Interview with a PA fro Interventional Radiology

Here's an interview with a PA working in IR.

1) Why did you choose to be a PA? 

After college I worked as a health education researcher and teacher for several years and I really loved what I did. But it became frustrating when my students would come to me for health concerns and I didn’t have any means to provide immediate medical help. Many didn’t have access to regular check-ups and/or they did not trust their health care provider. I felt that being a PA would allow me to provide comprehensive medical care AND the education to help make good healthcare choices in the future. 

2) How did you pick UTSW? What was your interview process like? 

I honestly applied to all the Texas schools because I knew how competitive the process was. What I really liked about UTSW was naturally how highly ranked it is, that it had a 100% PANCE rate, the option to do a study abroad rotation (though I unfortunately wasn’t able to do so while in school) and because it seemed like a school that was genuinely invested in helping me to succeed. 

3) What was your biggest surprise once you started working as a PA-C? 

I think one big reality check for me was realizing working in the American Healthcare system isn’t necessarily just diagnosing and treating diseases. A large amount of time is spent navigating insurance systems, making sure that the patient has support outside of the hospital to help with follow-up care, and assessing transportation status is huge! Plus every single field of medicine deals with mental health issues so you have to be able to evaluate your patient holistically. 

4) What area of practice are you in now? What does a week look like for you? 

I currently work in an interventional radiology private practice that is contracted out to several major hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I work Monday-Friday 8-5pm. We have the option to do weekend call but for the first two years, I chose not to. We are split between working interventional radiology (performing surgical procedures with imaging such as ultrasound, CT or x-ray), diagnostic radiology (putting contrast in any hole and barium studies), and outpatient clinic. We get a lot of variety within a day because you can switch between doing OB-GYN, orthopedic, oncology, GI, and endocrine procedures with each appointment. I rarely feel bored and most procedures last 20-30 minutes. I feel like IR is a lot like general surgery; you learn a lot about every specialty. 

5) Can you tell us about your involvement with TAPA as a student and now a practicing PA? 

I actually didn’t know about TAPA prior to PA school but after a presentation during one of my classes, I saw the importance of joining. TAPA is the only organization that fights and works solely for Texas PAs and honestly, any ability for us to practice is medicine is only because of them! I then became the student rep for UTSW and served in that role for two years. As a student I attended all the conferences, which was a great opportunity to network. Even if you’re not an officer, you can meet other students, professors and even practicing PAs who could be your link to a job when you graduate. I also liked the workshops and lectures which helped with upcoming exams. As a practicing PA, I served as the TAPA membership chair for two years. I really wanted to make sure that we got as many PAs as possible to become TAPA members. I have also been very involved in legislative issues that had the potential to greatly limit our scope of practice. It’s hard to believe, but there is always “someone” out there that wants a piece of your “pie” or scope so we have to constantly be vigilant. Recently there were two TMB rules that could have had broad implications to how we practice medicine so I personally went out to the meetings in Austin and testified. It was intimidating but I think by showing that we are competent providers who work in collaboration with our physician and that should be able to do what our prescriptive authority deems as possible really made a difference. Making arbitrary restrictions actually harms patients in the long run. As a result, the troublesome rule was dismissed and we got reinstated protection to continue to work in radiology. I’m really proud of that!

6) Any advice for aspiring PAs?

If you’re a pre-PA I would say to take as many opportunities as you can to see different PA roles. Being a PA is an awesome job but it is very difficult at times to both your mental and physical health. You have to have an inner drive to motivate you otherwise you can get burned out. For PA students, I’d say to hang in there! The semesters will soon end and the light at the end of the tunnel is much closer than you think. You were selected because you are the best! So keep that in the front of your mind when you have challenges. Doing poorly in a test does not translate to being a poor provider. There are many people counting on you to finish! And finally keep an open mind. I really thought I would be an OB-GYN PA when I was in PA school and never once imagined I’d do IR. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else! Try to shadow during your holidays while you’re a student. Those opportunities are easier to come by than when you are out of school and in that weird limbo. I look forward to working with you in the future!

Other Careers: Pharmacist

Whether you've been practicing for years or you are just considering which PAth to take, looking into other health professions helps you understand how you can fit into the health care team. Today we get to take a look at Pharmacists.

My name is Atish and I am a clinical pharmacist specializing in emergency medicine. I have worked in the hospital setting exclusively since I graduated and in emergency medicine specifically for the last 6 years.

What is the role of a pharmacist?

There are many different career paths a pharmacist can pursue after school and can practice in many different settings, including retail, industry, nuclear, hospital, clinical, and ambulatory.

Most of my experience is working as a clinical pharmacist and I will be speaking mainly within that field. A clinical pharmacist’s role as part of a multidisciplinary team of physicians, PAs, NPs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals is to coordinate and manage the proper care of patients.  These responsibilities include:

• Assessing the effectiveness and appropriateness of medications and ensuring it is the most beneficial option for a patient.
• Recognizing untreated medical conditions that could be improved with medications and determining if medications are the cause of a patients medical complaints.
• Following a patients progress to determine the effectiveness of patients care and optimizing medications.
• Educate patients on how to appropriately take their medications and provide counseling for adherence.
• Provide advice and education to healthcare providers to address any questions they may have regarding medications (dose recommendations, adverse reactions, pharmacology, kinetics,

What kinds of skills are involved?

Strong math skills

Advocacy for patients

Pharmacology knowledge

Finance/cost savings skills

Multitasking and efficiency

Effective communication

Management skills

Why did you want to be a pharmacist? 

I was fortunate enough to end up on a career path that fit well with my skills and interests.  I knew I wanted to pursue something within the health care setting but I wasn’t sure what I specifically wanted. I initially went into pharmacy school as a place holder hoping I would discover what career I really wanted. I was accepted into a 6-year accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program right out oh high school.  My plan was to consider transferring or changing majors once I knew what I really liked because my knowledge of pharmacy and the different career paths was limited.  In regards to being a pharmacist, all I knew about was the retail setting which did not appeal to me.  My first job as an intern at Cooper University Medical Center in Camden, NJ changed all that for me. I was able to witness how pharmacists make meaningful changes to drug therapy, prevent patient harm with their interventions, and how they are valued and respected among healthcare professionals.

How would you describe what you do to someone outside of healthcare?

We are the health care professionals charged with ensuring the patients get the right dose of the right medications at the right time.  We optimize therapy to make sure the medicines work and try and limit the side effects of the medications.  We educate patients on the medications so they can be advocates of their own health.

Interview with a PA Student from UNTHSC

Here's an interview with a current student at University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth.

1. What made you decide to be a PA? 

I went to SMU and majored in Applied Physiology & Health Management (APHM) and Biology. As part of my APHM major, I had two opportunities that together inspired me to pursue a career as a PA. The first was being a research assistant in a physiology lab that evaluated sympathetic nerve activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. I had a passion for research and data analysis, but I learned that what I enjoyed most was getting to know the patients and how their condition affected their daily lives. The second was a summer internship at the MS clinic at UTSW where I had the opportunity to shadow and conduct research with the physician, PA, NP, PT, and social worker. Here I saw the PA take care of patients in the clinic, conduct research, and teach lectures at UTSW. I was able to see just how broad the scope of a PA can be as well as how fulfilling this job is. I could see myself in a PAs shoes and ultimately decided to apply to PA school that same summer. 


2. How did you choose UNTHSC? What was interviewing like? 

UNTHSC was the school that was closest to home for me, but one of the biggest reasons I chose it was because of its vision for being “one university,” which meant interprofessional collaboration and teamwork between all the programs on campus. This was reiterated by the VP of Student Affairs and the faculty during the interview process and is something I have seen implemented into the core of our program. Programs like Interprofessional Education and Practice (IPE) and Seniors Assisting in Geriatric Education (SAGE) as well as all the interprofessional organizations on campus that bring students from different programs together are a unique and valued aspect of this program. The interview process was not a traditional one but rather consisted of multiple activities. I enjoyed this process because each activity targeted different abilities and strengths and allowed each student to be evaluated as a whole. 


3. What has surprised you about PA school? 

I was surprised about how hands-on the didactic year was throughout. Classes like Physical Exam Skills during the first semester got us right into practicing our clinical skills from the beginning. Classes like Clinical Integrative Medicine during which we practiced suturing, injections, pap smears, IV placement, and many other skills prepared us for rotations. It was a great mix of in-class and hands-on lab instruction and it was a pleasant surprise. 


4. What study strategies worked? Did that change on rotations? 

Three study strategies that worked for me were 1) reading notes out loud, 2) explaining what I’ve learned to a classmate, and 3) practice questions. Specifically, working through practice questions even before having learned all the material needed for an exam is something that is recommended to all students by the Center for Academic Performance on campus. One thing that changed on rotations was that I was no longer surrounded by all my classmates, and this made it difficult to go through material with a partner. However, the great thing about rotations is that I’m actively learning throughout the day while seeing patients, and this in itself helps solidify the knowledge that I’m studying at home. 


5. Tell me about your involvement and experience with TAPA

I was introduced to TAPA by our incredible Student Director for TAPA and have been a member since starting PA school. I have attended each of the TAPA conferences since then, joining workshops and lectures as well as getting to know students from other schools and competing in the Challenge Bowl. It has been an opportunity to network with so many great people. I have also received pertinent information and updates about current legislature and the issues facing PAs in Texas today. This has allowed me to gain knowledge on how TAPA advocates for PAs and PA students and the changes that they are making on our behalf, which has been extremely valuable.


6. Any plans for after graduation? 

Before I started PA school my plans for after graduation included leaving TX since I grew up here and I was ready for a change. However, Fort Worth has grown on me. I have gotten to know the beautiful community here and it is a city with great opportunities for PAs. I haven’t decided which specialty I’d like to go into yet, but I’m keeping an open mind and will be grateful to have an opportunity in the DFW area. Of course, all this after a relaxing vacation to celebrate graduating from PA school! 


7. What advice would you give an aspiring PA?

My biggest piece of advice would be to get involved in activities (leadership, volunteering, internships, community work, etc.) that you’re truly passionate about rather than what you believe will look impressive on a resume. The majority of activities I was involved in during college didn’t actually have anything to do with being a PA at all. For example, I volunteered at a jail for one semester where I helped offenders go through a rehabilitation program during which I saw them change and heal from their past. Being a part of that helped me to see just how much people can change if they are determined to do so and helped me develop a newfound compassion for these individuals. It is something I was able to talk about during my PA school interview process and an experience that has helped me as a PA student working with patients on rotations. Get involved with things that you are passionate about and it will take you a long way!

Finding a good fit

As a recruiter, I would often talk to people about what makes a good fit. Even people who had been working for years would have trouble answering this question. Knowing yourself and how you fit into the positions out will help you stand out whether interviewing for another job or trying to explain why you should get into PA school. As you consider different avenues available to you, here's some things to keep in mind:


1) What do you like to do - What kind of things excite you about a job? Working at the bedside with a patient, working in a close knot team towards goal, solving a financial puzzle, research, supporting the team by digging into details. Skip past cliches like "I want to make a difference" and think about what kind of tasks make you feel engaged. Do you like working in big teams? Seeing new people every day? Do you like routine? Knowing these things about you will help you find roles that will keep you interested and satisfied long term.

2) What do you NOT like - What things would make you walk away from a good job? Repetitive tasks, smells, meticulous work, unsolved mysteries. Every job has aspects that are unpleasant, that's why they pay us to keep showing up. The fun parts of a job, those exciting things that first attracted you to that role, will become normal and boring over time. Finding a job with tolerable frustrations while avoiding unbearable issues will keep you satisfied long after the newness wears off.

3) Where are you starting from - still in undergrad, already have a career, working and haven't started college yet? When I decided to become a PA, I already had a bachelor's degree, family, and a mortgage. That shaped how I needed to pursue my dream. Taking an honest look at how long you have to prepare, what steps you need to accomplish, and what resource and support you have will clarify some of the option in front of you.

4) Know your financial wants and needs - No one works with patients just to make tons of money and not care about the patient. None of us do this for free either. Be aware of your obligations, plans, and expectations for compensation because the position you love may not pay as much as one you could force yourself to do.

5) Test your theories - The best way to truly see what kind of role fits you best is to gather evidence. Go shadow someone dong these jobs. Talk to them, read up on the positions on a blog like this, and try to find some opportunities to work or volunteer.

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.

Considering a Position, whether future, first, or further

Before I started this journey, I worked in recruiting. I helped people hire and get hired, walking through the steps of making a decision on a job. One of the key contributions I would make was helping people define what would make an excellent "fit." We usually think about money first, and then turn our attention to comparing exciting parts of different jobs. This can be a dangerously short sighted way to look at different positions, especially in your career as a PA. So, whether you have been a PA for decades or if you're nearly finished with school and want to look forward to something other than tests, here are some things to consider when considering a new position.

1) What is actually important to you? Our instant answer is money, but if you work 100 hours a week for it with no time off, you'll never get a chance to spend that money. Consider things like schedule, field, location, and team. Do you want to have more time off - maybe shift work is better. Does everyone else in your world live on a Mon-Fri 9-5 schedule? Maybe you should too. Do you really want to work in Neurosurgery? Do you want to be in pediatrics? Or do you just want to find a position near your family? Really figuring out what your priorities are will help you focus your choice.

2) Team - this is really critical. Finding a team that is right for you means you need to understand what kind of group you work well in. We often take for granted that everyone wants the same things, but there is a variety of nuance when considering who you work with. Do you function with more oversight? Do you need lots of clear expectations? Do you prefer more autonomy? Doe workplace humor help you or frustrate you? Culture and group fit are very personal, so consider what kind of mix works best for you.

3) Experience - as PAs, building good clinical experience is essential to having a strong career. When looking at positions, consider how much learning it will provide to you. Does this help you expand your portfolio of skills? Will you be exposed to different disease processes or patient populations? More importantly, does this experience help you build towards your future career goals? As PAs we can move from one area of medicine to another, so having solid experience can give you more flexibility in the future.

4) First Position - If you are making a decision about your first position, there's needs to be a few extra considerations. Have they trained a new hire before? What are the training and production expectations? Are there other PAs to help mentor you as you navigate they clinic or hospital? I have known some new grads who have successfully worked as the first PA in a clinic, but unless you are determined to do this I would focus on positions that have successfully trained new grad PAs already.

What job tips do you have? Any words of wisdom you've come across or had to learn the hard way? Let us know in the comments!

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