Here is an interview with a PA student from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science and a PAEA SHP Fellow.
1) Why did you choose to be a PA?
From working in biotech and healthcare operations, I knew I loved the medical industry, but I kept feeling a draw towards one-on-one patient care. Originally I was going to become a doctor, however every doctor that I interacted with that was over the age of 40 told me the same thing. "If I could do it all over again, I would have been a PA." The PA life-work balance allowed providers to not burn out as easily. That combined with the fluid transitions between specialties made me decide to instead become a PA. It was the best decision I have ever made.
2) What did you do to prepare to apply?
Research, research, research. I first pulled all my transcripts and updated my resume. I used these things to create a "this is what I'm working with" folder. Then I made a list of the top things I wanted in a PA program. For me that was an active larger city, diverse clinical specialities, and a strong involvement with AAPA and professional organizations. Then I purchased a "How to get into PA School" book and went through the list of schools one-by-one. It took forever to figure out which programs I liked and match those with programs where I met their requirements.
3) How many schools did you apply to and interview with? What were the interviews like? How did you choose MCPHS?
I applied to 10 schools. One had a secondary application that did not appeal to me, so I withdrew my application for them. Of the other nine schools, I was offered five interviews, and made it into three programs. MCPHS had three things that greatly appealed to me;
1) A student-life balance. They have a three year program with longer winter and summer breaks. I liked that because I wanted to keep some sense of my normal life while being in grad school.
2) They had a 99% PANCE pass rate and would not undergo reaccreditation until 2019. To me, that said their curriculum was solid and trustworthy.
3) They were in Boston, located in the Longwood Medical area. PA students at MCPHS-Boston took anatomy at Harvard Medical School and had some rotation spots at Brigham and Women's hospital. Those are well recognized institutions that I trusted with my education.
As for interviews, I had everything from five faculty members in front of me firing questions to group scenarios. The weirdest question I was asked was, "Give me three uses for a pencil other than writing." The best question I was asked was, "If you couldn't be in the medical profession at all, what would you do with the rest of your life?" The best way to prepare was using the PA Student Forums and running through the top 100 interview questions. You don't need to know the exact questions they will ask you, but you do need to be prepared to think on your feet and sell what you are working with.
4) What has surprised you about MCPHS's PA program so far?
MCPHS-Boston raised their class size from 75 to 100 for my year. They are capping it at 100 from now on, but it was a big adjustment to arrive thinking there would be 75 people and instead see 100.
That said, I am very surprised at how much I like the larger class size. When you're sick or fatigued, you can hide in the back of lectures and just take in the information. When you are jazzed about a special lecture, you can sit up front and interact with the professor. Plus, with 100 students, you are guaranteed to find personalities that match yours. I am very fortunate to have my study group. There are six of us and they are my family. No one in class knows how we were ranked in acceptance, so every day I am thankful that all six of us arrived here on campus to find each other.
5) Have you found any successful strategies for surviving the didactic portion of your program?
Use the cloud to your advantage. My study group shares a google drive folder where we split up the task of creating lecture notes. My class has a shared Dropbox account to share notes between study groups. We also have a Quizlet account to share our electronic flashcards. I study flashcards on my phone on the bus or at the gym.
My study group is my real savior though. I have arrived at my peer's house on a Friday night and left on Monday morning at 8am to take the exam. We literally just kept reading through our notes and teaching each other for 72 hours straight. Our breaks were workout videos and doing a push up for every flashcard you got wrong.
6) What's the coolest things you've done so far?
Being the student editor for First Rounds, the student written article section of PA Profession, has had some awesome perks. Especially when I went to the AAPA Conference in May 2014. Not only was I able to meet the entire AAPA editorial and marketing staff, but they wound up using some of the AAPA Boston student members as models in their conference banners. So imagine my excitement when the man whose books have spawned my interest in professional writing, Atul Gewande, got up to speak, and my face was on the banner behind him! It was at that moment that I realized, even as a first year PA student, I was a big part of this profession already.
7) Any advice for future applicants other than good grades and shadowing?
Talk to every 45+ year old person you meet and ask them if they are happy in their career and personal life. Everyone is going to make mistakes and have regrets in their life, but learning from everyone else's mistakes will skyrocket your life. For me, that was talking to everyone I knew in the medical profession in all areas; nursing, operations, security, etc. It not only has helped me develop my career path, but it has helped me develop my personal life. Plus, the more people you meet in life, the more experiences you hear about, so the more interesting you will be when you sit down at your PA interviews.
