Advice on next move

[rizzol19]

I am stuck at a crossroad at the moment and some advice or suggestions would be helpful. I graduated from undergrad in 2009 with a 2.9 GPA and bachelor's in bio and was accepted to American University of the Carib medical school. While down there I realized that that was not the path I wanted to take and it showed in my grades. I know PA schools do not like when people do not do well in med school so they turn to PA school. That was not the case for me, I never thought about PA school, since high school it was always doctor and I never gave the PA profession a chance, I also did not realize that they worked in all areas of medicine. This semester I am going as a non matriculated student to william paterson grad school. I think I'm going to finish with 2 B's in immunology and research methods in biology, and a C in molecular Bio. However this mol. bio course was extremely lab based and nothing to what expected nor would i ever really need. With a C I probably will not be admitted to the program. Any thoughts on my next move? Thanks

[rizzol19]

I should also mention I have been working as a nursing assistant the past four years (took a year off while in med school obviously.) And I will begin shadowing a trauma PA and a NICU PA, this month.

[chiaroscuro27]

Your goal is to attend PA school. I'm not quite sure I understand your motivation for PA school since you didn't enjoy medical school.

[CJKitty]

That was not the case for me, I never thought about PA school, since high school it was always doctor and I never gave the PA profession a chance, I also did not realize that they worked in all areas of medicine.

 

So... how long, exactly, have you been persuing the PA route? Months? A year? Weeks? Right now it sounds like this is a spur-of-the-moment backup plan and even though I would never be foolish enough to say PA school is just like medical school, they share the same heart and soul in clinical medicine. What is it about the program that turned you off?

 

This semester I am going as a non matriculated student to william paterson grad school. I think I'm going to finish with 2 B's in immunology and research methods in biology, and a C in molecular Bio. However this mol. bio course was extremely lab based and nothing to what expected nor would i ever really need. With a C I probably will not be admitted to the program.

 

Lab-based courses are going to be guaranteed prior to and during PA school. Honestly, you will probably want to figure out why you did poorly in molecular bio and try again, C's in any pre-req won't help your case.

[mdebord]

Hmm...I think you should consider what happened even further back....Why did you only have a 2.9 in undergrad? If you've researched PA schools, you probably know that 1) This is lower than the minimum accepted at most places and 2) You need As > Bs in your pre-reqs. So I think the next move is for you to decide whether you really want this. It would likely mean a few years of repeating classes you previously took, with no guarantee for eventual acceptance. This type of question should go under the Pre-PA discussions in the future.

[Hemegroup]

While down there I realized that that was not the path I wanted to take and it showed in my grades.

If you mean that you decided you didn't want to be a Doctor, then you honestly don't want to be a PA. As CJKitty pointed out, a lab-based approach is a huge part of PA education. Labs, in fact, are a huge part of medicine, period. That type of detail is an inherent part of the profession(s). Still, it's obvious that you have interest in health professions. Have you ever considered a Master's program in Public Health or Occupational Therapy? There are many other options than being a Doctor or PA.