<p>Trying to help a friend's son find something related to his ultimate goal of becoming a physician's assistant. He's a junior, is a strong student-rigorous course load and excellent gpa, an excellent athlete, and has good test scores (but definitely hoping for better scores).</p>
<p>How might I help him find something to help him explore bio or biochem this summer? Camps? Volunteer work? How would he begin to find something? We live in a large city with a UC campus so that helps. I don't know that the family have money for anything expensive like Cosmos. </p>
<p>There's a gentleman at church who's a PA and I suggested he start there, but any other ideas would be most welcomed. He'll be life guarding in the summer but would have time for other things.</p>
<p>If the student is from an economically disadvantaged family (family income up to 200% federal poverty guidelines), he’ll be eligible for Project SEED at various college campuses in CA.</p>
<p>If he wants to become a physician assistant (there is no " 's "), he will need to be able to document several hundred hours of patient contact hours. Even shadowing PA’s helps to establish some of those hours, so if he can arrange to shadow PA’s in multiple settings, that will help. It will also help him to start thinking of specialties he might be interested in.</p>
<p>Is he old enough to train to become an EMT in your area? I’ve known several high school seniors who worked as EMT’s, and PA schools are very happy to see that experience. If not, and if he is too young to volunteer in a hospital, he can volunteer in a nursing home. Those hours would count.</p>
<p>Also, make sure that he applies for 3 + 2 programs. It is MUCH easier to become a PA by starting out freshman year in college rather than trying to get into a graduate program after earning a bachelor’s in another area. </p>
<p>My kid is a new PA and absolutely loves it. </p>
<p>Different hospitals have different policies w/r/t volunteers. He may need to contact several hospitals to find one that will allow 16 year olds to volunteer. (D2 volunteered in the Child’s Life Dept [pediatric inpatient] when she was 14, but YMMV.)</p>
<p>16 is usually the minimum age for volunteers at most hospitals.</p>
<p>Some hospitals have structured summer volunteer programs that rotate high schoolers thru a variety of hospital depts to give them a broader view of medical practice. It might be worth calling around to see if any of the local hospitals offer this.</p>
<p>Nursing and group homes are often more receptive to younger volunteers than hospitals. </p>
<p>Call the site and ask for the volunteer coordinator. Or look on the hospital’s website–volunteer info (minimum age requirements, minimum hour requirements, etc) is often on there.</p>
<p>CA requires candidates for an EMT-B to be 18 years old–so that won’t work, but he might consider getting First Aid certified by the Red Cross and get CPR/AED certified as a first step towards an eventual EMT.</p>
<p>My friend’s D is now in PA school. She graduated with a Bio. degree last May. While she was in undergrad, she took the CNA course at a Comm. College. She worked as a CNA for six or eight months after graduation to get her clinical experience and started PA school in January.</p>
<p>CNA jobs require CNA training and licensing. I believe you need to be 18 in my state to do this as well. But we DO know PA students who got their CNA license during undergrad school so that they could get those clinical contact hours during undergrad school vacations and summers.</p>
<p>Have the student talkmtomhis primary care physician. Perhaps,he will be able to shadow that doctor.</p>