Patient care hours · Guide

Do shadowing hours count for PA school?

By The Prereq Club, a pre-PA student and her mom (not PAs or admissions advisers). Every program rule below names its source and the month we checked it: October 2026.

Short answer

At four of the five programs we checked, shadowing doesn't count as patient care experience, and only some programs require it. CASPA gives shadowing its own category. Albany, Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and UW MEDEX don't count shadowing toward their patient care hours, while Charleston Southern counts up to 200 shadowing or telehealth hours. Kean, Notre Dame of Maryland and West Chester set a minimum for PA shadowing (Kean also accepts work or volunteer experience with a PA, and West Chester lets you finish before you start).

What CASPA says

Shadowing is one of CASPA's nine experience types, separate from Patient Care Experience and Healthcare Experience. CASPA also says you "cannot repeat hours between experience types," so you can't enter the same hour under both Shadowing and Patient Care Experience. Each program decides how it counts your shadowing hours.

Programs that require shadowing

ProgramPA shadowing requiredNote
Kean University
page checked Oct 2026		20 hours"Minimum of 20 hours shadowing a Physician Assistant (or work/volunteer experience with a PA)"
Notre Dame of Maryland
2026–27 form		24 hours (its pages disagree)The 2026–27 hours form (posted July 2026) says 24; its older catalog page still says 40. Ask the program which applies to you.
West Chester University
page checked Oct 2026		4 hoursOr "communicate a plan" to finish before you start; more than 4 "will be viewed favorably." The page lists no cycle year, so confirm with the program.

Programs with no minimum hours

  • Albany Medical College: "We do not require any shadowing, but we recommend that all applicants shadow a PA to become familiar with the profession."
  • Rutgers (2026–27 cycle): no minimum hours, but applicants "must be able to demonstrate familiarity with the PA profession through direct experience, which is best done through shadowing." Working alongside a PA also counts.
  • USC Keck: not required and no minimum hours (per its FAQ), and its admissions page calls PA shadowing "highly preferred." Keck says virtual shadowing, such as telehealth, can count as shadowing.

Does shadowing count toward patient care hours?

ProgramShadowing toward patient care hours?
Albany Medical College
page checked Oct 2026		No: "Shadowing hours will not be counted toward PCE hours."
Duke
2026–27		No: "PA or physician observer or shadow" isn't accepted
UNC Chapel Hill
Jan 2027 entry cycle		No: "We do not accept shadowing hours"
UW MEDEX Northwest
2026–27		No: it "does not replace any required paid clinical time"
Charleston Southern
page checked Oct 2026		Up to 200 hours (shadowing a PA, NP, MD or DO and/or telehealth, one shared cap); its page also lists shadowing as health-related experience, so confirm with the program

Examples, not a ranking. Rules can change from one cycle to the next, so check each program's own page and note the date you checked.

If you're planning shadowing, do this

  1. Shadow a PA specifically. The required hours above are PA shadowing, not physician shadowing.
  2. Get each PA to sign off. Notre Dame of Maryland, for example, has the PA you shadowed sign a form you upload to CASPA.
  3. Log shadowing separately from patient care, with dates, hours and the PA's name.
  4. Check whether virtual shadowing is accepted before you count it. USC Keck accepts it; other programs may not say.

Free: the Patient Care Hours Starter Kit. A 3-step check for whether a job counts at your schools, CASPA's categories on one page, and a simple hours log. Built from the same program pages as this guide.

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Quick answers

Do shadowing hours count as patient care experience?

Not at most programs we checked. CASPA lists shadowing as its own category, and Albany, Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and UW MEDEX don't count it toward patient care hours. Charleston Southern is an exception: it counts up to 200 shadowing or telehealth hours.

How many shadowing hours do PA programs require?

Of six programs we checked for a shadowing rule, three set a minimum (Kean 20 hours, West Chester 4, and Notre Dame of Maryland 24 on its 2026–27 form, 40 on its catalog page), and three set no minimum (Albany and USC Keck recommend it; Rutgers expects familiarity with the PA role, best done through shadowing).

Sources (all opened October 2026)

Rules can change from one cycle to the next. Before you count on any of this, check each program's own admissions page or email the program. This guide is educational only and isn't admissions advice.