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Process Manual for Pre-Physician Assistant studentsBy Samin RiyazTech Writing: EH 301-05Dr. Joseph Robertshaw04/21/19Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction: What is a PA?3Process of applying to PA school:Pre-requisite classes4Patient care hours6GRE Preparation7Shadowing10Volunteer work11Letters of Recommendation12CASPA14Summary16References17 IntroductionWelcome to the Process Manual for Pre-Physician Assistant students! Physician Assistants are health care providers who work along with a licensed physician to provide medical services to patients. Their job responsibilities are similar to that of a Physician or a Nurse but may vary from state to state. Some of the duties of a certified Physician Assistant include diagnosing patients, treating illnesses, prescribing medicine, assisting in surgeries, performing physical examinations and etc. The first class of Physician Assistants was assembled in 1965 by Dr. Eugene A. Stead of Duke University. The curriculum of this first PA program was based on the training of medical doctors during World War II. Today, the field of Physician Assistants is growing and becoming highly competitive. On average, PA’s earned a salary of $102,00 in the year of 2018. Typically, PA programs across U.S. offer a Master’s Degree that allows PA’s to practice many medical specialties of their choice. This process manual is designed to aid Pre-PA students become competitive applicants when applying to Physician Assistant schools. This manual will discuss pre-requisite classes that Pre-PA students should take as an undergraduate student, ways to earn patient care hours, study for the GRE, obtain shadowing as well as volunteer hours, receive letters of recommendation and create a CASPA account to submit the application for PA school. Disclaimer: This process manual should only be viewed as a guide to become a strong applicant for PA school. The requirement for each PA program varies from state to state thus, it is critical to specifically research the program that you are interested in before applying.Pre-reQUISITE CLASSESThis section includes a list of the most commonly required pre-requisite courses that a Pre-PA student should take as an Undergraduate student before applying to PA school. These courses will not only fulfill the pre-requisite requirement but also aid you with the courses you will take as a Physician Assistant student. Contact your PA program to find out the classes that YOU need! CoursesHours NeededBiology I & II with lab8 hoursGeneral Chemistry I & II with lab8 hours Organic Chemistry I with lab 4 hoursMicrobiology with lab 4 hoursGenetics: required by some programs4 hoursHuman Anatomy & Physiology I & II with lab8 hoursPre-Calculus Algebra3 hoursStatistics 3 hoursGeneral Psychology 3 hoursDevelopmental Psychology3 hoursAbnormal Psychology 3 hoursMedical Terminology 3-4 hoursListed below are some of the recommended classes that can make you a strong applicant for PA school.Bonus CoursesBiochemistryOrganic Chemistry IICell BiologyImmunologyPhysicsAdditional PsychologyCalculus IPATIENT CARE HOURSMost PA schools across U.S. greatly value an applicant who has experience in providing direct patient care in a hospital or clinical setting. While some schools accept volunteer work, others only accept paid work as direct patient care. Make sure to check with your program to meet their requirements before you obtain your patient care hours. For most programs, the minimum required patient care hours (500 or more) must be completed at the time you submit your application for PA school. Thus, it is efficient to start obtaining your hours during summer or winter breaks. Listed below are some of the most commonly accepted jobs to obtain direct patient care hours in a clinical or hospital setting. Patient care JobsPhlebotomistCertified Nurse Assistant (CNA)Athletic TrainerOptometric TechnicianMassage TherapistDental AssistantEMT/EMS/ParamedicChiropractorMedical Assistant/ScribeCorpsman (Navy)Medic (Army)X-Ray TechnologistClinical NutritionistGRE PreparationThe Graduate Record Examination or GRE is a standardized test that is required for most graduate schools in the United States. Most PA Programs require applicants to take this exam, while some do not require it at all or allow applicants to submit MCAT scores instead. Thus, it is essential to check with the program that you are interested in to best prepare for the required exam. This section will break down the material that is tested on the GRE as well as provide resources to ace the GRE! GRE Overview: GRE consists of a total of seven sections listed below that can appear in any order. There are two analytical writing prompts, two verbal reasoning sections, two quantitative reasoning sections and one experimental section that can test either verbal or quantitative reasoning. GRE SectionsQuestions/TimeAnalytical Writing: Argument Essay1 prompt/30 minutesAnalytical Writing: Issue Essay1 prompt/30 minutesVerbal Reasoning (2)20 questions/30 minutesQuantitative Reasoning (2)20 questions/35 minutesExperimentalVariesGRE Scores:The test scores range from 130-170 for the verbal and quantitative reasoning sections. A combined score of 300 is considered to be an average GRE score. Analytical Writing scores range on the scale of 0-6. An average score for the analytical writing section is around 3.5. You should aim for a score higher than average to be considered a competitive applicant for PA school.Analytical Writing:This section is typically not judged with the same importance as the verbal and quantitative reasoning sections by PA schools. While some PA programs may not look at the score for analytical writing at all, others may require a minimum average score. Thus, it is important to prepare for this section by practicing different writing prompts and expressing your thoughts persuasively. Verbal Reasoning:The verbal reasoning section is the one that most students struggle with. It is also the section that PA programs emphasize on improving. This section can be broken down into three parts:Verbal ReasoningText completion Reading ComprehensionSentence Equivalence In order to best prepare for this section, it is important to MEMORIZE as many vocabulary words as you can. Some of the resources that can be used to enhance your vocabulary include Kaplan GRE flashcards (500 words), Magoosh Vocabulary app or Princeton Self-Paced Online Vocabulary. Memorizing vocabulary will assist you in the text completion and sentence equivalence questions that make up half of the verbal reasoning section. To prepare for the reading comprehension questions, it is important to practice reading different passage types and applying critical thinking skills. Quantitative Reasoning: This section tests basic math concepts including arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis. It is important to practice different math concepts and review all formulas before test day. GRE Preparation: GRE preparation books (usually the most economical)Self-Paced Online courses In-Person classIndividual tutoringThe best preparation courses to prepare for the GRE are by Magoosh, Princeton, Kaplan and ETS themselves. ETS are the real test makers of GRE thus, it is extremely beneficial to take their practice tests to get an idea of how you will perform on the GRE itself. Regardless of how you prepare for the GRE, significant improvement in scores is possible if you practice, practice & practice every day! SHADOWING Shadowing is a critical way to explore and learn the daily duties performed in any career of one’s interest. Shadowing in the health care field allows one to build a close relationship with the physician, observe varying patients, learn about different diagnosis, treatments and etc. Before you apply to any PA program, it is important to earn some shadowing hours with a PA in order to ensure that it is your ideal choice of career. In fact, some PA programs require a set number of shadowing hours as well as prefer that the applicant has received one of their 3 letters of recommendation from a PA. Listed below are some of the PA specialties that a Pre-PA student can shadow under. PA SpecialtiesFamily Medicine Psychiatry Emergency Medicine Internal Medicine Dermatology General Surgery Pediatrics Obstetrics/Gynecology VOLUNTEER WORKDoing volunteer work is the easiest way to give back to your community, make a difference in this world and develop leadership as well as interpersonal skills. This also allows one to become a strong applicant for many of the PA programs because volunteer work shows commitment, time management and professionalism. Majority of the PA programs highly encourage volunteer work in their applicants whereas, some of the PA programs require a set number of volunteer hours to be completed prior to the application cycle. There are numerous volunteer opportunities available in the community. Research and ask around to find ways to get involved in your community and help those who need it. Listed below are some of the places where you can volunteer in order to gain some volunteer hours. Volunteer OpportunitiesAmerican Red CrossLocal Libraries Hospitals Retirement HomesChurchHabitat for Humanity National Parks Animal Rescue Shelters Local Food Shelters Schools LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATIONA strong letter of recommendation is required and highly valued in any graduate program that one applies to. For most PA programs, a total of 3 letters of recommendation are required. WHO to ask for a letter of recommendation?Most PA programs require that one of the letters should be written by a PA which is why it is important to shadow and build a close relationship with a PA. The other two letters can be written by a professor you worked with closely as an undergraduate student, academic counselor, employer and etc. It is important to ask someone who has known you on a personal level for some time in order to receive a strong letter of recommendation. This should be a person who has seen some of your best work and will feel comfortable to write you a good letter of recommendation. WHEN to ask for a letter of recommendation?You should give the person who is writing you a letter of recommendation enough time to write you a well-written letter. Ask them to write you a letter 1-2 months prior to when you need the letter. If your application opens in May, ask for the letter in March or April. This will not only allow the person plenty of time to write a strong letter but also help keep you on track with your application cycle. Listed below are some of the additional materials you can provide to make the writing process easier. The due date for the letterA specific mailing address where the letter should be delivered Information about the program that you are applying to A copy of your resume or C.V.A copy of your transcriptThe more information you are able to provide about yourself, the better the letter will be. This is the time to mention your extracurricular activities, academic achievements/honors, volunteer work, shadowing, training and etc. Keep in mind the requirements for the program that you are applying to. While some programs will accept a hard copy sealed in an envelope, others might not. Specifically, for PA programs, you will need to ask the letters to be sent directly to CASPA.CASPACASPA stands for “The Central Application Service for Physician Assistants.” It is a web-based application system that allows applicants to apply to multiple PA programs of their choice with a single application to eliminate duplicated documents. CASPA is currently representing 95% of the accredited PA programs across the nation. It provides a rich database of applicants for PA programs to consider and choose from efficiently. Below is a recommended timeline to follow in order to keep your application cycle on track.TimelineActionsPrior to CASPAResearch the programs that you are interested in as well as their cycle dates and application fees, draft your personal statement3 Months prior to deadlineSend official transcripts to CASPA, enter coursework6-8 Weeks prior to deadlineSubmit & complete your application, review the verification process, check your application for receipts4-6 Weeks prior to deadlineMonitor your application until verified The CASPA application for 2019-2020 application cycle will open on April 25, 2019. Applicants can only then create the CASPA account to submit documentation, transcripts, letters of recommendation and other documents. Any documents submitted prior to that date will be immediately discarded. above is the link to CASPA where you can go to create your CASPA account and upload your documents. SUMMARYDiscussed in this process manual for Pre-PA students were some tips on how to become a strong applicant for Physician Assistant school. The required pre-requisite classes, patient care hours, shadowing as well as volunteer hours must be completed prior to summitting your application on CASPA. Make sure to get involved in your community and shadow with a PA in order to become a strong applicant for PA school and have someone to write you a good letter of recommendation. Create your CASPA account by the date indicated on the CASPA website to upload your personal information, transcript, letters of recommendation and other required documents. Check back with CASPA until your application is verified. Refer to this process manual as a guide to keep you on track with your application cycle and to ensure that you are meeting all the required aspects of your CASPA application. Contact and research your specific PA program to know their requirements before applying to any PA program. Make sure to enjoy your Pre-PA journey while gaining different experiences needed to become a strong applicant for PA school! RefERENCES "About The GRE General Test (For Test Takers)".?, 2019, ."Become A PA: Getting Your Prerequisites and Certification - AAPA".?AAPA, 2019, "CASPA Quick Start Guide And Faqs".?Liaison, 2019, "History Of The PA Profession And The American Academy Of Pas - AAPA".?AAPA, 2019, "How To Study For The GRE In Two Months - Kaplan Test Prep".?Kaplan Test Prep, 2019, "Letters of Recommendation".?The University Of Alabama In Huntsville, 2019, "Patient Care Experience".?Pap.Med.Ufl.Edu, 2019, ."Physician Assistant Specialties That Earn The Most Money".?Verywell Health, 2019, "Physician Assistant".?The University Of Alabama In Huntsville, 2019, "Ten Good Places To Volunteer - Opportunities & Organizations".?, 2019, , Start et al. "Pre-Physician Assistant: The Ultimate Getting Started Guide".?The Physician Assistant Life, 2019, , Don. "3 Reasons Why You Need To Shadow A Doctor".?INQUARTA, 2019, , Staff. "Physician Assistant Programs & Careers | How to Become A Physician Assistant".?, 2019, ................
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