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Should I continue shadowing/volunteering?


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Hi everyone,

 

I recently became EMT certified, and got a job as an ER Tech at a local hospital. I was wondering if you guys could give me some feedback on whether or not I should continue to shadow & volunteer, or just stictly focus on my direct patient care hours (which I have 0 thus far).

 

To date, I've shadowed 4 PAs for a total of 56 hours. I've volunteered at the hospital I will be working at for a total of 52 hours.

 

I've read that shadowing is not that important, but do you guys think I should keep trying to volunteer? I usually do one day a week, but I think that working that extra day and getting more patient contact might be more beneficial at this point.

 

Any input?

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Sorry I should have been more clear. I literally just got hired in the ER, and don't start until next week. I know for a fact I will be working with PAs, as I've shadowed two of the PAs in that ER (before applying for the tech job).

 

But, I also shadow a PA in a different setting (urgent care walk-in clinic), and I'm not sure if I should continue shadowing her since I'm going to be working with PAs every day at my new job.

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The real question is do you feel you know enough about a PA's life to know that you want to become one? If there are some doubts in your mind, it wouldn't hurt to shadow elsewhere as well. Otherwise you will get to know enough about what they do in the ER for the purpose of your application. That's why I asked the first question: you are showing not just to check off a box on an application but to be able to make a sensible career decision.

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Volunteer because it's who you are and what you would do anyways. Use it to showcase your personality and priorities. For example, I volunteered as a FF/EMT before PA school, during PA school, and after PA school. I volunteered at church before PA school, during PA school, and after PA school. I volunteered for boy scouts before PA school, during PA school, and after PA school. I taught EMT classes part time before PA school, during PA school, and after PA school.

 

If you don't love what you have to do to put together an awesome portfolio demonstrating why you would be the best PA student to admit... maybe you're just lying to yourself and the adcoms who are looking at your profile. Anyone can check boxes, but if you don't love what you're doing to become a PA, what makes you think you will love it more later?

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Based on my shadowing and talking to the PAs, and some MDs, I realized that PA is the route I want to take.

 

Rev Ronin, I do enjoy volunteering and I think I'm going to try to find a different way to volunteer that is not connected with this hospital as someone else suggested. Maybe at a local food pantry/soup kitchen. I like the feeling of helping people out without expecting anything in return. Wow, that must have been a lot of work to balance all of that volunteering with the workload of PA school!

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Wow, that must have been a lot of work to balance all of that volunteering with the workload of PA school!

 

I didn't get any awards for academic excellence, but I never failed an exam, either. Some of my classmates made skiing, hiking, and the like their weekend priorities; I don't take vacations. My idea of fun was learning and living my way. Besides, both scouts and church were ways to spend time with my family, too.

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