PAMaybe Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 I am in a career transition and am very interested in being a PA. My gpa is on the line (due to very old grades - most recent grades are excellent, but not science) and so I am unsure about my chances to get into PA school. Keep in mind, I am just starting off in this direction, so no previous experience. If I spend the next couple of years completing pre-reqs and possibly working as an EMT or doing something similar to accumulate hours and I DON'T get into PA school, well now all I have are a pile of pre-reqs and an EMT basic license. And by the way, I am in my early 40s, so I don't have the next 3 decades to shape this path. So, I am considering getting my RN via an associates program. It would put me in a position to make a good salary, take my pre-reqs, get what I think is excellent HCE (would it be excellent HCE?) and if I don't make it to PA school, I have a decent career working in the medical field with people. If I do make it into the program, I've also spent an additional 2 years and a small chunk of money on an RN program that may not have been necessary. The programs in my area only require a couple/few hundred experience hours. This seems unusual, but it's true. But again, my gpa is not going to help me, so maybe the hours can. Is going to school 2 years for an RN building a good foundation to get into PA school and be an even better PA? or is it overkill? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 The good news is that by the time you fulfill the pre-requisites for PA you will probably also fulfill the pre-requisites for nursing school, respiratory therapy school, maybe even dental hygienist. They are very similar except that PA requires higher level chemistry, more biology, and sometimes math/statistics. Once your pre-requisites are complete and you have some EMT hours for HCE, you can apply to PA school. If you find that you can't get into PA school, then you will have no choice but to pursue nursing, respiratory therapy, radiologist technician or something else. If you think you might want to do nursing, you may want to get on a waiting list for that. Of the allied health professions, nuring is considered the strongest choice for a future career as a PA (or NP). Be aware that nursing in a hospital can get pretty nasty, because you'll get patients that are combative, elderly and frail, incontinent of urine and stool, confused patients who think you are trying to rob them, super obese and you have to bathe them in between their giant rolls of fat, nasty infections, colostomy bags and more. Make sure that whatever license you pursue is something that you can live with in case you don't get into PA school. That's my take on it. I'll be doing respiratory therapy if I can't get into PA school. I saw enough of nursing as a nurse aide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 25, 2013 Moderator Share Posted March 25, 2013 paramedic/rn/rt are all top tier choices for pa school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAMaybe Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 Hi Lemon Bars, A) love your name B) thanks for the great input. I had never thought of it in reverse, ie, do the prereqs and if no go, then choose another. Although my thought was to do the prereqs part time while working in the field. The thought of being a nurse feels hot and cold to me. I really want to care for patients and I'm ok with the less pleasant parts, assuming those aren't ALL the parts. But, there is a lot of complaining among nurses and I wonder if even the ones who were born for the job really like it after a while. Anyway, you gave me good food for thought. When will you be applying? EMEDPA, do you think EMT is equally as strong as RN for experience directly related to PA school? And why can't I space down for a new paragraph? .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delco714 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 I would say emt is a great choice..plus you won't have to field the question of why you didn't go for NP... emt offers patient care, responsibility, and seeing the health-care field from a unique point of view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 keep in mind that EMT has different levels ranging from emt-basic at around 120 hours of education to emt-intermediate, up to emt-paramedic which is an associates degree in many areas of the country. The paramedic level does a lot more critical thinking, medication intervention, invasive procedures, advanced airway/cardiac management...so on and so forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 25, 2013 Moderator Share Posted March 25, 2013 paramedic and rt are as good as rn. emt basic is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 PAMaybe, the health care experience one can get with minimal training are things like EMT, nurse aide, phlebotomist, and medical assistant. These require a few months of training and no pre-requisites. Any higher level profession like paramedic, RN, or RT is going to have pre-requisites that may take a year or two to complete. Do you have a bachelor's degree? If you don't have a bachelor's degree you might as well get an associate's degree in nursing or paramedic so that you can work on your bachelor's and then finally apply to PA school. But if you already have a bachelor's degree then I suggest just getting the EMT for health care experience. Going all the way through nursing school just to prep for a PA career is probably overkill if you already have a bachelor's degree. Personally, I'd take a shot at PA admission before doing an extra two years of nursing school (plus wait list time in many cases). EMEDPA said paramedic was a top tier choice, along with nursing and respiratory therapy. EMT I (EMT Basic) is much less training and responsibility than paramedic, but it does count as health care experience and might be good enough for PA school if your academic record is strong. Where I live, paramedic is a year of training and you have to already be an EMT and they reccommend one to two years EMT experience prior to paramedic training. Alot depends on where you are at in your educational requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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