A physician assistant is a health care professional that is highly trained and responsible for a range of different duties. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2018 there will be a 39 percent increase in job opportunities for physician assistants. Many people are now contemplating a career in this field; however there are a range of physician assistant prerequisites that one must adhere to before you can begin training.
You must have earned a bachelor's degree in order to be accepted into a graduate physician assistant program. Many schools would prefer that you have a background in science, but in general your major is not an important factor in acceptance into a program. You must also meet a minimum GPA and take prerequisite courses in mathematics, science, psychology and language. There are a range of different courses that you can take including physiology, microbiology, and organic chemistry. It is essential that you maintain good grades through your course as many schools require that you maintain a B grade or higher in your prerequisite courses since they lay the foundation for a PA course.
As a student entering a five year program in physician assistant, the academic standards expectation is such that it is equivalent to those who have achieved a bachelor's degree.
One of the most important physician assistant prerequisites is that you are also expected to have working patient care experience. Each program will have different minimum hourly requirements; it does not not matter how many hours experience that you have, it is essential that you get this experience. The experience that you receive in patient care will be direct and hands on. You can find work as a volunteer in a hospice, working as a paramedic or as an EMT, taking the vital signs of patients working as a nursing assistant or as an emergency room technician. If you wish to vary your work experience, try getting work in different health care settings, such as a clinic or a physician's office.
There are several physician assistant programs that require applicants to have received their Graduate Record Examination scores (GRE) or Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). You can take both of these exams or one of them; your results will give the school of your choice the opportunity to see how you perform in a standardized test. Such tests evaluate your ability to reason, think and write.
As you can see, there are many physician assistant prerequisites, and it is not an easy career field to enter. It requires a lot of college education as well as work experience before you are even accepted into a PA program. Once you are in the program you will be expected to study intensively for two years. It takes a lot of dedication, discipline and hard work to become a physician's assistant; therefore, it is essential that you really spend a lot of time thinking about your decision before going ahead.
You must have earned a bachelor's degree in order to be accepted into a graduate physician assistant program. Many schools would prefer that you have a background in science, but in general your major is not an important factor in acceptance into a program. You must also meet a minimum GPA and take prerequisite courses in mathematics, science, psychology and language. There are a range of different courses that you can take including physiology, microbiology, and organic chemistry. It is essential that you maintain good grades through your course as many schools require that you maintain a B grade or higher in your prerequisite courses since they lay the foundation for a PA course.
As a student entering a five year program in physician assistant, the academic standards expectation is such that it is equivalent to those who have achieved a bachelor's degree.
One of the most important physician assistant prerequisites is that you are also expected to have working patient care experience. Each program will have different minimum hourly requirements; it does not not matter how many hours experience that you have, it is essential that you get this experience. The experience that you receive in patient care will be direct and hands on. You can find work as a volunteer in a hospice, working as a paramedic or as an EMT, taking the vital signs of patients working as a nursing assistant or as an emergency room technician. If you wish to vary your work experience, try getting work in different health care settings, such as a clinic or a physician's office.
There are several physician assistant programs that require applicants to have received their Graduate Record Examination scores (GRE) or Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). You can take both of these exams or one of them; your results will give the school of your choice the opportunity to see how you perform in a standardized test. Such tests evaluate your ability to reason, think and write.
As you can see, there are many physician assistant prerequisites, and it is not an easy career field to enter. It requires a lot of college education as well as work experience before you are even accepted into a PA program. Once you are in the program you will be expected to study intensively for two years. It takes a lot of dedication, discipline and hard work to become a physician's assistant; therefore, it is essential that you really spend a lot of time thinking about your decision before going ahead.
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