Interview with a PA-C

Here is an interview with TAPA board member Amanda Reynado. If you're not a PrePA member of TAPA, I highly recommend it.

1) Why did you choose the PA profession?
I wanted a profession that allowed me to practice medicine, learn in-depth science and its clinical implications, and work as a provider patients can relate to – all while still maintaining my personal life. The PA profession allows me to practice an autonomous career in medicine that involves diagnosing and treating, practice independently yet be part of a team, and have personal relationships with patients as their provider. My first interest in the becoming a PA was due to all of the PAs I had met being absolute cheerleaders for their career.

2) Tell me about your preparation for application to a PA program.
After college, I worked in research for 4 years as a lab manager. After I realized that a lifelong career in research was not for me, I began to research the requirements to get into PA school, went back to school at night to get the 3 classes I was missing, and also shadowed multiple PAs for over a year. After shadowing I was positive this career was for me. I then applied to PA school very early (submitted my application 5 days after it opened), and got in that year.

3) What was your most challenging period as a PA-S?
I was in the “Hurricane Class” at UTMB during Hurricane Ike. I had just started my first semester in PA school, was not 3 weeks into classes when the hurricane hit and destroyed our campus. We lost our cadaver lab, our building, and half my class lost everything they owned. We missed 5 weeks of school, and returned to a make-shift site with a crammed schedule. PA school is stressful and high-paced enough without a condensed schedule. We did not even have a library or coffee shop where we could study, but most of my class made it through the first semester. It was all uphill from there!

4) What has surprised you since you’ve become a PA-C
My first surprise was that they trusted my education and personal preparation to start working independently my first day. It was absolutely nerve-wracking but that’s how PAs learn – baptism by fire. Once I grasped my medical confidence, I had to discover and explain my role as a PA in a large emergency department. We still are a new career field to many people, therefore it is always necessary to provide information and set examples for who we are and what we can do.

5) What areas of practice have you worked in as a PA-C?
I am a new PA-C, and have only worked for 1 year. My only job has been in Emergency Medicine and this was my dream field while I was in school. I love my field!

6) How did you first get involved with TAPA?
One of the PAs I shadowed before school was coincidentally a TAPA officer. Once in school, I was elected to be my class TAPA representative during our 3 years. I served on multiple committees and helped get my program re-involved with TAPA during my office. Now I am the PR committee chair and sit on the general board of TAPA. I find every experience of representing PAs extremely rewarding.

7) How has participating in TAPA benefited you?
TAPA has helped me in multiple dimensions. Firstly, they donated multiple truck loads of goods from around the country during my program’s time of need after Hurricane Ike. Second, by sitting as a student board member, I realized exactly how much they represent and provide for PAs in the state. It also educated me on PA functionality, politics, and how to assert myself as a PA in a new work environment. Thirdly, I got my first job in a very competitive field from connections I made in TAPA.

8) How do you think the role of a PA will change in the future?
We are already seeing a large delegation of work to PAs in hospitals and highly populated areas. Physicians and administrators are realizing in every field that hiring a PA allows efficiency and betterment of the flow of care. Also, with the introduction of socialized medicine in our near future, this type of delegation and team work will only be broadened.

9) What advice would you give an aspiring PA?
Besides the obvious (study hard, good GPA, average GRE score) keep a well-rounded life. PA programs want to see that you get along with people in any scenario (family, work, volunteerism) because, after all, PAs serve as a midlevel provider and come into contact with everyone. Schools also want to see you have extracurricular activities that help you balance the stressors of school and our demanding career.
Shadow shadow shadow. You need to know what a PA does, how we function in the field, and it is a “requirement” on CASPA. If you don’t have shadow hours, you have less likelihood of getting an interview. Know why you want to be a PA and not a nurse or physician.
Use people who know you well for your letters of recommendation. I used a physician from my past with whom I worked, an old research mentor, and my boss at the time of application. All of them could truly speak of my personality, nature, and work ethic. I would not advise getting all college professors. We have all been to college, and we all know that one does not really experience a lot of one-on-one and close-knit relationships with professors.

Please follow TAPA on Facebook and Twitter by logging onto www.TAPA.org and clicking
their icons. You can also become a pre-PA member for cheap to prove to schools that
you really are committed. Contact me with questions at amandamcgreynado@gmail.com.