Anatomy & Physiology

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum. I've been reading a lot of posts and getting a lot of great information that will help me in my quest to become a PA.

I have a few questions. My first question is: Does anyone out there knows of a good school that offers Anatomy & Physiology online and if it's accepted by PA schools. I took A&P a few years ago and did well in it (my grade was an A). But that was awhile ago and I'd like to take a refresher course before starting PA school.

I'm applying to a few PA programs in the Spring and Fall. I'm about three courses short of a Bachelors degree. I attended an acupuncture school that upon completion I was to receive a BS in Health Sciences and a Masters in acupuncture. But half way through my program, my school lost it's accreditation, however, I was able to graduate through a teach-out program and I ended up with a diploma in acupuncture instead. My second question is, Does anyone know of anyone that's made the transition from acupuncturist to PA? Does anyone know if being an acupuncturist for the last 5 years increase my chances of getting into PA school?

Hi John,

If you are taking A&P for credit, there are no online courses that exist, you will need to find an accredited school that offers it for credit (community colleges are great places for that)...You might find a class that has an online lecture with an in-class lab. However, if you are just taking it for your own personal education, just google online A&P and you will probably find a few companies offering it, just know that it will definitely not count for credit. If your goal is just to refresh, I'd recommend getting a textbook and going over it yourself...much cheaper!

If you go to www.physicianassistantforum.com/forums/ you will find some people who started as acupuncturists.

john howard in Germantown, Maryland said: Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum. I've been reading a lot of posts and getting a lot of great information that will help me in my quest to become a PA.

I have a few questions. My first question is: Does anyone out there knows of a good school that offers Anatomy & Physiology online and if it's accepted by PA schools. I took A&P a few years ago and did well in it (my grade was an A). But that was awhile ago and I'd like to take a refresher course before starting PA school.

I'm applying to a few PA programs in the Spring and Fall. I'm about three courses short of a Bachelors degree. I attended an acupuncture school that upon completion I was to receive a BS in Health Sciences and a Masters in acupuncture. But half way through my program, my school lost it's accreditation, however, I was able to graduate through a teach-out program and I ended up with a diploma in acupuncture instead. My second question is, Does anyone know of anyone that's made the transition from acupuncturist to PA? Does anyone know if being an acupuncturist for the last 5 years increase my chances of getting into PA school?

Hi,
Are you interested in working in Alternative Medicine or mainstream medical practices?

I found this really interesting site about USMLE examinations. Truckloads of information about USMLE prep that I did not know about ! usmle-usmle.org

Hi John,

I am currently making the transition from acupuncturist to PA. I would be happy to answer whatever questions you have about this.

john howard in Germantown, Maryland said: Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum. I've been reading a lot of posts and getting a lot of great information that will help me in my quest to become a PA.

I have a few questions. My first question is: Does anyone out there knows of a good school that offers Anatomy & Physiology online and if it's accepted by PA schools. I took A&P a few years ago and did well in it (my grade was an A). But that was awhile ago and I'd like to take a refresher course before starting PA school.

I'm applying to a few PA programs in the Spring and Fall. I'm about three courses short of a Bachelors degree. I attended an acupuncture school that upon completion I was to receive a BS in Health Sciences and a Masters in acupuncture. But half way through my program, my school lost it's accreditation, however, I was able to graduate through a teach-out program and I ended up with a diploma in acupuncture instead. My second question is, Does anyone know of anyone that's made the transition from acupuncturist to PA? Does anyone know if being an acupuncturist for the last 5 years increase my chances of getting into PA school?

Miriam in Forest Grove, Oregon said: Hi John,

I am currently making the transition from acupuncturist to PA. I would be happy to answer whatever questions you have about this.

Do you plan on incorporating acupuncture in your practice as a PA or transition entirely? I am contemplating whether or not it is possible, or advantageous rather, to incorporate acupuncture in PA practice.

I imagine it would help, cause you obviously have the skills to get through a four year school of acupuncture, and I am sure that PA school is easier than acupuncture school. Acupuncture school is quite a bit of nonsense when it comes to tongue and pulse and all the xtra crap they have you learn for becoming a simple acupuncturist. So, becoming a PA would be much easier, and the schools that you apply to would most likely recognize you as an intelligent and very very worthy person of a simple 2-3 year PA program,..I was going to ask you why dont you consider becomeing an MD, or a DO, it would suite you better. Let me know what you think about my response.. I am in your same boat, I am an acupunctirst thinking about Medical school, or perhaps the PA program.

Hit me up on here,

Thanks!

Martin

Jef in Pharr, Texas said: Do you plan on incorporating acupuncture in your practice as a PA or transition entirely? I am contemplating whether or not it is possible, or advantageous rather, to incorporate acupuncture in PA practice.

Hi Jef,

Sorry for the late reply. I didn't even realize you had asked a question.

Yes, right now my plan is definitely to incorporate acupuncture into my practice. The logistics as to *how* to do it, however, is something I haven't worked out quite yet.

martin in Whittier, California said: I imagine it would help, cause you obviously have the skills to get through a four year school of acupuncture, and I am sure that PA school is easier than acupuncture school. Acupuncture school is quite a bit of nonsense when it comes to tongue and pulse and all the xtra crap they have you learn for becoming a simple acupuncturist. So, becoming a PA would be much easier, and the schools that you apply to would most likely recognize you as an intelligent and very very worthy person of a simple 2-3 year PA program,..I was going to ask you why dont you consider becomeing an MD, or a DO, it would suite you better. Let me know what you think about my response.. I am in your same boat, I am an acupunctirst thinking about Medical school, or perhaps the PA program.

Hit me up on here,

Thanks!

Martin

Hi Martin,

So far I can definitely say the didactic portion of the program was challenging only in the volume of information that was thrown our way. The depth and breadth of information, however, wasn't an issue. What I discovered was that my TCM training actually had prepared me very well in terms of a solid Western medical background, and that most of the information was review with some more depth.

So to answer your question of why not MD or DO? Two main reasons:
1)time commitment. I am 35 and still want to start a family. The amount of time that it would take me to go through a full medical program is quite likely prohibitive to my desires to have biological children.

2) I like the idea of the logistics of running a practice being someone else's headache. I am a good clinician but a terrible business person. I discovered this in private practice. I don't like dealing with the day-to-day of marketing, advertising, etc. As a PA working in someone else's practice I can focus more of my time to practicing medicine and less to the business logistics.

I hope this is helpful. :)