DPC Experience

To get into PA school, an applicant must have anywhere from a minimum of 200 to 2,000 direct patient care hours. These clinical hour requirements vary greatly depending on the program, so you will need to check each program's

website for exact information. More competitive applications are recommended to have 1000+ DPC hours.

A brief list of what PA programs often look for in your clinical skill toolbox: taking vitals, transferring patients, performing

EKGs and diagnostics, ambulating patients (among other ADLs), drawing blood, administering prescribed therapy or treatments, and counseling, to name a few.

Below, we have outlined which healthcare jobs/roles fit in each category, following CASPA's guidelines.

Direct Patient Care (DPC) defined as:

Paid work involving physical contact with a patient in a healthcare setting.

Jobs include:

Patient Care Technician/Assistant
EMT
CNA
Physical Therapist
Phlebotomist
Athletic Trainer
Mental Health Worker
Substance Dependency Counselor
Dentist
Dental Assistant
Paramedic
Military Medic/Corpsman
Registered Nurse
Surgical/OR Tech
Radiology Technician
PT/OT Assistant
Medical research with human subjects
Medical Assisting*

*often considered DPC by schools as long as it includes clinical duties instead of administrative

Healthcare experience (HCE) defined as:

Both paid and unpaid work in a health or health-related field where you are not directly responsible for a patient's care but may still have patient interaction.

Jobs include:

Medical Assistant whose role is scribing
Medical Scribe
Home Health Aide
PT/OT assistant if not hands-on
Patient transporter
Pharmacy Technician
Any volunteer work relating to healthcare would be put under the "Volunteer" section in your CASPA application

*Hours spent in training/acquiring a certification DO NOT count towards DPC or HCE

Don't forget to take advantage of Tufts Pre-Health Professions Advising as you begin to look and apply for healthcare-related jobs and volunteer opportunities!