Common Questions

I can't find a list of what is acceptable for health care experience on your website. How do I know if my experience will be accepted, and does shadowing count?

We couldn't possibly come up with an exhaustive list of acceptable job titles! Nearly all forms of health care experience* are considered and accepted but we do not factor shadowing hours or student experiences into your total hours. Generally, we prefer that candidates have had some direct patient care experience, although candidates whose health care experience has been primarily in a non-patient care setting (such as in a lab) may still be competitive.

If you feel that your health care experiences and exposures have prepared you for PA education, then it is your responsibility to make it relevant on your application.

If you have not had any patient care exposure at all, then, how would you know that you would enjoy and be successful at working with patients in a career as a PA? Therefore, if your health care background were primarily in a not-patient setting, we would strongly encourage you to supplement your experience in some way, through volunteering in a patient setting for example, and be able to produce at least one letter of reference from a clinician who is able to address your patient interaction skills.

Think of it this way: your patient interaction skills are truly best acquired through real life experience, as opposed to taught in a PA classroom. Further, it will likely show itself in some way through your application.

*Administrative work in medical settings and caring for family members are not accepted.