6 Healthcare Jobs to Get Patient Care Hours for PA School
6 Healthcare Jobs to Get Patient Care Hours for PA School
By: Savanna Perry, PA-C
Strong patient care experience is one of the biggest things that sets PA school applicants apart, and the fastest way to build it is to get a hands-on healthcare job. Six of the best options are EMT or paramedic, certified medical assistant, certified nursing assistant, emergency room tech, physical therapy aide, and registered nurse.
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Why does patient care experience matter so much?
Getting into PA school is genuinely competitive. In one CASPA data report, PA programs received around 18,510 unique applications in a single year, and fewer than 30 percent of applicants were accepted.
So what separates a great candidate from a good one? Of course strong grades, test scores, and volunteering matter, but for many programs the differentiator is hands-on patient care experience. It shows you have spent real time with patients and understand what you are signing up for.
That is why one of the best things you can do to set yourself up for success is to start working in healthcare. The roles below are some of the best options for aspiring PAs to rack up the patient care or healthcare hours programs want to see, and several of them let you start accruing hours relatively quickly.
Which entry-level jobs build hours quickly?
A few roles get you into patient contact without years of additional schooling.
EMT or paramedic: EMTs are entry-level providers who complete roughly 120-150 hours of training and specialize in emergency care, often outside the hospital. Paramedics start as EMTs and complete 300 plus additional hours to reach a more advanced scope.
- Certified medical assistant (CMA): Training usually takes about a year, though some positions offer shorter on-the-job training. CMAs take vitals, give injections, and assist with procedures in settings from private practice to hospitals.
- Certified nursing assistant (CNA): One of the best-known routes. CNA training requires at least 160 hours of theory and lab work plus supervised clinical training before you pass a certification exam. Some facilities even hire and fund training for non-certified candidates.
- Emergency room tech: ER techs are often CNAs or EMTs working in a hospital ER, assisting nurses and physicians and seeing a wide variety of cases on every shift.
Speaking from our coaching work, the students who panic about needing hundreds or thousands of patient care hours are usually the ones who have not started yet. Once you land one of these roles, the hours add up faster than you expect, and the experience makes your application and your interviews much stronger. Pick the path that fits your timeline and finances, then start logging hours and keeping good records from day one.
What about physical therapy aide and registered nurse roles?
Two more options are worth a look, depending on your timeline and goals.
Physical therapy aides work under the supervision of physical therapists. Assistants generally need to be licensed, while aides can often work with just a high school diploma. Some PA programs count this as direct, hands-on patient care experience and some do not, so always check your target programs before counting on it.
Registered nurse (RN) is the biggest commitment but comes with real advantages. An RN holds either an associate degree (ADN) or a bachelor of science (BSN) and has passed the NCLEX-RN exam. Nursing tends to pay more than the other roles, which lets you save while accruing hours. Becoming an RN usually takes two to four years, but if you already hold a bachelor's degree, an accelerated BSN program can take around 15 months once your prerequisites are done. Some RNs ultimately choose PA school over an NP or DNP because they prefer the medical model or want more clinical training.
Every Pre-PA Should Know...
One year of full-time work is roughly 2,000 hours, so a single year in a hands-on role can put a serious dent in even the highest program requirements.
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Listen: The Intersection of Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant Careers
Still torn between PT and PA? Go talk to someone who actually does the other job.
Still torn between PT and PA? Go talk to someone who actually does the other job.
Matt is a traveling physical therapist, and I brought him on because so many of you are weighing a couple of healthcare paths at the same time. He breaks down what PT school asked of him, what his work really looks like, and why he chose travel assignments.
What we talk about
How Matt landed on physical therapy
PT school requirements compared to PA school requirements
What a physical therapist actually does all day
How traveling positions work
The upsides and the tradeoffs of travel healthcare
Getting real exposure to a career before you commit to it
Resources
Follow The Pre-PA Club: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · All episodes
Listen: Cardiac Sonographer to PA School: An Interview with Sophia
Her first cycle failed over transcripts. Not grades. Transcripts.
Her first cycle failed over transcripts. Not grades. Transcripts.
Sophia Moresco is a cardiac sonographer who spent her days doing echos before starting PA school at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady in Baton Rouge. That hands-on time with cardiac patients gave her a kind of experience most applicants don't have, and it showed up all over her application.
Her first application cycle didn't go anywhere, and the reason is one I see constantly: her transcripts weren't complete when she submitted. CASPA verification is unforgiving about this, and it can cost you a whole year. She fixed it, reapplied, and came back with multiple interview offers.
If you're in a specialized tech or imaging role and wondering whether it counts, this is your episode.
What we cover
Working as a cardiac sonographer before PA school
How echo experience shaped her application
Why her first cycle didn't work out
The transcript mistake that delayed her a year
Reapplying and landing multiple interviews
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady's PA program
Resources
Follow The Pre-PA Club: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · All episodes
Listen: PT to PA - Interview with Ashley
Ashley already had a doctorate. She's going back to school anyway.
Ashley already had a doctorate. She's going back to school anyway.
She's a traveling physical therapist, and she loves patient care - she just wanted more of it. More autonomy, more of the medical decision-making, more say in what happens next. So she started working on PA prereqs while working full time and moving around the country.
We talk honestly about the money side, because going back to school when you already have a career and student loans is a genuinely different calculation than doing it at 22. She's clear-eyed about it. I'm not a financial advisor, and nothing here is financial advice, but hearing someone talk through the tradeoff out loud helps.
Her PT background is a real asset on an application. Years of hands-on patient care, documentation, working with physicians. She knows how to talk about it, and that's half the battle.
What we cover
Why PT wasn't enough and what pushed her toward PA
Knocking out prereqs while working full time as a traveler
The financial reality of going back to school mid-career
Getting support from her workplace during the process
Using PT experience as patient care hours on CASPA
Researching program prerequisites before you waste a semester
Resources
Follow The Pre-PA Club: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · All episodes
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Need to Know:
Patient care experience is a top differentiator for PA school applicants
EMT training runs about 120-150 hours; CNA training is at least 160 hours
CMA certification usually takes about a year, sometimes less with on-the-job training
ER tech roles expose you to a wide range of cases on every shift
Confirm whether your target programs accept PT aide hours as direct patient care
RN is the longest path but pays more; accelerated BSN can take about 15 months
FAQ
Patient care experience generally means hands-on roles where you directly care for patients, such as EMT, CNA, medical assistant, ER tech, or RN. Always confirm how each program defines it.
Requirements vary widely, but many programs look for 1,000 or more hours, and competitive applicants often have more. Check each program for specifics.
EMT and CNA roles have relatively short training (roughly 120-160 hours), so they are among the quickest ways to start accruing patient care hours.
Some programs accept PT aide experience as direct patient care and some do not, so look up your target schools before relying on it.
It can be. RN roles pay more and provide strong clinical experience, but the path is longer. An accelerated BSN may help if you already have a bachelor's degree.
Log them as you go in an organized record with dates, settings, and totals, so your information is ready to enter into CASPA when you apply.
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Those Hours Are More Doable Than They Look
Big patient care hour requirements look intimidating, but they are very doable once you get a hands-on job and start logging time. Choose the role that fits your situation, keep careful records, and watch your hours grow. If you want help deciding which path fits your application, a Pre-PA counseling session can help you build a plan.
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Healthcare Experience for PA School
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