One of the key components to getting into physician assistant school is medical experience. Superseded only by a student’s GPA, it is a valuable asset to have on the application form. This would seem counterintuitive if you researched individual physician assistant program prerequisite experience requirements as ~30% of them DO NOT demand any time to apply. Rather, it is listed as RECOMMENDED/PREFERRED and only theoretically helps establish a competitive advantage. A couple of programs forgo any experience at all. And < 5% require 2,000 or more hours with the majority citing 500 hours as a minimum.
What you Need to Know!
These criteria argue against the value of experience BUT are misleading. Upon review of the 2020 PAEA (Physician Assistant Education Association) data, the average student accepted into physician assistant school had exceeded 2,500 hours of patient care experience. Additionally they had 750 hours of other healthcare experience and 100 hours of shadowing. Experience matters! A better topic to research is what kind of medical background has the most influence on an accepting review committee.
Patient Care Experience versus Healthcare Experience
When applying, CASPA (Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants) will ask you to record your work and professional accomplishments into the following categories:
- Patient Care Experience
- Healthcare Experience
- Non-Healthcare Employment
- Extracurricular Activities
- Leadership Experience
- Shadowing
- Teaching Experience
- Research Volunteer
The Importance of Patient Care Experience
Priority is placed on patient care experience, especially if it was paid employment, given it involves more exposure to patients in the role of treatment, diagnostics, or procedures. A common mistake is to confuse healthcare experience with patient care experience. Simply stated, patient care experience is a “hands-on” role with direct involvement in patient care whereas healthcare experience is a clerical or support role that may or may not involve patient interaction.
Clarifying Your Experience
Each physician assistant program’s specifics vary, therefore it is always best to contact the school of interest for clarification if your prior job description meets the coveted patient care experience requirements. Medical scribe or athletic trainer could be a gray zone or indeterminate occupation. More specific examples of each are as follows:
Patient Care Experience:
Certified Nursing Assistant/Medical Assistant
Corpsman/Medic
Registered Nurse
Phlebotomist
Medical/Radiology Technologist
Occupational or Physical Therapist (or aide)
Respiratory Therapist
ER Technician
Psychologist
Dietitian/Nutritionist
EMT/Paramedic
Exercise Physiologist
Healthcare Experience:
Medical Clerk
Patient Transporter
Pharmacy Technician
Research Assistant
Caregiver (for friend or family)
Veterinarian Technician
Medical Lab Technician
Student or Intern Positions
Shadowing Role
Lifeguard
CPR Instructor Exercise Physiologist
How to Gain Clinical Hours for PA School
There are different strategies to acquire the necessary clinical experience to strengthen your application. Most students will need a gap year to achieve > 2,500 hours of paid employment in the aforementioned licensed patient care experience professions. This is especially true if the license requires four years of undergraduate education, such as a registered nurse or dietitian, because employment can’t commence until after receipt of a diploma and passing a certifying exam.
Faster Tracks into PA School
If you are looking for a faster track to enter physician assistant school, acquiring a certificate job, such as a medical assistant, would allow you to accumulate work experience hours during undergraduate school and expedite the process. Individually research each position as different occupations require a different amount of training time to earn the certificate.
Opportunities without Certification
There are even positions available that do not require any certification, enabling an applicant to obtain patient care hours after high school. An earlier start potentially could avoid a gap year(s) prior to physician assistant school. These include:
Patient Care Technicians: Medical professionals who provide care for patients under the supervision of a registered nurse. Duties can include taking vital signs, collecting fluid samples, conducting medical tests, and assisting patients with exercise and mobility. It is a highly competitive position as it allows undergraduate students to work part time during school or expand to full time during summer months. Ensure your physician assistant program of interest includes these hours as patient care experience and not healthcare experience.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer: Another ideal position for an undergraduate student is to volunteer at the collegiate medical clinic. Despite not getting a paycheck, the opportunity is valuable. One can log plenty of hours over the course of four years to meet competitive standards. Be cautious of the type of volunteer work as active patient care will need to occur. Extending beyond the college campus, there are ample medical missions that need volunteer help. Usually occurring overseas, a student can gain patient care experience by traveling with physicians to provide first aid, public health education, immunizations, and a host of other necessary medical care. One in particular, International Medical Aid, provides pre-PA internships. In addition to 40 plus hours of weekly hands-on training, students will learn about different cultures and global health issues which are excellent writing points for a personal statement. Internal Medical Aid pre-PA internships even offer application support including letters of recommendation.
Maximizing Your Application
Overall, any form of DIRECT patient care experience will strengthen your odds of acceptance to a physician assistant school. The more hours, the better so log them carefully on CASPA. Be sure to also provide your job title, the institution employed, your supervisor’s contact information, and most importantly, details on the nature of your patient care responsibilities. Diversifying to include volunteer work will help in regards to the personal written statement and eventual talking points during an interview. Support positions, research, shadowing, leadership experience, and indirect volunteer patient care also need to be documented on CASPA. Some jobs will combine both direct patient care hours and healthcare work experience; they should be broken down and listed under each specific category.
The Value of Experience
Despite some physician assistant programs having minimal prerequisite medical experience hours, do not underestimate the many benefits it provides. Besides being a key to getting accepted, as proven by the PAEA data, it reinforces a desire to enter a career that focuses on patient care, provides insight into the medical system, and helps you prepare for the intense physician assistant academic curriculum. If you are considering a career as a physician assistant, it is wise to focus on acquiring hours as early as possible given the cumulative advantages it provides a future applicant.
Frequently Asked Questions
CASPA (Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants) divides professional experience into the following categories: patient care experience, healthcare experience, non-healthcare employment, extracurricular activities, leadership experience, shadowing, teaching experience, research, and volunteer work. Most important is patient care experience, or a hands-on role with direct involvement in treatment plans, medical procedures, and diagnostic tests.
The minimum number of hours varies by school with a range from none to 2,000. Based on data from the 2020 PAEA (Physician Assistant Education Association report, competitive students that were accepted into physician assistant programs exceeded 2,500 patient care experience hours.
Yes, volunteering can count towards clinical hours for PA school. However, the nature of the volunteer work has to involve hands-on patient care with direct involvement in treatment plans and outcomes. On CASPA this would be categorized under patient care experience. Some programs do require patient care experience to be a paid position, therefore check with your school of interest to clarify if your volunteer work experience will count towards these hours.
