Will your hours actually count?
Get the free Patient Care Hours Starter Kit. Find out which jobs count at your PA schools before you spend a dollar or a semester on the wrong one.
6 printable pages + a spreadsheet that adds up your hours
What's inside
☑ Patient care vs. healthcare vs. shadowing
The three buckets CASPA uses, in plain words, and why the same job can land in different buckets at different schools.
☑ The 3-step check
Will this job count at my schools? Plus what six programs said and an email to copy.
☑ Before you pay for a certification
A 5-step check, plus quick facts on CNA, EMT, medical assistant and phlebotomy.
☑ A printable hours log
Every field CASPA asks for, so you aren't rebuilding two years of hours from memory.
☑ Your first 30 days
A week-by-week checklist to go from zero hours to your first job or shadowing ask.
☑ Bonus: the spreadsheet
Works in Google Sheets or Excel. Totals your hours by type and tracks each school's rules.
TikTok said
"Scribing counts as patient care."
Truth is
It depends on the school. CASPA itself lists scribing as healthcare experience. Duke counts in-person scribing, UW MEDEX only in the patient room, and Quinnipiac only if the work is mostly hands-on. The kit shows you how to check yours.
Who we are
A pre-PA student and her mom. Not PAs.
We're going through this right now. We read the program pages, the CASPA rules and the fine print, and share what we find with the sources, so you can check it yourself.
it's okay to start late. start organized.
Educational guide, not admissions advice; no guarantee of admission. Requirements change every cycle, so confirm with each program. Last verified October 2026. © 2026 The Prereq Club
