jess818

oh good for you :)! i really feel that i want to do nursing...i just get a lot of people pushing me to go ahead and apply PT or try my luck at PA school. the thing is that i feel that being a PT would leave me feeling unfulfilled medically and i dont know if i am ready for PA school...im going to stat volunteering here in the next few months so hopefully this will help me in my decision...good luck to ya!

i know this is an old post but i am interested to hear what your decision was nicaru??i am in the EXACT same position as you and am going back and fourth between PT, PA and nursing...curious to hear your decision!!

Castlegates, I'm not sure I know what you mean by that..would you mind elaborating?

That is exactly how I feel and I tend to change my mind a lot so I feel it is best to go into a career that offers room for growth. I live in Ohio and I am told it is pretty unfriendly towards PAs, but I do see jobs posted all the time. My mom is an RN and she feels that she actually works with PAs more often. I know I can just apply to both an accelerated BSN program and PA program just to see what happens but I'd have to wait until March 2011 to apply to PA school (just the way it falls) when I could have started the BSN program that past January. I also have limited health care experience (I plan on going to an ER to volunteer and telling them I want to be involved in as much as possible) but I am nervous that would not be enough for PA school. Going to nursing school would give me the experience as well as allow me to fulfill my desire to have a more intimate role in my patients' care. BUT, I also feel that PA would be kinda cool...and could save me some money and time if I started right away. just looking for as much input as possible to make an informed decision :)

Hello all! I will be graduating this May as a pre-physical therapy major and now feel that it is not for me. I want to be more involved in the various levels of healthcare and have opportunity to practice medicine. I also feel that I would enjoy being an RN for some time. I am yong, 22, and think that being a nurse would be great for me in my twenties, but I know I do not want to pursue it forever. I would eventually like to become a mid-level practitoner and I like PA just because you don't have to pick a specialty. However, many nurses I have spoke with have discouraged me from pursueing a second degree BSN and have encouraged me to just try to get into PA school just to save time and money. But I kind of think I would enjoy doing the nursing thing for a little bit. Plus, if the PA thing fell through, nursing seems to offer lots of options including NP, management, education, etc. It also seems that although many RNs are stressed by their work (understandably so) that most NPs are truly happy with their decisions and many PAs feel held down and regret not going on to med. school (which I have never desired). Perhaps since NPs had to start as Rns they had something to look forward to? Oh what to do ! Any thoughts are appreciated!

Gotcha! Well good luck with everything girl!!

Foreverlaur, Thought that was you :) May I ask why you are deciding to pursue the ADN route instead of going for PA? I am just curious because I know several people from school that graduated or will graduate with me and we are all feeling that maybe nursing school would be a good idea. I want the experience number one. But also, I will have some hefty loans to pay off and if I go right into a PA program, I will have even more loans to take out and be in debt for quite some time as you can't work during the PA program. I most likely will not work during the accelerated ADN program, but I will be done faster, allowing me to make money faster. Also, University Hospitals offers tuition support through Cleveland Scholarships. I want to say it is up to $5,000 for your last 12 months of a program and then you agree to work for them for 2 years. This will allow me to work and get experience plus make money making me a more ideal candidate for PA school. Just wondering if you had a similar thought process or if anyone would suggest me trying to get into the PA program and using the ADN route as more of a backup? Also, thank you Craftystar, I will try and meet with a counselor in the next month or so. That is definitely a good idea!

Well that's good news, I am VERY sick of writing classes :). Also, not to be a creep but do you sometimes post on the physicianassistant forum website? i was just reading a blog on there today about people thinking of going into nursing if they didn't get into PA school and someone commented and had the same user name as you. i want to be a PA ultimately but don't feel that i will be prepared due to lack of experience and was thinking about doing the RN thing for a few years. if that was you on that forum, were you still thinking of doing nursing instead?? thanks for such a quick response by the way.

Hi All!! Congrats on getting into the program. I am looking into starting Fall 2010. Is there typically a wait list for the programs? I will have everything done May 2010 so I will apply then but I can start an Accelerated BSN January 2011 with NO wait list so that may be a deciding factor for me. Also, did you all still need to take Composition 2 if you had taken writing courses with your bachelor's degree? Hope all your classes are going well :)

wow that's a little upsetting!i only have about a 3.5 and i already have one B in the pre-req's =( good luck to you keep us updated!

Wow, thank you SO much for such an informative and timely reply. I am def. going to go out and try to shadow a few PAs now to make sure that it is the right fit for me. At least your reply has comforted my concerns!

David, I was hoping to get your opinion because I read this forum quite frequently and I see that you answer a lot the questions leading me to feel you have a real opinion on the matter. I ultimately want to practice as an NP but I am not yet an RN and would have to attend an accelerated BSN program. I could however start a PA program a year and a half from now and then be done in 27 months. I am nervous that going into PA school with virtually no patient care experience would be unfair to potential patients but I have been told that the school will prepare me. I also want to primarily work in primary care which seems to be more of an NP dominated area (at least to me) where PAs do a lot of ER and acute care. I know I can go be an RN and then go back to PA school but I just don't want to make any horrible decisions. Also, I live in Ohio which is HORRIBLE for PAs. Thanks for any advice

i will be applying for the summer program for summer '10. how difficult do you find it to get in?

hi i know this is an older post but i was hoping you could give me advice about CWRU. I am looking at their direct entry DNP program. I am really interested but also very concerned about the cost. Did you find your experience to be worth it?

thank you for your response!i will have a bachelor's degree in health science and i'm thinking of possibly doing a double major in psychology.