PM2016 Posted March 8, 2013 I am having a really hard time finding a PA to shadow! I have tried pashadowonline.com but only one PA is listed for my area (miami) and she no longer lives here. I tried the fapa website and one PA is listed there, she has not replied to my email yet. I have tried asking my dermatologist about his PA but the PA was not present that day so he told me that he would ask him for me. i am starting to get stressed out because 7 out of 10 schools I am applying to require a LOR from a PA, mind you the 3 schools that do not require one from a PA are the 3 schools I would prefer not to go to.. i work in a hospital as a cna and never come into contact with PA's nor do I communicate with any doctors. any advice? i was thinking about going back to calling offices...:sad:
loliz Posted March 8, 2013 Since you work in a hospital, I imagine you are around more PAs than you think! Go to your clinical manager, it is likely they either know some PAs that come through the floor or know some docs that have PAs and can give you some phone #s. I had a lot of trouble finding someone to let me shadow by cold calling and my manager helped me out immensely (although she tried her best to convince me that I should be an NP instead!).
PM2016 Posted March 8, 2013 Author Thanks for the advice! I never thought about going to my supervisor I definitely will be giving it a shot though!
cinntsp Posted March 8, 2013 Contact the MLP supervisor at your hospital and ask them if they'd be willing to ask around and see if any of the PAs would let you shadow.
PM2016 Posted March 21, 2013 Author *sigh* I am back to square one..I have gone to the human resources department and volunteer services at the hospital I work at and I cannot shadow a PA unless there is a contract between te hospital and the shool (I'm currently not in school) and a whole bunch of other bs (excuse my French). It's looking like a LOR from a pa is the only thing that will be holding me back and it's becoming veryyyyy frustrating! Advice pleaseee
PM2016 Posted March 21, 2013 Author Ugh finally heard back from my dermatologist's pa and he said no :(. My only option now is to literally show up to several private offices and ask to shadow..I am not optimistic at all about this because why would someone who has never seen me a day in their life allow me to follow them around for a day..I know I shouldn't think this way but I can't help it. I'm going to do it though since I have no other choice and NEED this LOR
marktheshark89 Posted March 21, 2013 What about anyone in your extended family who might be in the medical field? You could also try looking into shadowing at other area hospitals (I know in my area hospitals have very different requirements for this, even within the same health system. One hospital let me shadow for 4 hours one time, while another let me shadow anytime I wanted). Also, you could contact the programs you are interested in (if they are local) and ask what hospitals/offices local applicants have often shadowed at. (They might not give you this information, but its worth a shot if you are out of other options).
cinntsp Posted March 22, 2013 *sigh* I am back to square one..I have gone to the human resources department and volunteer services at the hospital I work at and I cannot shadow a PA unless there is a contract between te hospital and the shool (I'm currently not in school) and a whole bunch of other bs (excuse my French). That makes no sense. They probably didn't understand what you were asking. You should contact the MLP supervisor like I suggested.
OpSite Posted March 22, 2013 *sigh* I am back to square one..I have gone to the human resources department and volunteer services at the hospital I work at and I cannot shadow a PA unless there is a contract between te hospital and the shool (I'm currently not in school) and a whole bunch of other bs (excuse my French). It's looking like a LOR from a pa is the only thing that will be holding me back and it's becoming veryyyyy frustrating! Advice pleaseee I don't know what the schools you're considering require, but I found a couple PA's who were willing to have lunch with me and chat about the things they loved and hated about their jobs. It was a valuable experience and I got a great feel for their scope of practice. I listed them under "shadowing" on CASPA and explained the nature of the relationship. As a bonus, both of them were graduates of my program so I also had a feel for the school.
PM2016 Posted March 22, 2013 Author My sisters cousin is a PA and teaches at a school I will be applying to as a PA professor however I have no relationship with her but Im so desperate I think I'm going to ask my sister to talk to her in see if she knows any miami PAs :/. I didn't think about other hospitals but I will definitely be calling them tomorrow and asking them if they allow it
PM2016 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Yes my primary care physician does not use a pa and my derm pa said no
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