Interview with Hardin Simmons Student and PAEA Fellow

Here's an interview with a PA student who is also a PAEA Education Fellow.

1) What made you decide to be a PA? 

I had always wanted to be in medicine.  I went to Texas Tech University HSC in Lubbock and got my undergraduate in Clinical laboratory science in 1994.  I thought that being a Medical Technologist would be a useful skill if I was able to go to medical school.  At this time I had not considered becoming a PA because, well, there were no PAs in Texas.  Dwight Deter would be issued license PA00001 in August of that year.  Shortly after graduation I met my future wife and moved to Virginia.  We would move back to Texas in 2001 but as they say "life happened".  Children and mortgages became the focus of my efforts.  During that time I spent a year as a stay at home dad and completed a Master of Education from Tech.  Twenty four years after graduation I was investigating and advanced degree in medical technology when I saw that Hardin-Simmons was beginning a PA program in Abilene.  My family and I live about an hour east of Abilene and my kids were in high school.  I didn't want to uproot them to pursue my dream but with the HSU program essentially in my back yard I knew that we could make it work.  Of course, by then, I had had a long history of working with PAs in clinical settings and was aware of their skill, training, and the excellent care that they provide.  

2)  How did you choose Hardin Simmons? What was interviewing like?

The decision to go to Hardin-Simmons was easy.  I had gone to Hardin-Simmons my first year out of high school and loved the quality if the school and the Christian focus involved around academics.  I was actually on the first football team when it returned to campus. I had left HSU because of family financial concerns.  I regretted not being able to finish my undergraduate there and being able to take a full advantage of all the University had to offer.  When I heard that the PA program was starting the choice was clear.  Returning would let me pursue a dream in medicine that I thought had long since passed me by.  It was a homecoming, of sorts, and I would not need to uproot my kids from where they had been going to school since kindergarten. 
The interview process was a journey.  I discovered the program in June I believe--a few months after CASPA had opened.  I put the application together, contacted my references, scheduled a retake of the GRE (it had been more than 15 years since I had taken it before) and sent everything in.   The program was great at staying in contact--something that we might take for granted in a newly started program who was working on admissions and getting the nuts and bolts of the program assembled.  When everything was completed I was offered an interview in January of the matriculation year.  It was VERY cold that day and the after-interview tour of the campus was cancelled.  I felt good about the interview but was incredibly nervous.  I interviewed with two faculty members in 1:1 format and a group interview with a PA from the community and a staff member.   I am actually finishing an ER clinical with the PA from the community right now, so it has come back full circle.  The interviews were relaxed and you could get a sense that this program was something special.

In didactic year it was simply the sheer volume of material to learn.  The "fire-hose" analogy undersells this if anything.  It is also more emotionally draining that I would have anticipated.  Most of the people in my class could easily be my children, but they are some of the best friends I have ever had.  Its not really about the differences between students, it is the common experience that binds us to one another and to other PAs who have had a similar experience.   In clinicals, it is the confirmation that we have the coolest job known to man and that all of didactic was worth it to get to this point.  I sometimes wish I had done this a long time ago, but my past experiences have made me who I am and the provider I hope to be.

3)  What study strategies worked? Did that change on rotations?

I had always had what I called a "photo-erratic" memory.  I could read chapter and see it in my mind, turning the pages and reading it again.  That was good for a good part of didactic but you will always need to adjust.  Pharm was a huge hurdle for me.  I had to change completely what I was doing, taking the PowerPoint presentations and creating question banks from them and drilling endlessly on the material.  I would say that what everyone should know about PA school is that you have to be adaptable.  If you are a loner, you may need to have study groups.  You may need to try a variety of methods and then pick the resources that are adaptable to that strategy.  Early on the problem was that there were TOO MANY resources and I could never get through them.

4) Tell me about your involvement and experience with TAPA.

I was elected as my class TAPA rep in the fall of 2017.  I was the first rep from HSU (there is a junior rep in didactic year and a senior rep in clinical year) so I needed to wear both hats to some degree.  TAPA is such a welcoming organization.  They listen to student input and we actually have a voice in its operation.  The conferences were fun.  It was a good experience to meet reps and students from other programs who had different experiences.  In the summer of 2018 I became the official Senior Rep.  I was also selected to be on the Legislative Affairs Committee (LAC) for the next year.  That was important to me because it was a legislative year in our biennial process here in Texas.  Medical Technologist are not typically involved in lobbying and career advocacy and that had been a area of concern for me.  What TAPA does for its members goes beyond advocacy.  It involves professional development, meeting colleagues and friends, and advancing our profession in ways that touches all of us in medicine--a field that is constantly changing.   In June of this year I was elected by my peers from the other programs as the Student Director for the 2019-2020 year.  I will be working with the SAC chair Kaylin Sallee as well as the reps from all of the programs to advocate for the PA students in Texas and to be their voice on the board.

5) Any plans for after graduation?

Absolutely!   Work and pay student loans!   

Seriously, I would like to one day become faculty at a PA program.  My prior degree in Education inspired me to become a PAEA Future Education Fellow.  I am doing this to see how the education principles I learned are applicable in a specific training environment like PA school.  I also no that before I am ready to do that on a serious basis that I need to be in practice and learn how to be a PA.  What I see ahead isn't the ending, it is a new beginning with new opportunities and challenges.  

6) What advice would you give an aspiring PA?

Know who you are and what you hope to get out of being a PA.  If it is money or lifestyle, you won't be happy.  Those are great benefits to becoming a PA but in and of themselves they are not enough.  You have to know who you are before you can become the provider you want to be.   PA school takes that core of who you are and refines it.  It makes it focused for service to our patients and for a lifetime of learning, sacrifice and struggles of one sort or another.  That said, I have loved every minute of it and can not imagine doing anything else.  The struggle is worth it.

Interview with Emory Student

Here's an interview with a student from Emory who also has a neuroscience masters.

1) What made you decide to be a PA?
I decided to be a PA sophomore year of undergrad at UTD. I was originally doing a degree in neuroscience and thought medical school was my only option to be able to practice medicine, though I remember feeling less than excited about the career as a whole. I don't remember how I learned about it but as soon as I came in contact with the PA career I was sold. I knew that it would afford me the opportunity to interact with patients, practice medicine, and follow my passion of life-long learning. In addition, the biggest perk to me was the flexibility. The opportunity to practice in various specialities throughout my career as interests change or if I just felt the need for a new and different challenge 15 years from now continues to inspire me about the PA profession.
I also have had the pleasure of working with some wonderful PAs while I was doing intraoperative neurophysiology for spine surgery before PA school. I always looked at them with envy and couldn't wait to be in their shoes. Neuromonitoring was a great career but I missed the ability to have follow-up with the patients I saw. The full continuum of care was another aspect of being a PA that I felt I was missing. 2) Tell us about your first Masters degree.
My first masters degree was in applied cognition and neuroscience at UTD. It came about as an excellent opportunity where I could do a fast-track program and essentially complete the degree in one additional year. I absolutely loved the program and would find out a few years later that it made the neurology module as well as pharmacology go much more smoothly in PA school as a lot of the information was a second or third pass of learning at that point. 3) How did you choose Emory? What was interviewing like?
The short, and uninspired answer to this question is that it's the first school I was accepted to...but the more substantial reason is that i felt that Emory had an exceptional program with vast opportunities and I absolutely loved it as soon as I stepped foot on campus. Some of the high points of Emory's program include the anatomy course with gross dissection in a 6:1 ratio with classmates, the simulation labs including a Harvey simulator, and 1st year experience getting to do H&Ps in the hospital on patients with conditions that correlated with whichever module we were learning at the time. The program really gets the students involved early and helps to sort of get your feet wet before clinical year. In addition, Emory is committed to serving the community and I have had the honor of serving at the Good Samaritan clinic as well as a week long service project providing healthcare to the South Georgia farmworkers. Long story short, Emory's program is very well-rounded and it made it a very easy 'yes'.

They've done a great job of incorporating ultrasound lectures and hands on practice for each module and have a strong focus on point of care ultrasound, especially in performing an efast exam which I think is an extremely beneficial skill to being to the table.
The interview was great. It was one of the few that did laid back group interviews. There was no complex, stress-inducing, cow bell ringing and running from room to room like the multiple mini interviews. It was a simple conversation with a couple faculty members, a community PA, and a current student that was fun and surprisingly relaxing. 4) What has surprised you about PA school?
What has surprised me most is the incredible backgrounds that my fellow students have. It has been really awesome to be surrounded by people with such diverse prior jobs, career,s and outlooks on life. I've been able to learn a ton both academically and personally from my classmates which has been a great surprise. 5) What study strategies worked? Did that change on rotations?
Everyone studies a little different but what worked for me was before the start of each module I would watch the board review on that topic to get a broad first exposure to the information. Then with each PowerPoint lecture I would go home that night and take hand notes from them of what I thought was important. Then also supplement with information from readings to expand upon parts I felt I needed more details on or to help really understand the 'why'. I love using Ferri's clinical advisor as a supplemental resource. It's a great book that gets updated yearly. It has pretty short and sweet summaries of most diseases and gives basic info, epidemiology, diagnostic tests, treatment strategies, when to refer, and considerations. It was a lifesaver in didactic as well as clinical year. On rotations I primarily try to read up on conditions that I encounter in practice and then create a study guide based off of the PAEA blueprint for each end of rotation exam. It's quite a bit of work but has paid off nicely. I also spend a lot more time now doing practice questions through exam master and smarty-pance which really help to solidify the information and begin the prep for the PANCE.

6) Any plans for after graduation?
Hopefully take a vacation! But also studying for the PANCE-gotta earn that 'C' to make this all worth it. As far as a job goes, I'm on the search. I have loved a few rotations and think I know what I would like to do but will see how the job search goes and hopefully find the right match both personally and professionally.
7) What advice would you give an aspiring PA?
Advice I would give to someone who's considering or applying to PA school, I would say make sure you are going for the right reasons and ensure you're in a good place in your life to dive in. PA school can be pretty grueling and will test your limits mentally and emotionally and put a strain on your friends and family who may not understand your absence. Make sure you're going in to this because it's your passion because that love and grit may be the only thing that pushes you toward another day. But know that it gets better in clinical year; you just have to make it there! For those that are already in it. I know anatomy was one of the hardest courses and most time consuming but if you buckle down and spend the time on it now, learning disease processes and why they are occurring will be so much easier later. Also you'll look like a rock star when you get 'pimped' in surgery--and that will definitely be worth it

Interview with a PA-S from MCPHS

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.

PAEA Student Health Policy Fellowship

Hello! I just got back from our nation's capital where I was able to participate in the PAEA Student Health Policy Fellowship. If you don't know, the PAEA is the national association that focuses on PA education.

Here's a video interview with Marc Geller, PA-S from UT Pan American and myself discussing our time in D.C.