Hi! I am about to be a sophomore in college and planing on to transfer to 4 year university form community. I am interested in becoming Physician Assistant, i know it wont be easy but i am willing to put in work, however all my friends advised me to have a backup plan which i am confused upon. Can someone give me ideas for a good backup in which if Physician Assistant does not work out i can persue something else in which i wont have to start all over i can use the classes i am taking for PA.
Every pre-med and pre-PA needs to have a Plan B career in mind.
This can be graduate school, a healthcare career in a less competitive field or a completely different career path.
[Explore Health Careers](http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/home)
Be aware that all alternate career pathways will require some additional education or training.
Some ideas: nursing/nurse practitioner, clinical research assistant/research manager, lab technologist, quality assurance, biology/chemistry teacher, patient case manager, research lab manager, pharmacy or medical equipment sales, public health educator, community health worker, environmental health manager/coordinator, wildlife biologist/conservationist, forest ranger.
You could also consider getting MPH (Master of Public Health) or MBA (Master of Business Administration) in healthcare management, or enter a graduate degree program in biology, chemistry, biomedical engineering, environmental engineering, bioinfomatics, library and information science (medical librarian).
Federal and state government agencies hire science degree holders for a wide variety of technician and project management jobs.
Here are some actual federal job postings for biology majors:
https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/?keyword=biology&Location=&AutoCompleteSelected=
Thank you so much it helped a lot!
Is the future bright for PA like jobs and employment rate?
The job outlook for physicians and mid-level healthcare providers (NPs and PAs) is quite strong.
Can i keep biology major and persue PA while NP being my backup?
To pursue a NP you’d need a BSN or MSN (bachelor or master in nursing degree).
A BSN program is entirely different than a BS/BA bio degree; the last 18 months - 2 years involves specialized coursework and hands-on clinical training. Without that, you’re not eligible to sit for the NUCLX (national nursing licensing exam) and so cannot become a nurse.
There are specialize post-grad programs for bio degree holders who wish to enter nursing. (BA to BSN and BA to MSN) These take anywhere from 18 months to 3 years, depending on the program.
Once you have your nursing degree, most NP program require 1 or more years of hospital nursing experience for admission.
So, it could be a back-up but it will require extensive retraining and it’s not quick or straight-forward.
You can get a degree in medical technology. Lots of the classes fulfill the prereqs for PA programs. Of course, you have to check with each PA program you plan to apply to be 100% sure. I know someone who just did this. They were working as a lab tech and decided to apply to PA school. They only needed one additional class for the prereqs. However, they do have to volunteer to get their human contact hours or something like that. Being a lab tech doesn’t fulfill that requirement whereas being a nurse would.
Would you all recommend doing prereqs at community then apply for PA program or go 4 year for prereqs?
Every PA program (with the exception of 5 year combined BS/MS programs) requires a bachelor’s degree for admission. You can’t simply complete the pre-reqs at a CC then apply. You must complete your BA/BS degree first. Even the Red Rock Community College PA program in Colorado (which is the only accredited PA program offered at a CC) requires a bachelor’s for admission.
Also PA programs require anywhere from 500 to 2000 hours of direct hands-on patient care experience for admission. Have you started working on getting your hours?
Here’s a list of accredited PA programs:
[ARC-PA Accredited Programs](http://www.arc-pa.org/acc_programs/)
If you the clink on the state abbreviation in front of the program name, it will take you to the specific program’s website.
So basically i need degree in biology (or any) like bachelor then apply for PA school?
Yes.
Your bachelor’s needn’t be in biology; it be in any field so long as you complete the pre-reqs (which aren’t universal–every program will have a slightly different list of requirements).
it is difficult to get into a PA program…apply to as many as you can when the time comes be willing to move where you get accepted. if you only apply to a couple in the area you live you are less likely to get in. cast a wide net.