Non traditional student

[Fred shafer]

Hello, I am thinking about becoming a PA. I'm 25 i am currently a cardiovascular Sonographer but don't like it.
I didn't go to university, I did an internship after highschool so I don't have a bachelors
I have a few questions about becoming a PA.
I see a lot of people saying you absolutely need a bachelors degree to get in PA and other that say you don't. Can someone please clarify this for me?
If so, what can I major in?
How intense is PA school? Is it something I can do while working? (I am a very motivated individual, no family and no kids)

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[Mednight]

You need a bachelors degree. You also need 1000+ hours of clinical exposure(some schools require 2000+ hours) I'm pretty sure a cardiovascular sonographer counts as your exposure so I wouldn't worry about that. And after that you need to apply to a school that have a PA program/school(post-bacc). You should become a PA after two years of schooling. Good luck and please search on Google for physician assistant forums, they have a ton more information on there than on here.


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[DizzyJon]

Every program requires a bachelors degree. Not all programs require health care hours. Your major can be in anything you want. You need to be sure you take the requires prerequisites for the programs you are interested in. PA school is full time and nearly all are face-to-face in the classroom. My first year was M-F 8-4/5pm every day. Second year was 60-80 hours a week on rotations. It is intense, but that is defined my the individual. My PA program specifically told us we were not allowed to work. However, I still worked 8-16 hours a week. I worked front desk at a hotel. So, my job allowed much down time to study. Only a couple of my classmates worked. Check out the physicianassistantforum.com for lots of information.

 

[akainu]

Hello, I am also thinking about becoming a PA. Currently, I am 23 years old and heres what i have to offer.
Currently I work as a PER DIEM EMT Clinical Instructor at UCLA Center for Prehospital Care (since May 2016) and also as a PART TIME ER Tech at Kaiser Sunset (since June 2013), where in addition to my scope (assist in codes, triage, assist with invasive procedures, splint, EKGs etc.), I also draw labs and practice phlebotomy (we are required a separate state phlebotomy license).
Before that I worked in a Medical/Surigical/Neuro/Cardiac ICU as a Critical Care Tech (also assisted in codes, invasive procedures, etc).
I am wrapping up my BA in English from UCLA this spring.
I haven't taken the GRE, but I have taken most of the prereqs (concurrent enrollment at a community college while working on my BA).
Intro to Anatomy (2012) - A
Intro to Physiology (2013) - B
General Microbiology (2011) - A
Gen. Chemistry I (2016) - F (got sick, forgot to withdraw on time)
Gen. Chemistry I (2017) - C
Gen. Chemistry II (2017) - ENROLLED
Gen. Biology (2017) - ENROLLED
Statistics (2015) - B
Sociology (2011) - A
General Psychology (2011) - A
Biological Psychology (2014) - A
Biopsychology of Chemical Dependency (2015) - B

With these standings (I am aware of the F and C in Chem I), I am pretty sure I must absolutely get As in my remaining classes. I am hoping my HCE (7000 hrs +) will somewhat offset that, and also my teaching will somewhat show I am willing to give back to the community. I am applying for both RN school and PA school at the same time. My question is do I have any chance of getting into a PA program? If i do have a chance, any recommendations on how to boost those chances? I plan to apply in 2018, unless y'all think i have some chance with this cycle.

Thanks in advance.

 

[DizzyJon]

Yes, you have a chance for sure. Certainly the F and C don't look great, but if you do get As in your remaining classes then it will lesson the blow on your science GPA. Your teaching experience, to me, is a major plus. I am one that feels a need to give back to the community by teaching and precepting. So, that's just what I think. No one could say what your chances are this cycle or next. I would say to go for it and apply. If you don't get in then no worries. Just apply next year as planned. If you do by chance get in, then you are one year ahead of schedule.

 

[Fred shafer]

You need a bachelors degree. You also need 1000+ hours of clinical exposure(some schools require 2000+ hours) I'm pretty sure a cardiovascular sonographer counts as your exposure so I wouldn't worry about that. And after that you need to apply to a school that have a PA program/school(post-bacc). You should become a PA after two years of schooling. Good luck and please search on Google for physician assistant forums, they have a ton more information on there than on here.


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Thank you very much for the info, I appreciate it!

 

[Fred shafer]

Every program requires a bachelors degree. Not all programs require health care hours. Your major can be in anything you want. You need to be sure you take the requires prerequisites for the programs you are interested in. PA school is full time and nearly all are face-to-face in the classroom. My first year was M-F 8-4/5pm every day. Second year was 60-80 hours a week on rotations. It is intense, but that is defined my the individual. My PA program specifically told us we were not allowed to work. However, I still worked 8-16 hours a week. I worked front desk at a hotel. So, my job allowed much down time to study. Only a couple of my classmates worked. Check out the physicianassistantforum.com for lots of information.

Thanks for replying, I really appreciate the insight !