I became a PA because I wanted the best of both worlds. I value family time as well as a good career. The PA profession allowed me to work almost autonomously as a healthcare provider while still having the ability to focus on my personal life with my husband and children. I wanted the abilities to see patients, diagnose and treat both the acute and chronic issues but without the extreme years of schooling and residency and liability. Thus, PA school was the ideal goal for me.
2) How did you prepare to apply to PA school? (Undergraduate degree, work, volunteering, etc)
I always knew I loved medicine. So I became an EMT-B at 18 years old and worked as a clinic technician at Children’s Hospital throughout my college years. During my college years, I majored in Biology just to cover most prerequisites for a medical background. I also used my time at Children’s to learn as much as possible from the staff there as well as gain as much experiences with procedures as I could: IVs, lab draws, NG tube placements, etc. After graduating college, I wanted make sure that I truly wanted to pursue a career in medicine by doing something else that I enjoy: teaching. I started teaching intercity kids in various cities including the Bronx, Chicago and Memphis. Although I truly loved what I did there, my time teaching confirmed my definite decision to go into medicine.
3) Tell me about your application process (how many times, how many interviews, what were they like etc)
I did not apply to PA school until I was confident that this was the right path for me given all my priorities for my future. I applied to four schools in Texas and had interviews set for all 4. My first choice was UTSW and luckily it was also my first interview. A few days after my interview, I was accepted so I cancelled the other 3 school interviews.
4) How did you pick UTSW?
I picked UTSW for many reasons: it was the closest to my family; has an excellent reputation for the PA program; 100% pass rate on PANCE; small classes of 36; associated with excellent teaching facilities such as Parkland, St. Pauls, etc.
5) What were some successful study strategies you used during the didactic potion of your PA program?
Constant and steady studying daily. No procrastination!!! I learned to study in groups but realized group studying was best only after each person already studied the material individually. As a group we also divided up sections so that we can “teach” the others in the group. One of the best way to learn is to teach. That’s why during rotations, I always followed the mantra: see one, do one, teach one.
6) What has surprised you about PA school so far?
For an applicant, I would say it’s not just about the “good grades and shadowing experiences.” Rather, it’s also about who you are as a person including your life experiences and what makes you stand out from the thousands of applicants. What are your passions in life and why? Grades are important but are you able to connect with people, particularly those who have nothing in common with you? As a PA, you are expected to interact with people and form a trusting relationship with them so that together you can aim for the same goal: good health? What qualities do you have that will allow you to do this?
Finally, I think there are two important points for PA students to keep in mind:
1. Your rotations are not only opportunities to solidify what you learned in the classrooms, but they are also potential job opportunities. Do your best and network with the entire staff: providers, front desk, back office, nurses, MA. These are the people who can help to direct you to your first job as a PA.
2. Think about what you want to do before just applying to any job. It is ok to change later if you realize you don’t like it, but try to be as honest with yourself as possible. With all jobs but especially with your first job, do not be blinded by the salary offered. The single most important factor is the MD-PA relationship. If you do not like or trust your supervising MD, your time at the clinic will be miserable. Additionally, place greater emphasis on quality of life, hours/schedules, calls, benefits (CME allowances, medical insurance, 401K, etc). If you choose a job because the pay is extremely high, you will soon realize that there’s a reason for that. Go into an interview was the attitude that you are also interviewing the employer. What makes that employer someone you want to work for? When you make yourself desperate, you will get a low quality job that can result in being unhappy with your career.
For example, I want autonomy as a PA so right now I am running a PA only clinic for THPG. I have a supervising MD who has her own clinic 25 min away. She comes once a month to review charts. I am well compensated but I tried to negotiate into my contract other things that were more important: hours/schedules, compensation package (CME/license renewal fees, journal subscriptions, medical/dental insurance, 401K, etc.)
Rotations were by far the best experiences during PA school. It was during this time that all the didactics finally made sense when put into practice. It was now time to make sense of what I had learned in the classroom and learning seemed easier when applied in practice. The most surprising thing for me was to learn that I loved family practice. I came into it thinking FP would be my least favorite but today I find that it is my favorite!
7) Any advice (beyond good grade and shadowing) for an applicant?
I didn’t realize it was as intense until in hindsight. College seemed difficult but in reality it was not as rigorous as PA school. I also realized that time does fly quickly once you’re in so school was over before I knew it!
8) What keeps you interested in family practice? What other specialties have you practiced in?
I love FP bc I enjoy the variety of health issues (physicals, well exams, acute infections, chronic problems like HTN, DM, thyroid, etc) and the many types of procedures (biopsies, paps, suturing, I&D, etc). Additionally, I am big on preventative medicine and I use lots of teaching tools to help education patients and encourage them to ask me questions. That’s why I say that patient education is a big theme at my clinic and I find that patients are extremely receptive to learning and greatly appreciate when they have some autonomy in their care. Often times patients are told what they have and what they have to do without an explanation of the process behind their issues and how they can join the provider to improve their situation. Other areas I’ve worked include: geriatrics and allergy/asthma
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