How many shadowing hours do I need for PA school? Most physician assistant programs ask that their
students have a minimum of 40 hours of shadowing experience
. That does not include the number of patient care and healthcare experience hours that you also have to complete for your application.
Do I need to shadow a PA?
Even if PA shadowing isn’t a requirement for your specific program, you should shadow a physician
assistant for at least 2-3 days
. If you’re already in PA school and you didn’t do PA shadowing, you may need to complete this process to meet graduation requirements.
How many hours of shadowing do you need for PA school?
Shadowing Experience: Required –
minimum of 40 hours with a PA, 100 shadowing hours encouraged
. Patient Contact Experience: None required, but students are encouraged to have experience.
Do PA schools verify shadowing hours?
CASPA collects information on the organization and location of your HCE, the role, hours worked, your supervisor and their contact details. All that must be provided.
Schools may choose to verify information you provide
.
What do I need to shadow a PA?
Business casual will be fine for most settings, but
scrubs
may be preferred if you are shadowing in an OR, ER or procedural suite. Scrubs may be provided if required, but find out before you go.
What is the easiest PA school to get into?
- Barry University Physician Assistant. …
- Marquette University Physician Assistant School. …
- Missouri State University PA School. …
- The George Washington University Physician Assistant School. …
- Rosalind Franklin University PA School. …
- University of New England Physician Assistant School.
Can I shadow an MD for PA school?
Yes! If you
are a pre-PA student or planning to apply, you can shadow a doctor for PA school, as a way of fulfilling your requirements. Because there are so many similarities between doctors and physician assistants, you can still learn a great deal by shadowing a doctor.
How should I dress for a PA shadow?
Wear appropriate, professional clothing (no jeans of any kind!)
Men: khakis with a collared, button-up shirt without a tie
. Women: slacks or skirt and blouse without heels. Note: if you shadow a physician assistant in an emergency room, things are more casual (but still no jeans).
Does shadowing a PA count for medical school?
When it comes to your extracurriculars, you have a spot for shadowing. But when it comes to those hours,
don’t include anything outside of shadowing physicians
. So if you’ve shadowed other healthcare-related fields other than physicians, don’t include that in your shadowing hours.
Where should I Shadow PAs?
Ask to attend one of their meetings and personally seek out a PA to shadow.
Go to a local clinic, urgent care, or hospital
.
Is it too late to apply to PA?
There’s no ultimate deadline for applying to PA school
. You can always apply in a future cycle if the current one doesn’t feel like the best plan. There’s also no penalty for applying to PA school in multiple cycles, but there are an effort and cost to doing so.
How do you prove shadowing?
If you so choose to write about shadowing you will need to
provide a name, address, phone number, email address, days you shadowed, and total hours
. As far as them calling in to verify your hours and whatnot it probably doesn’t happen often.
How long should you shadow a PA before asking for a letter of recommendation?
2 days
is the average allotted shadowing time per PA, some may offer more, some may offer less. PAs are here to help you gain the experience you need but please be respectful of the PAs time. ASK! It is never inappropriate to ask what is expected of you from an attire standpoint.
What shadowing a PA taught me?
Shadowing helped me see
how adaptive physicians are
. Physicians I followed chose well-researched diagnosis plans for their patients, worked well within a team, and were health-care leaders. … There were days where I followed a medical team for 12 hours, went home to sleep, and did it again the next day to learn more.
How do I shadow a PA on the phone?
1.
Introduce yourself
. In an effort to not waste the time of the PA they’re asking, some aspiring PAs get straight to the point with their shadowing request: “Hi, I’m interested in becoming a PA and was wondering if you might let me shadow you. My schedule is flexible, and I can come whenever you might be free.
Why are you interested in shadowing a PA?
Why it helps to Shadow a PA
Seeing a PA work will deepen your understanding of the PA profession and help you better determine if the profession is a good fit with your values, education, skills and long-term goals.
Shadowing a PA can reinforce
(or change your mind – both good things!)
