School of Health Promotion & Human Performance

Clinical experience/health care hours are defined as:

• Time spent directly participating in hands-on patient care
• Directly observing interaction between health care providers and patients
• Health care-related interactions with providers

Clinical experience/health care hours are preferred but not required. Preference is given to candidates with direct patient care experiences, particularly nurses or corpsmen with higher levels of patient interaction and medical decision-making. Preference is also given to those with greater hours of experience. Experience/hours obtained outside of the United States health care system or older than 10 years at the time of application are not considered.

While volunteer work in a medical setting and student internships provide valuable experiences, they are not considered in the calculation of an applicant's clinical experience hours.

Approved and Disapproved Experiences

• Approved experiences include, but are not limited to:

  • Athletic trainer
  • Behavioral therapist or technician
  • Chiropractor or assistant
  • Clinical laboratory technician
  • Dental assistant or hygienist
  • Dietitian
  • Emergency medical or room technician
  • Exercise stress test technician
  • Laboratory technologist (medical lab tests)
  • Medical assistant, interpreter or scribe
  • Mental health therapist
  • Military medical/clinical specialist
  • Nursing assistant or aide
  • Nurse
  • Occupational therapist or assistant
  • Ophthalmic/optometrist assistant
  • Paramedic
  • Patient care technician
  • Personal care or home care: bathing, grooming and assisting with activities of daily living (accepted only if provided through an agency)
  • Pharmaceutical or medical device representative
  • Pharmacist or pharmacy technician
  • Phlebotomist
  • Physical therapist or assistant
  • Radiological technician/technologist
  • Researcher or research assistant (must involve direct patient interaction involving healthcare issues, such as discussing medication doses and side effects)
  • Respiratory therapist
  • Social work (clinical focus)
  • Surgical technician
  • Veterinary technician or assistant

• Disapproved examples include, but are not limited to:

  • Aerobics instructor
  • Companionship or respite care
  • Lifeguard
  • Hospital greeter
  • Massage therapist
  • Medical office secretary or other clerical/non-clinical positions
  • Patient transporter
  • Personal care or home care: bathing, grooming and assisting with activities of daily living (accepted only if provided through an agency)
  • Personal care of a friend/relative
  • Personal trainer
  • Researcher or research assistant (non-medical or not directly clinically related)
  • Shadowing
  • Sitter or patient sitter

Evaluation and Preference

Enter your clinical experience/health care hours on the CASPA application (read the CASPA Quick Start Guide for information related to documenting experiences). You are not required to send documentation directly to the program unless otherwise instructed. The EMU PA program will review the CASPA application and determine if the experiences are approved. Please note, the EMU PA program may also verify whether or not the information entered on the CASPA application is accurate.

Preference in the application evaluation process is given to candidates with direct patient care experiences, particularly those requiring specific training, high-level, medical decision-making and/or registration/licensure.

The highest category, "professional provider," includes registered nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists and medical corpsmen (armed forces).

The next category, "technician," includes radiology technicians, physical therapists, athletic trainers, social workers, patient care technicians, physical therapy assistants, dental assistants, CNAs, medical scribes and others.

Preference in the application evaluation process is also given to candidates who have completed a greater number of clinical experience hours.

Questions?

Email [email protected] with your position title and description of specific duties.