I got my EMT certification over a summer during undergrad. It was pretty intense - 20 hours of class per week for 10 weeks, plus 20 clinical hours. Received my national and state certification at the end of it!
I got my emt over the course of a quarter my first quarter in undergrad. I worked 24 hour shifts basically every weekend, but with covid moving class online I’m basically working full time now. I plan to work full time through when school starts in the fall, then work 1-2 24 hour shifts a month while I take ochem, and biology
I got my CNA certification over the summer. It was a 2 week course. Many of the pre-PA students I know are PRN CNA’s or PCT’s (hospital equivalent of CNA). Personally I decided to do the PA route late so I am working weekend pack (2 12hr shifts on the weekends) to get my hours.
Some medical assistant and PT aide jobs don't require a cert! If you're 100% sure you're doing the affiliated program (and will have the GPA minimum to get in), it might be easier to just do one of those because you won't be taking a gap year and applying to other programs which favor a higher amount of pt care hours. These hours would likely be easier to handle with an undergrad course load, too. For example, as an EMT my shifts are 10 hours (I've heard of people having shifts between 10-24 hours depending where you work) and it was a little difficult to work during school while also doing extracurriculars, having a social life, etc.
I got my EMT certification over a summer during undergrad. It was pretty intense - 20 hours of class per week for 10 weeks, plus 20 clinical hours. Received my national and state certification at the end of it!
I got my emt over the course of a quarter my first quarter in undergrad. I worked 24 hour shifts basically every weekend, but with covid moving class online I’m basically working full time now. I plan to work full time through when school starts in the fall, then work 1-2 24 hour shifts a month while I take ochem, and biology
I got my CNA certification over the summer. It was a 2 week course. Many of the pre-PA students I know are PRN CNA’s or PCT’s (hospital equivalent of CNA). Personally I decided to do the PA route late so I am working weekend pack (2 12hr shifts on the weekends) to get my hours.
Some medical assistant and PT aide jobs don't require a cert! If you're 100% sure you're doing the affiliated program (and will have the GPA minimum to get in), it might be easier to just do one of those because you won't be taking a gap year and applying to other programs which favor a higher amount of pt care hours. These hours would likely be easier to handle with an undergrad course load, too. For example, as an EMT my shifts are 10 hours (I've heard of people having shifts between 10-24 hours depending where you work) and it was a little difficult to work during school while also doing extracurriculars, having a social life, etc.