Happy Anniversary!

This blog turned 1 this week. It's been a great ride and a very informative experience. I've learned a lot more than I thought I would and have been fortunate enough to share some of it with all of you.

I'll have more posts coming up, more interviews and some mock PA school interview suggestions, and more, so keep checking in.

Thanks for reading!

Interview with a PA-S from UTSW

Here's another PA student I met on rotation in the ICU.

1) Why do you want to be a PA?

I initially planned on applying to medical school until senior year of college. I shadowed a PA in the ER and saw that the PAs did similar things the MDs do. That's when I decided to pursue a career as a PA. I also liked the flexibility PAs have to switch from one specialty to another and that I would be able to practice medicine and providing for those in need in 2.5 years.

2) What did you do to prepare to apply (undergrad degree, any HCE, volunteering, etc)?

I did a lot of volunteering at two different hospitals during my summer semesters in college. I also shadowed family physicians and ER PAs for many hours. I had leadership positions with a couple of organizations. I worked as a student worker my senior year and then full time as a lab technician for a year and a half at a GI lab before going to PA school. My degree was in Biomedical Science

3) How did you pick UTSW? What was the interview process like?

What made me really attracted to UTSW was the interview  process. The interview was 10 scenario stations that would help the faculty determine your character, communication skills, critical thinking and dedication accurately in my opinion. That is 10 different chances that you could make a good impression so if somehow you don't feel confident in one station, there are many others along the way. In addition, they gave us a tour and the interactions with the current students really knocked it out the park. I really liked that they had medical spanish because I know Spanish would be very beneficial knowledge to have when practicing in Texas. It is unfortunate that medical spanish was taken out of the curriculum this year. The small class size of 36 was also a plus because it shows a closer faculty to student interaction. Last but not least, the fact that UTSW had a very good first pass PANCE rate showed me that the students were well trained. Now that I've gone through most of rotations, I have to say that they rotation sites are a big factor with deciding which school to choose because it is where you will learn and develop your skills and knowledge as a clinician. Parkland and the many hospitals around the Dallas area are great training sites and that the faculty finds the sites, so that the student wont have the responsibility to do so unless they are interested in doing an elective/selective out of town/state/country. Most of the sites are around Dallas area so no long commute needed. Furthest site is Temple, TX for internal medicine if you volunteer to go but they provide room and board.

4) What strategies worked for you during the didactic phase?

Best strategy for me was find ONE study buddy where you can review, discuss and quiz each other before tests. I had much success with the same study buddy since the second semester of didactic to the last clinical rotation test. In addition, don't procrastinate, have good time management and make sure you understand concepts.

5) What has been your favorite part of PA school? What challenged you the most?

Favorite part of PA school would be the rotations, you see improvement as you move further into your rotation but still have much to learn. The most challenging would be at the start of rotations, going from a specific block of organ system during didactic to clinical rotation when you have to start to broaden your DDX.

6) What have you liked about clinical rotations so far? What has surprised you?

My favorite rotation would be ER and my current critical care rotation, I love a mix of medicine and procedures. I loved the variety of illnesses seen during my ER rotation, from the common simple URI to orthopedics and ob/gyn to the more serious ACS, GI bleeds and COPD exacerbations. The procedures such as I&D, suturing and splinting added a nice combination too. My current CCU rotation so far has been a great learning experience because there were many serious illnesses that I was not able to see during internal medicine. I also wanted the exposure of how mechanical ventilation works and the many different pressors that are used along with procedures done in the CCU.


7) What advice would you give (beyond getting good grades and shadowing) to a future applicant?

The programs take every aspect of the application as a whole so they want a well rounded applicant. So take the opportunity in the personal letter to show how you set yourself apart from others, many programs want to broaden their student profiles. Be sure you get STRONG letter of recommendations. Many times letter of recommendations are "B" strength and some even harmful.

Website Resources

I don't know how people made it through college without the internet. Here are some websites that I like to utilize.


University of Michigan Medical School Gross Anatomy Videos - great videos of dissection of actual cadavers

Khan Academy - great tutoring videos, covers subjects like statistics, organic chemistry, and A&P

University of Kansas Histology Slides - good set of slides for familiarizing yourself with histology

WebMD - large medical reference website

Mayo Clinic - another large medical reference website

Practical Clinical Skills - Not sure what rales sounds like? want a quick breakdown of the QRS complex. This site is a quick way to get comfortable with some basics

Anatomy Zone - More videos. I thrive on videos. Good 3D visualization of anatomy.

Which ones do you use the most?

Interview with UTSW PA-S and new TAPA Student Director

1) Why did you choose to be a PA? 
I like interacting with and helping people. I knew my future career needed at least those two elements. I also love that clinical work can be like detective work. You are given a few clues to solve a mystery. It’s also interesting to see how the body’s systems interact with each other and the environment. I also love the patient education aspect of it because you can give people tools to help themselves.  

I specifically chose PA school because I appreciate that PAs can work in a variety of medical specialties throughout their career. This allows a clinician to build up a diverse skill set, which I consider essential to helping patients.

2) What did you do to prepare to apply? 
I tried to learn as much as I could about PAs. I shadowed 4 different PAs. It was difficult finding shadowing opportunities because of HIPPA concerns. I finally got through at 2 different clinics by cold calling multiple clinics I found through a PA google search.

I worked as an EMT-Basic for a transport service (taking patients to the ER and doctor and dialysis appointments) and through this experience I gained hands-on health care experience, as well as observed other health care providers in different settings- doctors and nurses in the ER and clinics.

I also volunteered at a homeless shelter clinic. I checked patients in for their visits and I learned about the role of the nurse practitioners in that clinic.

These experiences allowed me to see what I liked and didn’t like about the different roles in the health care team and it helped guide my decision to become a PA.

3) How many schools did you apply to and interview with? What were the interviews like? How did you choose UT South Western? 
I applied to 5 programs and interviewed at Texas Tech and UTSW. The Texas Tech interview was very laid back. It was a series of one-on-one interviews about who I am and why I want to be a PA.

The UTSW interview was interesting and fun (when you take the stress out of it). It consisted of 10 timed stations that placed you in various situations. I think it shows the interviewers an applicant’s real personality because you are put in situations that will bring that out. You can’t prepare for an interview like that and the best advice to any applicant is to “just be yourself and stay positive” (it sounds cliché and incredibly simple, but it’s the best thing to do).

To be honest, I really wasn’t sure how I felt about UTSW as I was traveling to Dallas for my interview. I didn’t seriously look into the program because I didn’t think I was competitive enough for one of their interview spots. The night before my interview, at the Meet and Greet, was when I really fell in love with the program and decided that it was #1 on my list. Through talking with the faculty and students, I discovered the heavily student-centered aspect of UTSW’s program and was able to see the care the faculty took with its students.

4) What has surprised you about UTSW's PA program so far? 
The faculty listens to our feedback and implements changes. For example, we were able to try out different test times one semester because of feedback from a previous semester. Also, the faculty will find time to meet with students if they request a meeting with them. Additionally, every student meets with their assigned faculty mentor at least once a semester to discuss their progress and/or concerns. If a student is struggling with any aspect of the program, then the faculty will intervene and spend more time with that student to improve their learning. They invest a lot of time into their students.

5) Have you found any successful strategies for surviving the didactic portion of your program?

I had to learn how to take breaks and allow myself some “recharge” time. You could study 24/7 outside of the classroom and still feel like you haven’t fully grasped everything.  What helped me the most is realizing that becoming a clinician is a lifelong process. I had to accept that I won’t get all of the information into my head for the exams, but that I should try to do as much as I can and I’ll pick up the rest as I progress in my training and career. I studied for didactic exams by thinking about what information will help me help patients, and I stopped focusing on grades.

6) What's the coolest things you've done so far?

Anatomy lab was pretty cool. Frustrating at times, but the dissections helped round out my understanding of certain disease processes.

We learned how to apply casts by casting each other and we’ve also learned suturing.

7) Any advice for future applicants other than good grades and shadowing?
Have diverse life experiences outside of medicine and science. Become a mentor or if you are taking time off between undergrad and PA school and are looking for work- try teaching with Teach for America. If you haven’t picked a major yet, then try something outside of the realm of science and medicine- I have a Bachelor’s in Journalism.

Health care experience is great because it shows that you can take care of patients. It takes a semester to become certified as an EMT-Basic, and depending on your location, you can work in the 911 service, an ER, or for an ambulance transport service.

Interview with a PA-C working in Neuro

Brooke is a PA who blogged about her experiences as a student and has launched a new website about the PA profession. Be sure to check out her sites!

1) Why did you choose to be a PA?

1- diversity of positions. you can start your career in surgery and end in endocrinology if you want!
2-less student debt
3-faster track into the work field (no residency, less school)
4-I get to take care of patients and perform surgery
5-patient-first mentality of the profession

2) You've had some interesting experience in health care before you started PA school. What took you from Orthotics and Prosthetics to Public Health to PA?

While in orthotics and prosthetics I had the opportunity to work with lots of great surgeons and decided early in my O&P career that my scope of practice was too small. I wanted to operate and be part of the preplanning for my patients, not just part of the rehab. I then applied to medical school- got in- then decided that becoming a PA was a better fit. I wanted to practice medicine soon, not in 10 years - so I withdrew my med school applications and applied to PA schools. I had a year to kill during the application process and was interested in population health and quality improvement so I got my MPH from Dartmouth in the interim.

3) How many schools did you apply to and interview with? What were the interviews like? How did you choose Northeastern?

I applied to 2 schools. UNE and Northeastern. I had moved all over the place for my previous schooling and had decided that I was going to apply to 2 schools and let the chips fall where they may. I luckily got into both schools on the first try and choose Northeastern for a few reasons: 1) great school, great reputation 2) it is in Boston (the healthcare mecca of the US) 3) less expensive

4) What has surprised you about Northeastern's PA program so far?

I think this applies to all PA schools ---- but IT IS HARD WORK! You will study more and sleep less than you could have imagined. But it is all worth it in the end.

5) Have you found any successful strategies for surviving the didactic portion of your program?

Find 2-3 sources to study from and stick to them... it is easy to get bogged down with too many resources. One of my favorite and most used books was Step Up To Medicine.

6) What's the coolest things you've done so far?

-Sewn a finger back on
-1st assisted on a C1-C3 spinal fusion

7) What got you into blogging? What future intersections of social media and health care do you hope to see?

I started blogging because I was finding and sharing resources with other PA students - and what I found was that it was becoming too time consuming to share information one by one... so I started a blog so that I could just post stuff once and people could visit it when they wanted. It has worked out well so far!

8) Any advice for future applicants other than good grades and shadowing?

1-Get to know healthcare, its delivery system and how it works. As a PA (esp as a PA in the future) it is very important to know they system in which you work... if you don't ... you are a less effective provider.
2-Know the history of the profession
3-Become a member of your state PA chapter or the AAPA to gain professional information about the profession