Admissions Prerequisites

Note: Advanced standing or credit for experimental learning is not available for any course required as part of the professional curriculum.

Successful candidates for admission must meet the following general criteria:

1. The candidate must be at least 21 years of age.
2. The candidate must submit a completed application available only on the web at www.rrcc.edu/pa, which includes an essay and reference forms to be considered (Application will be available from May 1st until December 19th each year).
3. The candidate must be able to appear for a personal interview if selected.
4. The candidate shall not have been convicted of a felony criminal offense, or of any criminal offense regardless of its designation as a felony or misdemeanor which involved a crime of moral turpitude or a crime against children.
5. Before matriculation, any candidate offered admission shall produce evidence of current basic CPR certification and immunization to or freedom from specific common communicable diseases and must pay for a complete background check as required by Program policy.

Successful candidates for admission must meet the following academic criteria:

1. The candidate must have completed a minimum of 90 semester credit hours at a regionally accredited institution of higher education. The most recent 45 semester credit hours of UNDERGRADUATE coursework must be completed with a minimum grade point of 3.0. No master's level coursework for GPA will be considered.
   1. The following courses must have been completed successfully with a grade of C or better prior to December 19th:
      1. College Algebra or higher mathematics, no fewer than 3 semester hours;
      2. English Electives, no fewer than 6 semester hours;
      3. Human Anatomy and Physiology, no fewer than 6 semester hours;
      4. Microbiology, no fewer than 3 semester hours and must be at the 200 level;
      5. Introduction to Statistics, no fewer than 3 semester hours;
      6. General College Chemistry, and one semester of either organic chemistry or biochemistry which must be at the 200 level, no fewer than 10 semester hours (however to fulfill this requirement, many applicants have far more credits).
      7. Psychology and social science electives, no fewer than 6 semester hours
      8. General College Biology, must be a major course and must include lab, no fewer than 4 credits.

Successful candidates for admission must meet the following experiential criteria:

1. Candidates must have documented at least 2,000 hours of direct patient contact in a health care setting
1. Experience must be paid and must have been documented within the last five (5) years. No paid experiences will be considered if over 5 years has passed since it was completed. No volunteer experiences will be considered. In addition, the following jobs will NOT be considered as direct patient contact; vet tech or veterinarian, pharmacy tech, any type of front office assistant, anyone assisting with the home care of a relative, massage therapist unless you are working directly in a clinic or hospital. These are examples only. If you have questions about your health experience, please contact the program.
2. Among the health care professions that meet the requirements of patient contact are:
   1. Pharmacist
   2. EMT, basic, intermediate or paramedic
   3. Registered or licensed practical nurse
   4. Respiratory therapist
   5. Certified nurse's aid
   6. Medical office assistant with direct patient care responsibility
   7. Radiographic technologist
   8. Surgical technologist
   9. Physical therapist
   10. Medical technologist or medical laboratory technician
   11. Occupational therapist
   12. Exercise physiologist
   13. Audiologist
3. Other health care experience may meet the standards of direct patient contact acceptable to the Program for this prerequisite. The determination of acceptable prior patient experience shall be made on a case-by-case basis by the Chair of the Admissions Committee for the Program.
4. In making such determinations, the Chair of the Admissions Committee uses the following three questions; an affirmative answer to any of these questions shall create the presumption that the candidate's patient contact is acceptable for consideration for admission:
   1. Did the candidate's direct patient contact involve verbal and physical interaction with sick and injured human beings?
   2. Was there a requirement that the candidate use independent judgment or carry out complex orders of medical or nursing personnel with respect to the care of sick or injured human beings?
   3. Was there a requirement for special knowledge or training to carry out the candidate's duties with respect to the care of sick or injured human beings?
2. All candidates including international must submit application materials in accordance with program requirements.
   1. International candidates whose primary language is other than English shall be required to take the TOEFL test of English proficiency. A paper-base score of no less than 600 or its computer-based equivalent shall be required for admission to the Program.
   
   
3. Admissions deadlines
   1. Each class matriculates in August of each year, all required materials must be submitted to the program no later than December 19th each year.
   2. The Program will not consider materials submitted after December 19th.
   3. Materials postmarked by December 19th shall be considered to have been submitted in a timely manner.
   4. Only applications which are in every respect completed within these time limits shall be considered.

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