Prepping for PA School Applications as a Junior in College

As my sophomore year of college came closer to an end, I began eagerly planning out what my upcoming summer would consist of. With my EMT course having been canceled in January, I ultimately decided to sign up for the class offered during the summer. Along with this, I also decided to begin my work in my research lab over the summer through participating in a Summer Scholars Program offered by my University where undergraduate students work in research throughout the summer and present it at the end to the entire program.

As a general overview, my research primarily consists of trying to delete a specific transcription factor within a pathway involved in early microglial cell recruitment to glioblastoma tumors.

During the summer, my schedule quickly got busy as I spent most of the weekdays working in lab and my weekends going to EMT class and clinicals. I was gaining knowledge about both fields faster than I imagined and started to become more confident within both areas quicker than I expected. Although my summer was extremely busy and left little time for relaxation, I learned so much and gained a lot of hands-on experience in the lab and EMT field of work. Not only did this busy time period strengthen my knowledge within my research project, but also further confirmed my desire to explore the Emergency Medicine specialty.

Going into junior year, I was extremely excited to continue my research and EMT course, along with finding a PA to shadow with my EMT instructor’s help. While each of these things were great opportunities for me and helped me feel that I am finally starting to fulfill some of the requirements for applications to PA school, I soon learned I needed to more importantly do was manage my time properly. Due to all these extracurriculars occurring at the same time as a full schedule of classes, I began to struggle to keep up with my schoolwork and getting the grades I wanted. I continued with this schedule longer than I should have hoping I would figure it out but ended up realizing I needed to work on my time management. 

As the semester ended and Christmas break commenced, I had a lot of self-reflection on the previous semester and the struggles I faced with improper time management. I decided to pause on shadowing and continue it within the next summer and passed my EMT boards to have this certification moving forward. I planned out my following spring semester with a lighter load of courses to make up for the previous semester and learned from my mistake of improper time management.

As the spring semester began, I continued with my research lab and planned on attending a conference to present my work at. This conference was for the Association of Southern Biologists, and I was presenting through Tri Beta Honors Society in Little Rock, Arkansas. The semester school-wise was a great improvement in not only grades but also learning how to properly balance my research lab and time with friends well with coursework. This semester also provided me with improvement within my presentation skills due to my research conference in Little Rock being a poster presentation for a 4 hour time period.

Going into the summer, it has been booked with finishing shadowing a couple Pas in the Emergency Room and adding onto my volunteer hours. With this next year being my last before I start applying to PA schools, I am planning on continuing to keep good time management along with confidence in my preparation as the application start date approaches.

Overall, this past year has been filled with learning experiences and growth. Between finding opportunities to fulfill various areas of the PA school application and figuring out how to manage them with a full load of classes, this year has pushed me and allowed for me to grow in many ways personally and within my application. Even though completing the various areas of the application can be very exciting and intriguing, it is important to ensure you are prioritizing schoolwork as well and ensuring you give yourself a proper amount of time for studying and homework, because having good time management will be a great skill to attain when entering PA school!

Read Ashley’s Prepping for PA School Applications as a Freshman blog post here!

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PA School Mom: What Having a Baby in PA School is Really Like - Interview with Nora

Nora is a current PA student with a very interesting story. While first planning to attend PA school in New York, an unexpected pregnancy forced Nora to reconsider her plans and make some tough decisions. Long story short, she is now in PA school with an infant. We talk through how she handles being a mom and a PA student.

This interview is also a Pre-PA Club Podcast Episode that you can listen to here.

Nora: Hi everyone, my name is Nora. I'm originally from Ghana, but I came to Minnesota about 10 years ago. I did my undergrad at St. Cloud State University in biomedical science. I was there for probably five years, and then I moved to Connecticut, where I live right now. I started working at a hospital as a CNA, and I have pretty much been here since then. I started PA school in August of 2019, and I’m done with my first trimester at Sacred Heart University. 

Savanna: Did you know through undergrad and your experiences that that you wanted to go the PA route, or did that come kind of later on?

Nora: Basically, when I was almost about to graduate. I didn't actually know what a PA was until my brother was seen by a PA. He was born with cerebral palsy and also has epilepsy. So he was having seizures that were getting worse. And so we saw a neurologist and on the team, there was a PA. Initially I didn't know who she was to be honest. She did talk to us a lot, explained a lot of things, was very easy-going. But I didn’t know what her role was, and we started to talk and she told me that she is a PA and talked about what she did. I thought it was interesting, and I was about to graduate. I honestly didn't know what I wanted to do. I was so focused on pharmacy for such a long time because my mom is a pharmacist, but then I realized that I wasn't really interested in that. And so I did shadow that PA, and I decided this is something that I think I could do, and I could possibly be good at it. I had a couple of more classes to finish. And before I could apply to PA school, I decided to go ahead and shadow a couple more PAs. I decided that this is what I want to do; I want to be able to talk to patients like the way she talked to us and explain things to us. She made us feel very comfortable, and she really had the time for us, so that is where I really appreciated most about her job.  

Savanna: Okay, so when it came time to apply, you took extra classes, got your experience, all that. And what did your application process look like? 

Nora: For the most part it was pretty straightforward. I think the thing that I struggled with the most was my personal statement because writing is not my strongest suit, so I felt like I had so many things that I wanted to say and so many things that I wanted to share, but I just didn't know how to put it together. I did write my personal statement over quite a number of times, and I had different people read over it. I had a couple of PAs look over it as well before I finally submitted it; that was like my last thing. I had gotten everything else including my recommendations, my transcripts, and everything else. But the personal statements was the last thing that I finally finished. I also knew how many schools I should apply to, and if that was going to be my first cycle, if that was going to be just a test kind of cycle versus an actual cycle. So I was kind of on the edge, and I was like, Oh, I'm going to try my best to get into school this cycle, but then if I don’t, it's not going to be the end for me basically. So yeah, those are the things I probably struggled with the most during the application cycle, but for the most part it was pretty straightforward.

Savanna: So how many schools did you end up applying to? 

Nora: 

So I applied to five and then I got three interviews. I declined one, and I went for the other two and got into those two programs.

Savanna: Okay, well that’s great, obviously you had an impressive application and impressive interview skills! Okay, so then tell us what happened? 

Nora: 

So both programs I got into were in New York. Initially, that was my plan, I wasn’t planning to stay in Connecticut. I wanted to go to New York, and I was trying to decide between the two programs. And then I found out I was pregnant. That was unexpected but exciting. And I was like, what am I doing next? 

Savanna: Yeah, so can you give us a timeline of kind of like when you were accepted, when you found out you're pregnant, and when you were supposed to start school? 

Nora: 

I was accepted into the first program in September 2017. I went to the interview for the second program in March 2018, and I found out two weeks later. The first program was supposed to start June 2018, and the second one was supposed to start in August 2018. I thought I was pregnant beginning in June of 2018, right before the first program was supposed to start. So I did call the program. And I spoke to the director and told him, this is what's going on. So he said that you can defer because he had a student like that last year, who was in the same situation. So they allowed me to defer. I was like, why don’t I just keep my options open, so I called the other program because I had never told them my answer. I asked them, just to see how what their reaction would be, and they also said you could defer because we have had students do that. So I deferred both programs.

When it sunk in, I was like, realistically, it doesn’t make sense for me to move to New York, considering my family is here in Connecticut, and I’m going to have a baby. I’m going to be in PA school; I’m going to need help. I can’t go to New York; my family is here. So, that's when I decided to reapply in the next cycle; that was a last minute thing. Getting towards the end of the cycle, I was like, I can’t go to New York, so let me just apply and see what happens. If it doesn’t, I tried. 

Savanna: Oh my gosh, you're so brave. But I think all that just shows how much you really, really wanted to be a PA. Awesome. 

Nora: 

Yeah I mean once I set my mind to going down this route, I thought that just because I’m going to have a baby, that isn’t something that is necessarily going to stop me. I still definitely wanted to do it. I thought you know, the best thing to do at that point was to try to get into a  program here in Connecticut and to stay here in Connecticut.

Savanna: Okay, so you kind of last minute decided to reapply, kind of forget the programs in New York, and you had proved to yourself that you could get into PA school, which is awesome. So, does that mean you went through the interview season pregnant? 

Nora: 

Yeah so I decided to apply to two programs. I got a call for an interview at the first program, that was at Sacred Heart, where I am now. At that point, I think I was around 7 months or so pregnant, so yeah I was showing as pretty pregnant at that point haha. Yeah it was nerve-wrecking for me, but they definitely didn’t treat me any differently at all. 

Savanna: So they didn’t ask you any pregnancy specific questions or anything? You didn’t feel judged? 

Nora: 

Not at all. I thought going into the interview, maybe they would have some preconceived notions like oh she’s pregnant, how will she be able to do this? I had talked to a PA I had shadowed for quite a while, and he told me that people might have that idea. But you need to just give the best interview you can and do the best you can. So yeah I felt very comfortable, very comfortable. The interview process went smoothly, considering I was like 7 months pregnant. 

Savanna:

Yeah haha great, so they accepted you? 

Nora: 

Yeah I got a call in January. I was so excited, and things really fell into place. 

Savanna: Ok awesome! So your mindset had to shift to “okay, I’m going to be a student with a baby.” So how old was your baby when you started PA school?

Nora: 

He was almost 6 months. My plan was to get him enrolled in daycare before I started school. He started day care at about 5 months so he could get used to that, and there wouldn’t be any surprises right at the beginning. But of course, my first week of school, he was sick! And I was like, oh that’s one of those challenges! Of course most programs have an attendance policy, even when something like that happens. That's when I started to really lean on my family for support. 

I think that's definitely one of the biggest factors for anybody in general, PA school is tough, and so having a good support system is important and especially when you have a child. You need that help. And so I did talk a lot with my family about it before. You hear that PA school will limit the amount of time you have for outside activities and how busy you are going to be, but you don’t really know what that’s like until you start, and that’s how I felt. I didn’t know my schedule was going to be so packed until I actually started. So there were adjustments in between. Who has to pick my son up from daycare, or who is going to watch him. I mean, if I was going to be able to make it home in time, I could pick him up, but if I can’t, then who is going to be able? Having conversations with my family to help them understand that this is not regular college, where I can take a class part-time, or skip class. This is different, and it’s going to be intense, so I'm going to need all the help that I get. And I'm fortunate to have a really great support system. 

Savanna: That’s definitely so helpful. I mean, we live by my family here, and it’s been great, even just working, to have them step in when necessary. You never know when they’re going to get sick or something like that happens. So it sounds like how you had, backup plan upon backup plan, thanks to your support system. How many people are in your class? 

Nora: 

There's 42 people in my class

Savanna:

Are there other parents? 

Nora: 

No, there are people who are married, but I’m the only one with a child.

Savanna: Oh gosh, got a little PA baby! Well, what have you struggled with, and what have you found that works as far as balancing time with being a mom and a student, having kind of that different family dynamic from someone who maybe doesn’t have those responsibilities? 

Nora: 

So initially, I think it was an adjustment for me because I graduated in December of 2013, or something like that. So it’s been quite a while since I was in school. And of course, it’s different because you’re taking so many credits and it’s a pretty strict schedule. So that was an adjustment for me initially. I'm a visual learner, so it's really important to me to be able to see things vs. just reading them. What I found to be really helpful for me was watching a lot of videos. There were times when I didn’t have the help I needed, like if family wasn’t available to watch my son, I would have to kind of balance along with him. A lot of my studying came from me watching stuff on Youtube or Osmosis, listening to podcasts, or other things of that nature. So watching videos, Picmonic, or SketchyMed – those things really helped me a lot, especially when I didn’t have help to watch him. He would be here with me, and I’d be watching those in the background. That’s the kind of learning I am, so that works for me. I think everyone should see what works best for them. I may be a good visual learning, but someone else may not like that. That has worked pretty well for me. 

Other than that, I wasn’t the type of person who studied every single day in undergrad. I would study when I had exams, basically. When I didn’t have exams, I wouldn’t really keep up with stuff. But in this case, you really have to! You have to go over what you at least went through in class everyday. That is still an adjustment for me, it is a lot of stuff including exams every week. For the most part, I try to go over at least what we went over in class that day. So that helps prevent you from getting too overwhelmed. 

Savanna: Okay, I'm going to ask a couple of questions that would be considered highly unethical in an interview setting. But have you felt hindered in any way by having a baby in PA school? Like do you think it has affected your performance, or like you said like, if you set your mind to something, you’re just going to make it happen?

Nora: 

I don’t think it has hindered me. I think that it did help me to adjust in situations that were unpredictable. There were a few times during the semester when my son was sick. There were also some times I had to take him to the ER, and then literally be in class in a few hours. I mean, it was hard, I’m not going to lie. There were times when I cried a bit, but I think that made me a little more motivated and it did show me that I could do things. If you had told me this a few years ago, I would’ve said there was no way I could do that. But it definitely showed me that I’m stronger than I actually think I am. So I don’t think it’s hindered me. I think it’s done the opposite. It’s shown me that I can multi-task better than I could’ve ever imagined, especially when I don’t have anyone to watch him. Having to manage that and having to study for exams, I’ve learned to better manage my time and that I can do that. 

Savanna: Okay, so one question that I get a lot that I don't feel like I necessarily have been able to answer well because I can't answer from a personal standpoint is – pre-PA students ask me when they should have kids. Should I try to have my baby right before PA school? Should I be pregnant in PA school or on interviews? I know you only have your experience to speak from, but what are your thoughts on that? 

Nora: 

If I didn’t have a child before PA school, I don’t think I would get pregnant in PA school. Just because it is so rigorous and you are sitting for at least 8 hrs at a time. You have breaks here and there, but you are in class 9-5. I also get stressed out and a bit anxious when exams come up, so I don’t necessarily think that is the healthiest thing for someone who is pregnant to go through. The chairs aren’t comfortable to sit for that long. And the mental stress isn’t the best while you are pregnant. Things happen of course, but to actually plan a pregnancy in PA school, especially during the didactic year, I don’t think that’s the best thing. I know some people do plan pregnancy during clinical year, but I haven’t experienced that. 

I think it's also a personal choice when to have kids. You have to realize that once you do have kids before or during PA school, you have to have people around you to help. I think that’s the thing that makes a huge difference, a support system, whether family or friends, you need to have people in your corner. In addition, there is a financial aspect of it as well. If you are using loans to live during PA school, you have to think about that as well because having a baby can be expensive haha. 

Savanna: 

You kind of alluded to it when you said your first week your baby was sick and there was an attendance policy, but you are held to the same standards as all the other students, despite having a child, correct? 

Nora: 

Yeah! We are all in PA school, and these are all choices that everyone made. I am a mom, and I made a choice to come to PA school. I could’ve just waited until my son was a few years old to come to PA school, but I made that commitment. It’s hard of course, when your child is sick, to come to school. But I realized I had to separate my mind mentally, put that away for a short while, and try to focus on what I am doing in school. Otherwise, you will get overwhelmed. Being a mom especially, I never realized how much you could worry about your child. Learning to separate things and have the time and place for it is helpful. After school, I do try to spend time with him and do not dive straight into studying. I put him to bed and then get back to school stuff. I think that has helped me feel better about things in general and being able to have time for him.

Savanna: 

No that's awesome. It sounds like you're doing well, and you also have time to talk to me on a podcast, so thank you so much! Any last parting words or advice?

Nora: 

I would say regardless of if you have a child or not, if this is something you want to do and you are determined, I think you can do it. People really underestimate the power of their mind and positive thinking. Sometimes you go through something, and you think, wow I actually did this, and I never thought I could do it. So I think you should never think something is not possible. I would always at least try. Who knows, maybe if I never attempted to do PA school, would I have regrets? I don’t want to have regrets later. Hopefully someone out there is inspired that being a parent doesn’t mean you can’t follow your dreams or achieve something. I always think I am not only doing this for myself; I am doing it for my family as well. And hopefully, that goes a long way to make a better life for my family. Also, my son will be able to look back and think that Mom was able to do this while she had me. And that will be a motivation for him hopefully.

Savanna: 

Well you are super impressive! I am sure he will be very proud when he realizes what you did. Well thank you so much for taking the time to share all your advice and stories. I don’t know that I could do what you are doing, but like you said, you don’t know until you are there! You are doing a great job.

Nora: 

I’m so glad I had the opportunity to talk about my experiences and hopefully motivate someone else. 

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How to Easily Learn Anatomy

Thanks to Anatomy Bootcamp for sponsoring today’s post!
Did you know there are ways to make your studying more efficient and even, dare I say, easier? It may seem impossible in the thick of schooling, but a few simple preparation steps will make your life better by lowering your stress when it comes to studying.

In today’s blog post, we’re going to break down a few action steps that will set you up for success using anatomy as an example, and specifically Anatomy Bootcamp. Why anatomy? It’s one of the main cornerstone prerequisites for physician assistant school and undergrad isn’t the only time you’re going to see it. Once accepted to PA school, you’ll repeat anatomy and physiology at the graduate school level, and it ain’t easy. It can actually be one of the most challenging courses, even with foundational background knowledge, because each structure has more structures and they all have multiple functions. You’ll need to know it all, and understand it all to apply to patient care, but let’s lay out some study steps. 

Before You Start Studying

Evaluate your schedule and look at the curriculum. Figure out what you need to know and when. Write it out in a list or planner so you have a visual aid to refer to and nothing gets missed. Identify a study resource or supplement, and figure out how much time it will take to get through the content. For example, Anatomy Bootcamp includes PDF outlines to go with bite-size videos, followed by Qbanks that apply your knowledge with actual cadaver images and explanation videos applicable to each question. While in-class lectures are oftentimes great, they also miss the mark on important content sometimes and don’t emphasize exactly what you need to know, which is why the next part is important - figuring out how you learn best.

How to Study Based on Learning Style

There are tons of online tests to help you identify your learning style, and watching someone talk about a PowerPoint may not be the best way you learn. That’s okay! You may also have some overlap in styles of learning, and utilizing resources specific to each of those methods will help you comprehend material faster.

The learning styles include Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic.

Visual learners like to see charts, images and diagrams. The interactive drawings used in Anatomy Bootcamp during the videos make great study tools for someone who likes to learn visually. Here is an example: 

Aural learning refers to comprehending material by hearing it, whether from a lecture or in discussion with peers. Teaming up with some classmates to listen to a short 3-10 minute video and then talking about the information is a great strategy to solidify information while studying. 

If you love to read or write, I’m right there with you. While going through each module, practice active note taking by jotting down and copying the drawings displayed in the lectures during Anatomy Bootcamp. When you go through the questions afterwards, you’ll be able to refer to your notes or take down extra information if there was an aspect you didn’t grasp fully with the first exposure. 

Kinesthetic learners like to put it all together and enjoy a multi-dimensional learning experience with application. For an Anatomy Bootcamp strategy, watching the videos and then using the Qbank to test the knowledge will satisfy your desire to stay engaged and hands on while learning. Especially with the cadaver images, you can make connections with what you’re learning in a dissection lab or on models/computer modeling during PA school. 

Whatever learning style you identify with, I encourage you to try out the others, especially when trying to learn a new subject. Quickly identify if a method isn’t working for you and look for new options and resources, realizing you may not get everything you need straight from the classroom.

Managing Time

The key to making the most of your resources and study time is managing your time effectively. You can study for hours and not actually learn the material if just going through the motions. If you set a dedicated schedule and allot a specific amount of time to studying, you’ll likely be more efficient than casually jumping around between resources and topics. If you’re not used to doing this, start with a small time period of maybe just 10-15 minutes and build your study stamina from there. With Anatomy Bootcamp, the modules and videos are short so you can fit them into small pockets of study time.

Remove all distractions, set timers, and allow yourself complete concentration in your ideal setting. What works for someone else may not be the best for you and that’s okay! Make sure all of the needed equipment is easily accessible. If you’re watching the videos in Anatomy Bootcamp, you’ll need a quiet area to listen or headphones. If you’re a notetaker like me, keep your favorite pens and notebook in a dedicated spot. A little bit of preparation ahead of time will make your process easier.

Go forth and study better! Share your efficient study skills and learning style in the comments, and leave your Anatomy Bootcamp feedback for other students who are struggling with anatomy and physiology.

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Getting Started: Prepping for PA School Applications as a Sophomore in College

Ashley is back for the second part of her series about preparing for PA School Applications. She wrote a guest post last year about preparing for PA School Applications as a Freshman and is back with advice for those in their sophomore year of college. Follow Ashley’s journey at @akoch_coke

Throughout the ending of my freshman year in college, I continued to prioritize my studies along with staying an active member within my university’s Pre-PA Club. However, once March began everything changed. A couple weeks before my Spring Break, I was notified by my school that I needed to be moved out of my dorm by the ending of the following day due to the corona virus. Although there were so many things going through my mind within this moment, I never stopped to realize how much this then termed global pandemic would affect my entire Pre-PA activities and requirement fulfillments.

After leaving my dorm, the rest of my semester consisted of finishing my classes as strongly as possible and trying to find something to do during the summer. Originally, I had set in my summer schedule to be shadowing a surgery PA, which at the time was the specialty I was obsessing over. However, this plan was soon canceled due to the corona virus. 

Once summer began, I admittingly spent a lot of the beginning time on the app Tik-Tok where I eventually stumbled upon a couple of online programs for Pre-PA and general Pre-Healthcare students to get a variety of shadowing and seminar experiences. I ended up participating in Lenox Hill Hospital’s BRAINterns seminar series along with a couple of Medshu Club’s profession sessions. These two programs were very exciting to be a part of due to the fact that they allowed me to learn more about different healthcare professional’s careers and specialties. Along with this, in the BRAINterns series there were several days per week where some of their doctors would present a case they encountered and run through how they diagnosed and treated the patients along with talk through recorded surgeries within some of these cases. Along with these online programs, I was also taking an online course for school to help boost my GPA and dedicating spare free time to learning about how to read an EKG.

Towards the beginning of my sophomore year, my school’s Pre-PA club was re-electing officers, and I became the new president of the Pre-PA club. In this position, I discussed with the fellow officers about our plans for the upcoming semester and everything we would like to do. Throughout the semester, we had several virtual club meetings that consisted of us reviewing one of the key requirements for most PA schools. During one of our final meetings of the semester, one of the people on our college’s PA admissions team attended!

Along with my position as president of PA club, I also joined Biology club and Medlife club which were both very fun. As the semester progressed, I found myself constantly working on my schoolwork and having very little social time. Although my school was and still is the top priority, I was still wanting to have some time to spend with new friends. Because of this, I decided to informally rush and join a sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. Through this, I not only met many girls that were on the same profession path as me, but also will get to continue volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House through not only PA club but now also ADPi. Even though this semester consisted of being half in person and half online, with extra hard work I ended up boosting my GPA and making Dean’s List. 

Once the semester ended and Christmas Break was around the corner, I was eagerly awaiting to start gaining my shadowing hours scheduled during the break. However, within a couple days of my first day I received a notice from the PA stating that I would be unable to shadow her due to case numbers rising. Although this news was very heartbreaking, I decided to start partially preparing for potential PA school interviews through reading The PA Platform’s “Interview Guide” book and taking diligent notes on the different types of interview styles. While to some this preparing sounds to be way too early, my mindset was by the time I get invited to interview at a PA school, I will already have detailed information on all of the different interview styles and expectations so this way I can focus more on how to answer the potential questions for the specific school instead of how the interview will be conducted. Along with this, I also added several new spreadsheets to my list of PA school requirements one that consisted of my logged virtual hours from the past summer, my grades throughout my completed semesters so far, list of my planned extracurriculars for each semester so I don’t sign up for more than I can handle and planned out class schedules for my remaining semesters in order to not have too many hard sciences at the same time.

Toward the beginning of this semester, I found out days before that the EMT class I scheduled to take in order to attain PCE hours got canceled due to the fact that not enough people registered. This cancellation on top of the several shadowing and volunteering opportunities I had already lost hurt and made me feel hopeless, that I would never fulfill PA school requirements. However, even though these cancellations happened, I was able to make use of my now free time to put it towards other areas of the application. Currently, I am in the process of potentially starting to shadow a PA along with volunteering at a local hospital near my college. Along with this, I am also planning out an exciting semester for my college’s Pre-PA club alongside my fellow club officers and completing training to start working in a glioblastoma research project.

Even though it is still a very challenging time to fulfill application requirements, with hard work and determination there will be opportunities to not only fulfill these but to also show future PA schools that you are worthy of becoming a Physician Assistant.

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3 Techniques That Will Help You Overcome Setbacks on the Road to PA

People who want to become PAs experience a catch-22 of sorts: In order to ultimately succeed, you often have to fail, but experiencing failure can inhibit your future successes. Failure can cause feelings of helplessness, inadequacy, and demoralization, which can make you lose faith in your capabilities; when this happens, your ultimate goal may seem further out of reach, and you might even start to believe that your success is out of your control. 

Luckily, there are research-based findings on the best ways to overcome setbacks and position yourself for overall success. 

Be Open to Feelings Associated With Failure

It’s no secret people often ignore their feelings, especially when said feelings are stressful or otherwise unpleasant. Unfortunately, according to research, one of the best ways to learn from mistakes is to do the last thing you want—to embrace the negative feelings associated with failure. Throughout the PA process you will definitely experience failure at some point.

Common advice is that you shouldn’t dwell on your mistakes or beat yourself up after you fail, but this advice is somewhat contradicted in the current literature. People who allow themselves to feel their emotions regarding failure try harder to correct their mistakes, according to a study in the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making; a person who makes excuses and ignores his or her failures fares less well when it comes to learning from past mistakes. Our goal is improvement and growth, right?

Without making yourself feel terrible, realize that sometimes bad things happen, and to avoid them again in the future, you have to try harder. You can have self-compassion while still pushing yourself to succeed and motivating yourself to avoid similar failure in the future. Whether it’s a tough semester or being placed on a waitlist, most feelings of failure come from multi-factorial reasons. Use the self-reflection from those experiences to help you achieve success moving forward. Look for the good in the situation coming from those failure feelings. With a tough class where you didn’t get your desired grade, maybe you learned some more effective study techniques. By gaining a waitlist spot, that means your application was on target to get an interview, and it’s not a no. Find the positives and cling to those.

Let Your Feelings Spark Action

After you experience your feelings surrounding failure, get to work; break down the failure into two categories: aspects that were in your control and aspects that were not. Review your lists and see if you find any items improperly categorized. Sometimes, things that seem out of your control are actually not and vice versa. Can you improve your skills, planning, knowledge, etc. to take control of aspects that were previously deemed out of your control? With the list that remains (it might be unchanged from your first iteration), focus on all of the parts of a failure that are under your control. 

When you believe you can’t change the outcome of a situation, you often feel paralyzed, helpless, inadequate, etc. Conversely, the more you feel in control of a problem, the more likely you are to be motivated to tackle future challenges, according to research published in Core Psychiatry. In the event that you recognize things you could have done differently, take ownership of that and use it to spark change. Resolve to take small steps towards making changes in future situations, even if they seem like small things. Going back to the grades example - perhaps you will gain a self-awareness of recognizing when you’re struggling and instead of continuing to drown in the material, create an action plan to reach out for help from an earlier point.

Talk It Out With Like-Minded Individuals

Talking about failure may seem nerve-racking, but it’s one of the best ways to overcome setbacks and position yourself for future successes. Call someone you trust and allow him or her to help you process the loss while feeling supported. 

It can also be helpful to remind yourself that you’re not alone in your experience. For example, recently, Clara Jones, BSN, RN, posted the following on her Instagram:

I wasn’t an A student by any means. ⁣I wasn’t the type that didn’t study but aced my exams. ⁣I was the type that even though I busted my ass, I still failed some exams and barely made C’s on some of them. ⁣I failed my first skills evaluation for inserting a Foley catheter! Needless to say, I cried and thought nursing wasn’t for me.⁣ I missed most of my IV starts for the first couple of months. But let me tell you, these things make you want to quit and sulk, but how you respond to them challenges you and makes you BETTER …” 

Failure is a normal part of learning and progression. Surround yourself with people who are successful despite their past mistakes. Talk openly about your shortcomings and listen to others when they do the same. If you’re not already part of The Pre-PA Club on Facebook, it’s a great community of people in the same position as you. 

At The End of The Day

Unfortunately, the catch-22 of becoming a PA doesn’t stop when you get into PA school, or even when you graduate and start working in the field. Even after years of overcoming failures and learning an immense amount of information, you’ll still be subject to the unexpected. Medicine is always evolving and patients are all unique. As confident as you are, you’ll never be fully prepared. 

The techniques above are a good start for overcoming adversity on your journey to PA, but they are by no means exhaustive. If you want to become a PA, it’s important to know that your career choice will never be easy, but with the right attitude, it will be more than worth the challenges it presents. 

Non-Traditional PA School Applicant - Teacher to PA Student

Sean Childress has a great story. He is a husband, dad, former high school coach and teacher, and now he is a PA student! Following a lingering dream, he made decisions and sacrifices to reach his goal. After moving from Texas to North Carolina, Sean started PA school recently at Campbell University. We discuss what that was like for his family, how he decided when the best time to quit his job was, and how he completed organic chemistry in 3 weeks! IG - @sean_childress

Listen or watch this interview on The Pre-PA Club Podcast

Sean: I'm 33 years old. My name is Sean Childress. I am a husband and father of two. And I did not take a traditional route to this. There have been a lot of twists and turns. But I actually spent a decade working as a high school football coach, baseball coach, and I taught every subject you could imagine. This was not really necessarily what I went to school thinking I was going to do, but it’s where I ended up. I still love spots, even though I'm kind of leaving that realm somewhat. 

That is where I spent 10 years non-stop and it kind of ran me into the ground. My family and I just moved to North Carolina for PA school from Texas. My wife is on board, and my kids are on board. And it’s really a team in our house. So everybody's really been supportive from multiple levels. But this is a dream that I've had for a long time. And it's just now coming to fruition at age 33. And I couldn't be more excited. We actually start class this week. So we're about 48 hours away. So I'm pretty excited and nervous, but I’m ready to go! 

Savanna: Okay, so you went from teacher and coach to PA. I actually get a lot of messages from people who are teachers who want to make that jump but aren’t sure how to. First let us know your mindset and how you decided that you wanted to pursue the PA profession and what that looked like.

Sean: If you go back when I was an undergrad, I actually started out as a journalism major. This is how into sports I was; I wanted to be like a SportsCenter anchor or something! I never really lost that desire necessarily, but I was introduced to the medical field and amazed by it all. 

Coincidentally, in one of my writing classes, one of my classmates was a physical therapy tech at a clinic. I got really into fitness at that time and was interested in helping people. I thought that would be a cool part-time job. 

That's just kind of how it started. So I took on this job during my sophomore year college as a PT tech. And initially, when I first start working there, I thought I wanted to become a physical therapist. It seemed like they had a blast, listening to music, talking all day long. Also, I didn't even know what a PA was. I've never had an encounter with a PA until I worked at the clinic. The first exposure I had to the PA profession was when another PT tech I worked with got accepted into the PA program at Texas Tech. She was my age, and I asked her what that was. She kind of explained it a bit. It really registered for me because she basically said you can choose which avenue you want to go instead of being kind of stuck in one area. You can use your degree to do a variety of things; you can work two jobs at once. I definitely didn't see myself doing the same thing for the rest of my life. I don't have any desire to do one thing for 40 years or whatever. Then I actually broke my hand. And I was treated by a PA, kind of pro-bono through our clinic. I actually spent a couple days shadowing a PA at that time. And I switched from journalism to a health promotion major, which is what I graduated with. 

I gotta be honest though. The first red flag on my application was when I took anatomy & physiology. I went to high school where I never had to study once. I didn't have to study until that point in college at all. Long story short, I didn't do well in the class, but it was the first time in my life where I was definitely afraid that I was going to fail. I was definitely discouraged. I spent about one year on the pre-PA track. I just didn’t move forward after that. I thought I genuinely couldn’t do it and thought I needed to go a more comfortable route. I finished my degree, but my degree did not require a lot of PA school pre-requisites. I ended up having to take all the pre-requisites, including the few classes that did cross over. Again, I was quite intrigued by the profession but the first time I faced failure and adversity with it, I quite simply gave up. So that led me to teaching. 

Savanna: Well, I think that's a very relatable thing. I don't think you're alone in that. And even someone I was working with recently kind of said the same thing. You know, it was just in her mind that she couldn't do this. So that led her down a different path into respiratory therapy. So I don't think you're alone in feeling that way. I think the classes that are required kind of make us all think that way at some point throughout the process. So you ended up teaching, and at what point did you decide to switch? Was that always in the back of your mind? Or did you revisit it later and felt like being a PA would fulfill you more?

Sean: It’s kind of a combination of all of that. So I’m a super positive person. I try to make the most of everything. When I got into teaching, I tried to look at the bright side of it all. I didn’t feel like I let anyone down or let myself down. I just felt like I was suppose to be there at that time. Even throughout the whole process, I don’t have a ton of regret because I learned a lot in those 10 years of being a professional. I think throughout the years, staying in touch with other people who went into medicine, those thoughts never went away. They slowly continued to grow. At one point I wanted to be a head baseball coach, and I did that. And I didn’t feel fulfilled. In fact, I was coaching in the state semi-finals. And we won! But I just didn’t feel like I was fulfilled. I mean, of course it is fulfilling to make a huge impact on kids. But I just felt like I wasn’t giving everything I could to my life. 

Ultimately, was there a trigger point for my decision? So there kind of was. Like I said, I would periodically reflect and think about it, and it would weigh on me at times. But in my last year of teaching, I made a decision that I was going to step away from teaching right before spring break. And on that day, I was nominated for teacher of the year. So I spent this whole spring break, sitting there thinking, “Am I making the right decision? Is this a sign I am suppose to stay?” Then the day after spring break ended, I talked to the principal before school and told her that I’m going to step away; I gotta pursue this. I’m going to make it happen. And the very next day, one of my students actually committed suicide. And it was like the most eye opening -- something I think about every day. It made me realize, obviously, like how fragile life is, how fragile time is. It definitely made me think that I was probably making the right call to kind of move forward and try to pursue the PA profession. I did think like, “What if I never go for it? What does that teach my kids, that I didn't go for a dream and I didn't try to accomplish a goal?” So you know, essentially, it kind of took off from there! So that was the Spring of 2017. I started taking pre-reqs and stuff that Fall.

Savanna: So a couple things there. I think it's really easy to get comfortable. And we get comfortable in our circumstances. We see these other things as these big hurdles, even if they’re things we have to overcome to get to where we want to go. I think that’s why a lot of people don't even take those steps towards just their goals and dreams. I probably have 100 new ideas a day that everyone at work, my husband, and my parents have to listen to. And they all think I’m crazy. But I think the only way we grow and can see what we are capable of is to try things and take those big steps. Another thing I talk about a lot or when I do mock interviews, is the pivotal moments. Maybe you did not have a dramatic experience with a PA saving you on the side of the road or something. But there are these points in our lives where everything makes us think about stuff and kind of pushes you in one direction or another. Maybe it’s not one event, but it’s multiple things that kind of culminated. I think those pivotal moments encourage you to move forward. It sounds like you went through some of those steps.

Sean: Even when I wrote my essay to apply to PA school, I was doing a lot of reflection. Some people sit on the sideline their whole life, and you can live your whole life on the shelf. But you don’t have anybody to blame but your own self. That’s kind of the thought I had. If I look back, I at least tried. So I agree, totally.

Savanna: I get a lot of emails about that. “I don’t know where to even start. I don’t have any hours. I don’t have any coursework finished. I’m a teacher.” So how did you start? What did you do after you quit your job? I mean that’s a huge decision. What happens next?

Sean: Yeah, so I just want to point out that I did have an advantage with thousands of hours as a PT tech, just sitting in the bank, if you will. So the first thing I did was to attack my biggest hurdle and mental block at the time which was tackling anatomy & physiology. I also needed to find a part-time job. I found a part-time job with a PT I used to work with to accumulate more hours. I didn’t necessarily care about how long it would take. I was just going to do one class in the fall – anatomy & physiology. At the time, I was 31 years old, and I went into a college class with all these 19-21 year olds. And they don’t really know how to work and focus well. It seemed easy to me. I had a lab partner and I would basically coach him along. So I took that one class. And I realized very quickly that having worked full-time, really double full-time as a coach, that taking one class and working part-time felt like nothing. So the next semester, I went kind of crazy! I signed up for A&P 2. I also took statistics and knocked that out. I was also taking Chemistry I. I also had a mental block about chemistry as well. But I got in there and loved it, that’s when all of this clicked for me. There was no turning back now. I could do this. The mental hurdle was cleared that summer.

During that whole time, that’s when I reached out to you. I heard about this book on your podcast, and I definitely recommend it: The Applicant's Manual of Physician Assistant Programs. It makes the process a lot easier. Every time that I would apply to a school, I would put a sticker in there. My wife cracks up at my OCD. I would write out the pre-reqs over and over, just to write them out and check them off because I wasn’t sure. I’d email the admissions staff at the school to ask if my prereqs worked before I submitted the application fee. From there, I started applying shortly after the cycle opened. I didn't want to do it too early, because I had quite a few hanging pre-reqs on deck that were still pending. But I think I applied to 21 schools. 

I got waitlisted to interview to three schools. I was straight up denied from a lot. And I started thinking this wasn’t going to happen. I knew like I prepare myself for this – that it may not happen the first time. But along the way, I got an interview invite. The first one was in July to be set in October. Then I got a last minute one in August. And that was like the following week in Pennsylvania! So I bought your interview book. It helped tremendously. I only had 3 or 4 days to prepare for that one, and it went okay. I got waitlisted, but I was a nervous wreck. I felt a lot of pressure. But in many ways, it felt a lot just like a job interview. It was good exposure. I went to another interview at a school in NC in Sept. And then I got an interview late October at another school, which I got accepted to, which is Campbell University. Before I got accepted, I really didn’t think I was going to get in. So that took a lot of pressure off. It was late in the cycle for them, so I just kind of went for it. I was just going to go and be myself. When I went there, I wasn’t afraid of anything. During the introduction when I had to introduce myself, I just thought that I wanted to stand out. I just said to everyone, “I'm older than all of you in here. I have two children at home. And they're both named after famous baseball, iconic, historical things. My son is Nolan named after Nolan Ryan. And my daughter is named Wrigley after Wrigley Field.” And that stuck with everybody. Later on, there were people who didn’t interview me who asked about that. I thought that was cool. 

Now are back to organic chemistry. I had enrolled in it thinking I was not going to get in this cycle. It was an online, self-paced course and we had 8 months to finish it. At that point, I got the call on a Monday from Campbell that I was accepted. And I was fired up and excited. Then I remembered that they had an organic chemistry requirement, but I was already enrolled in it, so that was good. But it was November 6th, and they needed everything done by the end of November! So I told my wife, and she was like, “There is no way you are not going to do it. You’ve come so far.” She was so supportive. At that point, I just needed to pass the class. I did not work those entire 3 weeks. I would wake up everyday at 4:30 in the morning, study until my kids got up, get them ready for school, and then everyday, I studied until 4:30 pm. I didn’t feel good during that. I was just so sedentary, reading and reading and reading and drawing all those hexagons. I planned to take a test every 2-3 days because there were 5 tests total, and you got to take each test twice. I would take the first once, and I planned to take it no matter what. The first pass gave me some exposure to the material. The first two tests went great, and the third one wasn’t good. Then I rebounded. So at the end, I passed, and now we are here. So it can be done. I took me 3 weeks. I would not recommend it. I basically had to just make it happen. 

Savanna: This is why I always say like, do not put a course on your application if you are not actually taking it or planning to complete it. I’ve talked to a few people who had to give up their acceptance because their acceptance was pending completing of passing this one specific course! And at that point, they either couldn’t enroll in the class or couldn’t complete it in time. Your wife sounds super supportive by the way! Also, can you share which online school you used?

Sean: Yeah, we moved across the country, left her job, all that. She is second to none! And I took the organic chemistry course at University of New England. It was expensive, but it was great. It's super user friendly, and very flexible!

Savanna: Okay I’ve heard of that one! So go back to your mindset when you were trying to decide if this is something you wanted to do. What tips would you give to others in your situation? Someone who has a pretty stable career, maybe a family, but has other interests in medicine or becoming a PA?

Sean: Well one of the things I had was the support from my family. My wife carried the weight of me worrying and financially quitting my job going from two incomes to one. I don’t think we could have done it if my son had not started kindergarten; we had to have daycare. And daycare is like a mortgage. The timeline wouldn’t have worked out, and I would’ve had to wait longer. But you got to make sure you've got a financial plan. And you gotta have support from your family, and I also had support from my extended family – my mom and my aunt Kelly were absolute saints. So my advice for others in my situation is to go for it. It sounds generic, but you can sit there and think you are going to do it when you are ready. But if you wait until you are ready, you will never do it. I don’t even know if I’m ready right now! And I start PA school this week. 

But if I could change anything about it, I wouldn't. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. In fact, I was just talking to my wife. She asked how I feel about starting school this week, and I actually said that the journey to get here was such a road, and that has all been lifted from my shoulders. But I kind of miss it in a way. And now it’s going to be a different journey. It just seems surreal that this is all happening. And I wouldn’t change a thing about it. 

Savanna: So what are you most nervous about with PA school?

Sean: I think it’s quantity of work with being a dad. Basically I’m going to have Saturdays open, and that’s family time. That’s how I’ve operated through all of this, and that won’t change, period. It’s just going to be lack of sleep and all that. I’m not necessarily afraid of the material because I am so excited. I think being 33 and having a set goal and leaving a career… Just being a student is nothing compared to tacking on your full-time job and being a parent. I think I’m in a different set of circumstances than if I was 23. So I'm just a little bit afraid of the balance. My wife is super supportive, and we have talked about didactic year being THE year. It’s more of the unknown than anything. If you give me a month, I feel like I’ll be more adjusted. 

If you are a non-traditional applicant make sure to check out my Youtube video the Non-traditional PA School Applicant and How to Handle Anxiety in PA School with Deceleration and make sure to check out my interview with Neurology PA and Non-Traditional PA Applicant, Brie!

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5 Tips for Nailing Your PA School Interviews

Congratulations you got an interview! Don’t forget to realize that you were selected out of a vast range of other competitive students from around the world. Realize that after you finish your interview, no matter what happens you already made it to a beautiful and huge milestone. Do not forget to be mindful and enjoy this amazing day. If you're worried about making a great impression during your interviews, here are some tips that will help you showcase the very best version of yourself.

#1: REMAIN CALM

If you mess up on something it’s not a big deal, just smile and remain calm and confident. Freaking out or panicking will just make you and the situation worse. You will feel like you did poorly on some questions and excelled in others. Don’t take things so seriously; everyone is going to be extremely nervous, including yourself. You’ll look back and laugh at the parts you thought you messed up on, don’t worry this is all temporary, enjoy it, you’ll never get these uncomfortable growing pains back. Smiling and remaining calm could bring light to yourself and the situation. Instead learn from it, when you leave the interview, take a moment to process and soak in what your weaknesses and strengths were so you can practice, emphasize and tackle them to conduct yourself even better for your next interviews.

#2: MOCK INTERVIEWS 

Start to practice interview questions by yourself in front of the mirror, have a friend or family member do mock interviews with you so that you begin to get the hang of interviews. Try your best and practice a few weeks before the interview. It is also a good idea to research the school that you are about to interview at and see what their specific program is known for so that you can try and incorporate that into some of your answers. Knowing this could be a huge advantage for you during the interview process and can make you stand out. 

#3: BODY LANGUAGE

Body language is immeasurable in all forms of communication, especially when you are meeting new people. Your demeanor, energy and confidence introduce itself even before you speak. Make sure that you obviously do not act out of your character or do not try to be someone or something that you are not, but try to be mindful of your posture, gestures, and body language. Try to catch yourself when you are starting to slouch/curve forward or crossing your arms. Crossing your arms can show that you seem insecure or that you are going into a defense mechanism, it does not give an inviting feel. Stay calm and relaxed, especially when speaking. Sometimes when people get nervous they tend to talk too fast or blab on when not necessary, be cautious of that, sometimes less is more. Don’t get me wrong, all of this is said easier than done, but at least trying to be conscious and mindful of it definitely does help keep you calm. 

#4: POSITIVE ENERGY & DEAMENOR 

You would be surprised how much your demeanor affects you and the energy that you carry and convey. Keep your head raised high, and smile throughout the day so that you seem approachable. Don’t think that you are acting or doing this for others. This is actually for yourself; this is the energy that you will begin to attract. You have many opportunities that day for networking, growth, and absorbing new insights, so do not forget that your mindset, energy and thought process is what is actually leading you throughout your interview process. Take advantage of your interview day/days and keep a good and positive energy flowing internally and externally so that you can attract what you want. 

#5: BE YOURSELF 

At this point the school has invited you in for an interview to see who you are. Essentially in the medical field you are going to need to try to connect to your patients, but many times it is while you are under pressure. So during the interview process they want to see how well you work under pressure, while simultaneously maintaining staying empathetic and logical. This is your time to communicate & just be yourself. Let your personality naturally shine through.  It is actually way harder to be someone or something that you are not. Talk about what you’re passionate about. Elaborate on some experience that means a lot to you or something that has shaped you to become who you are today. The people interviewing you can sense your energy and your body language, don’t forget that. So if you’re authentically being yourself and talking about something that really resonates with you, they will pick up on how genuine you are on that. You know who are you are, don’t forget how far you have come and don’t doubt yourself, you got this! 

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You should be proud of yourself for who you are and how far you have come. Many other students could have been invited for an interview, but YOU were. Celebrate all the big wins, little wins and those in between. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t compare yourself to other students; everyone has their own journey and timing.  Don’t forget that you are only human, you are not perfect, but you are not your mistakes either. You did the best you could do in that moment with the knowledge that you knew. Remember, you are not in control of everything; you obviously have to work hard and try your best, but then let go and let things work itself out. Everything is going to be all right, sometimes even better than you expected. 

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About the author:

Melissa Lilian Elist is currently a physician assistant student at University of California, Davis, cohort of 2021. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and an emphasis in Disability Studies from University of California, Los Angeles. She is a preventative care advocate and is very proactive in mindfulness, consciousness, and self-love. You can find Melissa on Instagram @melissaelist and reach her via email at melissaelist@gmail.com

Moving for PA School and Choosing an MPH/PA Program with Mansi

This post is a transcription of a Pre-PA Club Podcast with Mansi. To listen to this podcast, click here.

Mansi: Hi everyone! My name is Mansi. I am a recent graduate from University of Georgia. I just graduated this past May with a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion in the College of Public Health. I've been taking my gap year since then, just trying to get my patient care hours and also applying at the same time. I applied this past cycle, and I am currently working as a medical assistant at a pediatric and primary care office. I'm actually the lead medical assistant there, so I get to do a lot of training, working with different people, and a lot of admin type stuff too. But I enjoy it! And my time there is ending soon. But as you all know, as everything with COVID continues, I might be working there for longer. Who knows! 

Savanna: I’ve only taken one health promotion class because my roommate was a health promotion major, and we wanted to take a class together. I think that was one of the first years they offered the major. But now it seems very popular. 

Mansi: Yeah, it's getting really popular, especially with public health kind of coming back up. I think a lot of people are getting more interested in it. And I got to do a lot of kind of advocacy for the major throughout my time there, so I definitely was able to help recruit more people in it. It was really fun. I really enjoyed my time! 

Savanna: Did you go into school as a health promotion major, or what made you choose that over something like biology or chemistry? 

Mansi: I actually went into school as a biology major, just like everybody else. I was interested in medicine and healthcare. But I actually took a sociology course, which was part of the different requirements for the biology major. In the sociology course, there was a section about medical sociology, and we focused mainly on public health during that time. Even though it was only like two weeks, I became super interested in public health that way. I had never really heard of public health as a career, so I did more research about it. I didn't even know that UGA had a School of Public Health because it was so small. That convinced me to change my major because of how interested I was in it. So, I was like, “I should probably change my major, explore a little bit more into that.” I changed my major going into sophomore year of college. 

Savanna: So tell us a little bit about your application cycle and what that was like. 

Mansi: I took my GRE in November of 2018; that was fall of my senior year. I actually decided on the PA track between sophomore and junior year, so it took me a little bit of time to get into the mindset of everything I needed to check off in terms of my application. Throughout my spring semester of senior year, I did an internship, as a clinical research assistant, and it was actually pretty time consuming. So, I didn't have any time to apply, which was one of my biggest regrets now. I actually applied really late; I submitted my CASPA for my current program sometime in early July, which was really stressful. When I finished my internship, I spent about a month to a month and a half working on my personal statement. In my major, we had to write a lot of different papers and projects. I was on the faster side of getting my personal statement done, but I did have to go through several edits. Once I had my personal statement done, it took me about two weeks to finish the CASPA including the transcript entry. All in all I applied early July, and I received my interview invite around the end of October. It definitely took its sweet time getting processed! I interviewed in mid-November and was accepted 10 days later. Ever since then, I've just been a little relieved. For most of my summer, it was just peak stress level with my job and trying to submit everything on time. 

Savanna: It's stressful! I was just doing a talk about CASPA. It’s hard to explain, but it’s tedious. So how many schools did you apply to? 

Mansi: So I applied to 22. I actually applied to a lot against everyone else's advice. I think my main issue was because I was applying so late. I wanted to kind of make sure that I really didn't want to apply twice; that was my main thing. That’s another reason as to why my application period was so stressful because of all the supplementals I was filling out. Luckily, the physician I work for was super super supportive, and she let me take off as many days as allotted for interviews. So I was offered 11 interviews, to which I declined 3 of them. Out of the ones that I went to, I was accepted to five programs. I was definitely very busy, but I genuinely enjoy interviews so much more. It was actually probably the most enjoyable part of the application cycle. I loved getting to meet new people and talking to different program faculty. 

Savanna: I loved interviews too, which I think is kind of weird. But I'm like right there with you. Well, that’s impressive! 

Mansi: I was not expecting that at all when I applied because that's that's the main reason I applied to so many. I was expecting to get responses from maybe 3, if I was lucky. 

Savanna: So you were in the fortunate spot of getting to decide on a program! So what were you looking for? Did you go to any interviews and feel like, “yeah I don't want to go there.” Or did you ever feel like you knew instantly? What did you use to decide? 

Mansi: So the main thing I thought about during my interviews was the feel of the school. During my very first interview, I was a nervous wreck. I wasn't really paying attention to anything other than my own performance and how I thought I did. However, as I went on during the interview process, I really was able to get a good feel of the faculty, the campus, the different resources I would have, so location was actually a big thing for me. I've been in Georgia for the majority of my life. While I do have ties here, I didn't mind having the opportunity to explore and go to different cities especially because PA school is only 2-2.5 years. In addition, I really wanted to be in a big city where I would be able to access to multi-specialty hospitals for my rotations. I also considered the kind of faculty at the programs and how I felt while talking to them. Another big consideration I looked at was the alumni outlook. For a lot of the programs I interviewed at, we were able to speak to PA students and alumni, which gave me huge insight into how well the program could prepare me to go into my career. So, a lot of schools that I went to interviews for Actually, we got to speak to. Obviously I paid attention to the PANCE pass rate, class size, the student-faculty ratio, and those other main topics. 

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Savanna: That’s awesome. Congratulations! So the program you will be attending -- it’s a PA/MPH program right? Does this make it longer to get the additional public health degree? 

Mansi: Yes it does. I'll be attending George Washington University, and it's a PA/MPH dual degree, so it’ll actually take 3 years. 

Savanna: Is that optional or does everyone do that? 

Mansi: There was an extra part of the application that you fill out if you choose to apply for the additional MPH degree. I did that just because I want to have that dual degree going into my PA career. The interview itself was the same for all students; I interviewed with other students who were applying to be just in the PA program. So the MPH adds 1 whole year to the program, which is the first year. The second year will be the PA didactic year, and the 3rd year will be the PA clinical year. 

Savanna: Okay, cool. Did you apply to any other MPH programs? 

Mansi: Yeah, I actually got accepted to Nova Southeastern. They have an MPH option, so you can choose that once you are a student. So I was looking into that option as well. Being in D.C. was my main factor that made me choose GW. It really sold me due to the location, especially being in the public health area and being near the policy making capital. 

Savanna: Great! So you do have a lot of interview experience. Throughout your interviews, did anything come up from your application? Like was there anything that you feel really made you stand out, or anything that was a red flag that kept coming up? 

Mansi: Yeah! One of the main things was definitely the organic chemistry series. I didn't do well on those at all during school, so during my interviews, I made sure to bring those up. If it ever came up or if the conversation surrounded academics or GPA, I definitely brought that up. And everybody received it really well. I wasn’t grilled. I think they definitely appreciate that I brought it up and owned up to it. Another red flag would have to be my patient care hours. Going into my application cycle, I only had about 1200 hours. I was kind of nervous for some of the schools that didn't count forward those hours, so I made sure to apply to schools that do count forward. And if a school had a certain cap, I just wouldn't apply to those, especially some of my reach schools that had averages of 4,000-5,000 hours for their accepted students. For me it was a red flag just because I didn't feel like I was strong in that aspect. But I would say I was able to turn it into a pro because I talked about the quality of my patient care hours and how much I was able to do as a medical assistant in a small practice without many staff members. We were able to get insight into all different aspects of the clinic and how it ran. 

Savanna: Yeah, I feel like everyone has things in their application -- organic chemistry was mine too! So I think it's interesting, like I never really looked at schools that had public health options, but I think the whole idea of it's really interesting. It would be very helpful. As someone who already has some public health knowledge, how do you feel that will help you in your career as a PA? 

Mansi: So, I want to say my undergrad major really gave me the background that I needed in order to go into clinical medicine and look at different things that make a patient. You know, look at a patient more holistically in that aspect. That definitely was one of the reasons why I was interested in getting an MPH. But I want to say the reason why I chose to do MPH in general was that I really want to be able to push my scope of practice as a PA once I go into the career. I have a lot of different interests - maybe pursue research in the future, be in hospital leadership, or, depending on how things go, 

maybe form a public health program specifically for a target population that I have in mind. I felt that having an MPH would help me be able to achieve those things. 

Savanna: Yeah that’s great. I think more and more people are choosing that as an option, which is really cool. And more programs are offering it. So let’s talk a bit about how you'll be moving from Georgia to D.C. at some unknown time in the future. Is there anything you've done to prepare for that? How do you plan that move that’s very far away with having to get everything in order? What steps have you taken? 

Mansi: I’ve networked a lot, so I talked to a lot of people who I know that have personally moved from Georgia to D.C. I reached out and talked to them about their position. Actually, I got really lucky, and there's a girl who's older than me in the program. She also went to UGA, so our journeys were very similar. She’s a year ahead of me, so I was able to kind of connect with her. She walked me through the different nuances of what life in D.C. is like. I think cost of living is a big thing. I know D.C. is an expensive city, so that was a huge adjustment for her. I’m looking into that as well. Obviously, I know there will be some sort of culture shock going from the South to the center of America’s capital. I’m definitely looking forward to that, but I think I'm ready for it, especially because I've lived here for a long time. So I definitely want to get that exposure by living somewhere else. And in terms of kind of preparing to actually move up there, I'm connected with people from my program to make my circle a little bit smaller and a bit more familiar. I've actually found a roommate as well. So I'm hopefully going to start making those social connections as well which I think will make the move a lot easier. 

Savanna: That’s so exciting! So, where do you see yourself ending up? I know it’s hard to know and it’ll probably change, but what are your thoughts on that after school? 

Mansi: I know it's hard to say right now, and I do want to keep my options open. I Definitely I know rotations are gonna change my mind. Right now, the clinic I work at sees a lot of asthma patients because I work for a pediatric pulmonologist. We kind of the routine pediatric visits but also very severe asthma cases. I know as of now, I am really interested in pulmonology. Although, I don't know if that's where I see myself ending up, but that is one of my interests. And definitely with the coronavirus going on, I do see myself more and more into critical care and wanting to learn more about it. I was actually able to shadow a critical care physician assistant during my application time, so I got to see a little bit of that as well. I think I've gotten a little taste of both worlds. So that's where I’m leaning towards right now. 

Savanna: Okay, sounds good! And where can we find you and follow along? 

Mansi: I recently created a blog on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/mansithepa/. I'll just be posting things about my life, about my journey, about my program, and trying to help out other pre-PAs as well. Thank you for having me! It was really fun. 

How to Prepare Yourself in Undergrad for a Stress-Free PA School Application Process - Guest Post by Kay Horan

If you are about to begin your undergraduate degree, or if you are currently amidst your college career, and you plan on going to PA school, start here! There are some key elements that you should have prepared before you begin applying to physician assistant programs.

The biggest tip I can give is to start. preparing. early. The importance of organizing early and planning ahead is insurmountable and makes the process of applying way less taxing. 

So, where do you start?

Let me break down the key elements, in order of importance, that you need to focus on throughout your undergraduate career to make everything a breeze when you start applying to PA school!

1.GPA: focusing on your GPA is vital. I suggest starting to prioritize your grades early (especially in your science courses), rather than leaving it all to your senior year when you have to bump up your GPA. This will pay off in the end when you have a decent GPA, which is the very first thing that PA programs look at. If you don’t meet their minimum GPA requirement, your application is immediately put to the side (harsh, but true). 

2. Prerequisites: I would meet with your advisor to schedule your classes for each semester. This will help you have full confidence that you will graduate with the necessary class credits to be able to apply to PA school. Do this your freshman or sophomore year, preferably. If you decide that you want to take the route of a career as a physician assistant later than this timeframe, that’s totally fine and doable! But, definitely meet with your advisor to see how many classes you may be missing. Here’s what I did personally; 

• I bought the Applicant’s Manual of Physician Assistant Programs and flagged the pages of whichever programs appealed to me. The book has a comprehensive breakdown of every program in the country and provides important details like the program start date, tuition, GRE requirements, and minimum required clinical hours. Rather than searching every program’s website for all of this, this manual has it all summarized simply and clearly.

• I then made a list of the classes that these programs required. I made sure I had every required class so that no matter what school I applied to, I wasn’t going to be missing any classes. Most schools have common pre-requisites but some require a class or two that may sneak up on you so keep an eye out for those! Here are the most common pre-reqs you will see:

1. Human Anatomy and Physiology I & II (both with labs)

2. Chemistry I & II (both with labs)

3. Organic Chemistry I w/ lab

4. Statistics: 3 credits

5. Microbiology w/ lab

6. Psychology: 3 credits

7. Medical terminology: 3 credits

3. Patient care experience (PCE): this component of your application is one of the most important. Many programs require you to have a minimum of anywhere from 500-2,000 hours (1/2 – 2 years working full-time) of hands-on medical experience to apply to their program. Any extra experience on top of that makes you a competitive applicant. Although this seems daunting, it is easier to tackle if you begin early. There are many different positions that will get you the experience you need and that qualify as “hands-on” patient care. Here’s a few to start you off: 

• Medical Assistant

• Certified Nurse Aide

• Physical Therapy Aide

• ED Tech

• EMT

I know the feat of accumulating hundreds and even thousands of hours of patient care experience while also being a full time student seems nearly impossible, but I promise it’s possible if you break it up into smaller chunks.

Tip: Working when you’re on college breaks is a great way to do this and is what I did personally!

4. Letters of recommendation (LORs): LORs are very important to start thinking about early on in your undergrad career. When you start taking your core science courses and prereqs, work on creating a good relationship with your professor and doing well in these classes. If you go to a larger university like I did, make sure to go to your professor’s office hours so they know who you are. I went to every one of my professor’s office hours that I could for my Organic Chemistry I & II classes before I asked her to write my letter. 

Important note– ask your chosen professor EARLY if they will write your letter of recommendation for you. Give them at least a couple months heads up before you ask them. Have your resume ready for them to refer to and have a list of your programs you will be applying to as well as their application due dates. 

*Pro tip*: college professors are always busy so give them a due date that is actually a few weeks before the actual due date just in case they are late in completing it! Also, send them a quick email a week before it’s due to remind them that the due date is approaching. 

5. GRE: Many schools require their applicants to have taken the GRE and some require a minimum score as well. Definitely take the GRE just to be safe so you don’t limit your options. I recommend taking the GRE anywhere from 3-6 months prior to applying. As far as actually studying for the test, I bought the Kaplan GRE Prep Plus Book which was plenty of study material to help me do well on the test. The book comes with access to online resources and practice exams as well. My biggest advice is to do PRACTICE TESTS. Yes, practice tests are the worst, but it was the most important step I took to do well on test day.

6. Personal statement: Your personal statement is something I would just simply start to think about around a year before you apply to programs. I personally began thinking about what I wanted to write about for my personal statement very early on. I started simply by making a document on my phone called “brain dump”. This consisted of random ideas that had popped into my head for topics for my personal statement. It also had some experiences during my medical experiences that I thought could be useful to incorporate into my essay in the future.

In this way, I wouldn’t forget my brilliant idea and I knew I could come back to this document at a later date when I was ready to start. This helped SO. MUCH. Also, definitely use your university’s writing center if they have one. I brought my personal statement to my school’s writing center probably 5 different times. I also had several different versions of it before I was happy with it. Writing your personal statement is not something you want to rush or to be stressing over right before you have to apply. Take your time with it!

*A few other tips I found super helpful that I did before I applied!!*

MAKE AN EXCEL SHEET!

I created an excel sheet years before applying to keep track of all of my medical experience hours. I began tracking everything as a freshman in college. What I personally kept track of was as follows:

• Shadowing hours

• PCE hours

• Volunteering

• Research (if applicable)

For each category, write in separate columns:

• Name and position of your supervisor/who you shadowed

• Supervisor contact information

• Location and specialty in which you shadowed/worked

• Your job title and responsibilities

• How many hours you completed

• The actual dates of the experience

Having all of the information about your many hours of healthcare experiences already written down is so helpful so all you have to do is input it into the CASPA application when the time comes! Having the amount of hours you completed is especially helpful so you don’t have to do the math when it comes time to apply.

I also recommend including a -notes- section where you can debrief about each of your experiences. Here, you can include what you saw, something you learned, a story that moved you, or really anything that stood out to you. This will help in 2 HUGE WAYS:

1. Your personal statement: The notes section for each medical experience comes in handy when you have to reflect on your many hours of shadowing, working, or volunteering. I personally would not have remembered anything about what I did, what I learned, or any specific stories if it wasn’t for this log. I was able to read my notes and see if anything stood out that could be used to include in my personal statement. Moments like this can be used as a personal growth moment or an emotional story that would add depth to my essay. 

2. The interview: Having this log can he beneficial when it comes time to interview if you are granted one (yay!). You can scan over your experiences and how it benefitted you and what you learned from each one so you are prepared to answer any in depth personal development question in your interview. 

Another great tip!!

Create a CASPA account EARLY!

I made a CASPA account wayyyy before I actually applied. In this way, I was able to get familiar with the website itself, see what information I needed to be able to fill out the app successfully, and to even start inputting my medical experiences and classes. Putting these experiences in little by little makes it easier when it comes time to actually submit your app and you’ll be way less overwhelmed.

That’s all y’all

Overall, all of these requirements will be necessary for you to be a great applicant, which in turn a great student, and a great PA in the future. You wouldn’t be able to get all these requirements done if you weren’t 100% committed to and passionate about the PA profession. That’s all the admission committee needs to see. Keep your end goal in mind and stay driven. Persistence, grit, patience, passion, and dedication is KEY!

I hope this helps and gives you ideas in how to prepare early for your application. I personally followed all of these suggestions and I was stress-free when it came time to apply. Right when the application cycle opens, you will have everything already inserted and ready to go and all you have to do is press submit! This then ensures that you are one of the earlier applicants, which for programs with rolling admissions, is extremely beneficial and increases your chances of being accepted! Woohoo!

Thanks for reading,

Kay

www.panamedkay.com

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MYTH BUSTED: You Cannot go to PA School Straight from Undergrad - Guest Post by Jada

If this were a true statement, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this blog. With a little hard work (Okay- maybe a lot of hard work) and some planning ahead, it is possible to go straight from undergrad to PA school. 

While Gap years are great for some people, they aren't for everyone. In my case, I have known I wanted to be a PA since I was 14 years old and I have been ready to get into practice. Knowing this I got my CNA in high school and started planning my college course accordingly. I worked all of my summers and breaks and spent my free time volunteering and shadowing just about anyone who would let me. Because I knew early on in my career, by the time I graduated from college I had been working towards this goal for 8 years. I was ready.  

I did spend some time contemplating taking an official gap year, but I ultimately decided to try my luck at applying my junior year of college- again, this took careful planning to ensure that I had completed all of my pre reqs by the time I applied. I applied with the mindset that if I didn't get in, then I simply wasn't ready, and I would use the gap year and apply again next cycle. But the truth is, I WAS ready. Why did I decide to go to PA school without a gap year? Well, a few reasons: 

•  I was ready- When I applied to PA school my junior year of college I had more than enough hours, tons of shadowing, volunteering and community involvement. I had the grades and the relationships to ask for strong LORs. When I thought about taking a gap year, I felt like I would grow more as a person by starting PA school rather than working another year as a CNA. Don't get me wrong, I learned A LOT as a CNA, but I felt like I was coasting, and like I needed to challenge myself in order to continue to grow and eventually become the best provider that I can be. 

• Staying in School Mode - Another appeal of going straight out of undergrad is the continuation of school mode, if you are going straight from undergrad you have most likely been in school since you were 5, school is just part of your normal routine and life, so the transition into even more school is a little easier than if you had taken time off and been out of the classroom  for a few years. 

• Starting my Career- With knowing I have wanted to be a PA for so long I am so ready and eager to start my career. I am so amazed and in love with the PA profession that I just want to work in it for as long as I can. The longer I am in the field, the more I can learn and hopefully give back to students as so many of my professors and mentors have done for me. 

These are a few of the reasons I chose to apply straight. The way I did things isn't better than the way someone else did it, it was just best for me. Despite the people that told me otherwise.  

 To the student that is going straight and has heard something along the lines of “You are too young, not mature enough, or not ‘READY’- Whoever told you that- is wrong. You were accepted for a reason. You were chosen out of thousands and thousands of applicants for a reason. You are ready for this. You are enough, and you are going to be amazing! 

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Looking for guidance? We are here to help. Sign up for a Pre-PA Counseling Session.

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 Side note: I think oftentimes when we talk to people about their thoughts on Gap years, they tend to support the idea that what they did was “Best”. We are all different, and no one's experience is identical to our own. I challenge you to think about YOUR needs and YOUR Personal pro and cons to taking a gap year when making a decision. This is your education, not someone else's.  This blog is not meant to sway your opinion, rather to give you an experience and my reasoning so you can make a decision for yourself. Chances are, if you are reading about this you are already ahead of the game. YOU can do this!! Keep going, and don't give up. And if an admissions decision pushes you into a Gap year that you did not initially plan for, take that as a gift of time to learn more and be even more prepared when you do get accepted to absolutely CRUSH it in PA School! 

PA school is filled with students of ALL ages. There is no “right” age to go to PA school. Gap years are great because it gives you time to truly immerse yourself in the field and soak up just about everything that you can, it's also great to go straight into school because you are already in school mode, your knowledge is fresh and you are used to having a school routine, this can be helpful in the PA School transition. You have to do what is best for you, and when you do you will come out as an incredible provider and I am truly honored to call you all my future colleagues. 

 Best of luck to you. I will be cheering for you. 

If you have any questions or just want to stay in touch you can follow me on Instagram @JadaMarie.PA

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Top 5 Tips for Applying to PA School - Guest Post by Melissa Lilian Elist

So you decided to apply to PA school? Congratulations on this big decision. The pathway to PA is highly competitive (and getting worse), but do not be discouraged! As someone who has been there, done that, here are some of my top tips for getting into your dream PA Program.

By the time you begin the application process you have most likely finished all of your classes (or almost finishing up) and have done most of your clinical hours and volunteer work. You should take a moment before even beginning your application and realize how far you have come. Most people (including myself) are so tough on ourselves that we rarely give ourselves credit for how far and how much we have accomplished and achieved at this point. Before beginning this process, reflect and realize that so many people have wanted to take this path and were not able to achieve it for whatever reason that may be. Give yourself a pat on the back that you have made it to at least this finish line.

Tip #1: Do not stress out, try to enjoy the process.

Beginning the application process can be very overwhelming because once you register via CASPA, everything hits you all at once and it's completely normal to feel anxiety about it. Do not worry or stress out, you should try to enjoy this process too. Every chapter in life has its own beauty and rewards, do not forget that you are in the process and will make it to where you want to be, just be patient and trust the timing of your life.

Every aspect of beginning PA school and applying has its own growth factor and time so take it all in. It's a marathon, not a sprint - you are not going to finish the application process in a day or a week, so take your time and try to be efficient and as effective as you can throughout this cycle. Do not forget that this is not a competition; so do not compare yourself to other people’s path and timing around you.

Tip #2: Make a to-do list and plot out your goals for your application.

Do not rush through it, try your best and start to slowly plan/map what you want to get done everyday or every week. Doing this will make it easier for you to stay on track with your schedule and not get overwhelmed or fall behind.

I started off by making a weekly to-do list so whatever I was working on would be productive. I would put my energy and mind to whatever section of the CASPA application I chose for that week. Some people are different, some people like to do a little bit of every section of the application everyday and that is completely fine if that is what works better for you. I just found it to be more efficient and less mentally draining to work on a whole section and then move on to the next once I felt ready.

Tip #3: Prioritize which parts of the application process should be done first.

One of the first things you should take care of as you start the PA School application process is to get your transcripts from your college or colleges that you have attended. It takes some time for schools to process transcripts and for CASPA to receive it.

The next thing I would start working on is thinking of which PAs, doctors, mentors, professors, etc. to get letters of recommendations from. Having a letter of rec from where you have done your clinical hours probably looks best on your application too. I would also recommend getting letters or recs from places that you volunteered or did medical missions with (if you did any).

My advice? Take care of these 2 easy steps first before continuing the rest of the application. Begin inputting any of your shadow, volunteer, clinical experience and etc after these 2 steps.

Tip #4: Tips for your personal statement.

While working on my statement I found myself asking myself: what could make me stand out the most? I did not want to sound boring, generic, or similar to many other statements. I realized that maybe incorporating some of my personality (while staying professional and academic) was not a bad idea. Any experience that you have had, anything that you have learned, grown from or gained medical insight from your experiences is also great to incorporate into your statement. Do not be afraid to be yourself in your personal statement, after all these schools are looking for people that stand out from the crowd.

Tip #5: Do not get intimidated.

Many people will try to scare you or will try to take your motivation away from you throughout this whole process. They will tell you things like “PA school is so hard”, “the application process is so hard”, or that “maybe you should think of another career path, it is getting competitive to get into”. Let this all be outside noise to you.

You are not them and they are not you. Do not lose sight of your future and goals ,and stay motivated in the path that you chose. If you have decided that this is the career you feel that you will thrive the most in, don’t forget why you began in the first place. While you are working hard and pushing throughout this journey, don’t forget that this will all be worth it in the end because nobody did this for you, you did it all yourself.

Once you begin to plot and start the application process you will see your stress begin to fade away and all of your hard work begin to flourish and work itself out. Stay persistent, consistent and motivated when beginning and completing the application. Do not forget to believe in yourself, because at the end of the day you are your own number 1 fan! Nobody else is going to be a better support system for you then yourself throughout this all. Good luck!

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Melissa Lilian Elist is currently a physician assistant student at University of California, Davis, cohort of 2021. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and an emphasis in Disability Studies from University of California, Los Angeles. She is a preventative care advocate and is very proactive in mindfulness, consciousness, and self-love. You can find Melissa on Instagram @melissaelist or reach her via email at melissaelist@gmail.com

Listen to Melissa’s Episode of The Pre-PA Club Podcast here.

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How to Run a Successful Pre-PA Club- Guest Post by Jada

First, congrats on taking the first steps to help other students. As you walk through your path to becoming a PA you will find that the support in this community is incredible and now YOU are a part of that support. 

 So, you want to run a successful Pre-PA club, where does one even start!? 

 Start at your university or even your high school for that matter and seek out the resources that they have for students. At, we had access to a student resource that would help us to start whatever club our hearts desired. If you don't have this, I suggest reaching out to a professor or a career counselor for some guidance. If you are in high school, I would do the same thing with a teacher. Use clubs that are already established, perhaps a pre- health club or a health/science related club to reach out to students who may be interested in a pre-pa club. If you can get access to an established club’s email lists or even go to a meeting you can share information about the new pre-pa club and what you plan to do.  

What exactly should you plan to do with a Pre-PA club? 

As the former president of the NC State Pre-PA club I can only speak to my experience and what worked for us but the beauty of starting the club is you can make it whatever you want. Hopefully what we did can give you some ideas and you can change/ add to them as you see fit. 

At NC State we met with our club once a month on the same day at the same time. Typically guests would speak for 30-45 minutes and the remainder of the meeting would be a Q&A.  

Examples of speakers and presenters to have at pre-pa club meetings:  

• Local PA schools- If your university or high school is close to a PA School, you can reach out to them and ask if they would be willing to come speak to your club. On the schools website search for an admissions counselor/ coordinator and email whoever is listed. More often than not, they are more than happy to come out. If the school is not local, you can set up a virtual meeting where they can facetime/ zoom into the club. They typically talk about their school, admissions and tips and tricks that they have found helpful to students. Some schools will even bring their own students to answer any questions that they club may have.  If you are interested in what one of these invite emails looked like you can find me on Instagram @JadaMarie.PA or email me JadaMariePA@Gmail.com  and I will send you the resources that I have. 

• Practicing PAs- Similar to inviting schools to come speak, you can also invite practitioners to come and speak about their experience and their journey to becoming a PA. Some speakers would offer advice and things they wish they knew and then answer questions from students. Again, if the provider is not local, they can video conference into a meeting. 

• Local places that students can get clinical hours- some home health/ nursing homes are always looking for extra help and they like to recruit pre-pa students. They would come to the club and talk about the positions that they have available and flexibility that they would offer students 

 Workshops are another great meeting idea! 

• Personal statement Workshops 

• GRE Studying Workshops

• Interview Workshops

• CASPA Workshops

 PA School visits: 

If you had a great turn out or a lot of interest in one particular school, you can try to organize a school visit to the PA School. As a club we visited Campbells PA program and had the opportunity to see the facilities and meet the faculty and staff. This was a great way for students to get a feel for the school and if they are interested in applying.   

Organization and Officers: 

We had a very simple structure in our club, but it worked for us! Find what works best for you and your school. 

• President: Responsible for organizing meetings and speakers and for sending email reminders to the club. 

• VP: Responsible for reserving rooms and helping with the logistics of setting up meetings 

• Secretary/ Treasurer: Responsible for handling the club dues and recording meeting minutes to send out later for students to reference or for students who missed the meeting

A Note about Dues: At NC State, the pre-pa club is under a bigger pre-health club umbrella. As a member you pay dues to the pre-health club and then funds are allocated to each subgroup. We used our money to get snacks for meetings and for club t-shirts. 

More Info/ Questions: 

I could write forever about this topic, but I tried to keep things condensed and easy to follow. If you have any lingering questions or if you want me to send you outlines of anything I mentioned in this blog you can find me on Instagram @JadaMarie.PA or email me JadaMariePA@Gmail.com. 

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Successful First-Time Applicant - George @george.shian

George is a current PA-S attending SUNY Downstate’s Physician Assistant Program and will be set to graduate in 2021. He had an incredibly successful first-time application cycle and sat down with us to detail his experience in applying to PA school, give advice, and much more! 

How many schools did you apply to? How many schools did you hear back from and receive interviews from? How many acceptances did you receive?

This is the most common question! I thought I was going to get nothing. I applied to 10 schools. I got 9 interviews, but I did not attend 2 of them because there was no point. I got 7 acceptances. Pretty crazy! This whole year was crazy for me; the whole experience this whole year was crazy for me. If you asked me last year if I would have 7 acceptances, I would be like, “yeah, okay… where?!” It’s a huge blessing to be able to make a decision, to be able to choose between schools. It's such a great advantage. I know a lot of people pray to even get into one school. I'm really, really happy and just very blessed. 

Why did you choose to attend SUNY Downstate over other programs?

There are many factors such as distance and my personal goals as a PA. I want to work as a PA in Brooklyn, in the city, with a particular patient population. I just felt like SUNY Downstate would do a better job at preparing me since their hospitals are primarily in Brooklyn and in New York City. I felt like the best way of preparing myself for my actual career is just literally working with the same patient population that I'll be working with the rest of my life.

The campus is just 20 minutes away if I drive, and it saves me a lot of money. Overall, when I went to the interview, the location, the vibe, it just felt like home. Honestly, I was like, “wow, I feel home.”

Something else I really liked is that SUNY Downstate starts off slow-ish, and then they pick up the pace. The first semester is summer semester, and I only had three classes then it picked up. You don’t just jump in, like some of the new programs here in New York start in the Fall with 9 classes. In addition, I'm actually saving $50,000 in terms of loans! My tuition for SUNY Downstate is about $40K for the entire program.

Everyone wants to know how you got in! Give us a rundown of your stats please.

For undergrad, I went to City University of New York, Brooklyn College. I was a psych major and a chemistry minor. My overall GPA was 3.51. My science GPA was 3.47. I didn’t transfer schools. I took all my prerequisites there, and I think that shows consistency. I took every single science class that Brooklyn College offered. When I was a sophomore, I had a D in Orgo Chem 1 Lab and a C+ in Orgo Chem 2 Lab. I knew that on interviews, I would get asked about those, but I wanted to get it together and show them I am ready for the intense coursework of PA school. I took every single science course that I could as a prerequisite, I took all of those and I got really good grades in them. My last six semesters I was a 4.0 student. So I think that looks really good because you have that upward trend. In addition, I did not retake those classes that I got a C and a D in.

When I was about to start my junior year in college is when I realized that I wanted to be PA. That was the first summer that I started volunteering. That's when I met a PA for the first time and I did my research. I realized that that is what I want to do. Having that sense of direction and being goal driven; that certainly gives you the push to get it together and do what you have to do to get to your goal. That’s exactly what happened to me. 

In terms of hours, I had 630 hours of volunteering in general as HCE (health care experience). With PCE (patient care experience), I had about 4,500 plus hours. I spent three years working nonstop at different jobs. I submitted my resume to about 50 clinics. Then I became a medical assistant at a vascular interventional radiology clinic. Finally, I became a medical assistant at a pain management office. 

I also did research at Maimonides Medical Center. I didn’t like research at all; it wasn’t for me. I went around asking, “What else should I do?” I networked and found this research position. I did research for only 38 hours because it wasn’t for me. I had a total of 8 letters of recommendation, and I know that CASPA only allows 5. However, the other 3, you can take them to interviews with you because that’s allowed. Most of the schools took them. At the end of the interviews, I told the schools that “I have other letters of recommendation – these 3 over here. These are also like people that I worked with.” Most schools shouldn’t have problems with that. I think that’s it!

I just want to clarify that you got a C and a D on your transcript, and you still got so that many acceptances. That’s one of the main questions I get is, “I have a C in this class. Can I still get into PA school?” 

Yes! These grades definitely came up in the interviews, and I was prepared to answer the questions. I was very honest because honesty is always appreciated. I told them that I was lazy. I didn't do what I was supposed to do. I was late to class, I didn't do my assignments. 

They like honesty. You know, I didn't sugarcoat it. I just told them the way it was. I wasn't prepared for like the intensity of the class at that time because I didn't have the right study habits to tackle the science classes. And I was not the right kind of student. Then as I went on, as I became more driven, I definitely develops strong study habits and was able to prioritize academics over everything.

Would you say those grades were the most concerning part of your application? Are there other things that you are worried about?

Yeah, those grades were the most concerning part. They were the biggest red flags of my application. 

Did you take a gap year? 

Yes I did!

One of the questions we had is that people feel like they aren’t ready to apply. My rule of thumb is that you can prepare your application forever, but if you meet the minimum requirements for a program, go ahead and apply. How did you deal with just feeling like you weren't good enough, or knowing that you were ready and competitive enough to apply?

That's a great question. I was actually asked with myself. I thought I was going to apply back in 2017 but I didn't. I still didn't take some prerequisites. I had four classes that were still outstanding. I literally just didn't feel like I didn't feel confident. If I had applied back then, I don’t think I would have gotten in. 

This time, it took me like 6 months to work on my personal statement. It took me a while to get my hours together. I think I made the right decision back in 2017. I improved my GPA from a 3.4 to a 3.5. I think overall it’s a feeling that you feel, if you feel confident in your application and if you meet the minimum requirements. If you just feel good about what you are putting out there, just go for it! 

What would you say made your essay stand out? Did you use anything to help you prepare? What resources did you find helpful?

Actually, every single day, I was on the PA Platform website. There’s so much information on there. I was on Ashley Kay’s page all the time! She helped me a lot. I also attended your IG lives, and I would take notes. For the personal statement, I talked about how my life has changed from living in Armenia, experiencing loss, and then coming to a whole different country and starting over. I talked about how that experience back home sort of influenced me to go into medicine, have that interest in medicine, how that experience back in home sort of influenced me to go into medicine, and how I came about choosing the PA profession.

I knew that I wanted to be in the medical profession, in the medical field. I just didn't know which career path to choose. Those are really the same exact words I use in my personal statement. Then after shadowing, working with all these difference healthcare professions, you kind of figure it out for yourself. That’s what I did. 

You have to like discuss these things briefly because you are only given 5,000 characters.

You have to really spend time on it. It took me a while because you have a very limited amount of words, and you want each character, each word, to really make sense in your personal statement. Each word really counts, so you have to choose your words wisely and use them well.

You have to connect your life story plus how that led you to the PA profession. For the conclusion, you bring it all together. You have to keep it short and sweet because the admissions committee reads thousands of letters. You have to ask your friends, people with better grammar skills than you, to read it. 

Let's talk about interviewing. One question was, how did you afford to go to your interview? Did you plan for that?

I worked throughout my college career, so I saved up some money. Also, I applied to schools only in New York State and one school in New Jersey – Rutgers University. All my interviews were around here. That's why it was easier for me to because I didn't apply to schools in California. At a lot of the schools I went to for interviews, other applicants were from Alaska, California, Texas. I remember I went to Cornell for an interview, and we had a girl there from Hawaii. Thankfully, I didn't have to pay for hotels and have to pay for flights. It was very convenient.

As far as interviews, what was the hardest part? What is your best advice for interviews? 

Interviews are exhausting because you have to maintain yourself. You have to be smart, and you have to be super nice. You want them to like you, and you have to dress nicely. It’s stressful. I was worried about my accent and worried if I would articulate myself properly.

For the Stony Brook interview, I remember they were super nice. That’s the one thing that was surprising to me. They’re all super nice and trying to get to know you. They’re not trying to intimidate you. They’re just trying to get to know you and have a conversation. It's just that simple and you talk to them like you’re talking to your friends, but a little more professionally. The interview season wasn't the toughest. For me, it was the application part that was tough for me.

The Physician Assistant School Interview Guide by Savanna Perry was basically my Bible. As long as you try your best and are being truthful, the admissions committee sees that, and they really like that. I liked interviews. You sit there and talk about yourself! 

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Do you consider yourself a traditional or non-traditional student?

Traditional. 

I think so too. So how long did it take you to fill out your application? And when did you submit?

When I applied, CASPA opened April 24. I submitted mine May 12th or May 13th. I prepared beforehand. You have to prepare for this! The first day, I would really just to enter your grades and make sure it's correct and start to get your letters recommendation. Be on top of that! It’s the only part of your application that you’re not in control of; you’re waiting for other people to submit it for you. I submitted it within 2-2.5 weeks. 

What else do people have to know?

I have this rule, the 75:25 rule for your PCE and HCE. When entering your information on CASPA, I say 75% of your job is PCE and 25% of your job is HCE. That’s how I divided it, and it worked for me! For example, for my medical assistant job, I was mostly with my patients and taking care of them. There's 25% of the job where you're doing correspondence, calling prescriptions, talking to other doctors, setting up appointments and scheduling, and all of the administrative aspects of the healthcare setting. I actually was keeping track of my hours because when I got a paycheck, it says how many hours I worked. I would just like add them up, and I would keep my pay stub. I didn't overestimate, which was fine. 

In terms of shadowing and asking, you are going to have to be prepared for rejection. You have to just take it, and try your best. My advice is just don’t get discouraged!

Contact George on Instagram here: @george.shian

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A Guide to the GRE - Guest Post by Sandra Oh

**This GRE guide is completely for information only! Sandra made this to share her own experience.** 

Background: My prep may look a little different from yours. I prepared extensively for the SAT/ACT before going to university, so I still remembered a lot of concepts that overlapped on the GRE. 

Study materials: 

1. Magoosh* (highly recommend) 

a. They have their own study plans for your anticipated test date! This is helpful whether you’re in a time crunch or have 6 months. Staying on track while self-studying is not easy!

b. I appreciate how it keeps a running tally of your estimated score for verbal and math.

c. Their question bank is extensive, and if you have your practice questions on “practice” mode instead of “quiz” mode, you get lessons on how to do the problems.

d. Each practice question has a “how-to” video and text-only guide that tells you how to do the problem, both verbal and math. It explains why certain answer choices are right and wrong. For the math section, it also teaches you new concepts and shortcuts that might help you solve the problems more quickly and save you some time!

e. They have practice tests that give you a relatively close estimate of your score. My practice exam score was off, so my actual score was higher (I’m not complaining!). I’ve seen that generally people do better on the actual ETS exam. This could be because I wasn’t in “exam mode” during my practice exams, so try to take the exam as you would a real exam!

f. Their website layout is similar to the actual exam, so it forces you to get used to taking an online exam and using the calculator provided!

2. Manhattan Prep 4th Edition Detailed Guidebooks 

a. I would recommend this if you are looking for something truly foundational. The books are thorough, helpful, and easy to read and go over.

b. There are 8 books total that break down the whole exam. If you have the time and are committed to learning the ins and outs of the exam, then you will learn so many helpful concepts! 

My 5-Week Study Plan (Disclaimer: Do what works for you! Everyone studies a bit differently.): 

● Weeks 1-3: Do as many practice problems as possible. I prioritized math, so I always did more math problems than verbal a day. This might seem like a lot, but math is practice and repetition. Always know why you got something wrong. You can flag questions for review and practice on Magoosh. I personally finished almost all of the ones available from Magoosh (700+problems, each subject). Do as many as you can! 

○ Time studied per day varies. Self studying at home is hard, because you have to stay focused! I aimed for about 3 hours of intentional, focused learning a day. Don’t be discouraged if some days you can’t- if you feel overwhelmed or burnt out, reduce the time studied per day or take a day off! Time put in reflects on your score, but it’s also important to take care of your mental health. 

● 10 days prior leading up to the day before my exam: I took 5 practice exams, 1 day on/off. I reviewed the practice test from the day prior, looking over words and concepts that I got wrong and making sure I understood why so I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. I didn’t do many practice problems within this period.

○ Avoid burnout! Use this time to get into “exam mode”- it’s important that you’re able to get focused and stay focused for the entirety of the exam. The breaks are meant to be a breather, but do your best to stay strong throughout the exam! 

● D-1: Relax. Review words and formulas that you might forget like simple/compound interest. Cramming 1 day before the exam will not help and will probably make you more anxious! If you’re taking it at home, do an equipment check with your computer and make sure that it meets ProctorU guidelines to save yourself some stress before your exam. Get a good night’s rest! 

● D-Day: Wake up early and wake up your brain! Go on a walk or do some sudoku. Eat a good breakfast and don’t stress! 

Tips:

• The first thing you should do is take a diagnostic test. You want to have a ballpark of where you’re starting! 

• Work with your weaker section first. Remember that your diagnostic score is just your starting point! Don’t get discouraged if it’s not what you thought it was, set a “dream” score and work to achieve it! 

• If you’re in a time crunch (~1 month or less), prioritize math. Memorizing vocab words and trying to “figure out” reading comprehension takes more time, especially if you’re really trying to boost your score. 

• This may vary, but I think that math is easier to improve compared to verbal. Like any standardized test, the math section on the GRE is composed of repeating concepts displayed in different forms. If you’re able to practice enough problems and recognize the patterns within math, as well as figure out the conceptual shortcuts, your score should improve greatly. 

• Make a dictionary (or flash cards). I made a small dictionary out of an old notebook and looked up every word I didn’t know from my practice problems and practice exams. I made mnemonics and tried to review the words when I could. I did see some on the exam, so don’t skip learning words that you don’t know! 

• Use “cheat sheets” for formulas! Try not to use them in practice exams for the most realistic score. Magoosh has one for math that compiled all the necessary formulas you need on the exam. 

• Learn how to use the tiny calculator! I know I was stressed when I figured out I had to use the limited on-screen computer. It can recall values though, so that can be helpful with large numbers/long decimals! 

• Review the essay topics before your exam! All the essay topics are available on the ETS website. You can glance over it and get a feel for what to expect on exam day. 

Stats: 

*I always did better on quant than on verbal on my practice exams, but I found exam quant to be more difficult. 

Hope you found this helpful! Good luck! 

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Prepping for PA School Applications as a Freshman in College

Today’s guest post is written by Ashley Koch, a second semester freshman in college who is pursuing a career as a physician assistant and has been working towards making her dream a reality since she was in high school. Follow Ashley’s journey at @akoch_coke

I have always known I wanted to be a PA. As a freshman in college, I knew that I wanted to start doing everything I could to prepare for my PA school application. Even though the application process was so far away, I was still dedicated to doing anything I could to start preparing myself for PA school and I will be sharing how I began this journey at such an early stage in my life!

 I realized pretty early on that I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field; throughout my childhood it seemed as if at any time someone got injured, I was always the person called on to help them. With this desire of helping others continuing on as I grew older, the only dilemma I faced was deciding between pursuing the career of either a nurse or a doctor (at the time I was unaware of the PA profession). I felt as if there were pros to both careers, but there wasn’t one that was peaking my complete interest; I was instead desiring a career that was ideally a perfect combination of a nurse and doctor. From this interest, as soon as I discovered the Physician Assistant profession, I knew that it was in my path.

Toward the ending of my freshman year of high school, I was introduced to a program at my local Northside Hospital called “Volunteen.” This program gave teenagers the opportunity to not only experience what working in a hospital environment felt like but also determine if this environment was one they could picture in their dream job. After going through their application and interview process, I was accepted! During this experience, my love for medicine only grew stronger. I spent every remaining summer of my high school career volunteering at Northside Hospital in their Family Centered Care, Women’s Surgery, and Baby Photography positions. Along with my experience as a Volunteen, I was at the same time researching more about the Physician Assistant career in order to further confirm my desire to pursue it.  

When it became time for me to apply to colleges, I made the decision to only apply to universities that also had the Physician Assistant Master’s Program. With my home state being Georgia, I had a couple of options to choose from and ultimately decided on attending Augusta University! 

Within my first couple of weeks in college, I immediately sought out and joined my university’s PA club; this action alone has provided me with a greater understanding of not only the Physician Assistant career, but also all of the details surrounding the application process. After learning about the basic requirements for most PA schools, I dedicated my Christmas break to creating a spreadsheet of various PA schools and their specific course and healthcare experience requirements in order to set my goals of what I want my PA school application to look like. Currently, I am scheduling my shadowing experience along with more Northside volunteering over this next summer, along with planning my sophomore year schedule around beginning undergrad research and getting my EMT certification through a program my university offers.

Whether you are currently in high school or just beginning college and pursuing a career that extends beyond undergrad, even though the application process may be a decently long time away, don’t feel discouraged about preparing for the application because of time. Instead of viewing the several years before applying as several years of waiting, view it as several years of preparing and pushing yourself to not only have the ideal application you want but also to become more experienced and ensured that this program is meant for you. It is always a great idea to get a head start and it is never too early to start working toward the career that is calling your name.

Join The PA Platform’s Pre-PA Club Facebook Group, a community of thousands of Pre-PAs!

Getting Into PA School as a Humanities Major - Guest Post by Carrie Gold

It was a few months ago now that I got exactly the phone call I had been hoping to get. It came on a weekday evening, and when I saw the area code, I stepped into the bedroom to take the call privately.

 “Hello Carrie!” It was the director of a program I had interviewed at. “We want to invite you to be part of our incoming class.”

 I had done it. I had gotten into PA school.

During the difficult process of applying, I had met individuals from a whole range of backgrounds—from students just finishing up undergrad, to a real estate agent looking to change careers, to an MD from another country who wanted to be able to practice in the US (“I’ve delivered over 800 babies!” he told me). Even so, my own background was not one I encountered during prerequisite classes and while chatting with others at interviews: One with a background in the humanities.

 “The humanities” is the academic term for non-science, technology, engineering, and math studies. It includes majors like English literature, American studies, philosophy, art history, and film studies. For me, it was foreign languages. I started taking French in eighth grade and was immediately captivated. I added Spanish in high school.

 I knew I wanted to teach foreign languages. I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts and got a job right away as a French and Spanish teacher for a junior high and high school. I started my master’s the next year.

 I had also, since I was little, always been interested in medicine. And by the time I got into my seventh year of teaching, there were multiple factors in my life (that I won’t go into here) that made me start seriously considering PA school. I was teaching at a small charter school at the time. At the end of the school year, when the principal sat me down and told me was no budget for me to teach there the following year, it clenched the decision.  

 What followed was a process I’m sure you’re all familiar with: a schedule of volunteering and shadowing, and lots and lots of studying. By the time I started working on my CASPA application, I was realizing there were a lot of competitive applicants out there who had backgrounds and experiences that I just couldn’t bring to the table. Why would anyone accept me to their PA program when the other applicants were respiratory therapists and EMTs and biology majors who spent the last five years working as a medical assistant? I wouldn’t choose me for a program.

 But then I started to realize: Maybe I didn’t have a science degree, but I had already successfully completed a master’s degree and knew how to succeed academically. I hadn’t worked with a lot of patients, but as a public-school teacher, I was responsible for doing my best to care for all the students—of all types, backgrounds, and needs—who came to me. I started to realize: No, I didn’t have a traditional background for a PA school applicant, but I had unique experiences and traits that could help me become a good PA—and that other applicants didn’t have.  

 I began to focus not on what I didn’t have because of my non-traditional background, but on the strengths I could bring to the table. And coming from a humanities background really did give me some strengths! That’s what I wanted to share with any other humanities majors out there who are working on applying to PA school: That you might not have the same experiences as other applicants, but that your background is also great preparation for PA school.

 Strengths humanities majors bring to the table when applying for PA school

1.     You stick out

I taught school for seven years. I can tell you from experience that when I had 200+ students, I did not remember every name, face, and story that went with it, even though I wanted to. But there were always memorable students who stuck out—and not always for the reasons you might think. Yes, the enthusiastic, high-scoring Hermione Granger clone was one. But so was the goofball who made me laugh…and so was the troublemaker. Really, it didn’t matter what it was. I remembered the students who were distinctive.   

 If you start looking at the stats pages of different PA programs, you’ll start seeing that it’s normal for them to have 1,000+ applicants for maybe fifty spots. And I can tell you from experience: The faculty simply cannot keep every applicant straight in their minds. What does this mean? It means it’s a huge strength to stand out. Being the one Spanish Teaching major in a sea of biology degrees does that, and I think your degree in humanities will, too.

2.     You’ve been trained to think critically

 When I decided to apply to PA school, I needed all the prerequisite courses. My first was biology. I studied hard; the topics covered seemed oddly detailed and specific to me, though—who could possibly remember every step of the Kreb’s Cycle? Instead of focusing on those details, I studied the way I had while working on my bachelor’s and master’s degrees: I looked for patterns and common themes, and studied long enough that I had a general overview of the material. I went into the first exam feeling confident.

When we got our exams back, I saw I had scored just above failing.

 Immediately, I started studying differently. I realized that yes, I was supposed to memorize the steps of the Kreb’s Cycle, and one of the biggest changes I made to my new studying technique was that I started focusing more on memorization (so many flashcards!). I earned a C+ in that class, but after, I’m proud to say, adjusting how I studied got me an A or A- in all my other prerequisites classes.  

 I tell this story for two reasons. First, to illustrate that a background in the humanities might mean you’re going to have to figure out a different way of studying—but at the same time, that you’re completely capable of doing so. The second reason, though, is to highlight what a humanities education emphasizes, namely: to think critically.

 My BA and MA didn’t teach me to memorize facts. Instead, like how I approached that biology class, they taught me to assemble information, to look for patterns, and to draw conclusions. Those classes taught me to think critically: Why is this like it is? How does it work? What conclusions about this information can I now apply to other areas?

 Even if this isn’t always how you need to study while working on becoming a PA, it’s something that will serve you well. I’m pretty sure the better clinician would be not the one who can regurgitate memorized facts, but the one who can analyze the facts and connect the dots. And that’s what a humanities education does so well in teaching you how to do: to think critically.

3.     You can write

 So much of my time as a humanities student was spent writing. As an undergrad, I was assigned to write a personal narrative, and wrote about a service trip to Mexico my family had taken. In one of my first teaching classes, the professor had us practice writing clear, concise directions for worksheets. As a graduate student, I had to write a long paper analyzing the use of proper nouns in a piece of Mexican literature.

 These assignments were part of what helped me learn critical thinking. There was another outcome from writing, though: I learned how to write. On the PA Platform, we often hear Savanna explain that your personal statement gets you yourinterview, and your interview gets you accepted. As a humanities major, you’ve had excellent preparation to write a solid personal statement that will help you do just that. It can’t hurt later, either, when you need to write clear patient notes.

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4.     You can communicate

 Several years ago, I had some odd spots showing up on my legs. I asked my family practitioner about them. He glanced at them from across the room and pronounced that they would go away on their own. Later, I mentioned the experience to my mom, who helped me set up an appointment with a dermatologist she knew personally. At the appointment, the physician looked carefully at the spots, explained his thought process in analyzing the situation, explained each of the additional diagnostic tests he performed, and explained what he wanted me to do next.

 The issue did eventually resolve itself; at the same time, I had left one appointment annoyed and concerned, and the other completely reassured. The difference? How the practitioners communicated with me.  

 Communication is an incredibly important skill for a healthcare provider. As a humanities major, you spend time reading and writing, analyzing rhetoric, and examining what people have said. You studied how people have gotten their messages across—and you’ve practiced getting across your own. Being able to communicate matters. Studying the humanities gives you great preparation in doing so.

 
5.     You’ve studied the human experience. You’ve learned that humanity is diverse and complex, and you’ve learned to respect it.

 When I told people I was a high school French and Spanish teacher, I often got the same reaction: “Oh, I took two years of Spanish in high school. I don’t remember a thing!” For this reason, I tried to emphasize to my students the benefits of studying a foreign language—even if they didn’t become totally fluent. I would talk to them about how taking a foreign language taught them about other countries, how it showed them different cultures have different values, and how it helped them learn to respect differences.   

 In a similar way, the objective of a degree in the humanities isn’t just for you to learn the content of famous literature or which artist started Cubism. Literature, music, and art are about capturing the human experience. I believe when you study those things in depth, you get a better understanding of what it means to be human, and, most importantly, you learn to respect that, so often, that human experience is very different from your own. In my PA school interviews, I talked about how being a teacher was about caring for anyone who came to me—in the same way that becoming a PA will be about caring for individuals of different socioeconomic levels and cultural backgrounds. That’s exactly what your humanities background has been preparing you to do: To give the best care for the individual, which is based fundamentally on respect for who they are.

Finally, some tips:

 Being a humanities major at first felt like a disadvantage when I was in the process of applying for PA school. I realized, though, that it offers several strengths. Here’s my advice for making the most of them when you’re applying:

·    Rather than being intimidated by more traditional majors, be proud of your background. It helps you stand out, and it gives you qualities that other applicants won’t have.
·      Think about what skills and qualities your background in humanities taught you that will help make you a good PA student and a great PA. For me, this included things like being trained to think critically about a situation, learning to communicate effectively, and learning to respect cultural differences.  
·      Take time to write down a list of these special skills and qualities. After, write down a personal experience or two that is a concrete illustration of each one.
·      Write your personal statement and practice for interviews in a way that highlights these unique experiences and traits. As much as possible, show don’t tell. Talking about a personal experience goes a lot farther than just listing words that sound good.
·      Understand that different programs are looking for different kinds of students. Looking at what requirements a program has is a great clue. I didn’t get accepted to the program that, compared with the other programs I applied to, required the fewest number of classes but the greatest number of patient care hours—which made sense. They were clearly looking for someone with lots of practical experience. I did get into programs that emphasized Spanish and serving underserved populations, traits that fit with my resume.
·      Finally, knowledge is power. Keep learning about each step of the application process: Study up on each program you’re applying for, learn about different ways to study if you’re struggling in classes, make sure you understand CASPA, get feedback on your personal statement, and buy an interview prep book. 

Carrie blogs about mental health at LivingWiththeBlue.com. You can also find her on Instagram at @LivingWiththeBlue. 

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Barriers This First Generation PA Student Broke Down - Guest Post by Jessica Gomez

My name is Jessica Gomez and I am a PA-S1 at University of California, Davis. I thought I would share a couple of barriers that I have overcome as a first generation student! I hope that this blog post inspires you to overcome any obstacles you face in life.

As the daughter of immigrants, I have faced several unique challenges that directly shaped my life due to the cultural hardships my family has had to overcome. For example, as a child, I was my parent’s linguistic and cultural mediator. This increased level of responsibility helped me enhance my interpersonal skills and understand the feeling of fulfillment one attains from helping others.

Being a first-generation college student is an honor and a privilege that my parents did not have. Throughout this experience, I could not turn to my parents for advice on my college applications, scholarships, or ask them for help in selecting a major.

Therefore, I struggled academically during my first year of undergrad education.

However, my parents instilled in me a hardworking diligent attitude! So, through hard work and perseverance I was able to overcome my failures. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent studying in my undergrad years to improve my GPA and taking advantage of every opportunity (volunteering, shadowing, and working as a scribe) to assure that I would reach my goal to become a PA.

No matter what your obstacles are keep at it! I deeply believe that we can achieve anything we MANIFEST in this world!

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Guest Post: Benefits of Attending a Provisional PA Program

I was so excited when Pooja Sitapara reached out to provide her insights on being part of a brand new PA program. I get a lot of questions about whether or not it's a good idea to apply to provisional programs or just new programs in general. Now we get some personal opinions! 

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Hey, ya’ll! I’m a PA-S1 in the inaugural class at Charleston Southern University in Charleston, South Carolina. With so many new PA programs opening up next year, I wanted to share why I chose to attend a new program instead of a continuous-accredited program. 

There are so many reasons I love being part of a new PA program! In my opinion, newer programs tend to have more updated facilities and resources to teach you. My program has a state of the art building that’s brand new, a cadaver lab and SPECTRA table, multiple simulation mannequin patients, and OSCE rooms with a two-way window with a debriefing room on the other side for our professors and classmates to watch and provide constructive criticism. The OSCE rooms also have cameras and microphones so our professors can record our patient interactions and play them back for us. My program also has a lot of other equipment such as dermatoscopes, otoscopes and ophthalmoscopes in each exam room, and models of patients with detachable parts, such as different ears that have different pathological conditions. Most of these resources weren’t available at some of the older and more established programs I interviewed at. 

Another benefit of a new program is that your feedback and opinions carry much more weight with the faculty and administration. The director of my program has monthly meetings with my class to ask about our concerns and feedback, and our administration is very readily available to help us at any time. Almost all of our suggestions are immediately implemented, or the faculty explains to us why they can’t implement our wishes. The faculty also makes it a point to ask us how they can teach us better

A newer program is much more flexible in making changes and trying newer and better ways of doing things. I also feel as if newer programs want you to succeed just as much, if not more than you, because the student’s success and feedback is an integral component of their accreditation process. My program even pays for a tutor to come in after each body system we finish to provide supplemental materials and learning!

Lastly, being a part of a new or newer program means that you get to play an active role in the ARC-PA accreditation process of a program. Throughout your time in PA school, you get to share your feedback through interviews and surveys. This is definitely a skill that you can use to market and set yourself apart from other PA students! 

On a personal note, I know it can be nerve wrecking to consider a new PA program. However, on a logistical note, if you start a provisionally accredited/new program, the ARC-PA mandates that the program graduates you and lets you sit for the PANCE. This really took a lot of the worry off my plate. And I know the process of applying to PA school is one that is very much driven by your brain, but trust your heart and your gut when you decide which program to attend. Honestly, a new program wasn’t high up on my list, but after interviewing at CSU, I was so impressed with the director of the program and the faculty and it just felt so right that I knew this program was the right fit for me. When choosing programs to apply to and interview at, remember you are interviewing the program just as much as they are interviewing you. You’re investing a lot of time and money into your PA education, so find a program that will not only educate you, but will also align with your personal mission statement and goals. 

Good luck with the 2018-2019 CASPA cycle! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at pvsitapara@csustudent.net. I’ll try my best to read as many of them as I can!

Fun Fact: I chose to become a PA after I figured out what I wanted to do! My short/midterm goal is to get experience in the PICU, orthopedic surgery, and general pediatrics. My ultimate goal is to open a behavioral health center and use my medical experience to treat abused and neglected children in South Carolina. I needed a career that allowed me to work in multiple specialties and get a diverse quality of medical experience, all while being flexible enough to let me keep volunteering locally and abroad, which is really important to me! Physician assistant was the perfect career for my goals and checked off every single one of my boxes!

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Guest Post from The Skin Sisters - Why We Became PAs

You may remember The Skin Sisters from Episode 11 of The Pre-PA Podcast, but they're back today to share a little more of their stories of becoming PAs.  Make sure to check out their blog, "The Skin Sisters," and follow along with them on Instagram (@theskinsisters) for skincare tips. 

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Hi! We are Brooke & Lauren and we are The Skin Sisters. We were born just 13 months apart. We went to elementary school, middle school, high school, and even college at the University of Wisconsin - Madison together. We both joined sororities and studied until all hours of the night at Helen C. White library in Madison. But that is where the similarities in our professional path diverge for a bit.  Lauren was studying biology and anatomy, while Brooke was preparing for a career in Tech PR. There are many different paths to becoming a Physician Assistant; ours happen to mirror just two of them.

Lauren: I always wanted to go into medicine. Our mom was a nurse and our stepdad was a physician; from an early age, my interest was piqued and I wanted to enter the health care field. However, I was unsure about going to medical school and completing a residency; I just didn’t see myself going down that path. I remember one afternoon my sophomore year of college; I was chatting with our stepdad and discussing my interest in medicine, but my hesitation to apply to medical school. He suggested that I explore the path to becoming a Physician Assistant. It was 2001 and the Physician Assistant field was growing quickly. His suggestion made a lot of sense to me, so I started to reach out to every PA, physician and nurse I could find to get his or her opinion. I questioned them on how they chose their career path and spent countless hours shadowing Physician Assistants to learn about their career. It soon became clear that I had found the profession for me.

I applied and was accepted to a great program in Nashville, TN, where I was able to get all of the clinical hours necessary to apply to PA School. It was through an organization called Dialysis Clinics Inc. (DCI) that I was able to spend the summer in Nashville reinforcing my decision to become a PA. I spent hours and hours at St. Thomas Hospital and Camp Okawehna providing basic care to both children and adults who were on dialysis or receiving kidney transplant.

I returned from Nashville and started applying to Physician Assistant Programs. I was fortunate to be admitted to a program in New York City, where I wanted to live at the time. It was an interesting time, because PA Programs were not as ubiquitous (or as competitive!) as they are now. Back in 2004, there were 3 PA Programs in New York City, and there were not many Masters Degree programs like we have now; all of the 3 programs in NYC offered only a certificate or Bachelors Degree at the time.

I started PA School knowing that I wanted to practice Dermatology. Through my shadowing prior to PA School, Dermatology had interested me very much and I thought I would enjoy practicing in the field. However, during PA School, there were many times that I questioned this plan - I became interested in each rotation I completed and realized that I could be happy in many fields. Thankfully, this interest allowed me to actively learn and participate fully in each clinical rotation I completed, as I now utilize so much of my general medical and surgical knowledge in my Dermatology career. I love being a Physician Assistant and am thankful that I realized early on that becoming a PA would provide me with a fulfilling, enjoyable, and challenging career.

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Brooke: After college, I moved to San Francisco to start a career working in Corporate Communications for a Tech PR firm, where I stayed for just under five years. In that time I learned so much and had wonderful opportunities to learn, grow and live in some really fun places! Over time, however, I realized that I wasn't pursuing what I was passionate about and began to take steps to figure out my next career move. I was always cautiously interested in science and especially the human body, but never really know how to place my interests into a specific career path.

Over almost a year, I took time to talk to and spend time with anyone I could to expose myself to all different types of opportunities. This led to taking night classes in basic sciences and starting work as a Medical Assistant. During my time working at a Pediatrician's office, I start to notice different things that I would later learn are social determinants of health and health disparities within communities. After much discussion with family members, they to helped guide me in the direction of pursuing a Masters in Public Health. I moved to Washington, D.C. and embarked on two years of study that would significantly change my life. Learning about community health and the social determinants of health has absolutely helped shape me as a clinician for the better. During these years, I had the opportunity to complete a Fellowship abroad in India, which gave me the opportunity to see community health and disparity in action, as well as see how health policy works both domestically and abroad. 

As I entered into my final year in Public Health I knew that something was missing, and that I was craving the training and knowledge to be able to serve individuals at that patient/provider level. I applied to PA school at the same University and was accepted. Fast-forward two years, and countless library hours later, and I was walking across the stage with my degree as a Physician Assistant. 

I was recently engaged upon graduation and was moving to a city where my now-husband would complete a Fellowship and I knew no one, and certainly didn't have any contacts in the medical field! I put my resume up on several different sites and began cold calling offices in the area to see if they were hiring a PA. I initially wanted to work in Emergency Medicine but broadened my horizons and was so lucky when a Dermatologist called saying they were looking for a PA.

The practice I joined trained me in dermatology and specifically to assist in Mohs surgery for the removal of skin cancer. Over the year I spent there I fell in love with Dermatology, in many of the ways I had previously loved Emergency! I love the fast pace of dermatology, the variety and the ability to do so many different things! When my husband and I moved back to Minneapolis, the practice Lauren was at was looking for another PA and the timing worked out perfectly.

There are so many paths to becoming a PA, and no path is right or wrong. We are both lucky to have found a profession we love, and look forward to working in for many years to come.

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Guest Post from Eryka - How to Optimize Your Relationships with PAs, MDs, and RNs

Today we have a guest post from Eryka, a student who is currently in the process of applying to PA school.  Eryka and I connected through Facebook, and she has been sharing her advice through The Pre-PA Club Facebook group and I recently did an interview with Eryka on The Pre-PA Club Podcast. We're going to be following her journey so you can get some insight from someone who is going through the process right now. Enjoy! 

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Hey guys! It’s Eryka I am a first-time applicant this year, and I was the previous PA Club president at my Alma Matter, the University of Delaware, Go Blue Hens! I have partnered up with The PA Platform to help share some of the things I have learned along the way to make your journey to PA school much smoother. Today I want to talk to you guys about how to make the most of your relationships with PAs, MDs, and RNs. From every shadowing experience or job I’ve had I made many connections with healthcare providers that have helped me get to the next step in my journey. Using these 5 tips will help you make meaningful connections with clinicians!

1.) Introduce yourself! Every healthcare provider that I have met, I always introduce myself. If there is a new PA at work, I will find a way before the day gets too busy to introduce myself: “Hi, I’m Eryka, nice to meet you. How long have you been a PA? Where did you go to PA school? I will be/am applying to PA school…” This without fail has sparked a conversation about how they got into PA school or what my major was in undergrad. The point is to make a connection. This same strategy works well with nurses and doctors. The key is to let them know you are interested in a career in healthcare and your aspirations to go to PA school. 

2.) Express your interest to learn. If you are shadowing or working in healthcare and you have a question about a patient or about why the diagnosis could be, ASK! For example, I work as a medical assistant in an urgent care, and I can order labs and x-rays for patients. After I triage the patient and take their chief complaint, I talk to the PA or MD. I let them know what the reason for their visit and what I think the diagnosis might be based on their symptoms. Eventually, you start to see that certain symptoms and clinical presentations are often for the same diagnosis. For example, I recently told the PA I was working with that a patient who had a rash on their face that it looked like shingles, as it turns out I was right! I only knew the difference because of a week prior a PA said that one patient’s rash was shingles and she explained how the rash presents clinically and what questions to ask the patient.

3.) Find out more about them. A simple question to get this started is, “What made you want to become a PA/MD/RN?”  You can also ask “Why they chose their path in medicine and what they like and dislike about their profession?”

4.) Always show your appreciation. Even if it was a brief conversation, leave them with a lasting impression of you. Always say thank you for all the advice/information or thank them for teaching me about XYZ. You want them to remember you as respectful, inquisitive, and professional. You never want to burn down any bridges!

5.) Exchange information. If you felt like your interaction was positive, ask for their email! Doing the steps mentioned above, they might even offer their email to you before you even ask! Having contacts in healthcare can lead to shadowing opportunities, letters of recommendations, and potential interviews. Once you get their email, you need to FOLLOW UP! They might not remember if you wait a few days to a week after meeting you to email them. It is very important to follow up within 24-48 hours of meeting, restating your name, thanking them for speaking with you about XYZ and anything you previously talked about, and that you look forward to speaking with them soon. This is a perfect way to jog their memory of you and remind them what they said they were willing to do for you, like writing a letter of recommendation or having you shadow them! If you think you might lose their business card take a picture on your phone to ensure, you don’t lose it!

I hope you like my post, and I will try to write more as my journey to PA school continues. You can follow me on Instagram at @erykalaren, and my YouTube page will be up soon as well!

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