Hello all.....I am new to this forum. My youngest daughter is entering her senior year of high school. I became a disabled single dad when she was very young. The only thing I can give my kids are lessons in how to succeed. She decided to become a PA in 9th grade. She researched it and we have visited 16 colleges in 3 years. She only looks at and will only apply to 5yr. BA/MS programs. She has taken every HS course that is needed/desirable for a PA school candidate and she has also kept a well rounded schedule of sports/clubs/extracurricular activities/health care centered volunteer work and a small part time job for spending money. She will start submitting applications to 9 schools in a few weeks.
She is actually shadowing a PA as I type this and will have a few days done before school starts next week. My question is......How many hours/days shadowing experience is a good amount for an application? We asked EVERY college admissions counselor and tour guide (a few actually were PA students) and no one could give us even an average idea of how many hours. She is real good at making sure all her bases are covered but this is the one question that we haven't been able to nail down an answer to.
Thanks in advance for your answers.
Amount of Shadowing Hours?
Amount of Shadowing Hours?
Last edited by chrisvnh on Thu Sep 01, 2011 6:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
Amount of Shadowing Hours?
I think so many things play into the needed hours of shadowing that it will vary from case to case... if you have been exposed to healthcare and have direct patient contact, but don\'t rub shoulders with any PAs, then it\'s more crucial to get those hours. If you have been exposed to PAs and have built some good working relationships with them then it wouldn\'t be as crucial... because it would be assumed that you would have been able to observe and understand the PAs role in the healthcare team.. which is the goal.
I shadowed a couple of PAs because I didn\'t work in close proximity to one. I wanted to build a relationship there also so I could have a PA for an LOR... not to mention to get someone who has been through the whole thing on my side and kind of \"take me under her wing\", if you will. I shadowed one specific PA for about 3 months, just once a week at her evening clinic (4 hrs)... totaled about 50 hours. Now, this may not seem like much when you realize that it\'s only about a weeks worth full time. But I learned a lot... more about the PA profession and their role than a years worth of researching on the internet. It was a tangible experience. And one that I will be able to take with me to my interviews when I\'m asked about the profession and why I want to enter into that particular world. I really feel fortunate to have found a PA that wanted to give helpful advice and essentially take an interest in my case.... but I have a feeling there are a lot of PAs out there just like that! Just look at all these forums!
Hope maybe some of that was useful! Best of luck to your daughter... such an exciting time!
I shadowed a couple of PAs because I didn\'t work in close proximity to one. I wanted to build a relationship there also so I could have a PA for an LOR... not to mention to get someone who has been through the whole thing on my side and kind of \"take me under her wing\", if you will. I shadowed one specific PA for about 3 months, just once a week at her evening clinic (4 hrs)... totaled about 50 hours. Now, this may not seem like much when you realize that it\'s only about a weeks worth full time. But I learned a lot... more about the PA profession and their role than a years worth of researching on the internet. It was a tangible experience. And one that I will be able to take with me to my interviews when I\'m asked about the profession and why I want to enter into that particular world. I really feel fortunate to have found a PA that wanted to give helpful advice and essentially take an interest in my case.... but I have a feeling there are a lot of PAs out there just like that! Just look at all these forums!
Hope maybe some of that was useful! Best of luck to your daughter... such an exciting time!
Amount of Shadowing Hours?
One of the schools I applied to is now requiring 50 hours of shadowing!
Amount of Shadowing Hours?
I think the only way you could ever shadow TOO MUCH would be if doing so kept you from spending time getting your own health care experience (working, volunteering, etc.) If you want to do something, immersing yourself in it is the best way to prepare.
AND, even as a PA student, there are patients that I shadow my preceptor on. Maybe the patient has a strong connection with the MD. Maybe they are an exceptionally complicated case. Maybe they\'re a difficult personality. In those cases, I follow my MD and observe, contributing when I feel I can. I learn a lot from these encounters, and often the next time something like that comes up, I\'m ready to handle it myself. Shadowing is a goldmine for learning experiences!
AND, even as a PA student, there are patients that I shadow my preceptor on. Maybe the patient has a strong connection with the MD. Maybe they are an exceptionally complicated case. Maybe they\'re a difficult personality. In those cases, I follow my MD and observe, contributing when I feel I can. I learn a lot from these encounters, and often the next time something like that comes up, I\'m ready to handle it myself. Shadowing is a goldmine for learning experiences!
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Re: Amount of Shadowing Hours?
@ Snowpixi- Wow, what program is that?Snowpixi wrote:One of the schools I applied to is now requiring 50 hours of shadowing!
Re: Amount of Shadowing Hours?
Woah!!! Seriously? Isn't that too much? when would you have time to indulge in your own healthcare experience?Snowpixi wrote:One of the schools I applied to is now requiring 50 hours of shadowing!
Re: Amount of Shadowing Hours?
50 hours is just 6 8-hour days! That's nothing when you're researching a career! You need 1000's of HCE hours for some schools! When you've shadowed plenty, they know you understand what you're getting into.