To describe shadowing abroad in CASPA, enter it under the Shadowing experience type, give accurate dates and average weekly hours, name a supervisor who can verify it and write a description that says what you observed rather than what you did. Observation in a hospital abroad is shadowing in most cases, not patient care, and your entry should read that way.
This guide covers the CASPA fields, how to word an observation-based entry, and two worked examples. If you are still sorting out the difference between categories, start with our guide to patient care vs healthcare experience, which sets out CASPA’s definitions in detail.
Choosing the CASPA Category
Which Type Fits Observation Abroad?
CASPA lists several experience types. Three matter most for clinical time, and CASPA’s Experiences help page defines each one:
| CASPA type | CASPA’s definition | Where observation abroad fits |
|---|---|---|
| Shadowing | Time spent officially following and observing a health care professional at work; the page prefers PA settings | The usual home for hospital observation abroad |
| Healthcare Experience | Paid or unpaid work where you are not directly responsible for a patient’s care, but may still have patient interaction | Only if you held a defined role in a health setting |
| Patient Care Experience | Experiences in which you are directly responsible for a patient’s care | Not observation; reserved for roles where you carry out care |
The key words are “directly responsible.” If you watched clinicians examine and treat patients, you were observing, so the entry belongs under Shadowing. CASPA also notes that experiences are not guaranteed to be accepted by every program, so check how each of your programs treats international shadowing.
What CASPA Asks For in Each Entry
According to CASPA’s help page, each experience entry includes:
- Experience type, chosen from a drop-down list
- Title of the experience
- Dates, and whether the experience is current
- Description and key responsibilities
- Time commitment, entered as the average weekly hours you completed
- Organization information
- Supervisor information, described as a person programs can contact to verify the experience occurred
- Release authorization, a yes or no that lets programs contact the organization
CASPA’s page does not state a character limit for the description, so write for clarity rather than length. Three to five concise sentences usually cover the setting, what you observed and what you learned.
Can You Split One Program Across Categories?
Only when the work genuinely differed. CASPA says you cannot repeat hours between experience types. If one placement truly mixed categories, enter it in each one and divide the hours and duties honestly. CASPA’s own example splits a 40-hour position into 10 hours of research and 30 of patient care. For a typical observation program, that split rarely applies: hospital observation is shadowing, and a separate research project could be research.
Observed vs Performed: Choosing the Right Verbs
The most common mistake in an international shadowing entry is wording that implies you performed care. Programs read verbs closely. Use verbs that match observation.
| Avoid when you observed | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Treated patients | Observed physicians treating patients |
| Assisted with procedures | Watched procedures from an observer position |
| Diagnosed common conditions | Followed how clinicians reached diagnoses |
| Provided patient education | Observed how clinicians explained care plans |
| Managed patients | Followed patients across ward rounds |
If you did perform a task, such as recording vital signs where a department allowed it under supervision, name that task exactly and keep the rest of the entry as observation. Do not let one permitted task turn a shadowing entry into patient care.
Worked Example 1: Hospital Shadowing in Kenya
The example below is fictional and labeled as such. Change every detail to match what you actually did.
Experience type: Shadowing Title: Pre-PA hospital shadowing, Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital Average weekly hours: your actual average from your signed log
Description (fictional example): Observed physicians and clinical officers in the emergency department and maternity ward at a public teaching hospital in Mombasa, Kenya, during a four-week supervised program. Followed ward rounds and consultations and attended weekly simulation sessions and global health lectures. Learned how clinical officers share diagnostic and treatment work with physicians, and how the team plans follow-up when patients travel long distances.
Why it works: every action is an observation, the setting is specific, and the final sentence shows learning that connects to the PA role.
Worked Example 2: Observation Plus a Separate Project
Experience type: Shadowing for the hospital time; Research only for a separate project with its own hours
Description (fictional example): Observed surgical and internal medicine teams during a six-week program abroad, following rounds and outpatient consultations. Recorded vital signs under supervision where the department allowed it. Attended clinical debriefs with a program mentor to review cases observed during the week.
Why it works: the one permitted task is named precisely and the rest stays observation. If the student also joined a research project, those hours go in a separate Research entry, never added on top of the same shadowing hours.
How IMA Records Your Hours
IMA’s pre-PA program logs your hours by date, department and shift. Your supervisors sign them, and IMA’s U.S.-based Medical Director validates the record. IMA states that pre-PA students mainly observe, may record vital signs under supervision where a department allows it, and that the program is not a PA program rotation. Each PA program decides how to count the hours.
Bring that signed log to CASPA. Your dates, weekly hours and supervisor details should match it exactly. Our guide to tracking clinical hours shows how to keep a log that converts cleanly into experience entries.
Choosing the Supervisor Contact
Who Can Verify an Experience Abroad?
CASPA asks for a person who can verify the experience occurred. For a structured program abroad, that is usually the program’s U.S. contact or the official named on your hours record, because that person can confirm your dates and hours quickly. List the clinician you shadowed only if they agreed to be contacted and can be reached from abroad.
Ask your contact before you submit. A verifier who does not recognize your name or dates weakens an otherwise accurate entry.
How Much Weight Shadowing Abroad Carries
Shadowing shows you understand the PA role, but many programs set separate patient care minimums that shadowing never meets. Our guide to whether international clinical hours help a PA school application explains how programs tend to weigh experience abroad alongside work at home.
The strongest applications pair observation abroad with patient care hours at home. Use the international entry to show perspective: how another health system works, how teams share tasks and what you learned about communicating across language and culture. For the bigger picture of pre-PA experience, see what a physician assistant internship is.
Writing the Learning Sentence
The last sentence of an entry does the most work, because it shows a program what the experience taught you about the PA role. A weak learning sentence repeats the setting. A strong one names something specific you noticed and why it matters for practice.
- Weak: “Gained valuable exposure to healthcare in another country.”
- Stronger: “Saw how clinical officers took on diagnosis and prescribing in a stretched public hospital, which made the team-based PA model at home easier to understand.”
- Stronger: “Noticed how often follow-up depended on whether a patient could travel back, and started asking clinicians how they planned for it.”
Draw these sentences from your journal, not from memory months later. Notes written on the day you saw something are far more specific than anything you reconstruct at application time.
Common Mistakes in International Shadowing Entries
- Inflating the category. Listing observation as patient care to reach a program minimum invites questions you cannot answer in an interview.
- Rounding up hours. Your weekly average should match your signed log, not a generous estimate.
- Vague settings. “A hospital in Africa” tells a reader little. Name the hospital, city and departments.
- Patient details. Leave out anything that could identify a patient, including unusual cases described in detail.
- Travel language. Keep the entry about clinical learning. Sightseeing belongs in an interview story, not in an experience description.
A Final Checklist Before You Submit
1. The entry is under Shadowing, unless you held a defined role that fits another type. 2. Every verb describes observation, except tasks you can name and document. 3. Dates and average weekly hours match your signed log. 4. The supervisor has agreed to be contacted and can confirm your dates. 5. No hours are repeated across experience types. 6. The description ends with what you learned, not a list of what you saw.
If you want structured observation with logged, signed hours, IMA’s pre-PA internships run in Mombasa and Cusco.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Shadowing Abroad Count as Patient Care Experience in CASPA?
Usually not. CASPA defines patient care experience as work in which you are directly responsible for a patient’s care. Observing clinicians abroad fits CASPA’s Shadowing type, which is time spent officially following and observing a health care professional at work.
Is There a Character Limit for CASPA Experience Descriptions?
CASPA’s Experiences help page does not state one. Write three to five clear sentences covering the setting, what you observed and what you learned.
Can I Count the Same Hours as Shadowing and Healthcare Experience?
No. CASPA says you cannot repeat hours between experience types. If one placement genuinely mixed types, enter it in each and divide the hours and duties.
Who Should I List as the Verifying Contact?
CASPA asks for a person programs can contact to verify the experience occurred. For a program abroad, that is usually the program’s U.S. contact or the official named on your signed hours record. Ask before you list anyone.
What If I Recorded Vital Signs During My Internship?
Name that task exactly, note that it was under supervision where the department allowed it, and keep the rest of the entry as observation. One permitted task does not turn shadowing into patient care.
Will Every PA Program Accept Shadowing From Abroad?
Not necessarily. CASPA notes that experiences are not guaranteed to be accepted by every program. Check each program’s page or contact its admissions office before you rely on the hours.
