New to the forum, need some advice on direction.

[VESmedic]

Hello everyone! :)

 

New guy here, just wanted some advice and tell everyone alittle about myself, and see where I stand :) I am 26 years old, I have been a career firefighter/Paramedic for about 6 years now. I went right into EMT school after high school, went to the fire academy soon after, and started working in the field as an EMT. I worked in an extremely busy department in central florida, gaining experience, and was really thrown into everything quite young (19 or so) Since then, I went to paramedic school, and have been a Paramedic for about 6 years now. I also have worked in one of the busiest (if not the busiest, also the biggest ER in square footage in the country) hospitals in Central Florida as a Paramedic in the ED for about 3 years, and will have been there for over 5, possibly 6 by the time I apply to PA school. While I am young, the experience I have is probably more than most at my age. Working in an extremely busy urban environment in both the firehouse, as well as the hospital, is probably the best thing I could have ever done for the road I am going to embark. Also, I am not sure how HCE hours are calculated, but in general, with my scheduling in the fire department, we work approximately 2900 hours a year. Also, working in the ER has been part time, approximately 24 hours a week on top of my normal 24/48 schedule at my Fire Department. Also, I figure by the time I actually start applying to PA school, I will have over 8 years on the job, possibly more.

 

Over the last 6 months, I have really been considering going to PA school. It seemed to be a natural progression for me, and is something I have always been interested in. I have many friends that are doctors, PA's, nurses obviously etc, and have talked to all of them, and the PA route seems to be for ME the best option, and would suit me the best. Unfortunately, I still have over a year of Pre reqs to accomplish before I can even apply to PA school, depending on the program I decide to (or the one that lets me! :D ) enter. There are a couple of different options and different ways I can do it, but I still have not decided quite exactly yet.

 

Currently living in Gainesville, as my girlfriend is at UF law, so I figured this would probably the best time for me to embarq on my future goals in life. Right now, my GPA is around a 3.6 I believe, however, I only have a few science classes on top of my EMT/paramedic classes (all done at community college), so it is not a very fair or accurate description at this point yet.

 

I guess, I am just trying to find out, how well of a chance I stand of being accepted into school, as long as I do well on my pre reqs? Maybe I am getting ahead of myself, but my personality, and the one that has been instilled in me in this paramilitary environment I have been in, pushes me to do everything I can the best 100 percent of the time. How competitive will I be in the process? Coming from my world, just getting a Fire department job is like winning the lotto. Thousands of applicants with the same certs, people with degrees, working in the field already, paramedics, military background etc... It is very competitive, so nothing I am not used to already :) I feel this will be an advantage to me, because I will have an idea of what to expect, and how "on point" I need to be in every step of the process of getting accepted. Anyways, sorry for the lengthy first post, I appreciate any and all info anyone has for me, thanks!

 

Chris

[EMEDPA]

get good grades in your prereqs and you can get into any program in the country with that experience!

welcome to the forum and the road to becoming a pa!

[VESmedic]

EMEDPA, thanks for the advice and the words of encourgement! That is good news. Especially coming from you, seeing that you have been in emergency medicine for 25 years, you know the type of experience I have, especially working in a busy metropolitan area :)

 

I will be honest, as crazy as it sounds, I am more worried about doing well on my pre reqs than I am actually worried about the PA program itself. I was always "one of those kids" in high school, that probably would have never excelled right away at a typical 4 year college program, and getting a trade was probably a better option at that time, while this was 8 years ago, and I am obviously a different person than I was because of the career I have chosen so far, it still worries me. Although, having a dedicated goal (PA school) is probably motivation enough for me to do extremely well on all of my pre reqs. Sounds silly, I am sure, but "going back to school" after being in the "real world" with a real career, is going to be alittle challenging at first for me. Anyways, thanks again for the encouragement, any other help is appreciated! :)

 

Chris

[Just Steve]

Grades help but experience can carry you further, depending on the school you apply to. My pre req science grades were only B's for the most part..joys of having three kids and working full time. But my experience as a paramedic and navy corpsman is what got the me the interview. Have confidence, you're on the right track.

[beattie228]

I'm in a similar boat as Just Steve. I kept my GPA competitive, but nowhere near some of the higher end perfect GPAs some folks are landing. I did 6 years as an Army medic, then worked as an EMT in both a large ER and a private neurology practice during my undergrad. My academic goal was to do well enough to get past the automatic computer screening for a pair of human eyes to see my extensive healthcare experience. Keep your overall and science above the 3.0 benchmark, and you'll for sure get a few interviews with your experience. Best of luck to you, and welcome to the forum!