gentlerain Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I'm currently trying to find a competitive major for later applying to a PA program. Do you think a nutrition major is useful? Thanks for your input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted November 24, 2012 Administrator Share Posted November 24, 2012 Get an degree in computers--it won't help you to get into PA school, but it will absolutely make it easier to get a job once you get out. :-) Seriously, anything you can do with a biology minor should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Get a degree in something you're interested in and take the prereqs in addition to those courses if need be. Contray to what most undergrads think, there is no such thing as a "hard major" to PA adcoms. A music major with all prereqs and HCE is viewed just the same as a Bio major if GPAs are similar. Honestly, the music major might have an edge since they definitely would stand out from the crowd. So I guess my point is, major in something you will excel at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sartort Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Nutrition is incredibly useful. It's one of the two best preventive medicines, and you should be able to help your patients out a lot with a strong background in it. It also is a good degree to give you a lot of alternative options to help patients if you don't get in to PA or change your mind along the way. Study something you will enjoy because you will be learning it for years. You will learn more and get better grades if you enjoy your classes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 The more difficult science your major has, the better off you would be in PA school. It just depends on how quickly you learn and how well you understand topics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gentlerain Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 Okay, so I just found out that the school I wish to transfer to offers a Didactic Program in Dietetics - a program which prepares you for an internship which then makes you a Registered Dietician. I was wondering if working for 2 years as that will give me the direct patient hours (~2000) I need for applying to PA school. I was previously intrigued by the nursing curriculum but advised not to pursue it b/c nursing follows a "nursing model" while PA is based off a medical model. However, as a RN, I should definitely be able to find enough experience with patient care. Hmmm... what to do :O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 RN HCE >>> Dietician HCE If you're thinking about working for a few years after your BS to gain experience (awesome idea), go out and get the highest quality HCE you can get, which would be paramedic, RN or RT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gentlerain Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 I would favor RN much more than Dietician! Do you think PA school admissions would look down on the nursing major which differs from the standard medical model or would they assume that I'm switching my focus from RN to PA and dislike that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timon Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 RN experience would be amazing to have prior to getting into PA school. Ya you'll be learning about patient care plans but you'll be learning a good deal about medicine / healthcare. Working in the ER with nurses they have some autonomy and most are very knowledged on drugs, various diseases, treatments, and etc. I'm not if there would be a better profession that can better prepare you to be a provider prior to practicing as a MD/DO/PA/NP. The question is more about the length of time required to get your RN or even accessibility to a RN program in certain regions. Or some people may have something against nursing in general such as "im not sticking a foley catheter in someone" or "theres no way in going to clean someone elses poop." Although these are their opinions the reality in my opinion is there really isnt another profession thatll better prepare you for PA school in my opinion outside of maybe paramedic or combat medic. That's why fields such as EMT, MA, and CNA are more common amongst applicants because the ramp up period to build HCE is less. Just my two cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gentlerain Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 Thank you very much everyone! This has helped tremendously. I still have some time to decide which bachelor's degree to obtain but first I need to transfer from my liberal arts college to my state university which offers nutrition and nursing. Also, it's in the city so I am looking forward to finding volunteer and work opportunities. I was planning to major in Public Health (B.A.) at my current college but I'd much rather get a B.S. degree. PA is definitely the career I am determined to achieve. Good luck with all your endeavors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navyflyPAC Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Here's a thought. If you're going to be an RN prior, why not just become an NP? It's a more expedient route to a very similar career. Never understood why so many nurses apply to PA school when they can just get their NP in a fraction of the time and put much less into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gentlerain Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 I'm more interested in receiving a medical education as opposed to a nursing education. Also, rather than specializing, PA provide a broad range of care and thus is more flexible. I am now deciding whether to major in nursing or major in something else but obtain a CNA and then get my experience hours during college (hopefully I can minimize the gap b/w when I graduate with a B.S. and when I apply for a PA program). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beattie228 Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 RN is a much better route for you in my opinion. As previously posted, RN ranks up there with some of the best healthcare experience you can receive (RN, RT, EMT-P, military medic). Additionally, you would be able to fall back on your RN salary in the event you don't get accepted your first go around and need to reapply next cycle. I'd recommend in addition to the prerequisites for your intended program(s), you look at a list of recommended courses the school provides (genetics, microbiology, pathophysiology, upper level physiology, etc). This not only qualifies you for other programs in the country, but shows an admissions committee that you've got what it takes to absorb a lot of information thrown your way. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gentlerain Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 You have helped tremendously! Just making sure, you are talking about a B.S. in nursing and not an ADN, right? Some people are asking, "Why don't you just go on to be a NP if you're majoring in nursing?" Gosh, this is such a hard decision! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beattie228 Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 You have helped tremendously!Just making sure, you are talking about a B.S. in nursing and not an ADN, right? Some people are asking, "Why don't you just go on to be a NP if you're majoring in nursing?" Gosh, this is such a hard decision! As far as which nursing degree to pursue, that really depends on your overall goals. If it were me, I would probably pursue an ADN to start knocking out HCE as soon as possible. Then I would look at pursuing a health science or biology bachelor of science degree. As many others have posted throughout this forum, it doesn't matter what your major is for your undergraduate degree. I was an untraditional student who went back to school after spending a few years in the Army, so I wanted to pursue the most direct path to get me into PA school. A health science or biology degree helps you to double dip your PA school prerequisites because they'll count towards PA school as well as count towards your undergraduate degree. The personal debate of whether you should pursue NP vs PA after your nursing training is entirely dependent on you. I wouldn't let one route dictate the other, though. I've worked with many fantastic PAs who were nurses before they went on to PA school. Just so long as you have a firm understanding of the differences between the two professions, a PA school admissions committee will not look at your nursing background negatively nor question your decision to pursue a PA education. Your decisions to become a PA as opposed to an NP make for a great paragraph in your personal narrative on your CASPA application! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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