ameliaLH Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Hello! I am new to the whole forum thing, this is actually the first one I have joined, so please bare with me if I make a few mistakes. This upcoming spring will be my 5th year working in a pharmacy, and while there is not direct patient care involved I still feel I have learned a lot about medications, insurances, communicating between pharmacists, doctors and patients--because in my opinion the only way to provide excellent care is for everyone to be on the same page when it comes to the patient's health. Last year I took a phlebotomy course, passed, and did 120 hours for my clinical in hospital and drew over 250+ patient's blood/among other tests but I have been unable to find a phlebotomy job willing to work with a full-time student's schedule. I am worried that this will hinder me when it comes to applying for PA programs. I have volunteered at local nursing homes, and also over the summer I volunteered at the humane society. Does anyone know if my 5 years of pharmacy experience will be seen as a good thing? Or will it simply tell them I am not interested in being a PA and should go to pharmacy school (which is NOT the case)? I got the job right out of high school, my boss works with my schedule, I make good money to help pay rent/other bills, I have kept it since I cannot find a phleb job who is willing to hire a full-time student. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 There are over 150 PA programs in the nation. The more willing you are to relocate for school, the higher your chances are at being selected. While a pharm tech isn't direct patient care, it is more than many applicants have when they get selected. The skill set of pharmacy is quite handy and not to be dismissed headed into the PA world. It sounds like you have the volunteer aspect covered, have some life experience outside of pure academia, and are a hard worker. These are positive attributes. Have some confidence in yourself. Other things to look at at your grades. What sort of GPA are you managing, have you taken your GRE? How heavy of a science course load have you carried in school? Can you show the school that you can carry the heavy course load of PA school while you are developing patient care skills? Have you shadowed any PAs? I can appreciate your desire to volunteer but it may be time to shift gears and focus a bit closer to your career goals. Do you have PAs or other providers who can write you a good letter of recommendation? I think most programs require 3 or so. Have you started to pencil out your personal statement? Feel comfortable with it? How do you interview? Feel confident under a bit of pressure or do you find yourself struggling to link two thoughts together when under the microscope? So to wrap up redressing your original question...pharm tech isn't the best, but it's far from the worse. Keep the focus and the eye on the praise. It's totally feasible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ameliaLH Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 Thank you for your honest response. As many others I am sure who are looking to go into competitive programs, confidence is a daily battle, one day you feel you have all the pre-reqs, the next you find out you are missing something that could keep your application from ever getting looked at. I am taking the GRE on Dec. 18th, wish me luck! I start shadowing a PA on Dec 17th, and over winter break I will get around 24 hours, and be able to go back and shadow a second PA in their office over my spring break in March. Some PA schools even want a letter of recommendation from a doctor, but I am a little confused on that. They say the biggest mistake a pre-PAer can make is using the PA program as a stepping stone to get into med school, yet they want us to shadow a doctor...I am apprehensive to ask a doctor if I can shadow them since I am not looking to go to med school. Has anyone else thought this? My grades are decent, I do well in biology, 3.0-3.5 but chemistry is definitely a struggle, have a tutor, but its not a subject I will ever get a 4.0 in. I hope on making some rough drafts for my personal statement over winter break so that I can revise them through the spring so they are ready for when I apply this summer. Thanks again for your response, any information is much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beattie228 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Amelia, Don't get too hung up on the shadowing. It's arguably the least important aspect of your application. If one of the schools you're interested in wants you to shadow a physician, just knock it out to check the box. As far as finding a physician to shadow, I would recommend you use something along the lines of "I am interested in going to PA school, but would like to know more about the daily roles of a physician so that I may better inform myself if PA or MD school is a better option for me". You will have a lot of success getting in touch with a teaching hospital used to new and friendly faces, but just contacting an office manager at a local physician practice should do the trick as well. A lot of pre-PA students get hung up on their GPA or other areas of their application, but just remember that competitive is not synonymous with perfect. Most of us had a subject that we couldn't excel at (mine was organic chemistry). As long as your cumulative and science GPA are above the mandatory minimum, a hiccup along the way won't be a deal breaker unless it's a prerequisite for the program. Best of luck to you, and be sure to study for the GRE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 If you don't have experience with direct patient care, the shadow experience may help you speak more confidently when asked "what is the role of a PA and how does that integrate with the role of a physcian?" By shadowing both a PA and a physcian, you get a glimpse of all that. Ever take a hard test without studying? Did you like doing it? Think of this application process as a test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_me Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Some programs look for healthcare experience....some look for direct meaning actually touched a patient. If you are looking at programs that require direct patient contact, I think you might want to email them first before leaving them on your "apply to" list. Off the top of my head there are a couple that will not consider it or may consider it lower on the totem pole. When in doubt...always ask the programs you are looking at. To be honest, while direct patient contact is always great, I think a lot more programs are realizing that it is beneficial to the class to have students from all aspects of healthcare--in otherwords, I think you will find more programs will look favorably at your experience than you think. Oh and when it comes to the pharm portion of didactic your classmates will love you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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