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!

The hand book of NSG is a must

Neurocritical Care is a must if you have a MICU/SICU

Neuroanatomy Through Clinical Cases is a good textbook which focuses on all the major points and many fine details you will need to know as you go through your career. I use this book when I make lectures.

You'll also want to read some review articles on ICP management, vasospasm dx and tx following SAH, hypertonic saline, neuro imaging.

There are some youtube videos that will help get you started with imaging:

For Head CT

For C-spine CT

For MRI in general

For Lumbar MRI

I recommend referring back to these resources as you see patients with the afflictions as it will help it stick. If you just read about things without using them in practice I think you'll find it is easily forgotten. Best of luck!

I can't comment on the UC Bootcamp, but if you aren't already subscribed to Urgent Care RAP, I highly suggest doing so. Here you can get $25 off your subscription.

As far as preparing, review the most common UC diagnoses, which honestly could be just about anything lol. I reviewed this book when I first started out and I still use it as a reference from time to time but now I mostly use UTD.

By far the best resource you can have. Never a time when PANCE Prep Pearls isn't relevant. All of my classmates have it too as a supplement, and my professor just said it is "worth its weight in gold" at the end of lecture today. I also will second UpToDate as a great online and app resource.

I also have Sanford's Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy and [Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia 2017 Classic Shirt-Pocket Edition] (https://www.amazon.com/Tarascon-Pocket-Pharmacopoeia-Classic-Shirt-Pocket/dp/1284118991/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510030082&sr=8-1&keywords=pharmacopeia+2017+pocket) as a prescription resource I can keep in my white coat.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071454284/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A14MPLZZF570E5

It's a great book, a few friends have been using it as reference for clinicals and I have found it useful in my studies during didactic.

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.

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.

I just bought this for the PANCE: http://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Certification-Recertification-Examinations-Assistants/dp/145119109X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410579591&sr=8-1&keywords=pance+review

I'd say it's pretty good. There is a pre and post-test section with answers in the book, plus it gives you access to their online question bank of some 1000 questions or so. The answers are contained within a separate section of the book, which means you have to flip back and forth, but they include explanations to the various answer choices. Overall, fairly basic info, but worthwhile.

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 ;)

This isn't an answer to your question, I just wanted to tell you about the book you're using.

I used the Physician Assistant Exam for Dummies practice questions too. During the cardiology section I was working through some questions with a classmate and we found out that one of the questions was blatantly wrong (I don't remember which). We checked a couple textbooks and uptodate.com and sure enough it was keyed wrong or they just didn't know any better. I haven't touched that book since.

This review book so far has been the best for material. It's well organized and has some practice exams.

The PANCE pearls book has been fantastic for learning what to focus on for the PANCE.

Take it in a little bit at a time. Focus on a couple things at a time instead of the entire daunting aspect of it all. You can do this.

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

Just passed the PANCE a few weeks ago. I liked A Comprehensive Review For the Certification and Recertification Examinations for Physician Assistants

I recommend the Kaplan PANCE High Yield lecture videos and second the Kaplan PANCE Qbank.

I was not a fan of CME4Life. Seemed long and drawn out for little content, and most of his methods for remembering things weren't helpful to me.

I am just about to graduate and am wrapping up my clinical time with a neurology office that I will be taking my first job at. Suggestions from the MD that I think are great:

Lange Clinical Neurology and Neuroanatomy

Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases

HeadNeckBrainSpine

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

Minor Emergencies by Buttaravoli is a nice resource.

https://www.amazon.com/Minor-Emergencies-Expert-Consult-Online/dp/0323079091/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=urgent+care&qid=1550879900&s=gateway&sr=8-1

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.

There was a similar thread to this a while back that had a bunch of good books in it but I can't seem to find it . The only book I wrote down was

https://www.amazon.com/Minor-Emergencies-Expert-Consult-Online/dp/0323079091

[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.

That first year is so tough. It's like drinking from the firehose of knowledge. I spent countless hours studying my first year. Difficult to find a break. We had a list of commons and my study group would break down those lists and present to each other regarding those commons on the weekends. If there was confusion, we'd talk about it. This bad boy helped with some last minute preparation as well.

First Aid for the Psychiatry Clerkship

also this book -
https://www.amazon.com/Pance-Prep-Pearls-Dwayne-Williams/dp/1542330297/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1ANE86KWC2G7Z&keywords=pance+prep+pearls+2019&qid=1564375195&s=gateway&sprefix=pance+prep%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-3

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.