req finished?..i fully understand the quality of the education is foremost, im just really happy and excited, thank you...i would sincerely appreciate any advise or if you would like to share any experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffchic Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Chadbri- I began preparing for PA school four years ago. I am a "career changer" also. I already had a BA, but it took me 3 years of working FT job and PT job to complete a few prereqs I needed for PA school and basically ready myself. And now I start PA school in a week. I am very excited. So my advice is - go for it! Do your homework as to your best avenue. Network in your area. Read forums. Scan blogs. Then start calling and connecting with PAs in your community. Ask to shadow them and then dialogue with them about their school experience and what might be your best course of action. Good luck, you can do it! :smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted August 25, 2012 Moderator Share Posted August 25, 2012 speaking of ups driver have you ever seen this: http://www.er-doctor.com/doctor_income.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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