Okay so I’m going to be a freshman in college this fall. For a while, I was stuck between majoring in computer science or doing a pre-med related major to be a physician assistant. Then, I found that my school offers Bioinformatics as a major which basically overlaps with pre-med required courses. It consists of computer science and the science classes I would need for pre-med requirements. Basically, I’m conflicted between the computer science and physician assistant professions. Would this major be a good idea? It has both comp sci and science courses. I know they wouldn’t go deeply into the subject matter as a computer science major or biology major would, but if throughout the year let’s say I didn’t want to continue to become a pa, I would have some comp sci courses to fall back on. Or, if I decided I didn’t want to major in comp sci, I would have the requirements for pre-med to fall back on. Am I making the right choice to major in bioinformatics. I also know that PA’s require a lot of paid hours and experience so how would that work if I pursued this major?
“Am I making the right choice to major in bioinformatics.”
Unfortunately, no one can answer that for you, but I can give you some additional information to help you make your decision.
Keep in mind that medical schools will not care what you majored in as long as you completed the prerequisites.
They will look primarily at your GPA and MCAT score.
Therefore, if you believe you’ll enjoy bioinformatics and will do well in it, then by all means, major in it.
“I also know that PA’s require a lot of paid hours and experience so how would that work if I pursued this major?”
The requirements vary from school to school. You will have to look at each individual school you’d be interested in applying to (I understand that this may be too early for you) to see what kind of experience they would accept and how much of it they’re looking for.
For example, some schools will accept hours that are volunteer hours, while some require paid, direct patient care experience.
Like I said, it will vary from school to school, but for example, let’s say 2,000 hours of paid, direct patient care is a requirement for one of the schools.
The certificates you could gain in the shortest amount of time would most likely be a CNA or EMT certificate. Depending on whether they are part time or full time, you can complete either programs in roughly 4-6 weeks.
If you work 2,000 hours over the course of four years, you’d have to work at least 10 hours a week.
Some people do work throughout their undergraduate degree, and some people will work in order to complete this requirement after they’re received their undergraduate degree.
There are many articles and information on websites on the patient care requirements for applying to PA school and the different ways to fulfill them (of course, you’d have to make sure your schools accept them as well).
thanks!
You can major in anything and go to a PA program; you just need to take the prerequisites. So majoring in computer science doesn’t conflict with being pre-health. Bioinformatics is a great field that will be in demand in the coming years (and is now), so if you’re interested in it you should explore it.
Really, the most important thing for you is going to be getting those hours. The vast majority of PA programs require direct patient care experience (the programs, and the career itself, are not really designed for undergrads coming straight from college; they are designed for healthcare professionals looking to advance in the field and take on more responsibility). Most PAs started life as nurses, CNAs, EMTs and paramedics before moving onto PA school. Personally, I think the best way to become a PA (professionally and financially speaking, in terms of the salary and the kind of work you will do) is to get a nursing degree and work as a nurse for several years and then go to PA school. Nurses, especially RNs, have a different professional scope of practice and care than CNAs and EMTs/paramedics. The downside of course is that you’d need to major in nursing in college. or earn a two-year associate’s in nursing and then transfer to a university and get a bachelor’s in whatever - which would probably end up taking around 5-6 years total.
By contrast, CNA training programs seem to take a few weeks - in my state they take 8-12 weeks. EMT training programs can be completed in one semester or one quarter, depending on what system you’re on, and are offered at lots of community colleges and some regional schools. Since you know you want to be a PA I would see if you can get into one of these two programs in the summer between high school and college so you arrive at college prepared to volunteer or work part-time in one of these to get your hours. Then you can volunteer/work 10-15 hours a week for four years to get to 2,000 hours - although that includes summers.
thanks !