-: The reason that I chose PA school over med school was
that it had more to do with what my life was gonna
be like after I graduated.
So for those folks that maybe have aspirations
to become a physician
and they go to PA school just because it's quicker,
they typically are happy.
And also PA school's not a stepping stone to med school.
It's not like you're gonna go to PA school,
work for a couple years and say,
well I'll go to med school now
and they'll count those two years.
It really doesn't work that way.
There are a few bridge programs that help with that
but the idea that I think is important
for people to realize is that
if you wanna practice medicine as a PA, go to PA school.
If you have aspirations to become a physician,
you know go ahead and just go to med school.
Your pre-requisites for PA and med school are very similar,
your basic sciences, O Chem, Chemistry, Biology,
Anatomy and Physiology, so a lot of that's very similar,
in terms of that.
And also you wanna make sure
that you're doing very well in your course work
especially in your sciences
because it's very competitive to get into PA school
and med school of course as well.
So the pre-requisites are about the same.
One of the things that's a little bit unique
about PA school is that many programs require
that you have patient contact hours prior to matriculating.
So they're gonna want you to have
some sort of clinical experience with patients.
And that can be as and EMT, perhaps as a nurse,
as a CNA, as a laboratory technologist,
so you're gonna have to have
some kind of health are experience there.
And also demonstrate a commitment to healthcare
and making people's lives better.
A volunteer activity like
being on the volunteer rescue squad.
Working clinically is a big thing
so if you've got,
you know if you have been a laboratory technologist
or a paramedic or a nurse or a CNA for a number of years
make sure that that's something
that is emphasized in your application.
Also in your personal statement
be able to explain, articulate why you wanna be a PA
and why you chose PA over becoming a physical therapist
or a physician or a veterinarian or a nurse.
Be able to articulate to the folks
that are looking at your application
what it is about this profession that is compelling for you
and why you want to commit essentially the amount of time
and effort it's gonna take to be able to practice as a PA.