Interview with PA-S from UNTHSC

Here's an interview from a PA student at UNTHSC who just graduated!


1) What made you decide to be a PA? I’ve always looked up to my own pediatrician growing up and truly appreciated how he treated my family and I so graciously. I aspired to serve others in that way and instill hope and confidence in children and their parents. I didn’t actually know what a PA was until I was in my second year of college and another student told me about it, sparking my interest. After some research into the career, I decided that this career path would fit my lifestyle better than going to medical school to be a physician. I would still have the wonderful opportunity to serve in pediatrics in the way I dreamed, however I would finish school faster and be able to have the family life I always envisioned for myself before the age of thirty. Felt like the perfect dream. 2) How did you choose UNTHSC? What was interviewing like?
Choosing UNTHSC was easy for me. My family is based in Fort Worth, so I was incredibly blessed to get in. I also thought the campus was pretty and nicely located in the middle of Fort Worth. The people had such a friendly vibe and I felt like it was easy to connect with everyone. Interviewing at UNTHSC was a little more intense than the interview at UTMB, but at the same time I felt more comfortable with the faculty. I remember I was in the afternoon interviews, so we had a quick bite to eat while sitting with faculty and other applicants. Then there was some sort of essay to write in a given time, a one on one interview with the faculty, and a team exercise with other applicants. It was stressful, but I tried to maintain my cool! That’s pretty much how everything went! It was all stressful, but then again I’m a worry bug. 3) What has surprised you about PA school?
Looking back on PA school, what surprised me was how hard it actually was. What also surprised me was how much you realize you are capable of learning! The learning curve applies to learning how to learn. Once you get your study habits on track, it goes much smoother. 4) What study strategies worked? Did that change on rotations?
During didactic, I realized quickly that my old study habits of making flashcards and reading were not going to cut it. I turned to my classmates for help and quickly realized that I needed a study buddy. I needed to review things out loud with someone to ensure that thought processes were correct and test one another to see multiple perspectives of the same material. I needed to see how the same information could be asked in different ways. I also used test banks like ExamMaster and books like PANCE Prep Pearls to figure out what were the main highlights and must knows within a topic. On rotations I had to fend for myself. I mostly used PANCE Prep Pearls book and ExamMaster to review material and topics. I also reviewed over old notes from didactic occasionally.
5) Tell me about your involvement and experience with TAPA.
TAPA was a great opportunity to do something outside of school with my classmates while also benefiting my career. My classmates and I always made a fun trip out of it and we got to see and meet students and alumni from other programs. It gave me a chance to learn about different career opportunities and practice communicating with other professionals. I think I went to at least one conference each year, if not two! It was fun to go to different cities and also to learn about what our career had to offer and what changes were being made. 6) Any plans for after graduation?

I found a job in primary care pediatrics! Start in August, so I have a couple months of lounging around and enjoying my last ever summer break!
7) What advice would you give an aspiring PA?
I would say that you should keep pushing through! All the hard work will pay off! Work hard to keep your GPA high in undergrad, volunteer, shadow, and don’t burn any bridges with anyone because you never know where a relationship will lead. Networking is key! I found my first job through my rotations! It is a great career and totally worth every moment of hard work!

Interview from TAPA Rep. from UTSW

Here's an interview with Monica from UTSW.

1) Why did you choose to be a PA?

I wanted to become a PA after I did an extensive amount of research my senior year of college.  I've wanted to go into medicine my entire life. I specifically chose becoming a PA because the career allows for so much flexibility. I think part of the challenge with health care is that people can become burnt out. I found a field that will let me provide care to people when they are the most vulnerable but in a way that doesn't restrict me and will give me the most opportunity for life learning. 

2) What did you do to prepare to apply?

I wrote about 10,000 copies of my personal statement and made my friends and family read them. 

I looked up each school I was applying to and read their mission statements and tried to find people I knew who went to the schools to ask about pros and cons. 

I read a lot on the PA boards online.  I read PA blogs (like this one!)

I looked up interview techniques and practiced. 

And I spent time really trying to understand myself and why this is the best fit for me. In order to show other people you are meant to do something you have to know it inside and out.

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

I believe around 10 applications. I was granted 4 interviews but only attended 2. 

They were nerve-racking and exhilarating at the same time. Both were very different. 

UTSW interview consisted of MMI (multiple mini interviews not mult. mini infarctions). I think it's a great way to get to know the candidates. The interview was engaging and helped loosen my nerves quite a bit.

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

What surprised me about PA school in general is how different everyone's experience is. Some people have time to travel almost every weekend; while others never stop studying because they enjoy it and soak up the most information that way. 

Personally it seemed like nothing stuck during the academic year and that all the hard work was going to be for naught. I was constantly comparing myself to everyone else.  However, it just took rotations to make me feel much more confident as a provider. 

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

Support each other. The people in your class are the only people who will completely understand you because they are the ones who went through the exact same things as you, even if their view point is different. Your family and friends will understand and be supportive but your classmates will really know what you're talking about when you need to vent or when you need help understanding something in your academics and program. 

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

In life? I met a president in the oval office once that was pretty cool. I also spent a week helping crew the coast guard barque eagle, that was also really cool.  (brag brag brag)

In PA school? Helping to deliver a child at Parkland. - I don't have any desire to go into obstetrics but it was an incredible and life changing experience that I will most likely never have again.  

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

Stay focused but also live your life. When we have that much drive and passion to reach our goals it's easy to become blinded to missing out on life or to put it off. I'm cheesy but it's true. Without balance we tend to lose ourselves; and the part that we lose could be the exact thing that makes you an incredible care provider. 

Experience as much as you can so that you really know yourself before choosing your future career. 

How I got in

Here's feedback from some students who are just starting PA school this summer. 

1. What do you think set you apart on your CASPA?

A) I think that it is a difficult task to set yourself apart from the thousands upon thousands of CASPA applicants since the application is very standard.  If I had to choose one thing that set me apart, it would have to be my lengthy clinical experience (10 years) and my personal statement, since I didn't have an amazing number of shadowing or volunteer hours.

 B) I was well rounded; a lot of people focus on one or two categories (direct patient care, shadowing, etc) and load up on hours in those, but I had a decent amount of hours in every category. I also had leadership experience in undergraduate organizations - I founded the UNT Pre-PA Club and I was an officer for Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Health Professional Honor Society. Not many students can say that they started an organization at their school geared towards Pre-PA students.

C) I know that my GRE scores held the biggest influence on my application with a 85 percentile on the math and 86 on the verbal. During the first half of undergrad I goofed around too much, and consequently, my GPA reflected it. I knew that I had to nail the GRE to offset my mediocre GPA so I could prove to the admissions committee that I was worthy for their program.

D) I made sure to have something in every category. Leadership, volunteering, shadowing, health care experience, etc. Also I had 3000+ hours of health care experience in the ICU and several volunteer medical mission trips. I made sure to really elaborate on the experience that was most valuable: PrePA leadership, what I got to do and what kind of patients I got to work with during my HCE, etc. 

2. How did your Personal statement change during rewrites?

A) My personal statement changed at least 5 times before I decided it was acceptable and truly reflected me.  I had numerous folks from all disciplines read it and tell me what they get out of it or what they would like to see more of to get to know me on paper.  I ended up giving a couple of personal experiences that touched me and pushed me in the direction of physician assistant and gave grounds on why I would be successful in this role.  I think the personal statement is undoubtedly the most difficult part of the application since it is your one true shot to capture yourself on paper and grab someone's attention.

B) For starters, it got chopped in half. After I poured my heart out into my first few drafts I had almost twice the maximum character limit. I had to really focus on what mattered to be able to eliminate all of the "fluffy stuff" that made the statement so long. During the later rewrites I changed the some of the paragraphs to be more precise and more effectively written and polished the grammar and punctuation.

C) My personal statement didn't change a whole lot throughout the writing process. The central theme stayed the same, but the layout and rhetoric changed quite a bit. I made sure to have as many people read the statement as possible!

D) Drastically. I have about 3 completely different personal statements and the last version had more than 10 rewrites. I had 10 people look at it and 2 people really dig through it with me. I'd advise that you get lots of eyes on it and also make sure (if you can) someone who knows your top choice school looks at it and talks about what the school wants. 

3.  Tell me about your interviews experience(s).

A) I only applied to 2 places and received an interview offer from 1 of the 2 quickly after submitting my application.  I knew in my heart that this place (UNTHSC) was a great fit for me.  My interview experience was pretty casual compared to some of the horror stories I heard.  I was made to feel at ease by the staff and current 2nd year students before the interview.  I found out that I would be interviewed simultaneously by 2 faculty members.  When I went in to the interview both ladies greeted me and I began the conversation by thanking them for their time and letting them know that I was excited to be there.  As far as interview material went, they asked me about my clinical experience and questioned me on what I felt was the most pressing issue in healthcare today.  That was pretty much it.  I left feeling pretty good, but not truly knowing what they thought of me.  Exactly 4 weeks later I got an acceptance call!!  The rest is history.  Now the hard part begins.

B) I only applied to two schools: UNT Health Science Center and UT Southwestern. I got interviews to both but I only attended UNT Health Science Center's because the deadline to accept UNT's admission offer was one week before the UTSW interview. At my UNT HSC interview I felt like I was among friends. They split us into three groups and each group would do a tour of the school, a file review, and the interview in different orders. My group was chosen to interview last, which I liked because I could see the reactions of the people who interviewed before me. The interview turned out to be more laid back than I thought it would be. It was held by two of the PA Program Staff members in a personal office setting, a 2 on one interview. The only questions that I was asked in my interview were "why did you choose to become a PA?", "I see that you have a lot of shadowing experience in Cardiovascular Surgery, is this the field that you wish to go into?", and "is there anything that you would like to explain about your application?". The majority of my interview was spent talking about random things such as food (I was the last interview of the day for them and it was lunch time) and where we were from. It was a great experience and everyone there made me feel comfortable from the moment I arrived.

C) Interviews. Everything boils down to the interviews. Mess them up, and your stellar resume goes out the window.

My biggest piece of advice for interview preparation is to practice public speaking. During some of my interviews, I was in front of a panel of 6 or 7 people! Normally, I don't address large groups of people on a day to day basis, so I had to be very cognizant of proper eye contact with each and everyone of the interviewers.

Other interviews it was only me and one interviewer, such as at UTSW. However, this school had such a unconventional interview process. It was a series of 12 interview stations consisting of puzzles, chart interpretations, scenario questions, ethical questions, etc, that I rotated among. So by the end, I had met 12 (I think) different representatives from UTSW and they each got a chance to evaluate me.

Other than these two, most interviews were what you would expect - me and two or three people from the admissions committee. They gave me typical questions like why I want to be a PA and why their school.

D) I interviewed at 4 school around the country. They were surprisingly very similar. I think my application resonated with similar minded programs. I spoke with a couple of faculty or one faculty and one student, and they had 2 types questions for me: general questions (Why PA and not MD?) and questions based on my application. I had done several mock interviews and had worked through a lot of practice questions, so I was ready to talk about my application. I also did as much research on each school as I could. I made sure I had 4 or 5 questions for each program that couldn't be answered on the website. 

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 a Family Practice PA-C

1.     Why did you become a PA?

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  

Things I wish I had done: Prerequisite Map

One of the benefits of hindsight is sharing your lessons learned. These posts will hopefully help you more than they have helped me.

In planning my first semester, I got mediocre advise from one academic counselor and didn't plan the start back to school very well. I only took one class that first semester when I could have taken two or three. After talking with other students in the Post Bacc club at our school, I realized I had several ways to map out my path to complete the prereqs. At UT Dallas, Gen Chem is a prereq for Bio 1. What I didn't know was that you could take Bio 2 while you took Chem 1. I took Chem 1 by itself the first semester I started back. If I had to do it over, I would have taken Bio 2 and taken Chem 1 at community college in the same semester and/or Psycology.

Since all my upper level BIO classes will be from one university, I would have arranged my lower level bios to be from UT Dallas and all my chemistry classes from community college. If I had done this, I would already be familiar with my A&P professor. I could have also dodged some uncomfortable chemistry situations.

This is very subjective and specific to my situation, but I do think anyne who is starting down this path should investigate all their options for navigating their academic plan. Consider what classes to take together and if community college is a good option for some of them.