Patient Care Experience

Patient care experience serves as a pivotal element in your application. It not only signals to PA schools that you have tangible experiences in the medical field but also emphasizes your unwavering commitment to a career in medicine. While PA programs recognize that applicants may not be medical experts upon matriculation, your patient care experiences offer a glimpse into your foundational competencies and capabilities.

When considering pathways to gain this vital experience, several notable options emerge, each with its distinct advantages. Here we have provided a list of the most common opportunities for obtaining patient care hours: 

1. Medical Assistant: Provides comprehensive exposure to clinical settings, and patient interactions, and allows you to work with multiple healthcare professionals. 
2. Phlebotomist: Offers specialized training in venipuncture techniques and patient blood draw collection.
3. EMT/Paramedic: Delivers firsthand emergency medical care experience and crisis management skills.
4. Medical Scribe: Enhances medical documentation/terminology and understanding of clinical workflow.
5. CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant): Allows direct patient care experience in various healthcare settings. 
6. Behavioral or Physical Therapist: Allows for in-depth patient engagement and therapeutic interventions.

Remember to select a patient care experience that genuinely resonates with you and allows you to engage with the patient populations you aspire to serve in the future. Many positions mentioned earlier may require certification, but some positions, for instance, Medical Assistant and Medical Scribe, allow offices to offer on-the-job training. When deciding if receiving a certification is right for you, factor in your financial situation, time commitments, and the desired outcomes from the experience. 

Most IMPORTANTLY consult with all the PA programs you are considering to ensure your planned role qualifies as patient care hours. For instance, while some PA schools categorize scribing as Patient Care Experience (PCE), others may classify it as Healthcare Experience (HCE).

While locating patient care opportunities can appear challenging, here are some starting points to guide you

1. Facebook Groups (Ex: SoCal Pre-PAs for those in the LA area): These groups cater specifically to pre-PA students, offering a wide range of job opportunities. Former pre-pa students will post their job positions once they receive the PA school acceptance and are transitioning out of their jobs. 
2. Linked-In: LinkedIn is a professional platform you'll likely utilize extensively in your career journey. It's invaluable for refining job searches and offers comprehensive descriptions for each position
3. Cold Calling: Initiating cold calls to offices demonstrates proactive initiative and sets you apart. By reaching out, you might prompt them to recognize a staffing need, even if they haven't publicly advertised the position yet.

Patient Care Experience is a critical component of the PA application and though schools vary, the general rule of thumb is that the more PCE hours = the more competitive an applicant will be. Because you will be spending the majority of your pre-pa journey accumulating PCE, be sure to pick the one that suits you best, whether that is financial, timewise, or just general interest in that field. It can be a daunting task but start with the most common PCE positions we have provided and use our starting points to help guide you!