willrocks Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Hello I posted this on another board on this site as well, but thought this would be more appropriate. I am midway through a Tier 1 pharmacy school and am considering changing career tracts to PA school for concerns of the pharmacist job market. I hold a BA in chemistry and also a BA in pharm sciences. My only health care experience is as a pharm tech (>2000 hours). I would like to complete PA school as quickly as possible. Am I too late to begin thinking of applying for the next academic year? I have heard PA schools begin in the spring. Again, I am new to this, so thank you for bearing with me. How long do PA schools run for? Is it possible to use my BA's to get a MS in physician assistant? Where is a good place to get a listing of schools, their requirements (specifically those I can apply to with my limited pt care experience), and tuitions? Do I need to take the GRE for all schools? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willrocks Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Also, does this paid listing of PA schools (http://www.paeaonline.org/index.php?ht=d/ContentDir/pid/255) clearly state whether hands on pt care experience is required? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen0508 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 HelloAm I too late to begin thinking of applying for the next academic year? I have heard PA schools begin in the spring. Again, I am new to this, so thank you for bearing with me. . Pretty much. most deadlines have already passed, the latest deadline i have seen is Oct 15th and you are pushing it even for that deadline. you definitely need to do some PA shadowing to prove to the admissions committee that your transition from Pharm to PA was well thought out. so you will need to find and shadow a PA, finish your caspa app, get your recommendations in (one needs to be from a PA/MD), write your essay, and submit your CASPA and wait 2-4 weeks for CASPA to process it...... it will likely be too late even for October deadlines. So don't plan on starting PA school until spring or fall of 2014 How long do PA schools run for? most are around 24 months, give or take. mine was 28 Is it possible to use my BA's to get a MS in physician assistant? Yes but you will need to have prerequisites in general chemistry, general biology, Anatomy and physiology, microbiology, ...and depending on the school you may need statistics, psych classes, etc Where is a good place to get a listing of schools, their requirements (specifically those I can apply to with my limited pt care experience), and tuitions? Dont know. google it. Do I need to take the GRE for all schools? the majority of schools require GRE, but not all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Pretty much. most deadlines have already passed, the latest deadline i have seen is Oct 15th and you are pushing it even for that deadline. It is getting a bit late in the cycle but the vast majority of deadlines have not passed. https://portal.caspaonline.org/applicants2013/faq/ins_programs.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen0508 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 It is getting a bit late in the cycle but the vast majority of deadlines have not passed. https://portal.caspaonline.org/applicants2013/faq/ins_programs.htm ooh ok. i was judging based off the schools i looked at back when i was applying, Nevermind :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willrocks Posted August 11, 2012 Author Share Posted August 11, 2012 Can anybody please comment whether the $35 listing of PA schools at paeaonline.org gives a good breakdown of admissions requirements, deadlines, programs available, and importantly clinical experience requirements? Is there any school that will consider pharm tech experience as applicable patient care hours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tompkbr Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 The University of Kentucky will accept up to 500 hrs of pharm tech exp. towards their direct pt. care exp. requirement. The rest will have to come from the more typical fields (EMT-B, Paramedic, RN, etc.). In my interview session, we had a dental student, so people do make changes in their accademic careers. Best of luck with your decision!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sartort Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 paeaonline.org is a great site. I've had access to it for years and it gives you links to the schools. A free way to go though is http://physician-assistant-ed.com/ It's actually more what you probably want. The only reason I ever used paea was because I didn't know about the other one and I wanted a listing to know these were accredited programs. Physician-assistant-ed.com also has a pay option for more information but it gives you the schools by state or region, basic pre-reqs including HCE and you can just look up the program website in a search engine. They all list them pretty well. Some programs don't require HCE at all and I spoke with someone from one and they said they don't even consider it prior to interview invites. I honestly didn't find this appealing, but someone in your position might. I must say though, that if the reason you want to switch from pharmD to PA is solely based on job market, you might be dissatisfied in the role of a PA or an MD. They are incredibly different jobs and I see very different personalities in these roles. I'm not saying you wouldn't be happy as a PA, but I doubt you would be if that's your main reason. If you are halfway through a program, why not finish it? I understand it's expensive but you chose that path for some reason and I imagine that you would be able to find a job somewhere if you were willing to relocate, which it sounds like you are based on your PA search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sartort Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 http://physician-assistant-ed.com/ will give you at no cost: A listing of programs by region, then state, application deadline, matriculation date, pre-requisite courses and HCE, program length, degree awarded, cost of program, accreditation status, whether they use CASPA, whether they have rolling admissions, and GPA requirements. Every program I have seen on it is accredited. Just verify the data on the websites. They guy who runs the site is a PA-C who just started a PA program himself and is probably busy with that so he may miss some details or take time to update changes. You can also go to forums there and he will answer a lot of questions for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willrocks Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Where can I find a list of schools where I can get in with only pharm tech experience? IE is there a list of school that don't require the patient contact hours, or do not signficiantly prefer those with it? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Regarding application dates, there are a few schools in California with a Nov. 1st deadline and if I recall correctly SJVC's deadline is like Feb 1st. But that school requires 2k direct paid HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d2305 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I didn't know the job market was bad for pharmacists. You should do well in pharmacology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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