cget3 Posted February 8, 2013 Recently I have decided to persue a career as a PA. I am currently in the USCG and seeking advice on my path to becoming a PA. Before the military I worked in a sleep lab, DME company where I setup patients with oxygen equipment and just about every prescribed piece of medical equipment there is, and Radiology as an assistant. All of my experiences gave me a great deal of direct patient contact. I am also attending EMT training in the near future and plan volunteering at local hospitals. I am currently attending a community college to finish the few prereqs I have left to apply for the miltaries program. If I do not get accepted I plan on continuing my education so that I am eligible to apply for numerous PA programs before I separate. My program of study is pre-med biology but it is becoming more difficult to attend classes with my work schedule. Also with the tuition assistance I recieve it is cheaper to attend online classes. I have been looking into changing my degree plan to something I can obtain online such as psychology. As stated before I will have all of the required prereqs to apply a PA program, but before I decide to take online classes I would greatly appreciate any input on how this would effect my chances of getting accepted into a civilian PA program in the future. I want to make the right decisions and will do whatever is needed to obtain my goal. V/R Chase
beattie228 Posted February 8, 2013 Sounds like you're on the right track. As long as you choose an accredited program from a recognized institution, it really doesn't matter what you major in or where it's from. I'd recommend you take any and all PA school requirements from a brick & mortar institution, but otherwise you shouldn't have any issue with the plan you have laid out. Best of luck.
cget3 Posted February 8, 2013 Author beattie228, Thank you very much for your reply. I am only attending the community college to obtain the few credits I need to apply to the miltaries PA program. After application I will attend a four year institution, just looking for a way to mininmize the cost and maximize my chances for acceptance.
kdawg Posted February 10, 2013 I'm kind of in the same predicament. I earned my Associate's in Business then joined the military and continued studying Business. I have always wanted to study Medicine/Health, but online classes especially for Business are that much more available so I continued with it. I attended the commissioning breifing and heard about the IPAP the Air Force offers and decided to pursue it. I have two more pre-requisites before I can apply. I don't know what I should do though if I am not excepted. Stay in and keep applying or get out and try my chances as a civilian, I just feel like my business degrees and online medical classes are going to "hurt" me in the long run.
Seth Posted April 20, 2013 I agree with the above, take brick/mortar classes as much as possible, especially for labs. Check out the new solicitation message and corresponding requirements: http://www.uscg.mil/health/cg1122/docs/pdf/PA_Application_memo.pdf some of the requirements have changed since last year. Push hard for IPAP, it is 2 grueling years that are hard to beat on the civilian side. Good luck
Seth Posted April 20, 2013 I agree with the above, take brick/mortar classes as much as possible, especially for labs. Check out the new solicitation message and corresponding requirements: http://www.uscg.mil/health/cg1122/docs/pdf/PA_Application_memo.pdf some of the requirements have changed since last year. Push hard for IPAP, it is 2 grueling years that are hard to beat on the civilian side. Good luck
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