Many Physician Assistant programs require extensive experience. Some programs won't even look at your application unless you have two years of clinical experience with direct patient care. Other programs simply state, the more experience you have, the better.

Different programs have different goals. Some programs are designed for PAs who will work in underserved areas, others are for general practice PAs, and still others are specialized in surgery. The type of experience you have should match those goals of the programs you are going to apply to.

PAs accepted to programs have a wide variety of medical experience. Some have been nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, emt, paramedics, phlebotomists, medical assistants, and the list goes on. In addition to a substantial amount of experience in one field it is important to visit with practitioners in different aspects of medicine. I suggest trying to make arrangements to spend a day with a PA in the different fields of medicine you may be interested in, as opposed to spending the day with an MD.

The role of the PA is often misunderstood. While joining the AAPA will help you in understanding the role of the PA better, the most important thing you can do to show admissions committees you understand the role of the PA, is to shadow or work with PAs. If you can do all of your clinical experience with PAs you have an advantage over many applicants. PAs are often very busy and it may be difficult in finding an internship working with one. This is the position I was in. What I did was set up as many one day PA shadowing experiences in as many different specialties of medicine as I could. I shadowed an ER PA, an orthopedic PA, and a dermatologist PA amongst others. This experience with PAs is very important and I highly recommend doing as much as you can.

To help you make the proper connection with these PAs, I have included a sample letter for you to modify and send to local PAs in your area that you would like to shadow for one day. Who knows maybe you'll be able to help out in their practice in some capacity and start getting your many required hours of medical experience.

Ask to shadow a PA for the day.

Mention in letter
Desire to become a PA, and how model of PA fits with your personality and matches your goals. You are a member of the AAPA as an affiliate and are serious about this carrer path.

Offer to contact the office manager to facilitate with any required authorization or Hippa privacy forms you must sign prior to coming.

You must send a thank you letter to these PAs after you spend the day with them. You may ask them later to write a recommendation letter for you.