Creative ways to get patient care experience?

Post by **PaulK** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 9:16 pm

Mghold: great way to get experience. You found a place that has a genuine need for more hands, and that can teach you plenty while you\'re at it. You have some credentials to get in there, and the interest and attitude to invite them to let you do more (usually, the more they see you are interested and positive/helpful, the more they\'ll let you do).

Draquela: YES. You have it right. You HAVE HCE, but you need to show them how it is HCE. True, you might want to get more face time with patients, but that can be done. As for Craigslist openings that require XYZ experience, here\'s the most important lesson I ever learned about applying for a job of any kind: don\'t even read the requirements - just apply. If they like you and see you have drive, are teachable, and have other qualities, you\'re worth 3 or 4 experienced MAs for whom it would be nothing more than a job. If they don\'t hire you, that\'s their choice. But if you don\'t take the risk, you will DEFINITELY not get the job. Life ain\'t fer sissies, you know?

Ana: I definitely think there are relevant experiences in your work as a nanny. You should mention them. But you also should have some type of bona fide health care experience - volunteer, office work, EMT, whatever. I tend to think that the other things that are not traditionally considered health care experience can ADD to what other experience you have had, but probably can\'t SUBSTITUTE for it.

rkgPA · Post by **rkgPA** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 3:35 pm

GatorPA9289- where did you get your CNA certification in a week? Like everyone else, HCE has been the hardest part for me!
please respond!

mgholm · Post by **mgholm** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:03 am

I know you weren\'t asking me, and my CNA course is 7 weeks BUT it\'s with American Red Cross and we earned certifications in CPR Professional Responder, First Aid, Bloodborne Pathogens, Domestic Violence, and Alzheimers. Plus, we had 2 weeks of clinicals in a nursing home=experience. We had a job fair at the end and there were 12 employers there trying to hire the CNAs. It cost $1250, came with scrubs, blood pressure cuff, and stethoscope. Just fyi.

mbrazille · Post by **mbrazille** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:27 pm

I just recently decided to take all the prereqs for PA school. I\'m in my second year of college and I\'m trying to find some way to get the hours while I\'m still in school so that I can apply for PA school as soon as I graduate in 2 years. One of the schools I am interested in applying to said that working as a pharmacy technician would be sufficient experience for their hours. Do you think other schools will count this as well? Also, do you think it is even possible to get these hours while I\'m still going to school or will I just need to get them after college and then go on to PA school once I get them?

Post by **PaulK** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 10:32 pm

Many schools don\'t care for pharm tech hours, others are okay with them.

1) Go for HCE that has as much assessment and treatment in it as you can find
2) It\'s okay to try to squeeze it in, but you will be competing with applicants who have more than what you can manage in the scenario above. Go for it, but be ready to spend at least a year or two after school if this strategy doesn\'t work.

draquela · Post by **draquela** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 2:52 pm

Paul, you give such great advice! I applied for that job anyway, hope I hear back but I don\'t have any high hopes. Thanks for the motivation

Also, so would \"talking\" to patients about their medical history be considered \"direct\" patient experience or \"related\"? Majority of the time I\'m talking to patients, assessing them, and treating them by putting them into a clinical trial. Now and then I am doing A1c checks, glucose checks, and blood pressure to see if the patient qualifies for the trial after assessing them. Can I count all of this as \"direct patient contact\" or would I have to log in hours of when I\'m actually \"touching\" them? Because sometimes I see \"direct patient contact\" as only \"touching\" and in your website \"http://www.mypatraining.com/pa-school-a ... experience\" it says \"â€œDirect contactâ€

Post by **PaulK** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 6:41 am

For most schools, the answer is a definite YES. In order to increase the odds of their realizing that this is direct experience, you should describe this as \"interviewing\" patients, or getting/obtaining/eliciting \"patient histories,\" as in history & physical.

A good portion of my direct patient care experience was from working in psychiatry where there were medical personnel who were doing all the touching. I was interviewing, taking histories - AND THAT\'S MEDICINE!

And good luck with the job - you did the right thing. You apply and then let them decide!

draquela · Post by **draquela** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:04 pm

Omgosh I am SO happy!! Wish I could give you a hug right now, thank you so much!

I want to apply this year then!

I know CASPA is currently for the April 2011-March 2012 cycle, but if I want to apply for the 2012-2013 cycle, do I have to wait until it opens to enter in my hours and start applying? Do I have to contact previous PA\'s & supervisors in the past to approve the amount of hours I did? I\'ve never applied so I don\'t know how it works. I realize this is off topic and can switch it to a new topic under \'applications\' if it would be more helpful.

LOVE this forum and told another aspiring PA friend of mine as well

~Raquel

Post by **PaulK** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:54 pm

1) Yes, you need to wait. Everything is wiped clean when the current cycle ends. If you enter the info now, you\'ll just have to do it again when the new cycle begins in April, 2012.

2) No, supervisors don\'t approve your hours. It\'s on the \"honor system\" with the understanding that if you aren\'t honest (as I\'m sure you will be) it\'s grounds for disqualification of your application. So be as above-board about your hours as you can - some schools will send out a secondary application that is specific to their school that will ask more detailed questions about your hours, and you\'ll want what you say on your CASPA app jibe with what you say on your secondary.

For more information on the CASPA process, it might be helpful to you read Inside PA Training\'s interview with CASPA\'s Director, Timi Agar Barwick.

emondrag · Post by **emondrag** » Mon May 28, 2012 11:22 pm

Has anyone had luck with this one? I've been doing this for almost 3 years now and from what I'm reading, I think it counts.

Summary of duties:
-recruit and enroll patients in our clinical research drug trials/non-drug trials
-patient scheduling, taking vitals
-do our own venipuncture when appropriate to research protocol, pregnancy tests
-see patients one on one for screenings, follow ups, and final visits
-work in a clinical setting with MDs, PhDs
-manage regulatory documentation for the research study (reporting adverse events, amendments to protocol, etc.)

As a Research Coordinator, the list of duties are endless, but this is what we mostly do. I hope this helps. If you guys think otherwise let me know. I'll probably be calling schools to double check this.

alght · Post by **alght** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:49 am

I know that HCE is supposed to mean being "directly responsible for patient care", but I've discharged and transported patients, brought them food and water, etc. I don't intend to use this as my primary HCE, but I am hoping that this counts since it'll add to my total number of hours.

rdh2001 · Post by **rdh2001** » Sun Dec 30, 2012 3:09 am

I've been a Registered Dental Hygienist for over a decade and just started back to school last semester to finish my B.S. degree (RDHs can practice with an AAS -or- a BS). Because I perform health history reviews, nutritional counseling, screen for systemic disease conditions, perform oral cancer screenings, palpate head and neck areas for abnormalities, provide counseling/recommendations for screened conditions, review and explain treatment needs with patients (i.e. persuade them to have their work done so something horrible doesn't happen), treatment plan therapies for periodontal disease and independently treat patients on my own,etc.....would my background be considered adequate or perhaps even more than adequate for actual patient care experience?

While I completely LOVE being an RDH (and the pay is great...it's probably about 20k less than a PA, though), I would love to provide more extensive care to groups such as those I encounter on international travels (I've been to Haiti and Ethiopia and cannot wait to go back to Africa, as that is where one of my children is from.) It would give me more of an opportunity to make a significant impact on others, if you will. My ultimate goal was to complete a random M.S. that I found personally interesting anyway so I could teach at a hygiene school. I help train dental assistants and have a knack for training, but I think being a PA could help me find personal fulfillment in the training...that is if I even have a chance at getting in.

nabriere · Post by **nabriere** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 2:27 am

I find the Phlebotomist topic to be interesting. A patient of mine told me her daughter got accepted for USC for their PA program. If schools are not wanting to consider that as "good" or "acceptable" HCE, then that's a school I wouldn't want to apply to (no offense).

My HCE: I recently started working as an X-Ray Tech/Medical Assistant and just finished my internship as a Phlebotomist. Maybe look into doing a few things for your HCE, but things that you can incorporate together. I work at a family practice/urgent care. I bring patients back, take their vitals, give injections, do call-backs, RX refill requests, and all the things that are required for my position. If a patient needs an x-ray, I'm the one who performs it. I've noticed patients dramatically change when you have to take their x-ray and you need to have a different approach. Now, if they need labs done, guess who gets to do it? Yup, I do. I draw their blood, fill out the requisition form, and send it off to the lab. I have worked VERY hard to get to where I am at right now. I'm on a slow path to PA school. I just got accepted to Cal State Sacramento to major my B.S. in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science starting this fall. My biggest concern now: it is getting more competitive every year to get into PA school and I'm just hoping that not only is my HCE "acceptable", but if I am going to have enough hours in.

Advice: Do things that you really enjoy. Don't do CNA if you don't like the job description. I became an X-Ray tech because I love it, and same goes for becoming a Medical Assistant (Back Office) and a Phlebotomist. Do something that excites you in the medical field guys!!! It will show through your letters and essays!

whitewater · Post by **whitewater** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 3:04 am

I haven't seen anyone mention work as a dialysis tech. I work as a dialysis tech at a hospital unit (for inpatients only). I get to begin, monitor and end treatments, which involves accessing and deaccessing fistulas, grafts and central venous catheters (which involves either needle sticking or aseptic technique with the catheters). I take vitals, monitor how well the patient is tolerating treatment, troubleshoot machine alarms and help manage emergencies or complications during the treatment. I get exposure to a wide range of patients with a wide range of disorders and infections. The best part? All of the training was on-the-job. Definitely something to look into if you want to change/ begin your HCE.

akohler · Post by **akohler** » Wed May 08, 2013 9:29 pm

I had been advised that Phlebotomy would be a good way to get my HCE. But after I had made my decision to get my EKG and Phlebotomy certification, I started finding out that certain PA schools didn't really consider these as "top tier". However, I think it may depend on the type of phlebotomy work. I have been working at a plasma donation center as a phlebotomist for nearly six months, and in my position I monitor approximately twelve donors at a time. I was told it was rare for a donor to have a reaction to the donation process, but honestly, they occur multiple times a week. The most common types that I have dealt with are citrate, hypertensive, and vasovagal reactions; hematomas and infiltrations. The worst reaction I have dealt with was a seizure. I was trained to notice the symptoms, and then to handle and treat the initial symptoms. If the reaction progresses, then we call for the physician sub (usually the LPN on the floor) to come and take over the care. Then we assist with vital collections and monitoring the donor. I am hoping that if I word things correctly, that the schools I am applying to will see my HCE as acceptable experience. What do y'all think?

muna.hussein · Post by **muna.hussein** » Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:03 pm

So I'm not sure if this question was covered in any of the posts however, does being a school nurse count for HCE hours? Just wondering.

Post by **PaulK** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:03 pm

Yes, absolutely - nursing is direct patient care experience.

kelseyg0127 · Post by **kelseyg0127** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 4:37 pm

Hello! In reading this thread, it seems that CNA is not all that great for experience. I am currently working in an Assisted Living Home as a CNA. I plan to move this fall, so I will be getting a new job. What if I got a job at the hospital as a CNA? I was just browsing online and saw CNA jobs in departments like women/infant, ICU, emergency department, etc. at the hospital. Would a CNA job in an environment like this be suitable HCE? I've already spent time and money becoming a CNA, so I was hoping to use it to gain HCE. If not, what would you recommend for someone who doesn't have other medical training? (Maybe some type of tech at the hospital? I don't know what kinda of experience/schooling they may require).
I also worked in a physical therapy office for a while, mostly doing office work, but also took vitals every day. Would that be suitable or even better?
Thank you so much for your help.

Scoped · Post by **Scoped** » Tue May 13, 2014 11:06 am

I have been a sleep Technologist (RPSGT) for 8 years and have around 15K hours. I think this is a great path for gaining hours and many times entry into paid OJT jobs are not difficult to find, after 18 months of work you can sit for a registry exam. You work with patients directly for several hours before the study starts explain the procedure and applying the electrode montage then in the morning you brief the doctor and spend a bit more time educating the patient on what may happen after the final results are back. You evaluate and score EEG, EKG, EMG and SP02, stage sleep and score respiratory events. I compile the data and create a report for the doctor to make their diagnosis and then often times you get the patient back to administer treatments and therapy. You make a lot of medical decisions on your own within the scope of your job and what the doctor and policy manual allow.
The most valuable experience was gained because often times the patients are in a very vulnerable state giving you ampule experience with how to approach patients in difficult situations. It also gives you a lot of contacts with medical providers. I was able to get great LOR's from several providers that send patients to our sleep center because the patients speak well of me during follow up appointments with them. Think about it if you’re looking for ways to gain HCE and want a diverse experience.

zhuozhuolin · Post by **zhuozhuolin** » Wed May 28, 2014 6:54 pm

I am in the process of figuring out how to get patient care experience. I will get a opportunity in a physician's office for shadowing, but I am not sure how much patient care experience I will get there. I am have a doctorl degree in Biology, trying to switch from research to PA. I have good GPA, and almost get my pre-requisite done. Lack of patient care experience is the next step I need to go.

If someone can help me about some details, I will really appreciate it. How do you get in the chance to gain the expreince, for instance, home health aid etc, what certification you may need, what kind of health care organization I should look into?

Thanks in advance.

CarlaC wrote:I was thinking that it might be cool to start a list of creative ways to get patient contact time. There are so many people who recommend EMT/Paramedic, CNA, RN/LVN, etc. But it seems like there must be other ways to get patient time. Some I had:
1) home health aid
2) phlebotomy
3) radiology technician
4) intakes in homeless shelters (taking vitals, interviewing, assessing hygiene)
5) volunteering in a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit - holding and caring for newborns, talking with families, etc)
6) mental health counselor (psych ER, inpatient psych) I've heard there are bachelor's level people who do this
7) dental assistant
medical assistant in doctor's office (the MAs at my doctor were mostly trained on the job, and are not RNs.
9) hospice volunteer

I think for a lot of these, though you wouldn't be hired as a health care worker (homeless shelter worker, for example), you could pretty easily make the argument that you work with patients - helping them clean themselves, get fed, monitor their level of functioning (diet, behavior, etc.), and interviewing. These are medical skills, as I see it.

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