Interview with a PA-S from UTHSC San Antonio

Here's an interview with a student who was in Pubic Health before going to PA school.


1) Why did you want to be a PA?


I majored in Dietetics at Western Michigan University. While I was working on my Bachelor's I started to feel like I could do more for patients that just talk about food. I wanted to be able to give them medical information about the conditions they were seeing me for. At the same time I was working at a private pediatric practice as front desk staff. Over time, they started giving me more responsibilities in the clinic like performing hearing and vision screenings on children entering public school and coordinating the practice's records in the state immunization registry. I loved being in the clinical environment. Personally, I've seen several Physician Assistants as a patient and always had a positive experience; I actually preferred seeing the PA. When I moved to Texas I was working in public health, specifically HIV/AIDS prevention. At least once a week I would have a participant ask me a question about a symptom she was having and I would always have to respond by saying "I am not a doctor or nurse, you really should go to a clinic and have it checked out if you are concerned." That reinforced my desire to become a PA. I really feel like being a PA will fill the gap that I had when I was providing services to my participants.


2) What did you do before starting PA school?


I stayed at Western Michigan University (WMU) for a 5th year to finish up some of the pre-requisite courses for PA school with a scheduled graduation date of April 2007. I interviewed at 2 PA programs in Michigan in December 2006. During my last semester I was looking for activities to keep me busy since most of my friends graduated the year before. I decided to participate in the Alternative Spring Break Program. During the week of spring break I traveled to San Antonio, TX with ten other students to volunteer at the San Antonio AIDS Foundation. I got rejection letters from those 2 PA programs while I was on the trip. I had a friend check my mail while I was out of town and she called to tell me I got something from both schools. She didn't read the letter before she called me and we were both upset to find out I didn't get it. I didn't have a back-up plan in Michigan and San Antonio seemed like a nice city so I decided that I would move to Texas after I graduated. One week after I graduated I packed my car and drove to San Antonio. I stayed with one of the volunteers from the San Antonio AIDS Foundation until I found a job and an apartment. About six weeks after I got here I started working for the immunization program at the health department. Later I worked as a nutritionist for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program with the health department. After that I briefly worked for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program in town and finally found my place doing HIV/AIDS prevention education for high-risk women. I worked as a health educator for about a year before I was promoted to Program Manager. I was there for 3 years before getting into the PA program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. During that time I've had a number of volunteer position. At WMU I volunteered with a Registered Dietitian and the WIC program; held officer positions in the Student Dietetic Association; and completed a 2 semester internship as a Sexual Health Peer Educator. After arriving in San Antonio I continued to stay involved in the HIV/AIDS community and I participated in planning committees for several local HIV/AIDS awareness events. I am also on an advisory board for a local reproductive health program. In 2010 I completed a Masters of Public Health.


3) What was your application process like? (how many schools, interviews, how did you choose)


This time I only applied to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). After some discussion with my family, friends and significant other I thought that it was a good time to reapply to PA school. I had a little more experience than I did the first time I applied and I thought the UTHSCSA program was a good fit for me. I really liked the program's focus on community health, especially the community medicine capstone project. I turned in my CASPA application on October 1st and didn't hear that I was selected for an interview until the end of January, about a week before the day they wanted me to come in. I was incredibly nervous and thought that because I was interviewing so late they probably already had their class selected. A couple of weeks after my interview I received the letter that I was selected.

The first two interviews I had in 2007 were your standard panel interviews. I talked to a couple of PAs and some current students about why I wanted to be a PA, why I thought I would be a good PA and how I would handle different situations as a practicing PA. Both programs required I write a brief essay on-site. Both also provided a campus tour. I left one of the interviews feeling confident that I would get in. The second interview was terrible; I was nervous, I couldn't form a coherent thought. I don't know what happened. I think the main reason I wasn't accepted to those schools (aside from the terrible interview) was that I barely made the clinical hours requirement. Both schools wanted at least 500 hours of direct patient contact. I had exactly 500 but I was interviewing with people who had thousands of hours as nurses, paramedics, registered dietitians, et cetera.

My interview at UTHSCSA also had an essay component and a campus tour. I interviewed with a number of faculty and community PAs. I really don't want to give away much more information in case your readers are applying to UTHSCSA. I was nervous at the beginning but eventually calmed down. I think I was better prepared this go around because of the work experience I've had in the last 5 years.


4) How does PA school compare to your other master's program?


PA school is much more time consuming and much more challenging. I had some difficult classes for my MPH, like biostatistics. That was hard for me because it had been a long time since my previous statistics course and in addition to learning about the different statistical tests we were learning a new software. Other classes, like Program Planning, Implementation and Evaluation, required a lot of work but it was similar to what I was doing in my job so I had an idea of how to accomplish our tasks. That program required me to learn new information and apply it to the big picture.

So far in PA school I feel comfortable with the type of material we are covering. Most of it I've at least heard of at some point in the past (I'm sure this will change when we get to our medicine courses and more of the clinical skills). During the first semester I had to spend a lot of time brushing up on the basics that I haven't used in awhile (like physiology). This semester I'm having to memorize a lot of information for anatomy. I'm much better at big picture than I am at memorizing. PA school is also a greater volume of information. I worked full-time when I was working on my MPH and the class work was manageable. A lot of what I was doing at the time mirrored my work so that made it somewhat easier. Classes in PA last almost all day and my free time is spent studying.

There have been some new things that I've never done before that were more challenging than I expected. Things like learning the physical exam and even phlebotomy.


5) What has surprised you about PA school so far?


The amount of time I spend studying and preparing for exams. I knew PA school would be challenging but I've never been kicked out of the library because it was closing before. It takes me at least 3 hours to read a chapter in our book and take good notes. I've never had to do that before.


6) What has been your strategy for surviving the didactic portion of the program?


I'm a planner and I like to look ahead and know what is coming. I fill out my calendar at least one month in advance with the class schedule, deadlines for papers and the exam schedule. I plan my study schedule backward from the date of an exam. My school schedule really comes first and everything else (work, the gym, social time) gets worked in around it.


7) What do you wish you had done to prepare for PA school?


Honestly, I'm pretty happy with how things turned out. I think that everything that has happened since I moved to Texas has put me in a good position to do well in this program. If I had to go through the application process again I would just make sure I had more PA shadow time and a letter of recommendation from a PA.

My "Big" told me to enjoy my summer and not worry about school until it started. I almost wish I didn't listen and at least read the first chapter in our physiology book because I felt like I was always one week behind. Although I will probably tell my "Littles" to have fun and enjoy their summer too.

8) What advise would you give a future PA?


Gosh, I don't know what advice I would give a future PA since I'm not there yet. I'm guessing there is a lot PAs could tell me. As far as future PA students, I would say not to give up on the application process or the PA school dream. If you are worried you don't have the right qualifications to apply review the program websites, talk to their admissions coordinators and go to their information sessions. One of my big concerns before applying was financial aid since I have loans from undergrad and my masters. I contacted the financial aid office and health professions welcome center months before I decided to apply. They were incredibly helpful! If you don't get in the first time you apply don't get discouraged. Learn from the interview process, figure out what it is you need to make yourself more competitive and try again. Volunteer with a cause that means something to you.