What do you do to become a Physician's Assistant (PA?

I want to become a physicians assistant, help please! i need advice?

• okay, so i've recently decided that i wanted to go to school to become a PA. before this, i wanted a degree in nursing. My grades are all A's & B's, but i never really applied myself to try to make an A in every single class. but now that i've decided to go to PA school i really wish i would've. i know that being accepted to a graduate program for PAs isn't based on high school whatsoever, only what i do & my grades while i'm getting my bachelor's degree. so i know that i have to get into a school that offers the undergrad degree to become a physicians assistant. so is it bad that i didn't fully apply myself? i'm really motivated & determined now, as i've matured & got older. i'm retaking my ACT this summer, but i'm knocking out some basic classes at a local community college for a year before transferring off. i need some advice please, i'm really wanting to become a PA! do i need to be a super genius? i'm not, but i am capable of almost anything because when i need to crack down & do my work i come out with an A. i'm nervous now, & i'm really hoping that i haven't screwed things up. help please!

• Answer:

  PA is a grad level profession. You need a bachelor's degree first, but whether you get it at a university that happens to have a PA program is irrelevant. Yes, it's bad that you didn't fully apply yourself. Did you think it would be good? You will need to be very smart. It is incredibly competitive. You also need a ton of patient contact hours. http://paprogram.medicine.uiowa.edu/Site/admissions.html "For the class admitted in 2011, the successful applicant averaged a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.70 on 139 semester hours of college credit, a science GPA of 3.68 on 73 semester hours, an average of 2,776 hours of health care and 589 hours of research experience, and the following GRE scores: verbal = 509, quantitative = 662, and written (analytical) = 4.4."