<p>So I officially am now a Cal Student! Going to Berkeley in the fall, and majoring in biochemistry- I originally wanted to go the premed path.. HOWEVER, I am now rethinking that because of the competition, money etc. I still want to stay in medicine, but I realized that I'll be happy being a nurse or physician assistant.. I guess my question is what should I major in, and if I want to be a PA I've heard you need a couple of years of experience so does that mean that I cant get into PA school after getting my bachelors? Should I just go the nursing path? </p>
<p>BERKELEY STUDENTS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO HELP! :)</p>
<p>I have a sister and a brother-in-law who are PA’s. Both of them have been in the field for close to twenty years. According to my sister, many of the new PA’s she currently works with were able to go straight into PA school after their BS by getting licensed as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) and working through college to get their required hours. Some other new PA’s were medics in the military.</p>
<p>My daughter, who is a rising college sophomore in college majoring in biomedical sciences, also plans on being a PA. My sister has strongly advised her to immediately contact the Director of the PA program she hopes to attend and specifically ask what he or she would like to see from applicants. My sister has reiterated that grades are very important, but experience is more important and, of course, each PA school director might have their own special courses or experiences they would like to see in their applicants. If you are serious, you need to start getting experience as soon as possible. Shadowing other PA’s or doctors will count as will other medical volunteering and or health related patient care job. Research won’t count.</p>
<p>My daughter will complete her CNA training soon and when she goes back to college she will volunteer at a health clinic. She hopes it will eventually turn into a part-time job, but if not, she will still have the experience. She also shadowed a doctor her freshman year a number of times and during winter break she will shadow her aunt and uncle. She will record all of her time to put on her application. She is mentally prepared to have to work as a CNA for a year or two after college if she isn’t able to get into PA school on the first attempt.</p>
<p>Something else my sister advised is that my daughter should not take the MCAT or if she does she should not mention it on her application to PA school and make sure it isn’t on her college transcript. Why? Because it gives the impression that she really wants to be a doctor and that being a PA is only a back-up. I am telling you this because you stated in your post that you originally considered med school. You don’t want any PA school to know this. They don’t want to be known as a “stepping stone.”</p>
<p>My daughter is in the 3 +2 program, meaning she started college as a pre-PA. She just started the professional phase (4th year), and 20 people were accepted to join the program from outside of the school - her school was expanding their program, usually the only people accepted in are to replace students who have dropped out after being admitted as freshmen). Two of the 20 are direct from other schools; the other 18 have been in the medical field as EMT’s, nurses, PT’s, and one nutritionist. Competetion was fierce - there were 800 (yes, 800) applicants for those 20 positions.</p>
<p>Make sure you demonstrate interest in becoming a PA, beginning as soon as possible. Shadow PA’s (not doctors), volunteer in medical settings, or pick up a part-time job doing medical work. You need to have 500 hours of medical care exposure before you can begin the PA program. My kid obtained hers by working for a home health care agency - she worked exclusively with children with cerebral palsey, but you could consider working for an agency that does assistance with bathing/dressing/feeding of adults. The only requirement for that is a car and a high school degree.</p>
<p>For the 3 + 2 program? For my daughter’s school it was the same standards as any other undergrad program at the college. At the end of her junior year she had to take the GRE to be admitted into the graduate phase, and have a 3.5 GPA. By the end of her junior year she also had to have completed her 500 hours of medical care exposure (volunteer and/or employed). The program at her school had not required the GRE for previous grad programs; they were going to look at the scores from this year’s accepted students to establish acceptable scores for subsequent years.</p>
<p>One school that she applied to for the extended program required an interview by the graduate level professors as part of the undergraduate application process.</p>
<p>Students entering the program for the graduate phase only are also required to take the GRE.</p>
<p>Gannon Univ admits freshmen directly into their program. I believe you need a minimum of a 23 on the ACT and all B’s or higher in your high school math and science classes. You only need 30 hours of direct-patient contact. Also, no GRE is required. It’s a good program for kids who are sure they want to be physician assistants.</p>
<p>Every PA school has different requirements, although most have things in common. You need to go online and do your research. Expect to need a bare minimum of 500 hands on patient care experience. Shadowing does not count, look at Medical Assistant, CNA, EMT. Also, you will need a bare minimum of a 3.0 GPA and 3.0 science GPA. Higher is better. As the poster above mentioned, there are many, many qualified applicants for few seats.</p>