Clinical Experience Prerequisites

Applicants must have no less than one (1) year – equivalent to 2,000 hours – of paid, recent experience. We strongly recommend applying with 4,000 hours (2 years) clinical experience to be more competitive.

Experience in the direct delivery of medical care to patients must be completed by the application deadline to be eligible to apply in the current admission cycle.

All clinical experience hours must be entered into the CASPA application to be considered for meeting the clinical experience requirement. MEDEX uses the CASPA application and job descriptions entered for each position held to help us determine what will and may not qualify. Please note: Hours accrued after the application deadline will not be considered.

Experience must be from paid position(s) and not volunteer work. The only exception is work as a paramedic or EMT when all emergency services are provided only on an all-volunteer basis. Clinical experience gained through a training program, as a student, does not count toward satisfying the 2,000-hour paid requirement.

MEDEX Northwest strongly encourages spending time shadowing physician assistants. Shadowing experience is valuable in adding an understanding of the PA role in healthcare and expands the understanding of primary care. Shadowing experience is a great way to supplement experience but does not replace any required paid clinical time.

Commonly accepted clinical experience:

The experiences listed below are commonly considered as contributing to the 2,000-hour clinical prerequisite, however the competitiveness of any experience is dependent upon the development of hands-on medical skills, clinical judgment, and critical thinking.

Not all accepted clinical experiences are listed below. MEDEX evaluates the job descriptions entered into CASPA to determine the qualifications and strength of the clinical experiences of all applicants. Please note: job descriptions for clinical experiences are required in CASPA application to qualify an experience.

Military Medicine

  • Healthcare Specialist
  • Corpsman
  • Medical Technician
  • Combat Medic
  • Other Military Medicine Experiences

Emergency Medicine

  • Paramedic
  • EMT
  • Emergency Room/Department Technician (ER/ED Tech)
  • Other Emergency Medicine Experiences

Nursing Fields

  • Registered Nurse (RN)
  • Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
  • Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
  • Other Nursing Experiences

Medical Assistants

  • Hospital
  • Primary Care
  • Specialty Practice Clinics

Allied Health Technicians

  • Surgical Technician/Assistant
  • Patient Care Technician
  • Medical/Lab Technician
  • X-Ray/Radiology Technician
  • Anesthesia Technician
  • Respiratory Technician
  • Pharmacy Technician
  • Dental Assistant/Hygienist
  • Other Allied Health Technician Experiences

Athletic/Rehabilitation Practitioners

  • Athletic Trainer
  • Physical Therapist (PT)
  • Physical Therapy Assistant/Aide
  • Rehabilitation Technician
  • Exercise Physiologist
  • Other Athletic or Rehabilitation Experiences

Additional Acceptable Positions

  • International Medical Graduate (IMG)
  • Community health aide/practitioner (CHA/CHP)
  • Mental Health Counselor or Technician
  • Clinical Research
  • Phlebotomist
  • Dietician/Nutritionist
  • Scribe *Must be in patient care room (not telemedicine), and work directly with the provider to deliver scribing services

While these allied health fields may meet the clinical prerequisite, they are also considered specialized.

The positions that will NOT fulfill the MEDEX clinical prerequisite include:

Anything Administrative in Nature

  • Medical Billing
  • Medical Records
  • Transcriptionist
  • Scheduler
  • Receptionist
  • Front Office Medical Assistant
  • Health Educator

Strictly Assisting with Activities of Daily Living

  • Caregiver
  • Caretaker
  • Nursing Assistant
  • Personal Care Attendant

Unpaid/Training

  • Volunteer Position
  • Intern/Extern
  • Medical Mission Experience
  • Research for Academic Credit
  • Clinical Student/Rotations
  • Shadowing

No Patient Contact or Hands-on Care

  • Bench Lab Work
  • Non-Clinical Research/Data Collection
  • Transporter
  • Interpreter

Veterinary Technician