Accepted to PA School | The Timeline of My Pre-PA Experiences

[@courtneycrowley5130]

i’m a senior in high school hoping to get cna certified this summer (found a program near me) before i go to binghamton university in the fall as a bio major. thank you so much for all of your advice it makes me way less overwhelmed about everything leading up to pa school!!! dream career!!!!

[@AubrieJones]

Love to hear it! I wish you the best of luck 😊

[@kitsand]

Thanks for the info. Wow, I'm impressed at how much you had done prior to going to PA school.

[@AubrieJones]

Thank you, I appreciate that!!! :)

[@spicyymangoo]

hi!! Im a freshman undergrad and your video was really helpful. I love how you described what you did each year regarding your pce and volunteer hours while in school and how you utilized your time in the summer to get them. I've seen other PA videos and they said to get your pce/hce hours and to shadow various PAs but they never emphasized how they did it. Thank you so much and this really clarified how people were able to obtain their hours while in school. Keep it up!

[@AubrieJones]

So glad this was helpful!!! 😊 thank you for watching!

[@pockyeatingpanda]

Hey Aubrie! I found you on TikTok and followed you on IG and YT. You are so kind to post such helpful information. I wanted to ask you to make a video or a post about finding physicians to shadow and jobs to do while you're a student. It is really hard to find anyone to shadow or work for because the HIPA barriers. I live in the city and there aren't many private institutions. Additionally, a lot of jobs don't want to hire me for just the summer/winter break or work with my school schedule.

[@AubrieJones]

Thank you so much! And that sounds like a great idea. I’ll definitely do that, thank you! I know how challenging it can be to find people to shadow and find work for just over the summer 😕 I’m sorry you’re having difficulties. You honestly just kind of have to keep trying, even if all you get are “No”s for a while. It only takes one yes sometimes!

[@minzydoll]

Thanks for the tips! Your videos are always amazing! 😊

[@AubrieJones]

Thank you so much! That is much appreciated ☺️

[@jk3029]

MY FAV VIDEO. So many good tips! I am really interested in doing PA. I am a freshman college student and I was confused how do I start this because I have no idea about medicine or any of that. But like you said, I will start with shadowing and volunteering.

[@AubrieJones]

Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you found it helpful 😊 that is a great plan!

[@marievasquez2204]

Right now I’m struggling to look for a job as a MA since I have no experience but I’m volunteering at a clinic . Do I have to be certified as a MA to get a job or it’s not necessary?

[@AubrieJones]

So it’s not necessary to be certified, there are some jobs out there if you don’t have a cert, but they are really few and far between. If you continue to struggle to find an uncertified MA job, I would consider getting a certificate or looking for other types of jobs!

[@marievasquez2204]

Aubrie Jones thanks you . Take care

[@odeleya1768]

As a high school student, I feel like I’d really want to be a PA, but all of these requirements just to apply for pa school is kind of overwhelming. Like needing thousands of hours of work experience sounds like a lot. How can you possibly get all this stuff done throughout your 4 years of college and still have time to really think if this is what you want?

[@AubrieJones]

I would say start slow and build on as you go. Once you start doing a couple things here and there you start getting more and more opportunities and then you look back and think dang, I can’t believe I did all of that!! I would say start with volunteering and shadowing to see if you’re truly interested and go from there!

[@odeleya1768]

@@AubrieJones that’s really helpful, thank you so much!!!

[@monaeedwards9330]

Any advice specifically with shadowing? I am pre-PA and so am I limited to o only shadowing a PA? Would I be able to shadow a NP or MD as well? Thanks!

[@AubrieJones]

You can definitely shadow various types of providers! That shows you checked out other professions and PA fit best with you. I would try to shadow more PAs once you’ve fully decided on PA!

[@alexa-pv1si]

did you have time for friends and family and just chilling while doing all this volunteering and studying? I really want to go to PA school, but I’m worried about putting in so much work just to not get accepted :(

[@AubrieJones]

Yes, I did! :) I took roadtrips realllly frequently, studied abroad for a full semester and traveled to 15 countries, was involved in other non-PA related activities and organizations, went to sporting events...the whole thing! It’s all about scheduling, timing things out and finding that balance!

[@rachelsingh2766]

how did you contact PAs and let them know you want to shadow them?

[@AubrieJones]

So I first asked the PAs I met at my university’s pre-PA club. They gave us their email so I wrote out a paragraph that explained how much I appreciated him/her talking to us, gave them a little background about me and what I’ve done so far on my pre-PA path and then asked if I could shadow. I also usually provided days I was free just so they knew my schedule already and if they agreed, they usually offered a few dates they had available. As long as you remain professional and show genuine interest in the PA profession and their specialty, they’re usually open to if if their clinic/hospital allows it!

[@rachelsingh2766]

Aubrie Jones this was so helpful, thank you! I never thought about taking this approach but it makes so much sense! ☺️

[@AubrieJones]

Of course! ☺️

[@shannong2073]

Do you think chiropractic assistant would count as patient care hours? You work with a patient with different types of therapy so it’s hands on. Thx

[@AubrieJones]

It’s program dependent! I’m sure many programs would accept it but I would email them to double check!

[@MISSRUE32MCGEE]

I am currently working as a LPTA now since 2005, before that I was a CNA since 1995. I’m looking for a career change… will I still need to take pre PA courses???

[@marcalexander6450]

Keep up the hard work!

[@AubrieJones]

Thank you!

[@kaylayangx]

What’s the best way to keep track of all your volunteering experience hours?

[@AubrieJones]

I personally just used an Excel spreadsheet!

[@theonewithjen8645]

How did they verified your patient care experience ? I have been a CNA for 3 years, I am a LVN student but I am considering PA school and thinking of just focusing on a kinesiology major and dropping out of LVN school. I am a non traditional student I took 6 years after high school to decision to go back to college.

[@liannegao8653]

You applied to PA schools after you graduated? When is a good time to apply for PA schools without taking a gap year?

[@AubrieJones]

If you want to go straight in, with only a month or so between undergrad and PA school, you’d have to apply to schools that start AFTER your graduation month and you’d apply in April through August-ish of your junior into your senior year of undergrad

[@AubrieJones]

I studied abroad and wasn’t in the country for interviews so I applied after I graduated!

[@deborahrosee_]

What is your opinion of volunteering at a hospital for pce?

[@AubrieJones]

It’s a great way to get PCE if you have a hands-on role! Although it is great, it’s usually recommended to get some paid PCE if possible because usually more paid positions allow you to do more and you work more closely with other people in health care. I was a hospital volunteer and although that was great, they oftentimes didn’t trust the volunteers to do much so we watched a lot.

[@nfc.7770]

what majors would you recommend for someone who wants to be a pa? i know biology is a big one for many students but what are some other ones you would point out?

[@AubrieJones]

I would say kinesiology, psychology, and public health are great choices too!

[@Adam-ub8kz]

Any advice on number of schools to apply to? I know 12 is a number that people say for the average applicant. I have a very high gpa/gre, 500 hours of medical assisting, 500 hours of scribing, and not much extracurriculars other than volunteering at a hospital for 75 hours. Thanks!

[@AubrieJones]

So it really depends on what you feel comfortable with. The average is about that, like 7-15 is the range I see more often, but I personally only applied to 4 because I was more picky on where I wanted to go to school. I’ve heard after 12 schools your chances don’t really increase that much and it does get expensive. However, the best advice is to only apply to schools where you not only meet, but exceed their minimums. In your case, scribing may not count as PCE at some schools so make sure you only apply to schools that accept it!

[@Adam-ub8kz]

Aubrie Jones thanks so much! Yeah, I’ve narrowed it down to a list of 7, with a couple being my ‘dream’ schools and a couple not so much. It’s a fine balance between making sure you will get in vs not overdoing it.. congrats on getting accepted!

[@jk3029]

Also if you don't mind, is it mandatory to shadow a doctor or a PA? Won't becoming a MA or CNA or Hospital Scribe enough?

[@AubrieJones]

Some schools require shadowing hours and it’s typically really good to get shadowing hours in various specialities - not just the one you work in!

[@migueltrucker2456]

Hello! Would working as an MA count for experience hours required to get in PA school?

[@AubrieJones]

It depends on each school but typically a back office MA counts as PCE! But I would check with the schools you want to apply to :)

[@niviachilds-english3784]

I'm applying to SDSU, can a public health major be Pre-PA?

[@AubrieJones]

Yes! That is very common ☺️

[@niviachilds-english3784]

@@AubrieJones was it competitive to switch into Kinesiology from your original major?

[@itslexa5460]

What is scribing ?

[@AubrieJones]

Scribing is position where you go with the provider when he is talking to the patient and you chart for them! This includes writing down the patient’s medical history and some places let you order imagining and lab orders that the provider requests. I have a couple videos on it!

[@noinoi5949]

Breath woman!😂

[@AubrieJones]

HAHA I know, I know. I am from California so I feel like I’m used to talking fast and trying to get my thoughts in quickly lol

[@usamarafieck1715]

Are you working right now?

[@AubrieJones]

No!

[@551223]

How could you have worked 500 hours during the summer? 500 hours is working full time , 40 hours a week for 6 months straight . You would have had to work 8 hours every single day without taking any days off for those 2 months you had summer

[@AubrieJones]

I had 15 weeks of summer. 15 weeks x 40 hours a week = 600 hours but take away a couple days off and my lunch breaks. Around 500 :)

[@551223]

Aubrie Jones your summer breaks were nearly 4 months long?? Never heard of that

[@AubrieJones]

Ended the school year usually within the first week of May (depending on your finals schedule) and then started the last week of August.

[@pockyeatingpanda]

551223 college breaks are longer than public school breaks! we usually finish earlier and start a little later. it even varies college to college.