Hey everyone! So if you’ve been following this blog, you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t posted since November of last year. Well, here’s a quick update. Spring semester was a killer (clinical medicine, pharm, lab med), but I got through it, and now I’m on rotations! I began my 3rd rotation a few weeks ago, and believe me, the hard work you put in during the first year will really pay off! Rotations are definitely a nice break from the classroom, and I have noticed that I have (some) free time now! If you have any specific questions regarding rotations, feel to message me.
Speaking of messaging me…a few of you have sent me messages, and I never responded. Well, that goes along with the whole not posting in a year thing. But I’ll do my best to respond to as many as I can below.
“Please tell me what you guys are learning in PA school so i can prepare myself better.”
I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the anatomy of the human body, as well as a basic understanding of various common diseases (COPD, heart failure, etc). This will certainly make your life easier when you start PA school.
“Did the human anatomy and physiology required in the HES major count as prereqs? Or did you take human anatomy and physiology through the bio department?”
I can’t speak for every school, but all of the programs that I interviewed at accepted the HES A&P. Just make sure you take two semesters. In all honesty though, I wish I had taken the bio A&P, because the HES classes were a bit too watered down.
“What undergraduate major would you suggest getting? Would you advise someone to get a degree in nursing to become an RN and work for a year or two after getting the degree before applying to PA school?”
I would recommend any major that you have an interest in, can do well in, and complete all of the required prerequisites through either your core classes or electives. You also need to make sure you have spare time to get patient contact hours. I know it seems like a lot, but it’s entirely worth it in the end!
As for being an RN, that would be great experience for PA school. There are no former RNs in my class, but I do know a few in other programs. The one thing that I would recommend however is to have a strong argument about why you want to be a PA and not a NP after being an RN. I can almost guarantee that you will be asked this on interviews. As long as you have a good argument, I don’t see it being a problem.
"One question, how can I get to shadow a PA? Did shadowing a PA and being an EMT provide you with the required hours of direct patient contact that most schools look for?"
That one is a bit tricky. What I did to find PAs was I contacted my states physician assistant society and asked for PAs willing to have students shadow. You can also ask doctors or NPs that you know, or call around to a few doctors’ offices and ask. Calling volunteer offices at hospitals might be helpful, but due to hospital regulations, it could be tough.
My patient contact hours came from being an EMT and a PT aide. If I remember correctly, shadowing didn’t count as direct contact, as I was just observing, but it definitely helped.
If anyone has any other questions, feel free to leave me a comment below. Thanks for reading!
