<p>Hi everyone. I am currently a rising senior for highschool and I am aiming to become a Physician Assistant. I am confused on just a little of things after I have been researching for a bit. If i apply for a liberal arts college, for example Haverford College(Since i live in Penn.), how would I go about becoming a PA from there? I know that Phys. Assistant schools require the standard undergrad science classes, but how would I fulfill the many hours of direct hands on patient experience? Lastly, would it be better for me to apply to a college that has a physician assistant program in store for me in the future? Such as Philadelphia College or Duquesne.
I'm currently thinking about schools such as Haverford, Swarthmore, Pitt, University of Penn's(Art and Sci), and some others.</p>
<p>I would contact one of the PA programs and find out what some of their admitted students do. I suspect that you should be able to pick up a CNA certificate fairly easily, and then work as a CNA during summers, breaks, and as much as you can during term-time. – I don’t know if a CNA is competitive enough, but it’s worth looking at.</p>