As the name indicates, it is pretty obvious that a physician assistant is someone who practices medicine under the supervision of a physician. Now you may say it is easy to be a PA assuming this as two years of the degree course. But that’s not the case. Getting into a PA school is a journey filled with hard work, consistency and not giving up.
Following are some basic steps to help you get started with the program.
PA School Admissions – Degree Requirement
PA School Admissions requieres a bachelor’s degree in any field. However, a science or healthcare related major will be perfect. What matters most is you complete all of the pre-requisite courses completed with good grades.
Here is a list of science pre-requisite required by almost every PA school.
General Chemistry (2 semesters with lab)
Biology (2 semesters with lab)
Microbiology with a lab
Anatomy and Physiology
In terms of non-science pre-requisite;
Statistics
English (2 semesters)
Psychology
Make yourself a competitive applicant by taking the following classes as well.
Organic Chemistry/Biochemistry
Medical Terminology
Genetics
Immunology
Embryology
Histology
Physics
Developmental or abnormal psychology
Public speaking
Foreign languages
PA School Admissions- Healthcare Experience Requirement
Once you have your bachelor’s degree in hand, you need to have relevant healthcare experience. The minimum number of healthcare experience is different in many PA schools. Usually, an average PA school will want you to have 1000 to 2000 hours of healthcare experience. Some will want you to have enough shadowing experience to make sure you understand what you’re signing up for. Here’s a list of professional ways which will gain you enough healthcare experience to become a competitive PA applicant.
Patient care Experience
Average hours: 3,020
Healthcare Experience
Average hours: 1,024
Volunteering
Average hours: 488
Shadowing
Average hours: 143
Non-healthcare employment, including leadership, athletic, military, research experience etc.
Average hours: 2,096
PA School – GRE Requirement
According to Physician Assistant Education Association, more than half of PA schools require a GRE test. Unlike others, this is rather a more forgiving step. Because you can take multiple tests within a year and you only have to wait about twenty-one days in between test attempts. Make sure you gain the highest score in GRE by giving a few re-attempts before the final deadline of the PA school application.
CASPA
CASPA or Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistant is a portal constituting all PA program in one convenient place. CASPA saves you time and energy by providing you with a platform where you can send out one singular application to all PA programs available. However, some PA schools want you to write a 5000-word Personal Statement to secure yourself an interview. Through CASPA, you submit all your credentials and you start getting an interview for PA schools. And if the interview goes well, you’ll finally get acceptance in that particular PA school.
PA School – Letter of Recommendation
While submitting your documents through CASPA, you are also asked to add three to five recommenders to your list. The CASPA, then, will verify them to check the validity of your list. Select your recommenders carefully. Choosing a PA will surely strengthen your application and give you a leg up among other applicants.
By following these steps, you’ll have greater chances of getting into a PA school.
To learn more about our PA admissions consulting services.