futurePA1216 Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I'm currently a senior at UGA and I'll graduate in May with a B.S. in Nutrition Science and a GPA of 3.6. I got a C+ in gen chemistry II and calculus my freshman year when I took them in the same semester. My other grades are fine after that I got a B+ in general biology I and II, organic I, and physics II and A's in anatomy/physiology I and II, microbiology, biochemistry, neurobiology, physics I. I don't have any health care experience other than volunteering one year in the PACU 3 hours a week, so I am planning on taking a year off to work either as a medical assistant in a doctor's office or phlebotomist. Some of the schools I'm thinking about applying to are MCG, Mercer, MUSC, and Wake Forest. My questions are-- 1. Do you think the C's I got will affect my chances of getting into these schools? Or will admissions committees take into consideration the upward trend / overall GPA? I know every school is different and it depends on the person I'm just wondering if I need to retake the C's or if that would be a waste of time. 2. What is generally considered a good GRE score / what should I aim for given my circumstances? 3. What types of healthcare experience will best prepare me for PA school/the career that I can go into relatively soon after graduating? All of the Medical Assistant or EMT certification programs take about a year that I've seen online so far. CNA and phlebotomy seem to have programs that are a month to a few months long. I've heard of people being trained on the job for a MA, which would be ideal not having to spend time/money becoming certified, but I'm not sure how to go about doing that since most job offers say the certification course is required? Any advice from current PA students or PA's on what they did to get healthcare experience if they were in a similar situation would be appreciated!!! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgancrandall Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I'm in your boat. I literally have a similar GPA and I got a C+ in an Anatomy class (Because I got an A in the first part I thought the second would be easy...stupid me.) Anyways, I'm EMT certified but honestly, I hate it! I want to be a PA to have relations with patients and I only get to see patients for an hour at most! I have some interviews but most of my programs start in January so that I can acquire about 1000 additional hours...and they know that! I'll graduate in May and I'm thinking about taking an accelerated CNA course that lasts about 3 weeks and then I can finally work in the hospital and not sit in an ambulance bay and wait for a call all day long! So from my experience I would get CNA certified or any type of technician...but many people are EMT certified. It's just kind of what you think would make you happy because either way, it exposes you to the health care world we are about to become very involved in! As far as the grade goes, I've been asked about it and explained that I was cocky and didn't get involved in a study group and so that experience really helped me learn how important relying on your fellow students is...so I turned it around as a learning experience and I don't think I'll go back and re-take the course because my interviewers really liked that I learned from that...then again all my other grades are nowhere close to that awful C and I think I punished myself more than the admissions committee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friction Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 1. Like you said, its very school dependent. I think you'll be ok with most schools since you're showing an upward trend in some pretty tough courses. If worse comes to worse and you don't get around your first time you can always retake them. 2. I'm applying to Bachelor's programs so I'll leave that to another forum member to answer. 3. Not sure where you looked at EMT-B classes but the longest one I've ever seen is about 20 weeks, a little bit longer than a traditional college semester. You can usually complete a fast track EMT/CNA course in a 2-4 weeks. Medical assisting will offer you a wider scope of practice, but its also going to take longer, generally a year or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 3. What types of healthcare experience will best prepare me for PA school/the career that I can go into relatively soon after graduating? All of the Medical Assistant or EMT certification programs take about a year that I've seen online so far. CNA and phlebotomy seem to have programs that are a month to a few months long. I've heard of people being trained on the job for a MA, which would be ideal not having to spend time/money becoming certified, but I'm not sure how to go about doing that since most job offers say the certification course is required? Any advice from current PA students or PA's on what they did to get healthcare experience if they were in a similar situation would be appreciated!!! Thanks! There are 2 week and 4 week EMT-B courses you can take (in CA). It's a national certification through the department of transportation and if needed you can do a scope of practice that is county specific for each region if needed. I don't suggest phlebotomy because some schools do not accept it as HCE. If you plan on applying for the 2014-2015 cycle and take a MA job you also may not have enough hours by the time you submit your application. Other options to you are EKG Tech or even pacemaker tech (5 month program in Minnesota). Which can get you up and running sooner. IMO find something accelerated or start taking classes towards your certification for HCE to give you enough hours to apply. On a side note don't worry about the 2 Cs with your 3.6 GPA. Just explain what happened and what you did to correct it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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