Becoming a health practitioner has been a childhood dream shared by many. With medical school becoming more and more competitive and a nationwide shortage of primary healthcare practitioners many people have started looking towards alternative careers in medicine. One of those careers is the physician assistant (PA).
This career came onto the scene in post Vietnam North Carolina. As a response to deficiencies in the number of primary care physicians in the deep south Dr. Eugene Stead of Duke University organized the first physician assistant program using post-war medics. He pulled from that population because of their extensive medical experience as well as intensive government training. By using techniques established during WWII to train fast tract physicians Dr. Stead was able to develop a curriculum to allowing him to train clinically viable primary healthcare practitioners. Today there are 140 accredited programs and PA’s are no longer limited to primary health care but they can also be found in a number of specialties and settings. Those range from surgery, dermatology to psychiatry.
There are several levels of PA education. While one can become a PA with as little as an associate degree, the majority of the accredited programs are available at the Masters level. With The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projecting that the number of PA jobs will increase by 27 percent between 2006 and 2016 and with salaries rising to much as $86,214, physician assistant programs have become have become extremely competitive.
There are several factors that admissions departments look at to evaluate applicants.
Prerequisites
The majorities of the programs available are at the Masters level and most require a bachelor’s degree before admission. Some just require a certain amount of credits to have been completed, but check with the specific school you’re interested in to know for sure. However all of them want you to have taken the following, all with labs where available:
6 semester hours of Biology
3-4 semester hours of Microbiology
3-4 semester hours of Human Anatomy
3-4 semester hours Human Physiology
8-9 semester hours of General Chemistry
3-4 semester hours of statistics
3-9 semester hours of psychology
These are the core requirements for admission to virtually all PA programs. Take these courses before even thinking about applying. It is also very important to do well in these courses to make yourself competitive. You need to have at least a C in all of them to be given credit for them.
Three strong letters of recommendation are generally expects along with the application. It is important that one of those letters be from a clinician, and preferably a PA. If you’re able to show the admissions committee that their peers think you’re a good candidate it will be a strong statement on your behalf. The other two letters need to be from people who know you well and are in some sort of supervisory roll, ideally a professor, advisor or from you medical school committee.
When approaching someone to ask for a recommendation it is important to ask politely but it is also important that you are sure you’ll receive a positive recommendation. For example ask it like this: “Do you think you know me well enough to write me a positive recommendation for PA school?” if they respond affirmatively thank them and provide them with the information necessary. It is important to ask them several weeks perhaps even a month ahead of when you would like it submitted. This will give them plenty of time to write a thorough recommendation. Additionally provide them with pre-stamped and addressed envelopes with the due dates highlighted on the associated applications. This is a small step but can do wonders for the turnaround time as well as show some thoughtfulness on your behalf.
Clinical Hours
Now this is where things get a little blurry. Not all schools require clinical experience, however to gain admission to one of these programs it’s almost necessary for those without stellar grades or test scores. Often applicants have 1-2 years of clinical experience or more before they’re accepted. Clinical experience can be gained by shadowing a physician or PA. It can also be gained from paid work such as working as an emergency medical technician (EMT) or certified nurse’s assistant (CNA). Admission committees tend to prefer paid work over unpaid shadowing because it typically includes more direct patient contact.
The Essay(s)
With every application comes an essay. These essays often require you to discuss why you’ve chosen the PA profession. Be clear and avoid becoming long winded. Avoid clichés like “I just want to help people”, because obviously, everyone wanting to be a PA wants to help people, you need to tell them why. The essay is often a make or break part of the application process. Different schools sometimes have different topics. Be aware if a school specialized in general medicine, surgery, rural medicine etc. as you may want to tailor your essay to their specialty. This is also important for the interview portion discussed below.
GPA / Standardized Test Scores
The average competitive GPA is typically around a 3.5 with the science GPA slightly lower. However don’t be discouraged with a good personal statement, excellent recommendations and robust clinical experience even a student with mediocre grades stands a chance at admission.
The most frequently required standardized test by PA admissions committees is the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). This is a test require by most academic graduate level programs. A competitive GRE score needs to be above 1000. This test can be taken at a number of locations including most universities, and is computer based. Be sure to read a guide before you take it, you want to do as well as possible, and it’s not an easy test. Don’t be afraid to take it again if you score below 1000. The standard deviation is around 200 points so with more practice you’ll likely score a higher the second round, perhaps considerably. Some schools will also accept the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), but nothing says “Hey, I didn’t get into med school so now I’m looking at other options” like submitting your MCAT scores to a PA admissions committee, just something to think about.
The Interview
If you’ve gotten the call for an interview that’s a good sign. That means your recommendations were good and you’ve got the right stuff academically. But the road doesn’t end here. Being a PA comes with unique pressures and challenges. The admissions committee wants to ensure they admit applicants with great on-the-fly problem solving and excellent communication skills. They’ll ask you any number of personal and professional questions. Often there will be ethical questions like “How would you react If you smelled alcohol on the breath of your supervisory physician and boss after lunch break?” Sometimes there will be a short essay where they request you to put in words why you’re choosing to become a PA. Expect to discuss your answers later. It is very important to know the difference between a PA and a nurse practitioner, expect that to be asked. Be prepared for didactic challenges like “trace the path a drop of blood takes through the heart”. Don’t become stressed out about the interview. Act natural and stay relaxed. With a little confidence and by answering truthfully you’ll likely walk away successful.
With careful preparation and determination hopefully you can achieve your dream of becoming a healthcare practitioner by becoming a Physician Assistant.
