PA Shadowing and Direct Patient Care Experience Program

We empower future PAs through valuable hands-on clinical experience and shadowing opportunities, setting them up for success on their journey to PA school.

Create your personalized plan today.
Schedule a free 20 minute call.

888-839-9997

Book

Gain Impressive Clinical Experiences for PA School Admission!

Finding meaningful PA shadowing opportunities and direct patient care experience has become increasingly difficult for pre-PA students. Even when students find PA shadowing opportunities, they often find themselves as passive bystanders, leaving little room for true learning.

Understand How PAs Think

Immerse yourself in a one-of-a-kind experience through our PA shadowing program, delving into the intricacies of clinical decision-making and gaining an insider's perspective on how PAs collaborate within a healthcare team.

Cultivate Clinical Reasoning Skills

Elevate your experience beyond passive observer by actively developing skills to make clinical decisions and distinguishing yourself from the average PA school applicant.

Accrue Meaningful Patient Care Hours

Get matched to a direct patient care experience in a clinic in your area where you get to work as part of a dynamic and supportive healthcare team while you accrue direct patient care experiences for PA school.

Services

Option 1

Interactive PA Shadowing Services

Meet Online with a PA: Participate in virtual sessions with expert PAs and navigate through sample patient cases designed for pre-PA students
Discuss the Case: Review each patient’s history, develop a differential diagnosis, and determine the physical exam and medical tests necessary for making a diagnosis along with a PA
Arrive at a Diagnosis and Plan: Review physical exam findings and test results to confirm the diagnosis and develop a plan for management
Cultivate Teamwork Skills: Learn how PAs collaborate with physicians in each patient case
Receive a Shadowing Certificate: After participation, obtain a certificate indicating the number of hours of shadowing and the nature of the experience

Option 2

Online PA Shadowing

Review Clinical Modules: Review a series of online video modules at your own pace observing PAs interact with sample patients
Learn to Approach Patients with Different Chief Complaints: Watch a PA discuss each case and explain the history taking, physical exam, and diagnostic tests ordered
Understand How PAs Interpret Clinical and Laboratory Findings: Watch the PA demonstrate in simple terms how to interpret the findings of the physical exam and diagnostic tests
Familiarize Yourself with Treatment Plans: Learn about treatment approaches to common medical conditions
Understand Social Determinants of Health: Learn how the PA takes into account and addresses social factors in providing treatments to patients
Receive a Shadowing Certificate: Receive a certificate indicating completion of the online shadowing module and the number of hours completed

Option 3

Direct Patient Care Experience Placement

Our Patient Care Experience Placement Service is a free service designed to help pre-PA students secure meaningful direct patient care experience (subject to availability):

Provide Details: Complete a questionnaire detailing your geographic location, prior healthcare experience, and availability
Wait for Review: Our dedicated team will review your details and match you with a clinic within our network of participating clinics based on your criteria
Gain Meaningful Patient Care Experience: Once placed, you will assume a pivotal role in direct patient care or healthcare, allowing you to accrue hours toward your PA school application

*Placement is subject to availability at participating clinics within our network

As part of our effort to make high-quality mentoring more accessible regardless of socioeconomic barriers, we provide scholarships and discounted pricing to individuals experiencing socioeconomic hardships. Please email us for more information.

Direct Patient Care Experience Placement Program

Take the first step towards securing a meaningful direct patient care experience by completing our direct patient care placement questionnaire. Once completed, our team will review your background and identify a participating clinic that matches your geographic or other requirements. Once matched with a clinic, you will interview with the clinic for possible placement.

"*" indicates required fields

First Name*

Last Name*

Email*

Date of Birth*

Phone*

City, State or Zip Code where you are seeking to gain direct patient care experience*

How many miles are you willing to travel for a direct patient care experience role?*

How many hours a day are you available to work?*

How many days a week are you available to work?*

For what period of time are you able to commit to working at a potential chosen health facility?*

When do you plan to apply to PA school (indicate month and year)?*

Date (or expected date) of graduation from college?*

College major?*

List any prior healthcare experience*

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

How Our Patient Placement Program Works

Leverage our Clinical Network: At Admissions Helpers, we are connected to a network of participating clinics across the United States that are looking for pre-PA students to serve in volunteer or paid capacities
Gain Valuable Direct Patient Care Experience for PA School: All clinics within our system have been vetted and provide opportunities that are acceptable by virtually all PA schools as direct patient care experience
Get Matched Based on Your Background: We place pre-PA students based on their background and how well their profile matches the needs of the clinic or health facilities within our network. Admissions Helpers does not guarantee placement and when placement is possible, there may be a wait time.

Benefits of Our PA Shadowing Program

Our PA shadowing program provides you with a more thorough understanding of the way PAs navigate clinical scenarios and make clinical decisions. By participating in our PA shadowing program, you will be able to:

Demonstrate Stronger Clinical Acumen in your direct patient care experiences, in-person PA shadowing opportunities, and clinical volunteer roles so you can impress the PAs and physicians you work with and receive superb letters of recommendation
Shine in Your PA School Application and PA school interviews by reflecting intelligently on patient care experiences in a way that shows a stronger clinical acumen than the average applicant
Gain In-Depth Clinical Exposure to the everyday work of PAs beyond just observing them without understanding the rationale behind their diagnostic and treatment approach

What Will I Gain from the Admissions Helpers PA Shadowing Program?

After successfully completing the PA shadowing program, you will learn:

How to take a basic medical history for common medical complaints like chest pain, abdominal pain, and headache.
Understand the purpose of basic laboratory tests ordered in clinical practice
Be able to interpret basic laboratory test findings and correlate them with clinical scenarios
Learn to interpret basic physical examination findings
Learn to come up with a differential diagnosis for common medical complaints and arrive at a diagnosis based on the history, diagnostic tests, and physical examination

Disclaimer: Different PA schools have different policies about online PA shadowing. Some may not accept online PA shadowing. We advise you to check the PA shadowing requirements for each school. Admissions Helpers does not guarantee that our online shadowing program will fulfill the PA shadowing requirements for all PA schools. Students who have previously completed our PA shadowing program have seen it help them in the PA school admissions process.

Our Students Have Been Accepted to Top PA Schools

Admissions Helpers and their team are a knowledgeable, thorough and insightful service that helped me to achieve my dream of getting into PA school. The admissions process can be overwhelming, but Admissions Helpers made feel supported and showed me how I could best convey my strengths. I am three months into my PA program and I am beyond grateful to AH.

— Ella Brownson

Admissions Helpers was so supportive and helped me realize my strengths and improve my weaknesses as an applicant. What I loved most was how dedicated and dependable my Admission Helpers counselor was. He helped me shape my ideas and get my thoughts onto paper in an eloquent way. I was accepted to my first choice PA program!

— Sophia Davis

The time period between applying for PA school to being accepted have been one of the most challenging times in my life and I am extremely grateful that I had Admission helpers in my corner. The team genuinely wanted me to succeed and got to know me on a personal level. Without admission helpers, I would not be here writing about my acceptance. Highly recommend this team.

— Alex Zhou

This is an incredible consulting agency with many different experienced consultants. I used this service to apply to PA school and was set up with different consultants who gave me an insight to the application process. All the communication was responsive and professional. I would highly recommend this service.

— Ryan F.

Admission Helpers and I began working together on my application six months prior to the opening of CASPA. Overall, Admissions Helpers assisted me in getting into my 1st choice school, and thus, I would like to thank them for all of their hard work in helping me achieve my dream.

— Jonathan Ruhl

I used admissions helpers for my physician assistant applications. My consultant was extremely helpful and insightful and taught me what PA schools are looking for. I started working with him early on, so I also got guidance on what work experience I would need to shape me into a top applicant. Thank you, admissions helpers!!!

— Jasmine N.

I called around to different services. By far, Admissions Helpers was the most personalized and invested in me. Other services were as much as 3x the cost and were more difficult to contact for information. I was insanely well prepared and if I could go back in time - I would sign up for the help all over again from Admissions Helpers.

— Cameron Owen

As a second time applicant, I found that Ali and his team at Admissions Helpers were superior to other advising groups and really supported the type of applicant that I wanted to be. They encouraged me, guided me, and gave priceless advice. I have been accepted to my dream PA program and I credit so much of this success to the help I received from Admissions Helpers.

— Sydney Baer

Admissions Helpers helped me make my application the best it possibly could be. Working with one individual the entire process was extremely beneficial because they knew my experience and always was able to pick back up where we left off. I highly recommend their services and wish everyone luck with their applications! I know the struggle but it'll be worth it!

— Shannon Walsh

I registered for Admissions Helpers concierge service. The team at Admissions Helpers helped me to evaluate my strategy for the coming cycle of applications and formulate a plan. Their team gave me excellent advice and multiple interview preparation sessions which helped me eventually gain ADMISSION to PA school! I would recommend this service to anyone who is applying to PA school.

— Joe Finkelstein

I never felt like I was being told what to say but rather was given feedback on better ways to present my own information. My consultant was always nice enough to call me or explain things in a way that helped take a lot of the pressure off. I could not think of a better company to work with than Admissions Helpers if you need help applying to school.

— Dana Weaver

I am so glad I chose to work with Admissions Helpers for my interview prep. They were incredibly flexible with my schedule and made sure I could fit in all the sessions I wanted. The PA I worked with was really personable and made me feel at ease. I went into my interview feeling extremely confident. Fortunately my interview went extremely well and I was accepted into my top school.

— Camryn Thompson

I had a wonderful experience working with this program! I got into one of my top PA school picks first time applying!

— Rosie Bryant

I had a great experience with Admissions Helpers. I was able to meet as needed with an advisor. He gave me tons of great feedback including all of the different ways I could improve my application. By the end I had a much more useful personal statement. I received two interview invites and was offered a spot in a PA program this year thanks to the use of Admissions Helpers!

— Adam P.

I have been out of school for a few years and was very nervous about going though the application process. Admission Helpers definitely made the process a lot easier and gave me a lot of great feedback.They also did not try to upsell me, they looked at what my individual needs were and made a plan that fit my needs.

— Travis Carignan

Making the phone call to Admissions Helpers was the best choice I could have made in my application process. From reviewing my CASPA, to detailed reviews of my personal statement and supplemental essays, to interview prep, they gave me the advice and confidence I needed to succeed. I am so thankful to Ali and Admissions Helpers!

— Payton Gentges

Preparing for PA school applications can be an extremely daunting task. Through the help of Admissions Helpers, I felt at ease throughout the entire process. I have been accepted to multiple programs and am excited to start PA school. Thank you for everything! I highly recommend Admissions Helpers to anyone that is applying to PA school!

— Madison Goe

I used their services for PA school applications and found it to be incredibly helpful. The coaches provides good insight & wisdom due to their experience and great constructive feedback. Everything I submitted was my own and I never felt pressured. They just helped me be more confident in my application, efficient with getting everything ready, and knowledgable.

— Whitney T

Find the Right Clinical Opportunity With the Help of Our Expert Team!