Here's an interview with a PA-S from UTSW who is also a mom.
1) Why did you choose to be a PA?
One of the major attractions to becoming a PA was the flexibility within the profession. I love that if sometime in the future I want to change my area of practice, I can.
2) Before pursuing this path, you were an IT consultant for a number of years. How has your experience in that field influenced and prepared you to learn and practice medicine?
As a consultant, I worked within a team to solve problems for our clients. It required strong communication skills, critical thinking and patience. When I decided I wanted to return to the workforce after several years as a stay-at-home-mom, I knew that I wanted to work closely with people again and leverage the skills I had developed before, but in a more personally rewarding setting. The PA profession offers a beautiful blend of being mentally stimulating, allowing me to work closely people and making a difference in the lives of patients.
3) What was your application process like (how many schools, how many interviews, how did you choose)?
Since I was not in a position to move out of the DFW area, I only applied to UT Southwestern and UNT. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to interview at both schools. Both schools are incredible, but since I lived in Dallas, I immediately accepted the offer from UTSW once I heard from them.
4) What has surprised you about PA School so far?
With respect to the didactic phase, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the full cadaver lab in Anatomy. It really is an amazing experience and an incredible gift from the people who choose to donate. As for the clinical phase, I am honestly surprised at how much I am enjoying pediatrics. Yes, I am a mother of two, but I didn't think I would have this much fun with other people's kiddos, especially sick ones. The lesson there is to approach each new experience with an open mind.
5) What has been your strategy for balancing study, family, and sanity?
Well, it hasn't been so much a strategy as much as it has been a keystone, my husband. He has been incredibly supportive and continues to adjust his schedule on a weekly basis to take care of our children, whether it be to drop them off or pick them up from school or keeping them entertained on the weekend so I can study. I am not a straight A student like I was in years past, but I have adjusted my expectations of myself and have come to accept a modest drop in grades so that I have time to be with my family.
6) What do you wish you had done in preparation for the start of your program?
I wish I had done more to learn Spanish. I knew that part of the curriculm at UTSW included Medical Spanish, but I really should have done more to learn the basics of the language before starting the program.
7) Besides shadowing and good grades, what advice would you give future applicants?
Take your personal essay and letters of recommendation seriously. Have several different people read your essay and provide feedback. As for the letters of recommendation, choose people that you are confident will write a strong and meaningful letter. If you are planning to ask one or more of your professors to write one for you, make certain you stand out in class as a contributor to class discussions. Do not expect to get a stellar personalized letter based on top grades alone.
Also, if you get rejected, contact the program as soon as possible and ask to meet with someone, ideally a faculty member, regarding your application. When you do meet, go in with an idea of what you think were your weaknesses and a plan to address each of them. Review that plan and confirm that it would make you a stronger candidate for next year. Who know's? Maybe they'll reconsider you for this year.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Interview with a PA-C
Here's an interview with a PA-C who has worked extensively in the Emergency Department.
1) Why did you choose to be a PA?
The experiences I had with PA's prior to becoming one was that they universally seemed to be more down-to-earth, common sense professionals, which fit more in line with how I was raised. It seemed also like a natural extension from my prior career as an EMT.
2) What was your application process like (how many schools, how many interviews, how did you choose)?
I applied to schools in Texas only, since that is where I lived, and Texas is an absolute bargain for higher education. I applied to all state public schools except for UT Pan Am, was granted interviews at 4 of them. One of the schools I was offered was Texas Tech, but the date they offered was right in the middle of a trip to Las Vegas. I gambled (no pun intended) on getting accepted somewhere else, and thusly turned down the Tech interview. Thankfully I DID get in somewhere else, and I don't recommend doing what I did :)
The interview process at each school was very different. The most comfortable I felt was at UNT in Fort Worth, which is where I ultimately was accepted and chose to go to school. UT San Antonio was by far the hardest, and lasted all day from 8-5: an impromptu essay writing, followed by four individual interviews (with an impromptu spanish-language thrown in additionally), and ended with a panel interview with 4 different PA's.
3) Since graduating, what areas have you worked in?
I have only worked in emergency medicine since graduating, and at the original place I began working after becoming certified. I took a bit different course after PA school though, as I immediately entered a residency program in ER for PA's, which was 18 months in duration. I was hired on as staff at the same hospital after completing the residency, and have been there ever since. I don't see myself going into any other specialty in the near future.
4) What has surprised you about being a practicing PA so far?
What has surprised me the most is how much I was able to learn and absorb simply by being in the PA residency out of school- the first year after graduating is definitely an experience in exponential learning potential. Before PA school, I never thought I could have done medical school if I wanted to. After having gone through that, as well as training alongside emergency medicine physician residents, I know that I could do it if I wanted to....but I have no desire to go beyond being a PA.
On another note, it has shocked me at how many of my classmates switched jobs within a year after graduating from PA school. There's only a very small handful of us, myself included, who are still at our original jobs. But then, this is the uniqueness of being a PA- the ability to move into another field if you so desire.
5) You've done some research on emergency medical practices and PA roles there. I know that a PA will do very different things in one Emergency department versus another. How has that role evolved and where is it heading?
In general, there has been a trend towards more autonomy for the PA in the emergency department. We have several in our specialty who are running rural ER's on their own, although this will likely continue to be the exception rather than the rule. I am thankful that in my own practice, that the physician whom I work with on any particular day and I will just trade off who is seeing which patient- there is no defined limitation on which patients I am able to see or not see.
Because of this trend towards more autonomy, there has been a measured push towards more formalized training for PA's in emergency medicine. Just in the three years since I graduated PA school, we have gone from 3-4 PA residencies in the ER to approximately 10 (with more in the pipeline), and the first standardized test for PA's in emergency medicine- the CAQ exam. While residencies and specialized testing is still optional, it would not surprise me that in the distant future you would not be able to switch specialties without at least passing a CAQ exam, if not also completing some sort of post-graduate training. At the very least, the emergency physicians (ACEP) advocate for us to acquire additional training specific to the ER in whatever form that may take, and there are plenty of options out there other than a formalized residency program.
6) You trained in Texas and now practice in a different state. How are the regulations different in your current state? What was the licensing process like for someone from an out of state school?
Pennsylvania is definitely unique in that there are actually two boards of medicine- one for allopathic and one for osteopathic. As a PA, you choose one or the other based on your supervising physician (although you are not limited to one or the other based on who your substitute supervising physicians are). PA's in Pennsylvania are also able to write for DEA combination Schedule II opiate medications, whereas in Texas you are limited to Schedule III and lower. There is also a bill currently going through the legislature that will take away the requirement for all PA charts to be co-signed by a physician.
The licensing process was actually very painless- it's always easier to get your initial license than it is to acquire an additional one after practicing for a few years. Most states enable you to acquire a temporary license that's valid just as soon as you graduate from an accredited PA program, and last until you pass the PANCE (when it automatically rolls over to a permanent license). So as soon as I graduated from PA school, I had my program director sign my license application and sent it straight to Pennsylvania, and within a week I had a temporary license. Unlike in Texas, there is no additional exam such as the Jurisprudence exam that needs to be passed in order to acquire a permanent license.
7) Besides shadowing and good grades, what advice would you give future applicants?
*PRACTICE INTERVIEWING! It will truly make you more relaxed when you're in that one-on-one situation come crunch time.
Other than that, there is a vast wealth of information at the PA Forum to help future applicants. It's helped me and countless other PA's get to where we are today.
1) Why did you choose to be a PA?
The experiences I had with PA's prior to becoming one was that they universally seemed to be more down-to-earth, common sense professionals, which fit more in line with how I was raised. It seemed also like a natural extension from my prior career as an EMT.
2) What was your application process like (how many schools, how many interviews, how did you choose)?
I applied to schools in Texas only, since that is where I lived, and Texas is an absolute bargain for higher education. I applied to all state public schools except for UT Pan Am, was granted interviews at 4 of them. One of the schools I was offered was Texas Tech, but the date they offered was right in the middle of a trip to Las Vegas. I gambled (no pun intended) on getting accepted somewhere else, and thusly turned down the Tech interview. Thankfully I DID get in somewhere else, and I don't recommend doing what I did :)
The interview process at each school was very different. The most comfortable I felt was at UNT in Fort Worth, which is where I ultimately was accepted and chose to go to school. UT San Antonio was by far the hardest, and lasted all day from 8-5: an impromptu essay writing, followed by four individual interviews (with an impromptu spanish-language thrown in additionally), and ended with a panel interview with 4 different PA's.
3) Since graduating, what areas have you worked in?
I have only worked in emergency medicine since graduating, and at the original place I began working after becoming certified. I took a bit different course after PA school though, as I immediately entered a residency program in ER for PA's, which was 18 months in duration. I was hired on as staff at the same hospital after completing the residency, and have been there ever since. I don't see myself going into any other specialty in the near future.
4) What has surprised you about being a practicing PA so far?
What has surprised me the most is how much I was able to learn and absorb simply by being in the PA residency out of school- the first year after graduating is definitely an experience in exponential learning potential. Before PA school, I never thought I could have done medical school if I wanted to. After having gone through that, as well as training alongside emergency medicine physician residents, I know that I could do it if I wanted to....but I have no desire to go beyond being a PA.
On another note, it has shocked me at how many of my classmates switched jobs within a year after graduating from PA school. There's only a very small handful of us, myself included, who are still at our original jobs. But then, this is the uniqueness of being a PA- the ability to move into another field if you so desire.
5) You've done some research on emergency medical practices and PA roles there. I know that a PA will do very different things in one Emergency department versus another. How has that role evolved and where is it heading?
In general, there has been a trend towards more autonomy for the PA in the emergency department. We have several in our specialty who are running rural ER's on their own, although this will likely continue to be the exception rather than the rule. I am thankful that in my own practice, that the physician whom I work with on any particular day and I will just trade off who is seeing which patient- there is no defined limitation on which patients I am able to see or not see.
Because of this trend towards more autonomy, there has been a measured push towards more formalized training for PA's in emergency medicine. Just in the three years since I graduated PA school, we have gone from 3-4 PA residencies in the ER to approximately 10 (with more in the pipeline), and the first standardized test for PA's in emergency medicine- the CAQ exam. While residencies and specialized testing is still optional, it would not surprise me that in the distant future you would not be able to switch specialties without at least passing a CAQ exam, if not also completing some sort of post-graduate training. At the very least, the emergency physicians (ACEP) advocate for us to acquire additional training specific to the ER in whatever form that may take, and there are plenty of options out there other than a formalized residency program.
6) You trained in Texas and now practice in a different state. How are the regulations different in your current state? What was the licensing process like for someone from an out of state school?
Pennsylvania is definitely unique in that there are actually two boards of medicine- one for allopathic and one for osteopathic. As a PA, you choose one or the other based on your supervising physician (although you are not limited to one or the other based on who your substitute supervising physicians are). PA's in Pennsylvania are also able to write for DEA combination Schedule II opiate medications, whereas in Texas you are limited to Schedule III and lower. There is also a bill currently going through the legislature that will take away the requirement for all PA charts to be co-signed by a physician.
The licensing process was actually very painless- it's always easier to get your initial license than it is to acquire an additional one after practicing for a few years. Most states enable you to acquire a temporary license that's valid just as soon as you graduate from an accredited PA program, and last until you pass the PANCE (when it automatically rolls over to a permanent license). So as soon as I graduated from PA school, I had my program director sign my license application and sent it straight to Pennsylvania, and within a week I had a temporary license. Unlike in Texas, there is no additional exam such as the Jurisprudence exam that needs to be passed in order to acquire a permanent license.
7) Besides shadowing and good grades, what advice would you give future applicants?
*PRACTICE INTERVIEWING! It will truly make you more relaxed when you're in that one-on-one situation come crunch time.
Other than that, there is a vast wealth of information at the PA Forum to help future applicants. It's helped me and countless other PA's get to where we are today.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Prep Advice from Dr. Wright
I recently heard Dr. Scott Wright (former Dean of PreHealth Advising UT Dallas, now Director of Texas Medical and Dental School Application Service) talk about applying to professional programs. I've been privileged to meet him and work with him in my Post Bacc studies and now I want to share some of his insight with you. Whether you are applying to PA school, Dental school, PT, Med School, etc, these basic ideas are important to remember.
1) The things we do now will effect the rest of our lives - Our choices now are effecting the choices we will have and the people we will be in 10 years and longer. Grades you get as a freshman linger, decisions on how you present yourself in public last and will come back up years later when you're applying.
2) Take time to Wander - Wander through investigating different professions, different communities, different cultures. Take some time to explore life and find out what is out there. This will not only make you a better, well rounded applicant, but it will help you grow as a person, have more perspective, and be more sure of who you are.
3) Discovery means new perspective, not new places - New perspective is part of growing. This point reinforced the previous one. You have to be ready to think about things differently. A sign of maturity is being able to understand things from someone else's perspective
4) "Non nobis tantum nati" Not for us alone are we born. The professions we are seeking are serving people. We are looking to dedicate our lives to helping those who are hurting. Make sure that fits you, make sure you connect with that idea, make sure you enjoy service. Serve people, find a way to be around sick people, practice serving others right now.
5) Read, read, read - All of the professional schools include a massive amount of reading. The careers they prepare you for will involve a massive amount of reading to keep up with practice. You have to love reading, and if you don't then start reading now and get to like it. Read for fun, read fiction, read journals from the field you want to be in, read what you can.
6) Clear communication - A large part of these jobs is communicating with patients and if you have a language barrier, it will interfere with your ability to do your job. Make sure you can clearly communicate and if you are dealing with an unfamiliar language on a regular basis, get familiar with it. Get fluent in it.
7) Choices more than ability - Entrance to these programs is determined somewhat by skill and aptitude but more so by choices you have made in preparation. Be careful with how you choose things. Be intentional about how you make your choices. Also, if you have some blight from before (bad grades, etc) then be able to demonstrate how you've made better choices now. By the time you are sitting in an interview, they will had screened you on your ability. They want to see how you process information, how you make decisions, and how you relate to other people. That is what makes us who we are.
1) The things we do now will effect the rest of our lives - Our choices now are effecting the choices we will have and the people we will be in 10 years and longer. Grades you get as a freshman linger, decisions on how you present yourself in public last and will come back up years later when you're applying.
2) Take time to Wander - Wander through investigating different professions, different communities, different cultures. Take some time to explore life and find out what is out there. This will not only make you a better, well rounded applicant, but it will help you grow as a person, have more perspective, and be more sure of who you are.
3) Discovery means new perspective, not new places - New perspective is part of growing. This point reinforced the previous one. You have to be ready to think about things differently. A sign of maturity is being able to understand things from someone else's perspective
4) "Non nobis tantum nati" Not for us alone are we born. The professions we are seeking are serving people. We are looking to dedicate our lives to helping those who are hurting. Make sure that fits you, make sure you connect with that idea, make sure you enjoy service. Serve people, find a way to be around sick people, practice serving others right now.
5) Read, read, read - All of the professional schools include a massive amount of reading. The careers they prepare you for will involve a massive amount of reading to keep up with practice. You have to love reading, and if you don't then start reading now and get to like it. Read for fun, read fiction, read journals from the field you want to be in, read what you can.
6) Clear communication - A large part of these jobs is communicating with patients and if you have a language barrier, it will interfere with your ability to do your job. Make sure you can clearly communicate and if you are dealing with an unfamiliar language on a regular basis, get familiar with it. Get fluent in it.
7) Choices more than ability - Entrance to these programs is determined somewhat by skill and aptitude but more so by choices you have made in preparation. Be careful with how you choose things. Be intentional about how you make your choices. Also, if you have some blight from before (bad grades, etc) then be able to demonstrate how you've made better choices now. By the time you are sitting in an interview, they will had screened you on your ability. They want to see how you process information, how you make decisions, and how you relate to other people. That is what makes us who we are.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Interview with a PA-C in Nephrology/Renal Care
Here's an interview with a PA-C who works in renal care in the Dallas area. She has a free form response to the questions I usually ask, so I will exclude them from this post.
First, I had to see what a PA does and I was actually exposed to one during a doctor's visit. We began to converse and he made the comment that he thought that I would make a great PA. So, first off there
was the great communication and the attention which I needed. Of course that is what we all need. I thought to myself that I could do just what he was doing....so I looked into the requirements of the profession. I already had significant medical background as a Pharmacy Tech, Phlebotomy and also, I already had a B.S. degree.
The process to PA school is time consuming....planning goes into getting the pre-requisites and making deadlines, ect... I doubt this process is much different from any other professional school though.
I thought I would work in Dermatology, but I was unable to coordinate the training I wanted with the Dermatologist(he was training other medical students in his spare time), so I placed an emphasis on Internal Medicine. I really enjoyed studying and training beside the medical students in private offices and major hospitals. I never thought that I would enjoy it so much.
Stress is everywhere. We all need to balance actual school time, study time and family so great exercise and fun activity was a tremendous help. Planning ahead also helps, like if I know that my study team would need a room in the library to study, I scheduled it ahead (we had our favorite room). I went swimming alot, sauna and exercised, which was refreshing.
I can never emphasize training enough. With training comes knowledge, with knowledge comes confidence.....we need this always....it never ends....must have a passion for knowledge.
Primary Care is a great way to get well trained individuals directing the care of those seeking our medical attention. Lots of people get "lost in the cracks" because of little to no direction. A good PA will be an advocate for the patient to ensure quality. I guess I did not realize this aspect until I became a PA.
What would help get others involved in Primary Care? PAs need to be out in the field and in medical offices offering accurate information and diagnosis. As I said earlier, I was interested in Dermatology. I had a conversation with a dermatologist after graduation who did not agree with a diagnosis that I offered. Out of respect he ordered specific lab...and guess what, I was right! This was good for the patient and it was the direct result of the studying that I had done before.
Right now there are debates about the PA name. Physician Assistant (so many people put an "s" at the end of physician ~~). I hope that we can get a name that truely describes what we do.
The awards ceremony at TAPA was great in that time and time again we heard the words 'committment 'and 'gift of healing'....my advice to any prospective student is to understand why they are applying to this type of profession. The passion it takes to be that great communicator and the love for healing should supercede just wanting a pay-check. We are a team with our supervising physicians and our patients. And it is OK to say, 'I don't know, but I will either find out or direct you to someone who can help you". Hopefully we remember that we are also a team with each other.
First, I had to see what a PA does and I was actually exposed to one during a doctor's visit. We began to converse and he made the comment that he thought that I would make a great PA. So, first off there
was the great communication and the attention which I needed. Of course that is what we all need. I thought to myself that I could do just what he was doing....so I looked into the requirements of the profession. I already had significant medical background as a Pharmacy Tech, Phlebotomy and also, I already had a B.S. degree.
The process to PA school is time consuming....planning goes into getting the pre-requisites and making deadlines, ect... I doubt this process is much different from any other professional school though.
I thought I would work in Dermatology, but I was unable to coordinate the training I wanted with the Dermatologist(he was training other medical students in his spare time), so I placed an emphasis on Internal Medicine. I really enjoyed studying and training beside the medical students in private offices and major hospitals. I never thought that I would enjoy it so much.
Stress is everywhere. We all need to balance actual school time, study time and family so great exercise and fun activity was a tremendous help. Planning ahead also helps, like if I know that my study team would need a room in the library to study, I scheduled it ahead (we had our favorite room). I went swimming alot, sauna and exercised, which was refreshing.
I can never emphasize training enough. With training comes knowledge, with knowledge comes confidence.....we need this always....it never ends....must have a passion for knowledge.
Primary Care is a great way to get well trained individuals directing the care of those seeking our medical attention. Lots of people get "lost in the cracks" because of little to no direction. A good PA will be an advocate for the patient to ensure quality. I guess I did not realize this aspect until I became a PA.
What would help get others involved in Primary Care? PAs need to be out in the field and in medical offices offering accurate information and diagnosis. As I said earlier, I was interested in Dermatology. I had a conversation with a dermatologist after graduation who did not agree with a diagnosis that I offered. Out of respect he ordered specific lab...and guess what, I was right! This was good for the patient and it was the direct result of the studying that I had done before.
Right now there are debates about the PA name. Physician Assistant (so many people put an "s" at the end of physician ~~). I hope that we can get a name that truely describes what we do.
The awards ceremony at TAPA was great in that time and time again we heard the words 'committment 'and 'gift of healing'....my advice to any prospective student is to understand why they are applying to this type of profession. The passion it takes to be that great communicator and the love for healing should supercede just wanting a pay-check. We are a team with our supervising physicians and our patients. And it is OK to say, 'I don't know, but I will either find out or direct you to someone who can help you". Hopefully we remember that we are also a team with each other.
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