(Part 2) Top products from r/physicianassistant

Volunteer work is not always accepted as health care experience, and even if they do, the kind of volunteer work you can do without any licensing (like EMT) is generally not accepted as it does not require real medical knowledge or responsibility. You will need to got to CNA school or EMT school at a minimum. Your GPA is not very competitive for a person without experience. The average accepted GPA is around 3.4, and average experience is about 4500 Hours. You can get in with less than both of those, but not with no experience and bottom end GPA.

I have read several of your posts here and you don't seem to really understand what you are getting into. That is OK, as it sounds like you just decided this might be a good path for you. Take some time to learn about the profession, and try to find a PA to shadow to see what the job really entails. Lots of people think "Hey! 6 figures after 2 years of school? Count me in!." Nothing wrong with that either as long as that is not the only reason. If it IS the only reason, then you will be VERY unhappy in PA school and in practice.

Also, don't expect to get into PA school in your hometown. Most applicants apply to 10 (or even more) schools and with your lower GPA you will need to be pretty open minded. Keep in mind most schools get 1000-2000 applications for 24-80 spots.

So, with this in mind, if you really are willing to pursue this you most certainly can achieve it!

1. You need to get a 1-2 years of medical experience. I suggest EMT if there are jobs in your area. Otherwise CNA would be OK.
   
   
2. Raise your GPA a little. Fortunately you are above the 3.0 mark most schools require. Getting As in pre-reqs is the name of the game as you go along. Don't worry about your overall GPA as much as making your science GPA and last 60 hours look good. Keep in mind that 99% of schools do not take grade replacement. If you have "replaced" a bunch of grades your GPA will be a lot lower than you think. Any retakes are just averaged into your overall grade.
   
   buy this book and read it: http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Getting-Physician-Assistant-Edition/dp/007163973X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407120016&sr=8-1&keywords=pa+school
   
   Hang out a www.physicianassistantforum.com and learn more about the profession and how to get into school.
   
   Good luck!

Like almost 10% of PAs who responded to the AAPA yearly review, I'm in orthopedics.

I used Handbook of fractures during my first year. I literally carried it everywhere I went
I am using Surgical Exposures in Orthopedics to learn my anatomy beyond Netters
I use Orthobullets every day and am working my way through their residency 365 day core curriculum study plan
I used Pocket Orthopedics when I first started, but now I realize its a bit outdated
I used This Instrumentation Book when I first started to learn all the instruments
I used this Scrub Tech book when I first started
I used Essentials of General Surgery for basic floor management stuff

Hope that helps

This is a great resource, and only $32 on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Certification-Recertification-Examinations-Assistants/dp/145119109X

I used a previous edition when I studied for the PANCE. I am actually taking the PANRE on Saturday and used a newer edition.

It has about 400 pages of content, a 300 question practice test and an online question bank (not sure how many).

When studying, practice questions are key. I also really like:

https://www.amazon.com/Physician-Assistant-Examination-Seventh-Allied/dp/0071845054

About $38 and has 1300 practice questions.

There is a book by Kaplan that is absolute garbage.

My program director, who is/was a GI PA exclusively out of school, really liked Current Diagnosis & Treatment GI. She actually had us read it for our GI class and it seemed like a good overview.

For Wilderness: Auerbach or the WMI/NOLS Handbook. There are also CME wilderness options out there through WMA.

Before PA school I was a ski patroller and SAR team member for almost 10 years. Having done a bunch of first aid in the woods, both Auerbach's book and the NOLS book are great for skills. More important than hard skills are decision making. To that end I'd highly recommend taking a wilderness medicine class. Or Avy I/II if you're a skier. The hard part is deciding when to make the call to evacuate.

Here's the one I was talking about:
http://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Certification-Recertification-Examinations-Assistants/dp/1605477265/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1380770283&sr=8-2&keywords=pance+review

Here's the Davis, which has better reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Daviss-PA-Exam-Review-Focused/dp/0803629516/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380770187&sr=8-1&keywords=pance+review

Here's my personal favorite:
http://www.amazon.com/Step-Up-Medicine-Series-Steven-Agabegi/dp/1609133609/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380770247&sr=8-1&keywords=step+up+to+medicine

I really, really recommend you read some of Atul Gawande's work, specifically "Better: A surgeon's notes on performance"

He covers a lot of what you are concerned about in this post at length. When I first became a corpsman I felt like I had way more power than I had knowledge - I had a core group of patients after just four months of school. This book really helped me come to terms with how little I knew, and stressed the importance of seeing these kinds of deficits as learning opportunities.

He's not a PA, but I can't hold that against him ;)

To add to other's comments, I've enjoyed "12-Lead ECG, Art of Interpretation". They have practice EKGs at the back as well as discussion EKGs in each chapter highlighting various topics.
https://www.amazon.com/12-Lead-ECG-Interpretation-Tomas-Garcia/dp/0763712841

I got them all this book: STUCK UP


9 preceptors.


9 books.


They all loved it.

You'd be much better off reading something like the Resident Readiness books. Looking up the underlying pathophys is fine, but IMO you should invest most of your time into something that will be applicable to everyday practice.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Resident-Readiness-Internal-Medicine-Klamen/dp/0071773185

https://www.amazon.com/First-Aid-USMLE-Step-CS/dp/0071804269/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2TE3VN4NE01P14H9ENYJ If you can, try to find an online free PDF

I'm still one for paging through a book for that thing tickling the back of my brain, and I like Current. In your case, I'd invest in Current : Family Medicine https://www.amazon.com/CURRENT-Diagnosis-Treatment-Family-Medicine/dp/0071827455. YMMV - I'm old.

[Tintinalli's] (http://www.amazon.com/Tintinallis-Emergency-Medicine-Comprehensive-Tintinalli/dp/0071484809)

[Epocrates] (http://www.epocrates.com/)

Watch ER procedures in YouTube like nail avulsions, I/Ds , interrupted suturing, etc.

These 2 books are essential

Hospital Medicine (Hospital Medicine (Wachter)) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0781747279/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KJynDbR8CTTMR

LANGE Instant Access Hospital Admissions: Essential Evidence-Based Orders for Common Clinical Conditions https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071481370/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6JynDbFM5YRV8

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G8V1CK1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LEN4BbHZTY315

Wave maven https://ecg.bidmc.harvard.edu/maven/mavenmain.asp
Dr. Smith's EKG blog http://hqmeded-ecg.blogspot.com
Dr. Mattu's book series ECGs for the Emergency Physician https://www.amazon.com/ECGs-Emergency-Physician-Amal-Mattu/dp/0727916548

If you are really interested in EM I suggest picking up the Case Files book which will teach you how to approach the most common cases (e.g. abdominal pain, chest pain, etc.). There is also the EMRA pocket guide which is inexpensive and works as a quick reference for the most common things you'll see. It has all the "must-ask" questions, the differentials that are most-common and most-dangerous, and disposition answers. These together should be less than $50.